And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, 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 neighbour as thyself.
And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Classification: Reversal of human judgment, as to just and unjust
Historical Content: The road in the parable (the road from Jerusalem to Jericho) was well known to be dangerous. It was called the "Way of Blood" or "The Bloody Way" because of its reputation for lurking robbers.
Samaritans and Jews had been at odds with each other for a long time. Mischief and prejudices were committed on both sides. The idea that a Samaritan could do something good and be considered good by Jesus was probably too much for the lawyer to handle.
Priests and Levites were supposed to be students of the law and gospel. This parable showed the hypocrisy that, even though no one really spoke it out loud, had to have been well known. I read one idea that maybe the two "scriptural scholars" were so concerned with their own cleanliness that touching a dead body would just be a huge mistake for them.
Here is what wikipedia says about this parable
Interpretation: The two people who should have helped the man as he lay dying, the ones who should have known better, did not help due to fear for their own lives, worry about time commitments or possibly little care for another human life. The one who all would assume to be the one to pass by uncaring turns out to be the merciful one, the one to carry the man (physical exertion), take him to an inn and pay for him (monetary exertion) and bind the wounds and care for him (emotional exertion). This is the one who would inherit eternal life. God is no respecter of man. It doesn't matter what color, male or female. God is looking for the one who would give all to help his fellow humans survive this world.
Application: We are all neighbor, friend and family to each other. The Lord doesn't break us down in ward boundaries, country boundaries, or family boundaries. He sees us all as His and wants us all to help each other. If we want eternal life then we have to look outside of ourselves and just help one another. I think there's a lot of us who would rather end up near dead on the side of the road before we ask for help. We need to be mindful of each other's problems and reach out before that happens. One could say, "That's a treacherous road (smoking, drinking, gambling, any other vice) and he should have known better than to go down that road," And maybe he shouldn't have but he did. No matter how frustrated we get with other's stubbornness we still have to be willing to help when they can no longer help themselves.
Martin Luther King Jr. "On the one hand we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside; but that will only be an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."
One last thought I have for this parable: I love the line at the end of verse 35 that says, "whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee." I look forward to the day when He comes again and hope He does not find me lacking.
 |
| Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jan Wijnants, 1670 |
"Doctrine of Inclusion" by M. Russell Ballard
No comments:
Post a Comment