Luke 10:25-33, 36-37 “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 fell into the hands of 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…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.’”

They say there is no such thing as a stupid question. But there is such thing as asking the wrong question. If you get the question wrong, you can’t get the answer right.

Do you see how Jesus corrected the question posed to him by the “expert in the law”? He subtly shifted the question from “Who is my neighbor?” to “What does it look like to act like a good neighbor to others?”

The first question is an attempt to justify myself. And we would like to defend ourselves. The problem is, we have no business trying to defend our failure to love others and show mercy when the opportunity has presented itself. We will never save ourselves by defending our failure to love our neighbor.

The second question helps us identify our sin more quickly. It leads us to see our lack of love, repent of it, and confess it. It keeps us from the horrible, deadly mistake of trying to justify ourselves.

Because we cannot justify ourselves. Because we cannot and do not love our neighbor like God demands. Only Jesus can justify us by living the life of love we don’t. Only Jesus can justify us by taking the blame and assuming the fault for our loveless neglect. Only Jesus can justify us by dying in our place and paying for our guilt. Only Jesus can justify us by forgiving our sins and reconciling us to God.

That is where Jesus wanted to lead the expert in the law with this honest look at how you love your neighbor. Get the question right, and we will stop asking, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Who is my neighbor?” “How can I justify myself?”

Instead we will ask, “Why haven’t I loved my neighbor more?” “How can I escape the penalty I deserve?” “Where can I find a Savior to deliver me from my guilt?”

Then Jesus will be standing in front of us, the Good Neighbor who loves us, the Savior who justifies us in his mercy.