In Saint Luke, tenth chapter, twenty-fifth to thirty-seventh verses, we have mercy spoken of by one who understood all the divine attributes, as most indispensable in fulfilling the law of Love, and as a key to the Life eternal.
The parable whereby the Master illustrates this great fact is given to silence a contentious lawyer, who thinks to confuse Jesus by his questions or tempt him into some misstatement and thereby catch him in error. Jesus was not deceived by plausible argument or seemingly innocent questions.
With that sweet yet lofty dignity which characterizes all our Master's sublime sayings, he replied to the lawyer's question, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" by another question; namely, "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" The lawyer, evidently well versed in the letter, quickly replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." Jesus said, "Thou hast answered right: this do and thou shalt live;" but not willing to let the matter rest there, and wishing to justify himself for not having obeyed the divine demands, the lawyer asked the momentous question, "Who is my neighbor?" which received its reply in Jesus' great exposition of divine mercy, known as the parable of the Good Samaritan, which classes mercy first among the divine attributes, and nearest Love—Love being God, and thus proving mercy to be inseparable from the divine law of loving one's neighbor as one's self, and indispensable to this law.
