Luke 10:28 "And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

The lawyer answered the question very well. But why does Jesus respond the way He does? Why doesn’t He say something specific about believing in Him?
The fact is that what Jesus tells this lawyer is a good lesson for us even today. Salvation occurs when a person responds in obedience to the message of the gospel. Now, if a person loves someone, they will want to please that person. And, in order to please God, we obey His commands. So if we love Him, we listen to Him.
What Jesus is doing here is building a bridge from the law to the gospel. Those who truly loved Yahweh among the Jews of His time recognized Christ and embraced Him.
In our day, the second commandment, the golden rule, has been taken as an equivalent for all that Jesus and the Scriptures teach. Though loving one’s neighbor is vital, leaving out the first and greatest commandment is catastrophic. Loving our neighbors without loving the Lord our God will not make us good people. It will just deceive us into thinking we are ok. And we will die in our sins.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this country we call America! It is still free. We may still sing Your praises in public. Thank You for that privilege! Thank You for all those that You helped to give their lives to keep us free. Thank You for working good in the lives of our forebears to begin this nation. All praises to You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:27 "So he answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

The lawyer made a direct quote. He offered no commentary. He knew Jesus wanted him to reveal his interpretation of this passage. But, he wanted to know what Jesus thought first.

This man was actually one of the smartest of Jesus’ questioners. And yet, his lack of understanding of the idea of loving one’s neighbor is disappointing.

Heavenly Father, thank You for making this world. And, thank You for making it the way You did. We get hung up on this world, and not You. But the true privilege is not to live in Your world, but to know You in it. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:26 "He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

Jesus is literally asking this man what he thinks the law has to say about eternal life. Why? This man was a lawyer, an expert in Jewish law, and was very familiar with the Scriptures. Jesus wanted to start out by getting this man to reveal his stance towards the truth.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your truth, and for Your faithfulness and patience with us. You are love, and You are justice. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:25 "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

The question of questions! Notice the wording here, how may I ‘inherit’ eternal life. This lawyer understood that eternal life would have to be granted by lot. It is not something to be purchased. It can’t be ‘found’, but must instead be given.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus! We never would know the truth or have hope of life eternal without Christ. Thank You, Father, for Your perfect plan for this world. You are so wise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:24 "for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

Jesus makes it very clear that He is the promised Messiah. To get to be there as the Chosen One of Yahweh is revealed and present in person was truly special. David, Daniel, Ezekiel, or Josiah would have given much to be in the shoes of Mathew, Peter, James, and John. This just serves to highlight how blessed we are today to know all that we know about God through His Word. And, to be closer to the Second Coming of Christ is a blessing as well.

Notice the seeing and hearing. Many times Jesus quotes the Old Testament sources and says that Israel would not see or hear though having eyes and ears. Here He draws a parallel in that there were those in the past who would have loved to get to use their eyes and ears for this.

Heavenly Father, You are amazing beyond all that we can ask or think! To know You and love You and serve You is so fulfilling. We live a life that is settled and at peace with all things and every person when we live in Your will. You bring us to a place of active contentment. We do not become non-existent when we are submitted to You, we become whole. To serve the Sovereign of all is a privilege beyond compare. Thank You for the blessings of righteousness in Christ! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:23 "Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see;"

The disciples had every reason to be thankful. So many would have loved to be in their shoes. And, though we often fail to recognize it, we too are very blessed. The Lord has given us His very Spirit in our hearts.

Heavenly Father, we can never praise and thank You enough. But we shall live our lives in that endeavor, and to that end. You are beyond all our understanding. We know we can trust You and that You care for us. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:22 " All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."

Jesus is still praying in this verse even though it doesn’t seem like it. There are several examples in Scripture of the Trinity speaking and this is one of them. Christ, as God the Son, is making a statement here that He could not make if He were not God. To speak on behalf of God in this way is His prerogative. And, what He says is very interesting.
Normally in the gospels, and throughout Scripture, we hear of the will of the Lord in general. But, here we have a specific. This shows us that God the Son has a role in choosing those who have the truth revealed to them. And, in the previous verse Jesus had just said that it was God the Father Who was pleased to reveal things to the followers of Christ.
So, we are seeing the working of the Triune God, and Jesus is a Person of the Trinity. As God, Jesus had chosen to reveal Himself to His disciples.

Heavenly Father, it is the joy of our heart to bring glory to You. As the One Who made all of heaven and earth, You are the natural recipient of all the praise. You are worthy for You are Altogether Wonderful. I will keep Your praise in my heart and my mind as I live in the world that You have made. You have given us this place in which to live and breathe and do our work of the day. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:21 “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.”

The men that Jesus chose to be His disciples were not, by and large, very educated or skilled advisors. His prayer here reflects upon the previous verses. The disciples were given great authority to carry out the will of the Lord. Whereas, the elite of the day, those who thought themselves worthy, had mostly rejected Christ.

This is an example of God the Son submitting to the will of God the Father. The Godhead — Elohim — which is all three Persons of the Trinity, had determined the will of God long before. Christ rejoiced in the glory and beauty of that plan. This is so important because the real danger is to think that we know better than God. Jesus, the very Son of God Who could have made a change, did not.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your glorious plan and purpose for the ages. We can only stand back in awe as we see all that You have determined. You are so wise and just! You are faithful and true! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

   This is quite an important principle, and it divides whole denominations today. Power and authority in the spiritual realm is given to the followers of Christ for the furtherance of the gospel. It is not for personal glory. It is not for a sense of security. It is for the freedom to continue to be what we are to be without the evil one and his forces being able to stand in our way.

   Thus, our joy, glory, and motivation in life is to be the fact that we are indeed in the book. We know that He has given to us eternal life and we have a home in heaven. This is to be our abiding joy. That the powers of darkness are subject to Him with Whom we have to do is an attendant circumstance that brings glory to the Lord Jesus, not to us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us all that we need to live for You in this present time. You have guided and shown us the truth through Your Word. We rejoice! To know You and Your truth is the great delight and blessing of our lives. You are so gracious and kind! We love You and praise You forever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

   Though Jesus’ reference to serpents and scorpions may have had some literal fulfillment with the animals by this name, the significance here is spiritual. Serpents especially remind us of the devil, and the allusion to scorpions is also an allusion to spiritual powers of darkness.

   Christ has given His disciples, both then and now, complete authority in the spiritual realm. In other words, the devil does not have the power to spiritually posses, oppress, or otherwise hurt, a child of God who is relying on the Lord Jesus. Believers can rest in the authority of Christ, knowing He has power over the enemy.

Heavenly Father, thank You for victory in Jesus Christ! We know that we can rely upon Him in all things. He is greater than this world and all of its evil. You are worthy of all the praise and thanks! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.