Luke 10:25-37
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”
27 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.”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
29 But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
31 And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’
36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”
37 And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
A lawyer’s misconception
A lawyer stood up and asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He asked this question to test Jesus. In him, we can see three major misconceptions: (1) The misconception that he was more knowledgeable in the Law than Jesus. (2) The misconception that eternal life could be obtained by works. (3) The misconception of thinking that eternal life is simply life that continues into the afterlife, life that goes on forever. Eternal life refers instead to the qualitatively transformed life that is given by God. Jesus asked, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” A model answer came back, combining Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18: “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.” Jesus answered him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” From this, we do not need to think that Jesus was encouraging the way of salvation by works. Rather, it is the opposite. Only the one who has come to know the absolute love of God can, in response to that love, love God with their whole being. Are you daily confirming that the goal of the Christian faith is love?
The parable of the good Samaritan
Seeing that the situation had turned against him, the lawyer pressed further, saying, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus did not answer directly but instead told the famous “Parable of the Good Samaritan.” The goal of this parable was the question: “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” but Jesus asked, “Who became a neighbor to the one in need of help?” The priest and the Levite avoided involvement because they feared becoming ceremonially unclean. In order to fulfill the requirements of the Law, they abandoned the practice of love, which is the very thing the Law teaches as most important. It was the Samaritan, who did not know the Law, who carried out love. This Samaritan, through love, fulfilled the requirements of the Law. Let us now allow the Holy Spirit to examine us, to see if there is within us a Christian legalism that is far removed from the principle of love.
Today's prayer
Father God of Jesus Christ, today I was able to reaffirm that the goal of the Christian faith is love. Please let me walk today not with the question, “Who will be my neighbor?” but with the question, “To whom can I become a neighbor?” In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.