Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “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 “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’

36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.

Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

Luke 10:25-37 CSB

OVERTIME

Jesus loved telling stories, or, as they are often referred to in the Bible, parables. A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. It is rumored that during his earthly ministry Jesus delivered over 250 parables, but we have somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 recorded for us in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

The story above is referred to as the Parable of the Good Samaritan as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. This parable is probably very familiar to many people whether they have spent a lot or a little time in church. On the surface it appears to be a relatively simple story where Jesus is giving an illustration to what is meant by the words "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18), but there is so much more to unpack.

So let's unpack.

The three things we will look at here are:

1. The professional hierarchy of the Jews who worked in the synagogues.
2. The social, political, and spiritual relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans.
3. The not-so-subtle, by often overlooked, command Jesus gives.

The Synagogue Staff

In the early first century any given synagogue generally consisted of a Priest, a Levite, and  Jewish layperson. Here's a quick descriptor of each:

• The Priest - The highest tier. Modern day this would be like the head pastor at a church. Generally the most senior and most authoritative of the crew. Also, more often than not, had the largest paycheck (aka the richest) of the three.
• The Levite - The middle tier. Similar to an associate pastor. Had a good chunk of responsibility, but fell under the authority of the Priest. Took home a modest paycheck (aka the middle class).
• The Layperson - The lowest tier. Like a church volunteer, but a notch or two above that. Did all the things you would imagine an assistant to do. Least authority and lowest paycheck (aka the poorest one).

As Jesus is telling and presents the first two passersby as the Priest and the Levite, you can imagine the lawyer halfway listening assuming that (of course!) the Jewish Layperson is coming next. Jesus had been known to preach about justice for the poor, so who else would be the hero in this story than the good ol' average Joe!

Except, in an shocking turn of events, it's not a Jewish Layperson that saves the day, but a *GASP* Samaritan! In the 21st century it's difficult to fully grasp why this is a shocking thing to say, but let's do our best.

The Samaritan Situation

At the time that Jesus delivered this parable the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other. To understand why they hated each other we have to look back about 550 years. Here's the quick rundown:

• In 930 BC the Kingdom of Israel split in the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah).
• The Northern Kingdom established a new capital at Shechem which was later called Samaria.
• The Southern Kingdom maintained their capital city at Jerusalem.
• In 722 BC the Assyrians conquered Israel, but Judah remained independent.
• In 600 BC the Babylonians conquered everyone and destroyed Jerusalem in the process.
• In 530 BC the Babylonians permitted the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem.
• The Samarians wanted to help, but the Jews refused their help.
• The Samarians, being ethnically Jewish, counted themselves as children of Abraham and believed they had a claim to Jerusalem.
• The Jews believed that, because the Northern Kingdom reestablished a new capital away from Jerusalem (and the temple of God) that they were effectively rejecting God.
• The refusal of the Samaritans help by the Jews led to hostility, oppression, and attempts by the Samaritans to undermine the Jews efforts.
• This hostility continued to brew between the two for the next 550 years even after the Persians conquered Babylon and the Romans conquered Persia.

Imagine a Razorback fan is laying half-dead on the side of the road. First the Arkansas Athletic Director passes by on the other side of the road. Then the head football coach avoids the situation. Just when you're hoping the volunteer assistant baseball coach saves the day, an LSU Tiger steps in and plays the hero!

The story is shocking for a couple reasons. First, you know the Arkansas Athletic Director and Head Football Coach and you can't imagine they'd actually leave someone in that situation. Second, the last person you'd expect (or even want!) to play the hero is a Bayou Bengal! When Jesus asks you which of these three proved to be a neighbor of dying man you, through your gritted teeth, cannot bring yourself to say "The LSU Tiger" so you simply say, "the one who showed mercy to him."

Jesus looks to you and say, "Go and do the same."

Go and do. Sounds like there's a command in there, but what exactly is it?

The Clear Command

Oftentimes when we read this parable (and many of Jesus' parables at that) we have a tendency to get overly figurative. While it does take some level of creative interpretation to apply what we learn in the Bible to our lives today, not everything Jesus said is a simile or a metaphor.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a brilliant story it many ways, but one in particular was that it was not giving the man who attempted to justify his way of life the satisfaction he sought. The assumption here is that this man, who was clearly well versed in the Scriptures, was (most likely) adhering to the laws he quoted based on his interpretation. He asks Jesus, "who is my neighbor?" hoping to hear Jesus say, "well the one who lives next door to you, of course!"

That, however, is not what Jesus said, but it's also not NOT what Jesus said. Do you follow?

This man was seeking justification that he was following the law the right way, but Jesus pushes him further. He challenges the notion that his "neighbor" isn't just his geographical neighbor, but anyone that he crosses paths with! Jesus is not redefining who your neighbor is, he's supplementing the definition.

The point of this story is not to decipher who your neighbor is or isn't, but to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Do this and you will live!