And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 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. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 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. 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.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”” (Luke 10:25–37, ESV)
Grace and peace to you from our Lord, Jesus Christ;
Normally this text would be a great time to start out with a Lawyer joke. But, knowing the possibility of an actual lawyer being here, I decided against it.
It is impossible to step over the lawyer in this text. He is central to Jesus’ use of a parable to teach. He’s an intelligent man. He didn’t get to be a lawyer by being lazy. He is an expert in the Jewish law. He likely knows the Pentateuch backwards and forwards. And not only that, but the text tells us a few very important details. Jesus answers his question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” with another question. Jesus is a good teacher. He asks the lawyer to tell what he knows about the law.
And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.”” (Luke 10:27, ESV)If it were me, I’d be thrilled if a student answered such a complete answer about God’s law. It so clearly reflects the two tables of the law in the Ten Commandments. The answer defines the importance of our relationship with God and how it effects our relationship with others. It is a good answer.
And Jesus says so.
“You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”” (Luke 10:28a, ESV)
Of course, he adds the additional statement. …do this, and you will live.”” (Luke 10:28b, ESV)
It has the desired effect. The lawyer wants to clarify. He wants to get a technical definition. He wants to “justify himself”. This is not a throwaway phrase. It is as central to the text as the lawyer himself. This is what lawyers do. They push the law to its limits for the sake of their clients. They seek exceptions if necessary. Good lawyers find ways to justify their clients’ actions. For this lawyer, he is his own client. He wants to be able to earn (inherit) his own salvation through his actions. He wants to know who he must love, but more importantly, who he doesn’t have to love.
It is what Jesus knows. I don’t think the people standing around know what is going on as clearly as Jesus. He sees into the heart of this lawyer. It doesn’t even have to be a miracle. Jesus simply knows people. He only has to be a good observer of human nature, to know that all people want to justify themselves. It’s the initial question that tells Jesus everything he needs to know.
Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? (Luke 10:25b, ESV)
Do you see the problem with this question? The lawyer puts himself at the center of it. “What must I do to inherit…” Jesus could have stopped him right there. He could have said something like, “You don’t do anything to inherit. An inheritance is a gift based on your birth. You can do things to be written out of a will. But you don’t do anything to be in it, except being born.” I find it hard to believe that this educated lawyer doesn’t know that. In fact, the text tells us. He is testing Jesus. He is cutting up the law, looking for an exception.
His follow-up question is asked with a razor. “Who is my neighbor?” I wonder what answer he expects; a list of those he must love; A list of those who he doesn’t? That pushes the test. His human nature is on full display, again. The lawyers of the New Testament built a hedge around God’s law. They had 613 laws they put around the Commandments. At its heart the commandment to love your neighbor is non-exclusive. But if you know that that is impossible you have to make exceptions. You have to make it doable. Instead of keeping the one impossible law, you keep the 613 possible ones. It makes the law easier. It makes it so humans can do it.
Jesus will have none of it. The master storyteller tells a parable.
Before I relate it to you, though, I want to make a cultural point. The parable has a very specific structure. In those days, and now in the middle east, the most important point of a story is in the center. Everything is built around it. What’s before and after builds on it. It is what the people listening to Jesus would have understood and looked for. What’s at the center of this parable. The word “compassion”, “ἐσπλαγχνίσθη”. If you know what spelunking (cave exploration) is, you can understand this word. Compassion, for Jesus, is a deep-seated emotion, that drives action. You get down to the depths, deep in your inner organs. More on that in a bit. And one more thing, what you should always look for in Jesus’ parables is the thing that would never happen.
Jesus begins.
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.
This was a likely outcome. It probably happened often. The people listening might have even blamed the Samaritans (Jericho was their home), because not only did the Jews hate the Samarians but the Samaritans hated the Jews. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:31, ESV) Oops. People looked up to their religious leaders. That’s not likely. The Jews would expect the priest to stop and help. But he didn’t. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:32, ESV)
Our lawyer isn’t referring to as a Levite. But a Levite was a master of the Jewish law. Our lawyer must be feeling a bit picked on now.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.” (Luke 10:33, ESV)
Here’s the thing that would never happen, according to the hearers. I like to think there was an audible gasp from the crowd. Jesus may have even paused after the word to add emphasis. No Samaritan is capable of such compassion. Especially this kind of compassion. The word is filled with onomatopoeia. It’s the sound the guts make when they hit the altar of sacrifice. They go “Splunk” when the priest slaps the guts of
the sacrificial animal on the altar to burn. It is a visceral image of God’s compassion. His way that offerings a way out for sinners.
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.” (Luke 10:34, ESV)
The Samaritan does much more than expected. He uses oil and wine to sooth the wounds. He puts him on his own animal and brings him to an inn. And he doesn’t stop there, he takes care of him.
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.’” (Luke 10:35, ESV)
Two denarii, two days wages, is a tidy sum. More than was necessary and he even promises more.
Now Jesus hammers his point home.
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? (Luke 10:36, ESV)
Did you hear it? The man in the ditch isn’t the neighbor. It’s the Samaritan. He’s the neighbor. He’s the answer to the question, “who is my neighbor.”
The lawyer can’t even bring himself to identify the Samaritan. He says,
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”” (Luke 10:37, ESV)
What is Jesus’ definition of your neighbor? Jesus turns the question. Don’t worry about who your neighbor is, you be one. You are to be the neighbor that helps those who God has placed before you to help. You are to be a neighbor to your family. You are to be a neighbor to the people who live and work around you in your community. And even those in your church. That’s how the Samaritan acted. He was the one God had place there to be a neighbor to the one who needed help.
You have often heard that parables are an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It’s not a great definition but it works in this case. The earthly story tells you to care for people around you. But what is the heavenly meaning?
If we put ourselves in the parable, we are the Samaritan. The one who should help those in distress.
But Jesus has a different reason. He says in Matthew (13:13):
This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:13, ESV)
Faith in Jesus is required to understand it fully. Knowing who Jesus is, and what he has done for sinners is at the heart.
Jesus is the Samaritan. He has compassion on poor helpless sinners. His compassion led him to the cross as sacrifice for sin. He sees us, poor and helpless beside the road, doomed to die. He comes down into the ditch to drag us out and save us. What can we do about it? Nothing. It is all Jesus. It is all his compassion. He doesn’t care who you are. He doesn’t look twice. He acts. He gives. He loves.
It is said that when Jesus was suffering on the cross, he had each and every sinner in mind. Hitler, Stalin, the lady at the coffee shop, the bum walking down the street, and you. His compassion for you and your situation is foremost in his mind. So much so, that even a brutal bloody death on the cross is not too much for the Father to ask. So much so, that even the terror of hell is not too much for the Father to ask. His willingness to be the compassionate (ἐσπλαγχνίσθη) bloody sacrifice for you is not too much for the Father to ask.
And what is your response? The word “Christian” means “little Christ”. You act like Jesus. You have compassion on those that God has placed around you. Not to earn the inheritance. But to live in it. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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