What to notice, to consider, and to prayerfully take heed to:
1. What's Up With The Context? Who Is Jesus Speaking To?
To the returning 72 and bystanders, yes, to some hard-hearted self-righteous religious and other Jews. How'd he grab their attention with his story? A priest, a Levite.. and then WHO or what!? And then it's an outsider, it's a hero Samaritan who comes up!
Yes, the Parable story of a kind, generous, selfless Samaritan is precipitated by an answer to a question posed to Jesus by a spiritually blind lawyer. In this case, the lawyer (not a civil or criminal lawyer), is an expert in the Mosaic Law. The lawyer’s question was, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25).
This question provided Jesus with an opportunity to define what His disciples’ relationship should be toward each of their neighbors. The text says that this scribe (lawyer) had put the question to Jesus as a test, but the text does not indicate that there was open hostility in his question. He could have simply been seeking some information to embarrass Christ or make himself look smart.
The wording of the question does, however, give us insight into where the scribe’s heart was spiritually. He was making the assumption that man must DO something TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE. Although this could have been an opportunity for Jesus to give out the bad news (all have sinned..) and then the gospel. One can't get em saved until one first gets em lost (it's true this lawyer was oblivious to the seriousness of his real condition), but Jesus chose a different course and focused on perfectly loving upwards and outwards all of the time. Our relationships and what it means to love thus fulfilling the Law.
Contextual questions to discuss:
The worst thing you could say to a person was You are a demon-possessed Samaritan.
“Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jn 8:48
The Jews hated the Samaritans and you can share about that which will emphasize what Jesus is saying to the Jews.
2. What's The Motivation In Telling This Parable?
Who asks a question that precedes and prompts Christ's story. A lawyer.
The key to this parable.
This Is A Popular But Often Misunderstood Parable.
- It's not primarily about who my neighbor is, it's more about: What must I do to inherit eternal life? And ARE YOU a RIGHTEOUS loving neighbor, or TOWARDS..who will you be a real neighbor to..with lavish tender limitless love (from God, that JC exampled)? Included are enemies (as neighbors)?
- Living kind towords strangers including enemies and others is first a daily prayerful choice.- Yes, this indeed is an illustration, a story about helping someone in need with unusual love (but many have missinterpreted that as Christ's main point). The Top Point Of It Is: Gaining real righteousness -- how exactly does one inherit this eternal life? The (greatest) question and (greatest) answer. That's what both initiated and concluded Christ's story. Jesus spoke about this zoe (eternal) life often, because it was often on the minds of the Jews in that day. "The God-kind of life!"
His illustration is very poignant and memorable. It's a story of lavish limitless love toward a stranger, a so-called enemy.
3. Want To Now Read the Parable?
A certain lawyer stood up to tested Jesus and trip him, to see him condemned (JC what's read ye in the law?), (PrA 10:25 nkjv), “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Lawyer responded with, (vs 27] "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart (Priority 1, go vertical, reminder sandwiches the parable. See Mary sitting at JC feet, but horizontal ppl-ward service is 2ndary), with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" (A recitation that Jews quoted 2xs per day.)
[Lk 10:28 NKJV] And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."
(Lawyer should have been honest, I can't. I'm lost, please forgive me)
[29] But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
(Lwyr wanted to self-justify, maintain the front, his facade, appear righteous RT)
[30] Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded [him], and departed, leaving him half dead.
(It’s a made-up story by JC to drive home a good point. The journey on a very dangerous road from Jerusalem it's downward to Jericho, TRUE. Jerusalem approximates 3,000 feet above sea level and Jericho approximates 900 to 1,000 feet below sea level.
It's a winding, severe and dangerous 4,000 foot drop in seventeen miles. There exists a real road there with frightening precipices that plunge 400 feet down into crevasses, yes very barren, dramatic, and filled with caves and rocks.
The caves and rocks in this area allow for hideouts for robbers and highwaymen. Even four centuries after Christ, this area was a favorite place for Arab highwaymen to rob people and to kill. The pass was known as the pass of Adummim as it's called in Joshua 18:17 and that's related to the Hebrew word for blood. So, it's a “bloody pass,” a familiar yet treacherous journey in a perilous-lonely-area. And so, Jesus casts His story (w/certain man) between Jerusalem down to Jericho and the predictable happened to him. A robber-gang pounced on attacking him.
