Luke 10:29

Willing. That is, the lawyer “wished to,” or “determined to,” justify himself before the bystanders.

Justify himself. Like the rich young ruler (Matt. 19:16-22), this lawyer was not satisfied with the Pharisaic concept of righteousness (see DA 497). Like the rich young ruler, doubtless aware of a lack in his life that, unconsciously, he felt Jesus could supply. But like Nicodemus (see on John 3:2, 3), he was reluctant to admit the fact even to himself. Therefore, partly as a means of evading his inner conviction, he proceeded to “justify himself” by making it appear that there were major difficulties in actually loving one’s fellow men (see DA 498).

Who is my neighbour? See on Matt. 5:43. In the Greek the stress is on the pronoun. The purpose of this question was to parry conviction and to vindicate self (DA 498). When a man brings up quibbling questions to which he obviously knows, or could know, the answers, it is usually evident that he is under conviction (cf. John 4:18-20) and is casting about for some reason or excuse for not doing what conscience tells him he should do. In the thinking of the lawyer, heathen and Samaritans were excluded from the category of “neighbour”; the only question lay in the problem as to which of the fellow Israelites he was to consider as “neighbours.”