THE LAWYER'S QUESTION ANSWERED. "AND, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering, said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. And he went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." In this interesting manner did Jesus Christ teach his lessons of love. Do you understand him? Perhaps not quite. Let me tell you a few things in explanation. Our Lord said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves." That was a thing which sometimes happened, for the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, about fifteen miles, was rocky and mountainous, and afforded opportunities to thieves and robbers to commit their depredations. It is said that at this time robberies accompanied by violence were frequent, Herod the Great having dismissed forty thousand men, whom he had employed in rebuilding and repairing the Temple, most of whom had become robbers. All the people knew this, and our Lord always took care that his lessons were such as would strike on their attention, and awaken it to thoughtful reflection. Well this man "fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." A sad state this for any man to be in-robbed of his money, wounded, bleeding, and almost dying. Perhaps he could not move-he could only listen and look. At length he hears footsteps-it may be one of the robbers coming back to kill him outright, lest he should recover, and be the means of bringing them to justice. But his fears are THE LAWYER'S QUESTION ANSWERED. quelled, and his hopes are excited; for it is not a robber, but a priest! Now he shall be helped to get up, and be conducted to a place of safety. His wounds will be tenderly treated, and he will again return to his own house, and all there will be too glad that he is alive to care anything about the money of which he has been robbed. The priest draws nearer and nearer. His deliverance is at hand. He sees him-but he turns his head and walks by on the other side. Unfeeling man! And a priest too!—a teacher of that law which says, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Seest thou not thy brother there bleeding and helpless—he is not a hated Samaritan, or a despised Gentile, but a son of Abrahamwilt thou not help him? No: he passes on with proud priestly dignity and leaves the poor wounded traveller to bleed away his life. Verily thou dost not love thy neighbour ! The wounded man nearly faints with horror at such a display of cruel neglect. "Can it be," he exclaims to the hard rocks around him, "that he who taught me the law, and presented my offerings at the altar -he who professed to be my spiritual guide and comforter, will thus leave me to die? Oh God of Abraham save me!" Again, he closes his eyes, and thinks hard things of man, but loses not his confidence in God. And now his ears, ever wakeful, tell him that other steps are approaching. Half opening his failing eyes, he sees a Levite approaching. "Ah! now," he thinks, for he can speak no longer, "I shall find a friend. A proud priest may belie his religious professions— many have done so before-but a Levite, who mixes more with the people, will show compassion, and come and help me.' The Levite arrived at the spot, and turning out of his way, he came up to him and "looked on him." But surely this will not be all that he will do-surely he will not, like that unfeeling priest, pass on, and leave the poor traveller to die! Alas! he does: for without speaking a word, he "passed by on the other side." Verily, thou dost not love thy neighbour! Dreadful were the fears of the wretched sufferer, as a projecting rock hid from his view the hardhearted Levite, passing on his way. "Now I must die," he said in his heart, "and go the way of all the earth!" Thoughts of the eternal world now occupied his mind with such overwhelming power, that his money, his wife, his children, his friends, and his own pains, were all forgotten. Again he hears the sound of footsteps; but his eyes can see no longer-his head swims in dizzy visionshe faints! By and bye he recovers, and opening his eyes, he sees one stand bending over him with affectionate kindness. He is not a priest or a Levite-he is a stranger. And now that stranger, having bound up his wounds, “pouring in oil and wine," has "set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn." what he did there beside, you read in the sacred narrative. In this way Jesus Christ answered the question— "Who is my neighbour ?" and the lawyer who asked the question was silenced. And well he might, for who could gainsay such a reply. And the lesson taught by our Lord is this-every man is your neighbour-Englishman or Frenchman, Indian or African-and you should show your love to all by doing good to all, and thus shew yourselves to be the children of our Father in heaven. But our Lord had another design; he wished to teach this pharisaic lawyer, that the religious pretensions of the Priests and Levites were good for nothing, and worse-they were hypocritical. They esteemed themselves to be righteous, and despised THE LAWYER'S QUESTION ANSWERED. others, especially the Samaritans. When they wished to say the bitterest thing they could think of against our Lord himself, it was, "Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil." The Samaritans were an abomination to the Jews. "All the pre judice that ever grew out of caste, colour, name, or nation, combined into one intense sentiment of repugnance, were nothing to the inherent irreconcilable hatred which the Jews entertained against this unfortunate people. For it was a hatred set on fire by religious zeal and Jewish intolerance, pursuing the poor Samaritan with a curse that burned down into his grave. His presence was pollution : no religious Jew would enter his habitation, or drink from his well, or eat from his table, or touch anything that belonged to him. He would exchange with him no salutation or expression of civility. Every avenue of reconciliation was closed; the privilege of repentance was denied him; the hope of pardon was cut off; for he was the only being on earth who could not attain to the communion of the Jews by a conversion to their faith. These bigots could not stop here; they would fain consign his soul to annihilation, and sink his grave beneath the hearing of the archangel's voice. Presumptuous profanity! they launched an anethema against his sleeping dust, and excommunicated his body from the resurrection of the dead!" We need not wonder that the disciples marvelled when they found their Lord talking with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. And yet our Lord so managed this parable as to make the lawyer confess that the hated Samaritan was the best man of the three. And so it is, and so it ever will be, that although man may set up his pretensions to goodness and sanctity above his fellows, yet all his pretensions are less than vanity if love to God and love to man be not found burning on the altar of his heart. For no other sacrifice will God accept. |