They didn't just rob him taking his purse/bag, they took everything and stripped him..and left him virtually naked. They beat him. And the term for "beat" here has the idea of repeated blows. They hammered and pummeled him until he was ditched half-dead in critical condition. Was in the process of shutting down, dying, was already half-way there. There could be a long time before anybody came along and there was no guarantee that someone would find him or rescue him. JC's story then introduces a little bit of hope)
[Lk31] "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
(The Priest totally ignores, NO LOVE FOR Man or God (if you love me keep my commandments). He passes on the other side. Very strong language that uses Greek term antiparerchomai. Anit=opposite direction. It means he goes against, goes completely opposite to the other side, complete indifference. He shuns the dying man.
-Story is not an inditement of all in the priesthood thO many priests were legalistic, lacking compassion.
-Many commentators have all kinds of ideas of what the Levite was thinking--why he failed to cross the street not wanting to defile self, but that is mere fantasy because the priest and Levite didn't exist. This is a created story. Sure, there were religious men like these guys then.
- The Levite from the tribe of Levi, a son from Jacob, vs 32 not from the family of Aaron. Levites served the priests even doing the policing of the temple).
[32] "Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
[33] "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
(compassion - wrd occurs 49 times in 47 NKJV verses. This exact Grk splagchnizomai Wrd is used 2xs in Lk7:1
- 2Chr36:15) 1 commentator said: Samaritans NEVER USED this road, but road is not identified by JC.
This is a story)
[34] "So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
[35] "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave [them] to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'
( -Wine used cuz of its fermentation as an antiseptic to cleanse and sanitize,
-Oil was used to soothe and soften the tissue. Generous!
Samar put bleeding-wounded man on his own beast (perhaps donkey or mule). Not minimal care, maximal.
Brought him to inn (pandan place for all).
Stayed by him all night, then gave 2 denarii
Inn cost: 1/32nd of a denari (64 days Rm&board.
Some say it's 1/12th of a denari which would mean 24 days worth of inn-shelter, not a fancy place).)
[36] "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"
(
[37] And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:29-37 nkjv
(2 religious lost men have no love, one outcast did)
Soft heart, felt grief, sadness, compassion, came to him, evaluates his condition/Treeage, diagnosed saw bloody wounds GK trama, managed up his wounds. tore up his own clothes, Turniquit?
(AC hook)
4. What's the exegetical Interpretation? - what did the Jewish hearers think?
Why were they shocked. JC said Samaritan.
Pedagogical - what do we learn here?
5. What's the wise application - what do we do now that we know this.
6. The Key or Main Point Of Parable - what is our takeaway?
7. Notes: Is there something to note or share that helps clarify or is unique here?
Doesn't have to be.
There is an attitude to choose when you see the needs, challenges or hurts of other people. Reread Luke 10 to discover.
-To the lawyer a.k.a. expert in OT law
the wounded man was a subject to discuss, to debate for hairsplitting analysis.. to trap, to try and embarrass Jesus, to see condemned and tried.
-To the bandits
the wounded man was someone to use and exploit.
-To the merely religious men
the wounded man was a problem to be avoided.
-To the innkeeper
the wounded man was a customer to serve for a fee.
-To the Samaritan
the wounded man was a valuable human worth being cared for and loved because that’s only right -- that's morally right!
-To the Jesus of the Bible
all of them and all of us in need were worth leaving the glories of heaven with the Father for, worth taking rescuing actions for, worth dying for.
Recognizing or getting involved with and confronting the needs of others brings out various attitudes in us huh!
Jesus used the story of the good but despised Samaritan to make clear what attitude was acceptable to him. If we are honest, we often will find ourselves in the place of the expert in religious law, needing to learn again who our neighbor is..who to be a real neighbor to.
It's important to recognize these different attitudes toward the wounded man.
The lost lawyer, the so called OT expert in the law (Lk. 10:27) was quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. And he correctly understood that the law demanded total devotion to God and love for one’s neighbor. (Where did Jesus talk about these laws elsewhere? See Matthew 19:16–22 and Mark 10:17–22).
Here are three principles about loving our neighbor:
1) Having a lack of love is often easy to justify, even though it is never ever right;
2) Our neighbor believer, is any human of any race, background, creed, or social standing.. who is in need;
3) love means prayerfully acting to meet the person’s need as the Spirit directs you. Wherever you live, needy people are close by. Sometimes there are more that one believer can address at one time, but there is no good reason for refusing to help those in need. Directed service matters, let Jesus be Lord of all.
Jewish historian Josephus (A.D. 37–93) explained that the first-century road was approximately one hundred and fifty Roman stadioi, or about eighteen miles long.
