Parable of the Good Samaritan, Part 5
This Week's Bible Reading: Luke 10:25-37 (focus on verse 37)
Supporting Passage: John 13:31-38; Philippians 2:1-11
As a Christian, I am sometimes tempted to view life through a "God and me" lens.
It's just God and me over here doing our thing, so I don't need to worry about what's going on in the world. Put me on a secluded island with a Bible and some firewood, and I'll be content!
But as I've studied the Good Samaritan parable, I've learned that the commands to love God and love neighbor are linked together. My vertical relationship (with God) is tied to my horizontal relationships (with others). Believe me, there are days when I wish I could untangle them! But in God's Kingdom, we express our love for God through our love for others.
This is a truly beautiful thing when I ponder it. But it is also hard to do. We are messy, broken humans dealing with other messy, broken humans. If loving our neighbors as ourselves is vital to living out God's Kingdom, is there any hope for us?
No. Not if we try to love others in our own strength.
But with Jesus, there is always hope!
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that some people interpret the Good Samaritan parable as solely an illustration of how Jesus saved us. We are the injured man beaten down by the thieves (who, in this case, represent the devil). Jesus is the Good Samaritan who saved us when we couldn't save ourselves.
If we only view the parable this way, I believe we miss Jesus' main point in telling it. We need to remember the context Luke placed it in: Jesus told this story because a lawyer wanted to know who his neighbor was. And once the lawyer understood that mercy matters more than labels, Jesus gave him this parting command:
Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." (Luke 10:37, NLT)
Jesus wanted this parable to move the lawyer—and everyone else who hears it—into action. The lesson is to "go and do the same" to everyone we meet, even those we find hard to love.
But once we understand this truth, there is no reason why we can't also see Jesus as the ultimate Good Samaritan.
These two interpretations are not at odds with each other. Far from it. They depend on each other! If the call is to love others, then we need the love of Jesus to help us do it. We can only love because he loved us first.
Jesus is the one who saw we were in trouble and helpless to save ourselves.
Jesus is the one who chose to enter into our mess and become a servant so that he could relate to us.
And as he walked this earth, Jesus was the one who taught us what love looks like. He had compassion for everyone, including those forgotten and overlooked by others.
On the night before Jesus performed the ultimate act of love—dying a death he did not deserve so we could be set free—he washed his disciples' messy, stinky feet. And after he did so, he said these words:
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. (John 13:34, NLT)
As we've discussed, God always desired for his people to love others. So why does Jesus call this a "new" commandment?
Because Jesus knew we would have trouble living it out. He knew we couldn't "go and do the same" on our own. And so he adds a new piece to this command that completes the puzzle:
Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. (John 13:34, NLT, emphasis mine)
How do we love others when everything in us would rather walk right by them?
We look to Jesus. We follow his lead. We remember how he loved us when we were at our most unlovable. And we ask him to help us love through the power of the Holy Spirit.
It's hard to believe, but our journey through Jesus' parables is coming to a close. Before we end, we need to ask our question one final time...
What does the parable of the Good Samaritan teach us about how to live out God's Kingdom in a messy, broken world?
I find it amazing that God shows me something new in this parable every time I dig into it! Here is what I've learned this time:
In God's Kingdom, there are no boundary lines when it comes to showing compassion and mercy.
In God's Kingdom, being a good neighbor goes beyond seeing the needs of others. It requires us to draw near to a person's pain and be present with them in their mess.
And, when loving others seems like too great a task, we look to the king of God's Kingdom: King Jesus. He loved us when we were impossible to love. His sacrifice healed us from the brokenness of sin. And his Spirit gives us the strength to go out and love others.
So let's follow King Jesus into his Kingdom as we now "go and do the same"!
Questions to Ponder:
When are you most tempted to take on a "it's me and God and nobody else" attitude? How does our relationship with others affect our relationship with God?
What are some ways Jesus has shown compassion to you? How can you follow his example as you seek to love others this week?
Think about the person (or group) you wrote in the blank in the previous part of this series. Take a few minutes to ask Jesus to give you the strength to "go and do the same" for them.
What did the parable of the Good Samaritan teach you about how to live out God's Kingdom in a messy, broken world?
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The Good ______________
Parable of the Good Samaritan, Part 4
This Week's Bible Reading: Luke 10:25-37 (focus on verses 36-37)
Over the past few weeks, we've been exploring the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told this parable because a lawyer wanted clarification on who his neighbor was. After Jesus reveals the twist ending of the story—that the hero is a despised Samaritan—he poses this question to the lawyer:
"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. (Luke 10:36, NLT)
Jesus makes a subtle change to the lawyer's original question. The lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbor?" (v. 29) But now Jesus asks him, "Who in this story acted like a neighbor to the injured man?" When put like this, the answer is obvious. The lawyer can't yet bring himself to utter the dreaded "S" word (“Samaritan!”). But he does understand what Jesus is getting at:
The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." (Luke 10:37, NLT)
By rephrasing the question this way, Jesus is saying, "Don't worry so much about who your neighbor is. Instead, focus on being a neighbor to others. Treat the people around you with so much compassion that it shocks them!"
The book Parables from the Back Side by J. Ellsworth Kalas examines Jesus' parables from a different perspective. In the chapter titled "When the Good Samaritan Is Bad News," Kalas approaches this parable from the viewpoint of the injured man. How did he feel about being rescued by a Samaritan?
Imagine him lying in bed at the inn, still battered and bruised from the vicious attack. He slowly opens his eyes and finds himself in a dimly lit room. He tries to speak but is too weak, and his mouth is so dry. Then he hears a gentle voice.
