Spiritual pride that seeks to justify oneself

Spiritual pride that seeks to justify oneself

 

 

 

 

 

“A certain lawyer stood up to test Jesus, saying, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus replied, ‘What is written in the Law? 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.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’ But the man, wanting to justify himself, and asked, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. and seeing him, took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him 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, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?" He replied, ‘The one who showed mercy on him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise’” (Luke 10:25-37).

 

 

(1)    Today, I intend to meditate on the passage from Luke 10:25-37, dividing it into two main parts:

 

(a)    First, Luke 10:25-28.  When meditating on this passage, I focused on two key statements: (a1) “A certain lawyer” came to test Jesus, asking, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 25), and (a2) Jesus' reply: “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live” (v. 28.  Then you will live" (v. 28).

 

(i)                 First, when “a certain teacher of the law” asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” in an attempt to test Him, Jesus responded, “What is written in the law?  How do you read it?” (v. 26). This made me wonder why Jesus asked him that question.

 

·         To Jesus’ question, the teacher of the law 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’” (v. 27).  This answer is based on Deuteronomy 6:5 (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”) and Leviticus 19:18 (“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord”).

 

-          Interestingly, in Matthew 22:35-40, we see that among the Pharisees (v. 34), “a certain lawyer” tested Jesus by asking, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (vv. 35-36).  Jesus answered him thus: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (vv. 37-39).

 

·         Ultimately, the answer of “a certain teacher of the law” (Lk. 10:25, 27) aligns with Jesus' answer (Mt. 22:37-39).  That is, this answer—the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses (v. 36)—was the lawyer’s response that one must keep this greatest commandment to gain eternal life (Lk. 10:25-27).  Therefore, Jesus told him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live” (v. 28).

 

-          But could that teacher of the law truly love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love his neighbor as himself, just as he had correctly answered?  Could he truly practice what he had rightly answered, as Jesus commanded?

 

n   Ultimately, it seems Jesus' intention is to teach that eternal life cannot be obtained by perfectly keeping and practicing the law.  This is the limitation of humanity.  Human limitation means that no one can keep every single law perfectly without breaking a single one throughout their entire life.  Rather, the law makes humans realize they are sinners: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin” (Rom. 3:20).

 

#    In conclusion, I believe Jesus is implying the truth that eternal life is not gained by keeping and obeying the law, but solely through faith in Jesus Christ: “I know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ ...” (Gal 2:16), “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn. 17:3).

 

(b)    Secondly, it is the passage from Luke 10:29-37.  When meditating on this passage, I focused on three key points: (b1) The passage where the lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” in order to justify himself (v. 29), (b2) Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan (vv. 30-35), and (b3) Jesus' question, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?” (v. 36), the lawyer's answer, “The one who showed mercy to him” (v. 37), and Jesus' instruction, “Go and do likewise” [Go and do likewise] (v. 37).

 

(i)                 First, when meditating on the statement that the lawyer “wanted to justify himself” (v. 29), the Greek word “δικαιῶσαι” (dikaiōsai) means self-justification.  This shows a human striving to appear righteous without repenting (Internet). 

 

·         The lawyer sought to uphold his own reputation, to prove or justify to himself that he sufficiently kept the law.  He was pricked by Jesus' words, “Do this, and you will live” (v. 28).  Instead of acknowledging the impossibility of loving all neighbors as himself, he sought to claim he had kept the entire law by narrowing the ‘scope of neighbor.’  This is an attitude of self-justification: “Who is my ‘neighbor’ that I must love? (If only those who meet my standards are neighbors, then I already love them all)” (Internet).

 

-             When I think of this lawyer trying to justify himself, I recall the parable Jesus told “to those who trust in themselves that they are righteous and despise others”: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, and adulterers, nor like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all I get.’  But the tax collector stood at a distance.  He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  I tell you, this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 18:9-14).

 

-             The Greek word “δικαιῶσαι” (dikaiōsai) in the statement that “the lawyer tried to justify himself” (10:29) sharply points out his spiritual pride. Instead of humbly seeking mercy before God, he attempted to defend his own ‘righteousness’ through his deeds and reasoning (Internet).

 

(ii)               Next, in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan (vv. 30-35) for meditation, a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho is attacked by robbers.  Stripped of his clothes and beaten, he is left half-dead on the roadside.  A priest and a Levite, considered the most holy in Jewish society at the time, passed by one after the other. Yet, upon seeing the victim, they “passed by on the other side” (prioritizing the purity laws of the Torah or their own safety over compassion).