Ascent of Adummim (Josh 15.7 and 18.17). Adummim means red objects, which in this case most likely referred to the red rock
A person would be going 18 miles downward in elevation and leaving a semi-dry area for a totally barren and parched desert area with boulders and caves for the Arab highwaymen to hide in. The trip between Jerusalem and Northeast to Jericho would have been about 18 miles, and in that distance, travelers would have descended more than half a mile in elevation.
The road between Jerusalem and Jericho had been a major thoroughfare for trading caravans, military personnel, and the pilgrims who visited Jerusalem multiple times each year. Given the isolated terrain, people on this road were easy targets for bandits, who would have found ample hiding places and escape routes into the desert where no one would pursue them. When Jesus said that “a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho” his listeners surely would have recognized the dangers that this journey posed.
Two men had no love, one did. Towards who will you be a neighbor to? I mean with lavish tender limitless love.
v. 10:33 A deep hatred existed between Jews and Samaritans. The Jews saw themselves as pure descendants of Abraham, while the Samaritans were a mixed race produced when Jews from the northern kingdom intermarried with other peoples after Israel’s exile (see also the note on 9:53). To this legal expert, the person least likely to act correctly would be the Samaritan. In fact, he did not even say the word Samaritan in answer to Jesus’ question. This expert’s attitude betrayed his lack of the very thing that he had earlier said the law commanded—love.
Now, it's a new day with some different challenges for citizens like in our Land here, but God's living word never changes. His wisdom and power never wane -- He's still SO able to forgive, make righteous, nurture, sanctify, restore, equip, meet needs, empower and use ..so that others will hear the gospel and enjoy His righteousness.
Jesus says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” John 14:15-24.
By the Spirit, Jesus can empower believers to avoid sins of omission and commission and to keep His commandments as follow Him.
“By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:5-6.
Serving in the Lord's will for you, yes, righteously serving the Father, I mean Christ's way with the right motives.. it matters a lot!
- What compels you to serve (1–16)? Be obedient to His specific call? Do you go back for all the details of how, when, why, where? Understand and take a stand!- What compels you to rejoice (17–24)? When the disciples rejoiced over their fruitful ministry, Jesus rejoiced because their names are in the Book of life (a record of names of every spiritually reborn person who is headed for heaven) and cuz the Father’s will was currently being accomplished in and through their lives.
- What compels you to pause (25–37)? Real neighborliness--it costs to live like Jesus did. Do you pause to pray, thank, praise and/or help people when you see injustice, injury.. or like the religious priest and the Levite, do you look and merely avoid all wounded? You are never more Christlike than when you feel another’s hurt and prayerfully..compassionately seek to help them.- What compels you to listen up (38–42)? Please take time daily at the feet of Jesus to hear God's Word. He's the living Word. Lovingly hear Jesus, ask. He doesn't owe anyone an answer (won't always.. right then), but it's still good to inquire of Him. Serving the Lord and serve others is vital, but more important is delighting your Lord by simply spending time alone with Him. Pray and hear on the go too. Are you too busy serving Jesus that you have no time left to love Him and listen to Him? How can you be best friends with someone you neglect to often be with? Impossible! Why become a religious workaholic? That'll never glorify Him. Make "Yes Lord" the top aphorism or motto of your life. Learn when to say "No" and "Yes" to people with expectations.
Think of all the excuses that the two religious dudes could have used:
“This road is too dangerous for me to stop and help this man.”
“He might be a decoy for an ambush.”
“I’ve got to get to the temple and perform my service for the Lord.”
“I’ve got to get home and see my family.”
“Someone really should help that man.”
“If I’m going to serve at the temple I can’t get my clothes bloody.”
“I don’t know first aid.”
“It’s a hopeless case.”
“I’m only one person; the job is too big.”
“I can pray for him.”
“He brought it on himself, he should have never been alone on such a dangerous road.”
“He never asked for help.”
“I never knew a man refusing to help the poor who failed to give at least one admirable excuse.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion: When Jesus’ listeners heard about the priest and the Levite, they probably expected Jesus to say next that a common Jewish man came and helped. If that happened, this story would be another way. Jesus showed the corruption of the religious leaders in that day. But Jesus shocked them by saying that the man who helped was a Samaritan.
In some ways, the Samaritan was like Jesus.
The Samaritan was an outsider, despised by many.
The Samaritan came after others failed to meet the need.
The Samaritan came before it was too late.
The Samaritan came with everything necessary.
The Samaritan came right to the afflicted man.
The Samaritan gave tender care.
The Samaritan provided for future needs.
In Luke 10:36-37 Jesus gives the wise application of the parable to the self-justifying, pedantic lawyer with his lame hairsplitting analysis.
“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
