Category: New Testament
Scriptures:
Luke 10:25-10:37
Luke 10:25-10:37
25 Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “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.”
28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion,
34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’
36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?”
37 He said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Commentary
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is used as an answer to a question posed to Jesus by a lawyer, (an expert in the Mosaic Law. The lawyer’s question was, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The wording of the question gives us some insight into where the scribe’s heart was spiritually, as he was making the assumption that man must do something to obtain eternal life.
Jesus answers the question using what is called the Socratic method; i.e., answering a question with a question: “He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?’" By referring to the Law, Jesus is directing the man to an authority they both would accept as truth. In this way, Jesus avoids an argument and puts Himself in the position of evaluating the scribe’s answer instead of the scribe evaluating His answer. The scribe answers Jesus’ question by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, (much as Jesus had done in Matthew 22 and Mark 12).
Jesus affirms that the lawyer’s answer is correct, but tells the scribe that the kind of love described in those verses requires more than an emotional feeling. The scribe knew that he could not possibly keep that law, and that there would always be people in his life that he could not love. He tries to limit the law’s command by asking, “who is my neighbor?” The word “neighbor” in the Hebrew means “someone that you have an association with,” which would allow the lawyer to assume that it was confined to fellow Jews only. Jesus then gives the parable to teach the scribe of his duty is to his neighbor.
Because the good man in the parable was a Samaritan, Jesus is drawing a strong contrast between those who knew the law and those who actually followed the law in their lifestyle and conduct. Jesus asked, “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" Because of his contempt for "foreigners," the scribe could not bring himself to say the word “Samaritan”, andso, referred to the “good man” as “he who showed mercy.” Jesus then tells the lawyer to “go and do likewise,” meaning that he should start living what the law tells him to do.
By ending the encounter in this manner, Jesus is telling us to follow the Samaritan’s example in our own conduct; i.e., we are to show compassion and love for those we encounter in our everyday activities. We are to love others regardless of their race or religion. The lessons of the Parable of the Good Samaritan are three-fold:
1. We are to set aside our prejudice and show love and compassion for others.
2. Our neighbor is anyone we encounter; we are all creatures of the creator and we are to love all of mankind as Jesus has taught.
3. Keeping the law in its entirety with the intent to save ourselves is an impossible task; we need a savior, who is Jesus.