 

·            Then a Samaritan, despised by the Jews at that time, appears. He shows overwhelming compassion in three stages: (1) Emotional response: Seeing him, he felt pity (compassion motivating action), (2) First aid: He poured oil and wine on the wounds, bandaged them, then carried him on his own animal to an inn to care for him.  (3) Ongoing responsibility: The next day, he paid the innkeeper two denarii (two days' wages) for the expenses, promising to reimburse any additional costs upon his return.

 

-             The core point of this parable: Jesus shifts the essence of the question posed by the lawyer, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ (identifying the subject), to ‘Whose neighbor will you be?’ (active love) through this parable” (Internet).

 

(iii)             When Jesus asked the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?” (v. 36), the lawyer answered, “The one who showed mercy to him” (v. 37). Why didn't he answer, “The Samaritan”?

 

·            The fact that the lawyer avoided using the word ‘Samaritan’ and instead gave the indirect answer, “The one who showed mercy,” deeply reflects both the historical context of the time and his psychological state.

 

1.        Extreme ethnic hostility and prejudice

 

At that time, Jews despised Samaritans as a mixed-race people and apostates, treating them with utter contempt.  For the lawyer, ‘Samaritan’ was an unclean name; even uttering it directly must have been humiliating and offensive.

 

2.        Unwillingness to acknowledge the contradiction of a ‘Good Samaritan’

 

The lawyer initially posed his question to “justify himself.”  Yet, when the respected Jewish religious leaders (the priest and Levite) became the villains, and the Samaritan—whom he had despised like a dog—emerged as the ‘true neighbor,’ he likely experienced profound psychological shock.  His response reflects a stubborn attitude: while acknowledging the fact that ‘the Samaritan was right,’ he refused to accept the Samaritan's very identity.

 

3.    Reluctant Surrender to Jesus' Question

 

Jesus cornered him by asking, ‘Who became the neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?’ When he could no longer logically deny that the Samaritan was the neighbor, he tried to save face by mentioning only the ‘act (of mercy)’ performed, rather than the Samaritan's ethnicity or name.

 

4.    Emphasizing the Paradoxical Truth

 

Ironically, this answer allows us, the readers of Scripture, to discover an important truth: a neighbor is not defined by ‘bloodline’ or ‘status,’ but is proven by ‘the concrete act of showing mercy’ to the suffering person. (Internet)

 

-             Through this parable, Jesus sought to dismantle the Jews' narrow concept of neighbor—bound by ethnic and racial restrictions—and to show that even a Samaritan, whom they regarded as an enemy, could be a neighbor. Yet this lawyer still held an exclusive attitude toward Samaritans (Hochma).

 

(iv)              Jesus told the lawyer, “Go and do likewise” (v. 37).  As I meditated on this, verse 28 came to mind again: ”You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

 

·            Ultimately, Jesus repeatedly emphasized “doing” (practice) to the teacher of the law.  His intention was not only to make him realize that humans can never perfectly “do” enough to attain eternal life by their own strength, but also to teach him a new way of life: to obtain eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ alone, thereby loving God and loving one's neighbor.

 

-          The Bible declares that eternal life is not earned by our deeds, but that those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, already possess eternal life (1 Jn. 5:12).  This is because we have received Jesus Christ, who is eternal life itself (1:2; 5:20), into our hearts (v. 12). 

 

-          And the Bible says that those who have received Jesus Christ, who is eternal life, into their hearts and possess eternal life (3:14) should love one another as Jesus Christ commanded (v. 23), loving one another as He loved us (Jn. 15:12). 

-          And the Bible declares that loving one another(1 Jn.3:23) according to the commandment of Jesus Christ, who is eternal life (1:2; 5:20), is precisely what God “delights in” (v. 22). 

 

-          And the Bible says, “Whoever keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in them. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (v. 24).  That is, when we love one another according to Jesus Christ's commandment, we come to know through the Holy Spirit given to us by God that we abide in the Lord and the Lord abides in us. 

 

-          And the Bible says that if we abide in the Lord and the Lord abides in us, we will bear much fruit (Jn. 15:5).  What is this “fruit”?  To ask again, what is the “fruit” we bear when we love one another as Jesus loved us, according to the commandment of Jesus Christ, who is eternal life?  I believe this “fruit” has two aspects. 

 

n   These two aspects, this twofold fruit, are becoming like Jesus and also bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  In other words, when we, Jesus' disciples who already possess eternal life through faith in Him, love our Lord God with all our heart, soul, and mind according to His twofold commandment, and thereby love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:37, 39), the twofold fruit we bear is 'partaking of the divine nature' (2 Pet. 1:4). This means that through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, we become more like Jesus, and we also bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). 

 

#   And Scripture tells us that if we bear much fruit, God the Father will be glorified, and we will show that we are Jesus' disciples (v. 8).