Originally Posted by bowhunter86
Originally Posted by CNC
Why do you think Jesus would have asked the law expert…..”How do you read it?”……if everything was meant to be taken literally…..Is Jesus not asking the man the same thing as….. “How does it speak to you personally?”.....Wasnt giving room for personal interpretation exactly what Jesus was doing??

I’m assuming that question is directed at me?

I hope all I say makes sense, there’s several things I’d like to point out…. I think the first thing to realize is who Jesus was talking to. The lawyer was an “expert” in mosaic law and there are ulterior motives behind his question. Jesus, being who he is, knew this from the start. His asking the lawyer what his interpretation is doesn’t imply any basis for personal interpretation. This especially applies to the law. Jesus intent behind asking how he read it was to lead him into the parable that followed. The lawyers answer revealed a problem of interpretation the scribes and Pharisees had.

The problem was that they believed their neighbor to be the righteous alone, and all else to be the enemy. The lawyers interpretation of the law was correct, he summed up the requirement of the law, but the parable that follows revealed he was falling short of fully understanding it. What he failed to realize was that he, and every one of us, are incapable of fulfilling that requirement to God’s standard. Jesus revealed the lawyer’s self-righteousness fell short… as does us all. But through faith in the perfection and finished work Jesus provides, his righteousness is imparted to us. The Lord’s intention was for the lawyer to realize the error in his interpretation. That he stands condemned, and that he’s in desperate need of a savior.

I hope that makes sense, I’m not the best at explaining things.

Was just about to type that. Jesus knew that no one was capable of living those verses, we all need Jesus. It must be a study in a lot of Churches this summer. It was our Sunday school lesson a couple weeks ago.