Scripture: Luke 10:25-37
25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
Questions
- How did people understand the word neighbor in Jesus’ time and what impact would the parable of the Good Samaritan have on that idea?
- Who are the nearest equivalents in our culture to the Samaritans?
Background
Related Scriptures: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 22:34–40; Mark 12:28–34; Galatians 5:22-26
Neighbor meant “someone with whom one associated with or had something to do with” and in Jesus’ day meant someone who shared religious or cultural identity. The Samaritans and Jews had no associations. They would not have thought of each other as neighbors.
“He [the Lord] teaches that the man going down was the neighbor of no one except of him who wanted to keep the commandments and prepare himself to be a neighbor to every one that needs help. This is what is found after the end of the parable, “Which of these three does it seem to you is the neighbor of the man who fell among robbers?” Neither the priest nor the Levite was his neighbor, but—as the teacher of the law himself answered—“he who showed pity” was his neighbor. The Savior says, “Go, and do likewise” Origen of Alesandria[1]
Reflection
Last week, as my family drove home in the rain, a truck went across the road about 75 yards in front of us and into the ditch on our side of the road. My wife and I reacted by pulling over calling emergency services and looking through the brush for the truck. Thankfully the driver was alright, and the truck could be driven out of the ditch. I am reflecting on that incident this week as I read the parable of Good Samaritan. In one sense I followed the parable and called for help trying to tend to a stranger I thought was injured the way I would for a friend or family. But while in one sense I certainly did follow the pattern Jesus wants, my situation does not fit the radical nature of the parable. I was a few minutes from home; the Samaritan was in a foreign culture. I was relatively safe; the Samaritan was in danger of being robbed and murdered. I was responding to an anonymous situation; the Samaritan was helping someone who hated him. My help did not cost me anything except the discomfort of wet clothes; the Samaritan paid the strangers’ expenses.
We all know the Good Samaritan; it is Jesus’ essential story for demonstrating a love of God and neighbor in the world. But I find it is often difficult to fully appreciate just how far the Samaritan goes to demonstrate love for the stranger in need. There is no reason the Samaritan should have called the man on the road “neighbor”. The Samaritan was a foreigner, a stranger himself, in a dangerous and hostile place. Yet he manages to help the one in need for no other reason than the man was in need and the Samaritan could help. The Torah expert’s question “who is my neighbor”, is meant create categories of “people I must help”, and “people I can avoid helping”. This man has spent his life reading Scripture and listening to various people interpret its meaning. His question is not from ignorance but as someone who is wondering how Jesus classifies insiders and outsiders. Jesus’ parable destroys this idea and says anyone who you can show love to is your neighbor. It does not matter that the Samaritan was a stranger, or potentially in danger himself, let alone that he did not know the man. The Samaritan was in a place to show love to the man in need and so that man was his neighbor.
Here I think it is worth interjecting that Galatians tells us that love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Paul is saying that being in the presence of the Holy Spirit produces love for others. If we look at Jesus’ parable from that perspective we see the religious leaders showing less connection to God’s presence than the hated Samaritan who does not even worship in the right way. Jesus’ words are an affront to the Torah expert whose priority is not dwelling in God’s presence but sorting through God’s commands. Jesus is saying that the person who dwells in God’s presence is the one who sees each person as God sees them. The person who has truly spent time with God is the one who has learned to love others, even when they consider you an outsider. Jesus is telling us, the point of spending time with God is to make us more like God and we demonstrate we have spent time with God in how we respond to the people around us. Our time with God produces eyes to see the person who needs help and the willingness to provide help. Time with God allows us to give up our own time, energy, and resources to work for those who need help. I am sure the Samaritan would have left the inn bloody and tired—not to mention poorer—and he regained nothing for his trouble. But in his efforts he showed he was dwelling in God’s presence. This is the kind of sacrifice Jesus talks about when he says, “Go and do likewise”. Jesus expects that those of us who are filled with his Spirit will look for ways to minister to the world around us.
So now we ask, who is lying in the road today? Who are the people that you would consider the outsider. Who are the people you would be tempted to pass by like the religious elites in the story. This is one of the major themes Jesus wants us to consider, who is the person or people you would not stop to help. What are the circumstances under which you would not stop to help someone. What is your boundary of neighbor.
[1] Arthur A. Just, ed., Luke, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture 179.
Squinting in the Light 
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