The Lord shares the well known parable of the Good Samaritan after a lawyer asked the Lord what he should to inherit eternal life. Jesus rightly answered that one must love God with all one's heart, might, mind, and strength, and  "love thy neighbor as thyself."

The lawyer asks "Who is my neighbor?" And, Jesus then shares the parable of the Good Samaritan.

One thing that struck me is a little piece of commentary in verse 29 about how the lawyer asks the question:

29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

The author of this book in the New Testament added this little commentary about the motive of the man asking the Lord the question: He wanted to justify himself.

Now, you may wonder why this is important. What caught my eye is the use of the word "justify". In the Greek New Testament, this word is a very loaded term.

The word Justify, as used throughout much of the New Testament comes from a word:

This is often interpreted as "being righteous". But, it has a legal connotation that is so important in the gospel. Being "justified" means to be "acquitted". Paul speaks of how Jesus' grace "justifies" us- or acquits us. We are guilty-- all of us-- but His sacrifice gets us acquitted of the crime. He pays the penalty.

Looking back the setting of the parable, the lawyer, well versed in the law, seeks to acquit himself of any guilt or responsibility by sophistry, by talking or reasoning his way out of it. But, Jesus' parable cuts through all of that.

I could write much more on this topic, but I am out of time.

There is much at work in the details of the scriptures.

My boys and I are in a band-- Atlas Falling---. And, we are playing at Moo(n)Ray Espresso in Duvall this weekend. We'll start at 7pm and do about a 7 or eight song set. I hope to see you there!

Here is a shot from my office while I was working this morning. I was listening to the Silversun Pickups.

I was reading this on the bus this morning, and it was such an uplifting message from the Savior (3 Nephi 9:22):

  22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.

It is remarkable to find such a concise and complete description of Christ, His mission, and our responsibility, all in one short verse.