@SUNDOWNSAM sorry i have not gotten around to talking about this passage --- i've had a lot of other things my attention has been focused on, ((for example getting falsely attacked even in this thread)) and i only have so much time. but i've been looking at it today
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; or I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”
And behold! A certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
(Luke 10:21-29)
i notice similarities with the conversation He had with the 'rich young ruler' in Matthew 19 / Mark 10 -- this teacher of the law calls Him 'rabbi' not Lord. this is, in my understanding, unbelief. in both instances, He references Leviticus 18:5, the one who does the things in the law will live by them. this though, we know, is not sufficient - Romans 10:5, Galatians 3:12 - and Galatians 3:21, a law was not given through which a person can be imparted life. it's not of faith, and without faith it is impossible to please Him.
in Matthew 19 / Mark 10 the man who calls God merely 'rabbi' seeks to inherit life by doing works. this is evil; grace is not a wage, and without His grace, we would not have life. so this man who does not believe Christ is the Son of God - who believes only that He is a teacher, and doesn't understand that only God is good - to this man Christ points to the law. this context & His reply speaks volumes about the nature of the law; what the law is and why it was added: because of transgressions. i have another thread here i started about the topic, because i feel it is a very big topic, a very important topic.
similarly, here in Luke, this man who calls Jesus 'rabbi' instead of Lord, speaks to Him with this question 'to test Him' - why is this man who doesn't call Him Lord testing Him? and then after Jesus commends his answer, the man wants to justify himself. why does he want to justify himself? Christ has just said he answered well -- so what further need of justification does he have? yet he does. he is still not calling Christ 'Lord' and his purpose in speaking to Him was to test Him. what was this test? what did he expect? is this like all the other times we read in the gospels of teachers of the law and of pharisees trying to 'test' Jesus? in all those many examples, the purpose was nefarious. they were trying to trap Him, to make Him stumble in His replies, to cause Him to say something they could attack Him as evil. is that what's going on here, too?
how significant is the fact that this account is immediately prefaced by Christ glorying in the fact that the truth is hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed to babes. how significant it is that this account is immediately prefaced by Christ declaring that no one knows Him except those He chooses to reveal Himself to.
and we have immediately following these profound sayings, a man who is accounted wise and prudent ((a teacher of the law)). a man to whom the identity of Christ is not revealed ((for he calls Him rabbi)). a man who has come up with a test for him. a man who wants to justify himself.
this is prefaced with "behold!" -- that's a very important word. in scripture, this means something amazing is about to be said. something profound, not something simple.
so i wonder to myself, this lawyer, he tests God-manifest-in-flesh and wants to justify himself. immediately after Christ says the truth is hidden from those wise in the world and that no one knows Him but those He wills to reveal Himself to. and immediately after this conversation, Christ gives the parable of the good Samaritan in reply to this lawyer who tests Him calling Him rabbi.
i wonder to myself, who is this lawyer, in the parable?
i know who i am in it. i am the man robbed & beaten, dying in a ditch, to whom the Lord looked on with a compassion i never merit.