Evening star., 1922-12-09

lectical ability OF the Christ. who
turned the tables upon the brilliant
expounder of the Scriptures. who was
q recognized master of all the Jewish
to entanzle Jesus with his hypocriti-
cal question.
The hostile Pharisees were hound.
Ing the Lord. and the effort of the
lawyer. whose duty was altogether
different than that Of = modern law
yer; to draw the Master into q debate.
with the hope of entangling Him. was
q part of their program to destroy
the prestige and power Of jesus with
men. His questions proved that they
had selected one Of their ablest men.
who was a past master in the art of
lawyer addressed Jesus as Teacher
but he did not deceive the Christ. who
detected his insinceri;y in his ad-
dress and question as to how he could
obtain eternal life" II he had been
sincere, like the rich young man who
Master would have given him q direct
answer. The Lord appeared to have
fallen into the snare. when He an
swered the question with another one.
that gave the lawyer opportunity to
reveal his knowledge Of the Scrip
lures, when Jesus asked. How read
est thou?"
Some have suggested that Christ
guided him by a series Of questions.
which are not recorded, to unite the
detached portions Of Scriptures taken
from Deuteronomy 6.S and Leviticus
1918. in his answer: While possibly
correct. yet there exists enough prob
ability to favor the view that Jesus
knew that the lawyer would be forced
to reply as he did IL he were posted
In the teachings OF the Scriptures.
The first quotation was taken from
rl 30
rolls Of vel!um which every Jew car
ried on his person in the "phylac-
teries." that were then bound on their
arms or foreheads. His selection Of
the other would indicate that he rec
ognized the fact that religion had a
side. Jesus approved OF the lawyers
summary OF the law. The lawyer had
looked for criticism. but the Masters
approval was unexpected. There was
a sharp thrust that revealed to him
that Christ knew that he had failed
assuming the authority. which He
frequently did. said to him: This do
and thou shalt live"
Instead of catching Jesus in trap.
the lawyer had been mastered by
the Lord in the very realm that he
was something in the words spoken
or the manner of the Christ that
made clear to the lawyer that the
Master knew of his defective prac-
tice. In an effort to justify himself
he Immediately seized upon the only
an Interpretation and asked one of
the greatest social questions OF the
ages. who is my neighbor" Al
though the lawyer was without doubt
a high type of Jewish thinker. he ap-
parently realized by the Masters ap-
i
what the law taught that there was
a wide difference between Christ's
Of social obligations and
his own. Probably all the Jews Of
tina: time considered a neighbor
from the standpoint OF nearness of
Dor to them was largely a person Of
Hebrew speech and sympathy. 1t
was in answer to the lawyers ques-
ton as to who is my neighbor that
Jesus told the story Of the Good
which outlined the prin-
cinles of Christ's social program.
The story carries its own lesson
and needs no Interpretation. 1t re-
vcals the attitude that men take in
their relations to one another. 1t
shows that Jesus did not consider that
a mans religious duty was complete
by his profession of love for God un-
less he proved it by love for his fell
,ow-man. The lawyer had outlined
with an inerrant instinct the funda-
mental and elementary needs OF hu-
The Master saw that life
and religion were alike in their rela-
and that the dominant ele-
ment in all human relationships is
love. It was because He saw the
close relation that existed between a
mans profession and his practice that
He said to the lawyer. This" not
these, do" and live. He tried to re-
move the spirit of injustice and in
difference to ones neighbor, whom He
can reach and help. He lifted the
barriers of country and creed as He
traced from the germinal principle of
the law the fundamental principle of
human brotherhood. which is the
of many Of our modern
and charities.
He painted the spirit Of injustice
that robs men. not only on the Jericho
road. but in excessive charges for
food. fuel and the necessities Of life.
Public spirit condemns and would put
in prison men for practicing in COM
mercial life today rebates. in refer
ence to freiEhts. that were once con-
legitimate. The writer re-
calls a battle that was fought in the
early days of the world war between
the army of the Turkish empire and
the Arabs for the possession Of the
latter's camels near the hill Of the
robbers on the road going down from
Jerusalem to Jericho. q short dis
tance from the traditional site Of the
Good Samaritan inn. The Arabs con-
sidered that the soldiers were rob-
bers. 1t brought back wildly the
Masters story. Jesus would oppose
all forms Of Injustice that cheat and
defraud men Of their rights and prop
erty. There are too many men in the
world today. and some nations. whose
attitude toward their neighbor is that
vi social injustice. wnich is antago-
nistic to love. We would never per-
form an injustice If all our actions
were controlled by love.
In the conduct Of the priest and
kevite we see = spirit Of cold indiffer-
ence. These men, who had completed
their religious duties. were on their
way home. going down from Jeru-
salem to Jericho. whore many con-
These men. who had been consecrated
to help and aid the poor and weak,
saw the poor mans need and, for rea-
sons not stated. passed by on the
other side. While no word Of con-
demnation escaped the lips Of Christ.
the world has long since condemned
them for their spirit Of Indifference
They have been rightly coupled
ever since" says Fosdick. with the
as supporters Of wrong in
.he world" Jesus condemns all who
10 not take their stand with Him in
The battles for the control Of society
naa He is h fhti1s s.f.n as The s friend Of
be neutral in the conflict between
for the good and true, by trying to be
neutral, We will be ranked with the
priest and Levite who were Indifferent
to their social obligation. I
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