The Good Samaritan is one of the most familiar Bible stories known. The term Good Samaritan is readily recognized as one who is helpful to a stranger in need and most states have a law by that name to protect those who render first aid in emergency situations. However, when we look into Luke’s account of it, we can observe that there was a deeper lesson involved. Jesus wasn’t teaching us to help strangers in need or even to love your neighbor. He was using this story about helping a stranger to reveal unrighteousness in the heart of a man who thought he was already righteous. This is an important distinction and we shouldn’t get so caught up in the details of the story that we miss the greater meaning.
Words: 2371 / Time to read: 13 minutes
Let’s review some basic cultural knowledge that was well known to the original listeners of this parable. This “expert in the law” was not a legal professor or high profile attorney, he was a Pharisee who knew the Law of Moses very well. The Pharisees taught and debated the finer points of the law which included the ten commandments but also included much more – over six hundred commandments covering social, political and religious aspects of the day to day life of Israelites. The Torah, or the first five books of the Old Testament, comprised “the Law of Moses” and that is where his field of expertise was found. The Pharisees were proud of their status as expert keepers of the law and they dressed in a certain way to distinguish themselves as better than the regular citizens (Mark 12:38-40). Jesus clashed on several occasions with Pharisees.
Jesus once said. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known (Luke 12 1-2).” The parable of the Good Samaritan was used to reveal the evil concealed in an outwardly righteous man. The teacher of the law who tested Jesus knew the letter of the law but missed the spirit of the law. This was a common problem with the Pharisees.
Jesus set the scene by mentioning the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. This was a well known path and the danger of robbery was common knowledge. Bandits found travelers easy targets because of its isolation, plentiful hiding places at the many bends, and they could always escape to the wilderness where nobody would pursue them. It goes on for about 18 miles in an isolated desert area. It descends about 2,600 feet in elevation within that span. If someone were lying on the side of the narrow path, they would definitely be noticed by a passerby. To ignore a dying person would be coldhearted. Priests and Levites were not supposed to come in contact with dead people and that may have factored into their decision. But helping a half dead person is different, and even if the person died while being cared for, there is a provision in the law to undergo a purification ritual. So there was really no excuse for their actions.
In Israel, the Priests were bi-vocational, so to speak. They had homes and families and made a living apart from being a priest. Periodically, they were chosen by lot to serve at the Temple for a short period of time (see 1 Chronicles 23-24). Then they would be relieved and travel back to their home and spend most of their time in their own communities surrounding Jerusalem. So the priest passing by was probably assumed to be one who just finished his tour of duty and was returning home. Levites were of the same tribe as the priests but weren’t descendants of Aaron so they couldn’t serve as priests. However, they served in the Temple helping out in many other ways. The fact that these two ignored the man must have shocked the listeners. There was no reason stated in Christ’s parable, but their indifference emphasized the compassion of the Samaritan.
Finally, these original hearers of the parable understood that Samaritans were hated by Jews and vice versa. That hatred dates back to about 721 B.C. when Assyria invaded Israel. At that time, the Israelites in Samaria intermarried with Assyrians. Ever since then their children and entire posterity were considered half Jew and half Gentile. They opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. The hostility was expanded because the Samaritans, in later generations, began to consider their unique copy of the Pentateuch as the only true Word of God, that is the first five books of the Old Testament. They discounted the writings of the prophets and wisdom books as less than God’s inspired Word. Additionally, they established their own place of worship and sacrifice at Mount Gerizim. Samaritans didn’t consider the Temple in Jerusalem or the Levitical Priesthood as legitimate. Jews and Samaritans did not normally talk, conduct business or worship together. They maintained a deep-seated hatred for each other for many generations. Notice that after Jesus finished the story and asked which one was a neighbor to the man in need, the expert in the law couldn’t even bring himself to say “the Samaritan” but grudgingly said “the one who had mercy on him.” Knowing their history, it’s easier to recognize the underlying animosity in his reply.
The Parable
“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 was attacked by 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, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii 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.’
Luke 10:25-37
The command to “go and do likewise” must have been very disheartening to the expert in the law. He now knew the law demanded more than he could accomplish. He became painfully aware of his own unrighteousness. The not-so-subtle touch of making a Samaritan the hero of the story accentuated the unrighteousness of the Pharisee.
Instead of quizzing Jesus with the question “who is my neighbor” he should have pleaded to God for mercy and admitted his own helplessness. His self-righteous ego and unashamed hate for others were firmly established traits which would not be easy to overcome.
God’s Law Reveals Unrighteousness
Not only does God’s Law set a high standard, it requires consistency and leaves no tolerance for failure. To fail once is to fail completely (see Galatians 3:10-14). God’s law requires perfection! Perfection is out of reach for mankind. It is impossible to be made right with God through the law. If that were possible, then the life, death and resurrection of Christ would have been unnecessary. When Jesus told him to “do this and you will live,” he was posing a hypothetical outcome knowing full well that it wasn’t possible. The problem isn’t with the law, it is with sinful mankind. We need more than the law. We need God’s grace and mercy to provide an alternative. The sacrificial death and resurrection of Christ provided such an alternative. He is the only one who fulfilled the law perfectly. Ironically, he is the one who suffered it’s just penalty – death. By his sinless life and sacrificial death, he propitiated our Holy God and has proven that he is truly righteous. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us when we place our faith in the Gospel. This concept was foreign to the Pharisee. He would have had to rely on his own perfect keeping of the law, an impossible feat. The Gospel is God’s alternative to keeping the Law perfectly. Faith in Christ is our only path to righteousness. Trying to keep God’s Law is a dead end.
So Jesus did teach that we should help a stranger in need and affirmed the instruction to love your neighbor as yourself – but he taught so much more. The unrighteousness of the Pharisee was exposed by his desire to seek a technicality in the law of love. The operative word in their exchange is love. Love is the fulfillment of the entire law and is only possible by loving God first which enables us to love others. It is the opposite of selfishness and forces us to rearrange our entire list of priorities. Consider the ramifications of the command to love your neighbor as yourself. As long as there is need in the world, we are condemned by our excess resources and possessions. Thank God for the love he has shown us which enables us to demonstrate compassion for others through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The next time you think about the parable of the Good Samaritan, do not picture yourself as potentially being the Priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan. Picture yourself from the perspective of the half dead man on the side of the road. Because of sin, mankind – every last one of us, is in that predicament. We are helpless and in need of assistance. Christ is the one who noticed us and showed compassion. He came to our side, did what needed to be done to care for us and provided payment for our ongoing care and second chance at life. He died on the cross to bear our sin debt and gave us the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, protect and empower true righteousness. He loved us even though we had done nothing to deserve it (See Romans 5:8).
Like the Samaritan, Christ fulfilled the spirit of the Law. As believers who have received a new righteous standing in Christ, we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. We honor our Good Samaritan by being thankful for our health and well-being and wear the garments he provided for us – “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12).” In other words, believers should go and do likewise, not to earn righteousness but because we have already been made righteous.
“You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:4-6
Additional Scripture for Reference:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:18
“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
Galatians 5:14
“No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
1 Corinthians 10:24
“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:1-2
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Philippians 2:3-4
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
John 13:34
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
1 John 3:16
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48
“The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Romans 13:9
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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