Luke 10:25-37

Being a neighbor, according to Jesus – Part 2 (Luke 10:25-37)

POST OVERVIEW. The second article in a short series exploring one of Jesus’ most famous parables, the story of “The Good Samaritan” in Luke 10:25-37. In our first post (#656, 6/5/2023), we considered the lawyer’s question about eternal life. This second article focuses on the parable that Jesus told to answer the lawyer’s second question, “Who is my neighbor?”

In our first post in this two-part series, we had considered the lawyer’s opening question in Luke 10:25, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus had referred the lawyer to the Law for his answer. Then, from the Law, the lawyer had quoted two instructions that seemed to provide a satisfactory answer. Love the LORD your God (Deut. 6:5) and love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus affirmed these answers by saying, “Do this and you will live,” meaning that you will inherit eternal life if you fully satisfy the Law’s demands. But something about Jesus’ reply must have created a little doubt in the lawyer’s mind because he asked a follow-up question: “Who is my neighbor?” It is to this question we now turn.

RELATING TO A NEIGHBOR

To answer the lawyer’s second question about his neighbor, Jesus tells the parable of “The Good Samaritan.” “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho” (10:30). It would be helpful to notice some features of the parable.

First, we should notice the characters in the parable. “The man who is going down” is given no real description. We do not know whether he is a Jew or a Gentile or a Samaritan, whether he is old or young, rich or poor, good or evil. What we do know about him is that he is a fellow human being who, through no fault of his own, “fell among robbers, and they stripped him and laid blows upon him, and went away leaving him half-dead” (10:30). Let’s give him the name Neighbor.

Also in this parable are a priest and a Levite. Notice that these two religious men are both “going down on that road.” Although it is not certain, their direction of travel away from Jerusalem could indicate that they were off-duty and were returning to their hometown after completing their service in the temple. If that were the case, then they would not be in any rush but would be free to help the unfortunate Neighbor. But we do know for certain that both these men go to some effort to ignore this man in his desperate condition. “When the priest SAW HIM, he passed by on the other side” (10:31). “When the Levite came to the place and SAW HIM, he passed by on the other side” (10:32). Both men saw their fellow human being, their Neighbor, beaten and stripped and lying and possibly dying by the side of the road, and made a special effort to avoid him and not help him. They intentionally avoided him and consciously showed no compassion to him. Selfish, indifferent, uncaring, these men could not be bothered with the unfortunate traveler.

Finally, we have the Samaritan. From John 4, we know that Jews despise Samaritans and they have no dealings with them. The Jews regarded the Samaritans as an inferior, mongrel  race, as half-breeds who were half Jew and half Assyrian. Thus, it would have shocking to the lawyer to hear that the hero of this story and the one who models for us what it means to love your neighbor as yourself is a Samaritan.

HE FELT COMPASSION

The Samaritan man is also traveling down that same road (10:33), but his response to the wounded man is dramatically different than the Jewish men. “When the Samaritan SAW HIM,” instead of passing by on the other side, “he felt compassion.” Compassion is the first mark of loving your neighbor as yourself. To love your neighbor, you must be ready to show compassion for him. Your neighbor can be any fellow human being that God providentially places in your path (or in the road, as the case may be) and the one who would love his neighbor must be ready to show his neighbor compassion.

But the Samaritan does not have an empty compassion. No “be warmed and filled” from him (James 2:16)! He does not close his heart against the wounded man, but instead loves him in deed and in truth (1 John 3:17-18). The Samaritan’s compassion spurs him to action. Notice the action steps that he took on behalf of this complete stranger.

  • He “came to him” (10:34). If you are going to help someone, you must come to where they are, setting aside any misgivings and fears.
  • He “bandaged up his wounds.” Loving neighbors can get messy.
  • “pouring oil and wine on them.” It can be expensive.
  • “He put him on his own beast.” Loving neighbors can require unusual exertion and be very inconvenient.
  • “He brought him to an inn and took care of him.” This Samaritan is spending and being expended (2 Cor. 12:15) for this stranger. He tends to his wounds throughout the night with no prospect for reward.
  • “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper,” asking the innkeeper to take care of the man and promising to pay whatever extra costs were incurred when he returned.

Jesus then asks the lawyer the final question, “Which one proved to be a neighbor?” The lawyer answers, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Jesus concludes the conversation with, “Go and do likewise.”

SUMMARY

Let’s summarize what we have learned.

The lawyer was seeking from Jesus eternal life by means of the Law. Responding to Jesus’ prompt, the lawyer correctly stated that IF a person loved the LORD with all heart and soul and loved their neighbor as themselves, they would earn eternal life. Ah, but eternal life through the Law requires perfect obedience, so that’s out of the question.

