The Lawyer's and Savior's Questions

When the lawyer asked the Savior what he had to do to gain eternal life, He responded by asking what the law said.  The lawyer answered correctly to love God and one’s neighbor.  When Jesus told him that this was right, the lawyer asked, “And who is my neighbor?”  Jesus replied by giving the parable of the Good Samaritan, and at the end of this He asked the lawyer, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” (Luke 10:25-36)  I find it interesting that Christ didn’t directly answer the man’s question, but He did answer it.  The story clearly teaches that one should help even the Samaritans, and if the Jews were to serve and help even this group whom they despised, then who wasn’t their neighbor? 

               It also seems to me that the Savior answered the question that the lawyer really should have asked.  The man wanted to know who his neighbor was and he was hoping to “justify himself.”  I take that to mean that he wanted to be able to rationalize away his behavior towards some groups of people, believing they didn’t really count in this category of his neighbor.  The question he should have asked was this: “How do I be a good neighbor?”  That is what the story teaches in a powerful way, and the Savior essentially asked him that question at the end of the parable, basically saying, “Which of these three should you be like?”  The lawyer came to the Savior try to tempt Him, but He wasn’t interested in getting lost in some debate about how the laws of God ranked in importance.  His purpose was to challenge this man who clearly knew the law to actually be a better person.  What we know is certainly important, but Christ is more interested in how we live what we know.  It is not good enough to know who our neighbor is—we must be the kind of neighbor that the Lord expects.   

               I think that we see this same idea in the incredible revelation that we now know of as D&C 93.  In it we learn truths about our existence and immortality.  We learn that we were “in the beginning with the Father” and that we were not created out of nothing by God (v23, 29).  We read that “the glory of God is intelligence” and that we will only obtain a “fullness of joy”’ when our spirits and bodies are not separated (v34, 36).  And yet the Savior wanted more than to simply provide great knowledge to His people; He wanted them to be better.  He went suddenly from the sublime principles of eternity to the practicalities of daily life, telling them “you have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments” and “see that they are more diligent and concerned at home” (v42, 50).  The Lord needs a people who not only knows the great truths of eternity but who also fully live the principles of the gospel in their homes.