The phrase the “good Samaritan” is part of the English language’s many expressions. The idea is that someone does something good to aid a stranger. Hospitals are named as such; a person who comes to the aid of someone in need, usually an accident, is often referred to as one.
But what to do we really KNOW about the parable of the good Samaritan? And more important, how much do we really follow the lesson Jesus taught by it?
Let’s have the Lord teach us once again …
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?""What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'""You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
So who were these people? What was their background? With whom do we – that is you and I – truly identify with (and you have to identify with a least one)?
Samaritan
Samaritans came from the region called Samaria, located between Galilee and Jerusalem. Before the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians in 721 B.C. the region was occupied by the tribes of Ephraim and the western portion of the tribe of Manasseh. After the fall of the capital city of Samaria, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser deported the Israelites and replaced them with foreign colonists (2 Kings 17:24-40). These new comers intermarried with a remnant of Israelites who remained in Samaria. The then took the name “Samaritans” and, as it says in 2 Kings 17:25, “they did not fear the Lord, and the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.” The Assyrian king sent back one of the Israelite priests to teach the Samaritans “what the God of the land requires (2 Kings 17:27).” So they learned the ways of the people of Israel, yet they also practiced idolatry, worshiping pagan god imported from elsewhere.For scripture, Samaritans recognized the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as authoritative, but no other writings, and they kept the major feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.A lot of animosity built up over the years between the Samaritans and the Jews. When the Jews enjoyed prosperity, the Samaritans were quick to acknowledge their blood relations. When things went bad for the Jews, they claimed no relationship. Neither side wanted anything to do with the other. In Luke 9:51-56, as Jesus and His disciples made their way from Galilee to Jerusalem, a Samaritan village did not welcome them because they were going the Jerusalem. James and John wanted to call down “fire from heaven” to destroy them, but Jesus rebuked them. Not long after, Jesus told the teacher of the law and His disciples the parable of the good Samaritan.
Levite
The Levites were descendants of Levi, who served as assistants to the priests in the worship system of the nation of Israel. As Levites, Aaron (Moses brother) and his sons were charged with the responsibility of the priesthood — offering the burnt offerings and leading people in worship and confession. But the Levites who were not direct descendants of Aaron were to serve as priestly assistants, taking care of the tabernacle and the temple, along with other duties behind the scenes.
Priest
A member of the priesthood was an official minister or worship leader in the nation of Israel who represented the people before the Lord and conducted various rituals and ceremonies to atone for their sins. The priesthood was formally established when the Lord appointed Aaron (Moses’ brother) as high priest. And from Aaron’s line came the priesthood and the high priest, a special class of men who were devoted to God’s service.
Expert of the law (or lawyer)
One who knew AND practiced Mosiac law. In the New Testament, the only place in the Bible that makes reference to them, the Law from the first five books of the Bible had been expanded by the religious leaders – the intent being to give the people adequate interpretation and application of the divine law to every aspect of life. That resulted in a vast set of writings of explanation, interpretation, commentary and application that somehow took on the rule of law that were just as binding as the law of Moses. So a class of lawyers emerged out of all this. In some Bible translations, the term lawyer, teacher of the law, expert of the law and scribe referred to this occupation. In the NT, these lawyers generally opposed John the Baptist (Luke 7:30) and Jesus (Luke 14:3), and tried to discredit Jesus.
(All from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
Out of every one mentioned in this passage, who do we remember most? And, again, honestly, before God, with whom do we identify?
Do we remember the "expert in the law" who asked the question of Jesus? And do we remember Jesus response outside of the parable? This expert, this teacher, knew the law -- just like the priest and the Levite -- summing up the teaching of the Ten Commandments, to love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself (because what right-minded, rational person hates himself?).
Jesus tells him the first time, good, you understand, now go do it.
And the teacher, as Luke records it, asks who his neighbor is, probably because he was intellectually full of himself, and Jesus hits him with the parable in which one of the lowliest of people, in the mind of the Jewish religious leaders of the day, helps the person in need. Not the priest (you would think, yes?), not the Levite (you would think, yes?).
Jesus hits the teacher again with "Who was the neighbor of the victim?" The teacher says, "The one who had mercy on him." I find it interesting the teacher didn't say "the Samaritan."
And Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."
My point
Don't miss out on the expert in the law, who like the priest and the Levite, knows the Scripture, can recite the Scripture with no problem, but when asked to follow the teachings of the Bible -- especially those passages about sharing compassion and love (not just with our wallets) -- with "the least of these" and the lost, tries to qualify it with, "Yeah, but who is my neighbor?"
Application(s)
“Go and do likewise.” What does that mean? What does that look like for a follower of Christ?
For the world, it looks like this:
•Edge Shaving Gel’s “random acts of kindness” Twitter campaign
Edge Shaving Gel's #soirritating Twitter campaign spreads the word about its anti-irritation gel through random acts of kindness. People tweet to the campaign about something that irritates them, and, a couple people monitoring the campaign do something to the un-irritate the person, from ending them a link to a YouTube video of a dancing panda to sending people supply of cereal or a Spanish-English dictionary.
•Liberty Mutual Insurance’s “pay it forward” commercials
Someone does something nice for someone, another person witnesses the act, then the next opportunity, he or she does something nice for someone else, and on it goes.
•Coke’s “be nice and share a Coke and kindness” commercials.
What’s the common ground here? These are all for-profit companies. Not criticizing them. They “get it.” Kudos for them.
My question is, where is are the followers of Christ? Where is the church? Isn’t this what we’re supposed to do?
These companies are promoting the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbors. Again, I ask, where are the followers of Jesus? Where is the church?
Jesus said: “Go and do likewise.”
Have we?
Are we?
6 With what shall I come before the LORDand bow down before the exalted God?Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,with calves a year old?7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,with ten thousand rivers of oil?Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.And what does the LORD require of you?To act justly and to love mercyand to walk humbly with your God.
Jesus said: “Go and do likewise.”
Have we?
Are we?
A starting list of things you can do to “go and do likewise.”
1. Pay attention to the people around you, to what’s going on around you.-- Does someone need a little help with job-related task, or an assignment at school? Can you help him or her?-- Does someone look a little down? Is there some encouragement you can offer, maybe even be so bold to go up to that person and pray for and with that person?-- Does someone need any kind of assistance at all? Is it something you can help that person with, or at least point them in the right direction to get that help?2. Know of a service in the community that is in need of volunteers? Can you MAKE time to help out?3. Know of anyone sick or ill or hasn’t been to church in a while? Can you MAKE time to call and check on that person and offer a helping hand if one is needed?4. Know of anyone who needs to know of the mercy, grace and love of God through Jesus? Can you MAKE time to share the Gospel with that person in deed and in word?
Don’t be like the priest, the Levite or the expert in the law, who knew Scripture and what God desired them to do, then when God put them in a situation to carry out His law, they crossed to the other side of the road, ignoring it as if it didn’t exist.
We, who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus because of God’s great mercy and grace, need to be the Samaritans to a lost and broken world. We’re redeemed because we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and saved not by what we could ever do, but because of what He did on the cross. So now it’s not about working for salvation, but loving God so much that we love people as He loves them, and we share His mercy and grace and love with them – especially the lost.
The Message paraphrase of James 2:14-17 says it best:
Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
(NIV translation here)
Jesus said: “Go and do likewise.”
Have we?
Are we?
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