Many people don’t realize how much our culture has been shaped by parables such as this one. In the wake of Jesus’ coming, this ethic of love & compassion has been embraced by God’s people & has brought about world-altering deeds. From Mother Teresa, the elevation of all human life which led to the abolition of slavery, bestowal of dignity upon women, child labor reform, healthcare & hospice care, & liberty & justice for all – everyone of these have their roots in Christian truth.
• As we will see, Jesus told this parable to help us to
• Galatians 5:22 | But the fruit of the Spirit is love…
• 1 John 4:7-8 | Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
• Joseph Parker >> “Love of God means love of man. Religion is the divine side of philanthropy; philanthropy is the practical side of religion. We must first be right with God, or we never can be right with man. If we begin by endeavouring to get right with our neighbour, we shall fail. But if we begin by establishing right relations with God, according to the conditions which he himself has laid down, we shall find that being right with God our whole life is elevated and all social relationships are redeemed from error, and our neighbour is loved with a lofty and pure charity.”
Luke 10:30-37
30 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.
• The early church father Jerome called this road “The Bloody Way” >> This road was about 17 miles long and it was a very dangerous path to travel. It was steep. Jerusalem is about 2300 feet above sea level and Jericho, which is near the Dead Sea, is about 1300 feet below sea level. This means that a person traveling from these two towns would travel on a wilderness, desolate road that dropped 3,600 feet in altitude.The narrowness, the ravines, the almost inaccessible cliffs, the caverns, and the sudden turns in this road made it ideal for thieves to ambush travelers and steal their money. They could ambush their victims, and quickly flee almost beyond the possibility of pursuit. You took your life into your hands when you traveled on this route.
• Over the course of this parable, you are going to see three
• Jesus’ goal in telling this parable is to provide a contrast between false religion, which
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
• The priest was a descendant of Aaron who had priestly responsibilities in the Jerusalem temple. Jesus said that this priest saw the beaten man and passed by on the other side. A tangible way of describing his unwillingness to love his neighbor.
• Spurgeon >> He had too much to do at the temple to act the part of a man. Official religiousness often kills common humanity.
32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
• The Levite was a member of the tribe of Levi but not a descendant of Aaron and therefore not a priest.
• Criswell >> The Levites are a lesser order serving the temple. Whereas the priests make the sacrifices, the Levites take care of the provisions, the cleaning of the area, and other practical matters related to the services.
• Barclay >> He seems to have gone nearer to the man before he passed on. The bandits were in the habit of using decoys. One of their number would act the part of a wounded man; and when some unsuspecting traveller stopped over him, the others would rush upon him and overpower him. The Levite was a man whose motto was, “Safety first.” He would take no risks to help anyone else.
• So, the
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.’
• Samaritans were the result of Jewish people marrying Gentiles & were hated as half-breed traitors. Super religious Jews avoided Samaria at all costs & considered them the trash of humanity, second only to Jewish tax collectors.
• With this inclusion, Jesus makes the additional point that to love one’s neighbor involves showing care and compassion even to those with whom one would not normally have any
• V. 35 >> two denarii. I.e., two days’ wages. Probably more than enough to permit the man to stay until he recovered. As of 2017 the minimal wage in USA is $7.25 so one day’s wages would be at least $58 and two day’s would be $116!
• Here we see the third
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.”
• Morris >> The famous parable of the good Samaritan, given in response to this question, yields the following answer: my “neighbor” is anyone who has a need that I am able to meet and who is brought to my particular attention by crossing my path.
• Jesus shows us that the question is not “who is my neighbor?” but “
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• This is loving your neighbor as yourself – agape love is giving out to another regardless of whether you feel like they
• Because of sin, you are not going to do everything right. But if you cultivate a