Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
There are verses that tell us that speak about a life after death...There is an Eternal Life which Jesus promises us...One man even ask Jesus the question...He asked Jesus, “Teacher what must I do to inherit Eternal Life?”...
Let us learn about Eternal Life through Jesus, God and God's Word...God is LOVE, so LOVE is intertwined in Eternal Life...And if the following verses we see much about loving God and Jesus and in helping our neighbors...
Scripture has many verses about Eternal Life...Here are the way I read the Scriptures about Eternal Life: God so LOVES the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life...Truly Jesus I tells us, whoever hears His Word and believes Him who sent Him has Eternal Life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life...For the ones who do not follow Jesus Teachings they will go away to eternal punishment, but those who believe Him will go to Eternal Life...Whoever believes in the Son has Eternal Life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them...And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for Jesus' sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit Eternal Life...Jesus gives us Eternal Life, and those who believe in Him shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of His hand...Whoever drinks the water Jesus gives us will never thirst...When we drink regular water, after we drink it we will need more and be thirsty again...But, the water He gives us will become in them a spring of water welling up to Eternal Life...For God (Jesus' Father), His will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have Eternal life, and He will raise us up at the last day...Jesus teaches us about the shrewd manager and helping people with our money and wealth...Jesus tells us, to use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into Eternal Dwellings...
Very truly Jesus tells us, the one who believes has Eternal Life...Jesus tells us the definition of Eternal Life...Now this is Eternal Life: that they know You, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent...Jesus said to His crowd about Him being the Bread of Life, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you...Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day...For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink...Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in them...Just as the Living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me...This is the Bread that came down from heaven...Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this Bread will live forever."...Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to Eternal Life, which the Son of Man will give you...For on Him God the Father has placed His Seal of Approval...
When Jesus was with Martha after her brother's death they spoke together...“LORD,” Martha said to Jesus, “if You had been here, my brother would not have died...But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”...Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”...Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”...Jesus said to her, “I AM the resurrection and the life...The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die...Do you believe this?”...“Yes, LORD,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”...So we see that Jesus is I AM...He is the Resurrection and the One Who Brings Eternal Life...
This is how Jesus answered the one who ask Him about how he could receive Eternal Life...Jesus wants us to have mercy on all people and love enemies and help both of them to gain eternal life...Jesus teaches us to love anyone in need, regardless of background or identity...
Jesus gives us this Parable to think about Eternal Life and all that it includes...On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus...“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”...“What is written in the Law?” he replied...“How do you read it?”...He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”...“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”...But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”...In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers...They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead...A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side...So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side...But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him...He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine...Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him...The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper...‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’...“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”...The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”...Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”...
We see mercy, love of God and neighbor and helping others in this Parable...Jesus has forever tied God and man together with love...So we see there is direct link eternal life solely to showing love...Love includes mercy but mercy in itself isn't explicitly stated in the parable as the Way to Eternal Life...While mercy is a crucial aspect of Christian faith and living, it's generally seen as part of a broader picture of faith, repentance, and following Jesus's teachings...And the expert in the law quotes the Two Greatest Commandments...It is important to understand the parable's core message about actively loving others rather than interpreting it as a formula for earning Eternal Life...While mercy is a crucial aspect of Christian faith and living, it's can be seen as part of a broader picture of faith, repentance, forgiveness, love for God and all neighbor's, and following Jesus's teachings...Let us love God and love neighbor...