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The Desire of Ages
them all. Man’s destiny will be determined by his obedience to the
whole law. Supreme love to God and impartial love to man are the
principles to be wrought out in the life.
The lawyer found himself a lawbreaker. He was convicted under
Christ’s searching words. The righteousness of the law, which he
claimed to understand, he had not practiced. He had not manifested
love toward his fellow man. Repentance was demanded; but instead
of repenting, he tried to justify himself. Rather than acknowledge the
truth, he sought to show how difficult of fulfillment the commandment
is. Thus he hoped both to parry conviction and to vindicate himself
in the eyes of the people. The Saviour’s words had shown that his
question was needless, since he had been able to answer it himself.
Yet he put another question, saying, “Who is my neighbor?”
Among the Jews this question caused endless dispute. They had
no doubt as to the heathen and the Samaritans; these were strangers
and enemies. But where should the distinction be made among the
people of their own nation, and among the different classes of society?
Whom should the priest, the rabbi, the elder, regard as neighbor? They
spent their lives in a round of ceremonies to make themselves pure.
Contact with the ignorant and careless multitude, they taught, would
cause defilement that would require wearisome effort to remove. Were
they to regard the “unclean” as neighbors?
Again Jesus refused to be drawn into controversy. He did not
denounce the bigotry of those who were watching to condemn Him.
But by a simple story He held up before His hearers such a picture
of the outflowing of heaven-born love as touched all hearts, and drew
from the lawyer a confession of the truth.
The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal
with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God’s love that
makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centered in self.
[499]
“A certain man,” said Jesus, “was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho; and he fell among robbers, which both stripped him and beat
him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain
priest was going down that way: and when he saw him, he passed by
on the other side. And in like manner a Levite also, when he came to
the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side.”
Luke 10:30-32
,
R. V. This was no imaginary scene, but an actual occurrence, which
was known to be exactly as represented. The priest and the Levite who