The Expert

The Expert

Luke 10:25-28

Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Luke 10:25 And behold, a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher,

what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the

Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE

LORD YOUR GOD 1WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL,

AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND

YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered

correctly; do this and you will live.”

When I was younger, I worked in the computer engineering field. I applied for a job

outside the company I was working for and needed a recommendation. A former boss

gave me an interesting recommendation. After he said some glowing things about what

I could do technologically, he said that I have a difficult time working with stupid

people. I certainly needed to understand what he was talking about. So, I called him and

asked.

I was told that I have a difficult time working with people who claim to be experts, and

they turn out to know less about their expertise than I did. For example, the company

I was with purchased another company. The computer departments had to be merged

into one. I met the Database administrator. I was told he was an expert. Since they used

a Codasyl database, I asked to see the Schema. The Schema is the definition of the data

and the relationships between data items in the database. It was a simple question. The

database administrator looked at me and said that he had no idea what I was talking

about. How could this expert not know the basics of his job? So, yes, I have a problem

with experts who really know nothing about their expertise.

A lawyer in Jesus’ day was an expert in knowing and interpreting the Torah, the first

five books of the Bible. He would also know how to live by the Law. So, why was he

asking Jesus about the Law. This lawyer could have been a stupid lawyer. Well, not really

because there were educational requirements and proof that a person could be

considered a lawyer.

The question was to see what house of study Jesus belonged to. There was the

conservative religious house and the liberal religious house. There were also groups

inside of Judaism, like the Essenes, who saw things differently. So, which group did

Jesus belong in? That was the question.

Of course, Jesus saw through this and gave a great answer. The answer is something

that we must do today, but I must say many of us fall short. Let me simplify Jesus’

answer to the lawyer, which is found in Luke’s Gospel, chapter ten, verses 25 to 28. If

one says that one obeys the Laws of God, the Torah, then one must act that way

constantly. There is no vacation from God’s Law! Too many people today actually

believe this.

Furthermore, many Christians will say that the Old Testament laws and ways do not

apply to them. They incorrectly believe that Jesus removed this requirement. He did

not! Jesus said that he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. You cannot ignore the

Old Testament because the Laws are difficult to perform. Now, let me take a moment

to tell you that there are different categories of Law. For example, there are many rules

and regulations referring to the animal sacrifice system. Since we don’t sacrifice animals

for the forgiveness of sin, those laws do not apply.

I believe that there are four categories of Laws in the Torah. They are love God, love

neighbor, being Jewish, and the animal sacrifice system. Loving God and loving

neighbor are the two that apply not only to the Jews but to the Christians as well. If the

church fathers did not want us to love God and neighbor, they would not have placed

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in their Bible. Since they did,

they believed that demonstrating an adherence to the Law is important.

You cannot escape the need to live by the Torah laws. Let me repeat that the ones that

directly apply to Christians is the one dealing the loving God and loving neighbor. The

next part of the puzzle is what is the reward for such difficult work? Jesus tells us that

eternal life with God is the result of loving God and neighbor.

What does eternal life mean? The simple answer is that upon death, the soul will travel

to Heaven to spend eternity in the presence of God and Jesus. In Jesus’ day, it was

called “the world to come.” Basically, it is a paradise where only love and peace exists.