Luke 10:37
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Tag: True Belief
The above verse is the last verse in a long story Jesus gave to a "lawyer" who asked the following question:
Luke 10:25
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
When Jesus asked the man what he thought was the answer to his own question, the man replied:
Luke 10:27
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
From this point that man wants to know "who is his neighbor?" Jesus answers by telling him the story of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan was the only person, in Jesus' story, who helped a man who was mugged by robbers. Although a "priest" and someone in the priestly line could have helped, only the Samaritan was willing. Since Samaritans were despised, the Lawyer was in a quandary. When Jesus asked who showed mercy, he had to confess it was the Samaritan. Jesus uses the point to answer the man's question. The one who showed mercy was the one who pleased God. So, the answer to the question as to who will inherit external life, is those who practice their faith by showing mercy. The prophet Micah told us a similar truth:
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Proof of faith is very easy to spot: Who shows mercy to others?
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