Have you had someone test you? Have you had someone attempt to trip you up? Did they pose a tricky question to you? Were they a little smug in asking it? Did they seem to be self-assured that you would be unable to answer them? Were you able to properly respond?
We all experience someone who tries to trip us up at some point in our lives. Some of us face that challenge multiple times. The other person is typically a little smug and often thinks there is no way we can answer them correctly. When we answer them unexpectedly, they are surprised.
Jesus faced the same type of challenge…more than once. In the case of today’s passage, it is an expert in the law, sometimes called a scribe. This person is someone who studied the Jewish or Old Testament law. They read it, copied it, debated it, and interpreted it. They knew the law inside and out. They may have thought of themselves being better than others because of their knowledge.
This expert in the law thought he might trip up Jesus with his question. For there is no statement in the law that says how someone inherits eternal life. But Jesus turns the question around on the expert. When the expert gives the answer the experts agreed upon, Jesus commends him for doing so, then instructs him to go do it.
We can take the same approach Jesus did. We can the turn question back to the questioner. When they answer, we can determine if their answer is correct, and if it is, tell them to go live it. If it isn’t, we can humbly correct them and give them insight they didn’t know they needed. Regardless, rather than falling for the trap, turn it back to the questioner, and give yourself a moment to think.
I pray we all take time to think. I pray we do not fall into the trap a smug person lays for us. I pray each one of us will follow Jesus’ example when someone is testing us. Take time to think. Turn the question around. Follow Jesus’ example. Provide unexpected insight.
Luke 10:25 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Marty Pressey 