Jesus then tells the parable in response to the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” In the parable, those who have the Law utterly fail to obey the law of the neighbor, while the Samaritan, who does not have the Law, “proves to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands” (Luke 10:36). (See Romans 2:25-26.) The compassion and the love that the Samaritan shows for his Neighbor give evidence that he may have inherited eternal life.

The answer to the lawyer’s first question about inheriting eternal life is actually not in the story. If anyone wants to “inherit eternal life,” he must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who believe in Jesus will be able to love their neighbor as themselves.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 6/9/2023                     #657

Being a neighbor, according to Jesus – Part 1 (Luke 10:25-37)

POST OVERVIEW. Taking a break from our study of James 2:14-26, we will be looking at one of the most famous of Jesus’ parables, the story of “The Good Samaritan” in Luke 10:25-37. This first article focuses on the key question the lawyer asks Jesus and how we are to understand Jesus’ answer.

The gospel of Luke is filled with parables spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself to tell us about mysteries of the kingdom of God. One of the most famous of Jesus’ parables is the story of “The Good Samaritan.” A lawyer (an expert in the Mosaic Law) asks Jesus how a person can “inherit eternal life,” and thus ensues a fascinating dialog. This short series will drill deep into the conversation between the lawyer and Jesus and will explore the meaning and the application of the parable about the traveler from Samaria who helps a fellow traveler. My text will be from the NAS translation of the Bible. I will only quote selected portions of the passage but will assume that the reader is following along in their Bible.

Since Luke writes the scenes of his gospel account “in consecutive order” (Luke 1:3), then we can assume that this encounter between Jesus and the lawyer occurs somewhere in the middle of His earthly ministry. As the scene opens, Jesus has been teaching a group that includes this expert in the Mosaic Law. We do not know exactly what prompts his question, but the lawyer stood up and “put Him to the test” with the question, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (The “rich young ruler” of Luke 18:18ff asks the identical question, so it would be an interesting exercise to study these two dialogs together. See Post #612 on 1/18/2023 for an article on the RYR.) In simple terms, the dialog then goes like this:

  • First, the lawyer tests Jesus by asking how a person can “inherit eternal life.”
  • Second, Jesus tests the lawyer by asking him about the Law.  
  • Third, the lawyer answers his own question from what is written in the Law.
  • Fourth, Jesus confirms that the lawyer’s answer is correct.

Let’s pause here for a second. At this point, Jesus has confirmed the answer to the lawyer’s question. “If you do what the Law demands, then you will inherit eternal life.” (NOTE: It is very interesting that Jesus has indirectly affirmed the theoretical possibility for man to inherit eternal life through the Law.) Therefore, the dialog should end here. But obviously the dialog does not end here. Instead, the lawyer asks Jesus another question. Why? What is going on here?

JESUS’ MEANING

When Jesus confirms the lawyer’s answer (10:27) by saying, “Do this and live,” Jesus means, “Perfectly love the Lord you God and perfectly love your neighbor as yourself, at all times and in all circumstances, from birth till death, and you will live.” Jesus speaks about obeying the Law in absolute terms, in terms of absolute performance without grace. Thus, there are two possible performances – perfect obedience or abject failure. If a person would inherit eternal life through the Law, then that person must themselves fulfill all the Law’s demands. This is what God the Son means when He says, “Do this and you will live.”

THE LAWYER’S UNDERSTANDING

The lawyer’s understanding of “love the Lord your God” and “love your neighbor as yourself” is dramatically different than Jesus’. The lawyer sees obeying the demands of the Law through a relative lens. According to him (or the Pharisee or the scribe), “Do this and live,” means “make sure your performance is relatively good and better than most, and you will achieve eternal life.”

We need to spend a moment here to grasp the chasm that exists between these two ways of thinking. Even though the lawyer and Jesus have agreed on the answer to the lawyer’s question, they are oceans apart in their interpretation of what the answer means. The lawyer is probably a little surprised by how easy it is to inherit eternal life and, at the same time, Jesus knows that He is the only one who will ever fulfill the Law’s demands (Matt. 5:17). The lawyer is fully confident that his performance of the Law is good enough, while Jesus is implicitly teaching the lawyer that his performance will never merit eternal life. Ironically, Jesus’ words that should have served as a severe warning to the lawyer have probably increased the lawyer’s confidence in his self-righteousness.

THE LAWYER’S SECOND QUESTION

At this point, then, the lawyer has received from the Teacher his answer to his first question, the question about eternal life. Love God and love your neighbor and you’re good. So now, if the lawyer can just get a little clarification about loving his neighbor, he should be able to move on. It is curious that the lawyer asks, “Who is my neighbor?” and not, “How do I love my neighbor?” The Law demands that you “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18), but it gives no guidance on how to do that. It is this question, “According to Jesus, how do I love my neighbor as myself?” that prompts Jesus’ parable, and it is to that parable that we turn in our next article.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 6/5/2023                     #656