Rabbi, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Luke 10 tells an early teaching episode in Jerusalem where Yeshua speaks with a lawyer or scribe.

Luke (10:25-28) tells the story in the following words: “Rabbi, what must I do to get [literally, ‘inherit’] eternal life?”

Yeshua answers the man, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read what you find there?”

The man responds by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself.”

The scribe, has neatly combined two famous “You shall love” Torah passages (Deut 6:5 – part of the Shema, and Lev 19:18 – quoted by the Apostle Paul in Gal 5:14), a combination that was already known before the time of Yeshua.

Yeshua replies, “You have answered right. Do this and you will live.”

As Luke records this story the scribe then asked Yeshua, “Who is my neighbor” and in Yeshua’ answer he told the story well-known to all as “the Good Samaritan” — the story of a Samaritan who helped a Jew who had fallen among thieves on the road to Jericho.

In the Sermon on the Mount there is a long discussion by Yeshua of his interpretation of the Torah and it ends up also by discussing the “who is my neighbor” question (cf. Matt 5:43-48).

It is possible then that here, Yeshua gave a similar answer to his Sermon on the Mount speech, as both ‘answers’ or teachings end up in the same place.

Consider that the scribe has called Yeshua, ‘Rabbi’ ( that is, my teacher) and thus is seeking Yeshua’s explanation of how his teaching fits with the Almighty’s divine instructions (Torah).

See then how Yeshua may have continued to answer the scribe by turning to those standing around who have heard the conversation of the scribe and the one he calls rabbi:

“Do not think that I have come to do away with the Torah and the Prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to strengthen what they teach” (Matt 5:17). He follows this with a summary of  five vital, ethical commandments.

Then he talks about “whoever relaxes one of these least commandments and teaches others to do so,” and then speaks of “whoever does them and teaches them.”

The first kind of person will be called least in the Kingdom of God while the second type of person will be called great in the Kingdom of God.

In the first instance, Yeshua means that amongst his followers, his disciples whom have already ‘entered’ the Kingdom of God, those who have a reverence for all that the Torah is meant to teach, are the ones who will be respected.

In is instructive to read these scriptures in the order below (suggested by Prof David Flusser):

1. Luke 10:25-28

2. Matthew 5:17-48

3. Luke 10:29-37

For your convenience, quoted here from the Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern:

Luke 10: 25 An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap him by asking, "Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?" 26 But Yeshua said to him, "What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?" 27 He answered, "You are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself." 28 "That's the right answer," Yeshua said. "Do this, and you will have life."

Matt 5:17 "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah -- not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven! 21 "You have heard that our fathers were told, `Do not murder,'l and that anyone who commits murder will be subject to judgment. 22 But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, `You good-for-nothing!' will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, `Fool!' incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom! 23 So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift. 25 If someone sues you, come to terms with him quickly, while you and he are on the way to court; or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer of the court, and you may be thrown in jail! 26 Yes indeed! I tell you, you will certainly not get out until you have paid the last penny. 27 "You have heard that our fathers were told, `Do not commit adultery.'m 28 But I tell you that a man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye makes you sin, gouge it out and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom. 30 And if your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom. 31 "It was said, `Whoever divorces his wife must give her a get.' 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and that anyone who marries a divorcee commits adultery. 33 "Again, you have heard that our fathers were told, `Do not break your oath,' and `Keep your vows to ADONAI.' 34 But I tell you not to swear at all -- not `by heaven,' because it is God's throne; 35 not `by the earth,' because it is his footstool;p and not `by Yerushalayim,' because it is the city of the Great King. 36 And don't swear by your head, because you can't make a single hair white or black. 37 Just let your `Yes' be a simple `Yes,' and your `No' a simple `No'; anything more than this has its origin in evil. 38 "You have heard that our fathers were told, `Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you wrong. On the contrary, if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left cheek too! 40 If someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well! 41 And if a soldier forces you to carry his pack for one mile, carry it for two! 42 When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something from you, lend it to him. 43 "You have heard that our fathers were told, `Love your neighbors -- and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. 46 What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! 47 And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! 48 Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Luke 10: 29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Yeshua, "And who is my `neighbor'?" 30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: "A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side. 33 "But a man from Shomron who was traveling came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 So he went up to him, put oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he set him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took out two days' wages, gave them to the innkeeper and said, `Look after him; and if you spend more than this, I'll pay you back when I return.' 36 Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the `neighbor' of the man who fell among robbers?" 37 He answered, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Yeshua said to him, "You go and do as he did."

Yeshua is teaching us that the Torah tells you more than at first it seems to be telling you. The outward prohibition reveals only the end danger of a process of ethical deterioration.

That is why Jesus calls ‘great’ the man in his Kingdom who upholds them and ‘little’, (or least) the man who makes “little” of them.

Jesus appears to be informing us that  behind each given commandment there lies an ethical and psychological danger or need which must first be faced before the outward and final prohibition even comes within the range of possibility.

To sum up the way Jesus probes the conscience as he teaches the Torah:

“Murder is terrible but beware! Anger is almost worse and must be dealt with before

it bears the deadly fruit of murder.

Adultery is terrible but long before it takes place outwardly it takes place in the

heart.

Swearing falsely to a neighbor’s hurt shows how dangerous is lying but in any case

swearing itself has become meaningless as a protection against lying so let a man’s word

be simply Yes or No.

People callously say “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” but, like murder, a man must

learn to bite his tongue and not increase evil by taking revenge. Two wrongs do not a

right make.

The Torah says that you are to love your neighbor as yourself. Popularly people

like to add, “Ah yes, and that means you should hate the one who hates you!” Turn this

around, says Jesus, and consider even your enemy your neighbor! Pray for him and do

good to him.” 

Paraphrased from 'Jesus, Rabbi & Lord' (Chapter 16) – by Dr Robert L Lindsey