The Parable Of The Good Samaritan Series

Also, I noticed that the first half of the Ten Commandments deals with loving God.  The second half of the Ten Commandments deals with loving others.  Love God above all others and other things. Love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself. Look at Jesus’ response to the Lawyer:

And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live. (Luke 10:28)

But notice that the Lawyer doesn’t stop there. His next question is what leads Jesus to tell the parable. We’re still talking about eternal life. We’re still talking about fulfilling the Law. We’re still talking about being a citizen of the Kingdom. We’re still talking about evangelism. Not Social Justice. Not issues of race retaliations. Those things are woven into the idea of the Parable but the heart of the Parable is pertaining to eternal life. Now look at verse 29: But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29)

Notice how Luke prefaces the question: He desires to justify himself. He is so self-righteous that he doesn’t even worry about how he loves God. All he thinks about is the definition of the neighbor. I think the reason is that the rabbis taught that it was okay to hate those who were considered sinners, gentiles, and the lost.

Remember that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:43–45)

The Jews, through self-righteousness, turned hatred into a virtue. So, the Lawyer is almost mocking Jesus. I love God, but who is my neighbor? This is a man damned in his own self-righteousness, and this is where we get the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The purpose of the parable is to crush this guy’s and every self-righteous hearing the parable.  It is a wake-up call that should shatter pride and our imaginary spirituality.

Here’s the spiritual truth behind this parable: Your relationship with God (the vertical relationship) and with man (the horizontal relationship) is inextricably intertwined. You cannot hate another, withhold forgiveness, or look down on another for their sin or transgressions against you or God and be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Your eternity isn’t based on your self-righteousness. It is based on God’s grace received by faith, which goes for you and everyone out there.

So on the surface, the Parable of the Good Samaritan seems like a simple story about kindness and bridging prejudices.  However, it is anything but a simple story. So with that, let us read the Parable together responsively:

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:30–37)