"Don't try to move. Just rest," says a shadowy figure leaning over him. The stranger lifts the man's head and helps him drink some water. The man senses he is in good hands and whispers a prayer of thanks to God. Then he settles back in the bed and drifts off to sleep.
The next day, the man feels a bit better. The innkeeper comes to check on him.
"What happened to me last night?" the man asks. "Who tended to me?"
The innkeeper doesn't know many details about the stranger's identity. But he does know one thing: he was a Samaritan.
The man is shocked to discover this! He's not sure what to think or how to feel. He has such immense gratitude for the person who saved him. But learning that it was a Samaritan rattles him to the core.
Receiving compassion from someone we do not like is an uncomfortable experience. It forces us to view them through a different lens. Here is how Kalas puts it:
I'm sure God has a warm and gentle sense of humor. He so often sends blessings into our lives through unlikely channels. Let me warn you: As surely as you harbor ill feelings against some ethnic, racial, or intellectual group, or some particular class of people, you can expect that someday, somehow God will allow such a person to touch your life in some strange and helpful way. The good Samaritan so often is bad news to our preferences and prejudices.
This aspect of the parable challenges all of us. But if we can grasp it, we'll find God's Kingdom breaking through in the most unlikely places. So, as our time with this parable nears its end, I want us to try a little exercise.
Grab a pen and paper and write down this phrase:
The Good ____________________________.
Now think of someone you struggle to show compassion to (and would find it hard to receive compassion from). Write their name in that blank.
It could be an individual person.
The Good Sister-in-Law Who Criticizes Me.
The Good Supervisor at Work Who Berates Me.
The Good Guy at the Stoplight Revving His Engine for No Apparent Reason Who Annoys Me.
Or it could be a specific group of people like in Jesus' parable. Of course, it will be a different group for each of us. For some, it might be:
The Good Socialist.
The Good Immigrant.
And for others, perhaps:
The Good Tech Billionaire.
The Good MAGA Hat-Wearer.
Whoever it is for you, write it in that blank. Then, take a moment to read the phrase: "The Good ______________."
If it makes you recoil a bit in disgust, that's okay.
If it makes you want to crumble up the paper and throw it across the room, that's okay, too. You're probably feeling what the lawyer felt after hearing Jesus' words. That's why this parable is so offensive.
Do you know who I would write in that blank? I can think of a few options, but here is my answer for today:
The Good Lawyer Who Asked Jesus, "Who Is My Neighbor?"
Yes, it's hard for me to love this lawyer. He was trying to wiggle his way out of loving people he didn't like. He comes across as smug and self-righteous.
But as I type those words, I know I am the one acting self-righteous. It's ironic, isn't it? I struggle to feel compassion for the person I see as compassionless! I am no better than the lawyer. Jesus' words challenge both of us.
And who knows? Maybe something in the lawyer began to change that day. I pray I am changing, and change takes time for all of us. Every small step we take toward compassion brings us closer to living out God's Kingdom on earth. Though the lawyer couldn't say the "S" word, he still answered Jesus' question correctly.
He knew what goodness looked like, even when it was done by someone he didn't consider all that good.
Questions to Ponder:
How do you think the Jewish man in the parable felt when he learned that a Samaritan rescued him?
Take some time to slowly go through the fill-in-the-blank exercise above. How would it feel to show compassion to the person (or group) you wrote in? How would it feel to receive compassion from them? How can you take one small step to extend kindness to this person or group in your daily life?
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“I Wish I Could Unsee This!”
Parable of the Good Samaritan, Part 3
This Week's Bible Reading: Luke 10:25-37 (focus on verses 30-35)
Supporting Passage: Leviticus 21:1-4
Last week, we explored the rocky relationship between Jews and Samaritans. This tension provides the backdrop for the Good Samaritan parable. Today, let's start looking at the story itself.
When someone tells a story, who do you imagine as the main character? Most of the time, we picture someone like ourselves. When Jesus began his story with "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho...", his audience would have assumed the man was Jewish—one of their own.
The trek from Jerusalem to Jericho was dangerous. The path is a winding road filled with lots of hills and crevices for bandits to hide in. It would not be a surprise to hear that ruffians attacked this traveler and left him for dead.
A priest and a Levite are traveling along the same road. They had probably just finished serving at the Temple in Jerusalem and were on their way home. Both of these religious men see the injured man but go out of their way to avoid him. Why?
One theory is that they did not want to risk defiling themselves. Priests had to follow specific rules to keep themselves clean. One of these rules prohibited contact with a dead body. Maybe the priest was hesitant to approach the injured man because he feared the man was already dead.
While this sounds like a valid excuse, it's, well, ... rubbish. (I apologize for using such strong language!)
This mindset does not reflect the heart of God. In Part 1 of this series, we talked about how God always wanted his people to love their neighbor. No law is at odds with that. As scholar Klyne Snodgrass puts it, "Nothing—not even purity laws—legitimately stood in the way of saving a life."
We may not be bound by the same purity laws as ancient priests, but it's still easy to come up with our own "noble" excuses for why we can't get involved in a situation. We think, I'd love to help, but associating with that kind of person could ruin my reputation. Or, I would help, but their life choices have led them here, and they need to learn a lesson. I know I've had these thoughts at times. The fear of getting caught up in another person's mess is real.
In these moments, it's helpful to remember what God values. Speaking through the Old Testament prophet Hosea, God says, "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings" (6:6, NIV). And in the New Testament, the apostle Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit, which includes the attributes of love, kindness, and goodness. He says, "Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:23, NIV).
There is a second reason for why the priest and Levite may have walked by the injured man. This reason is less self-righteous than the first, but maybe more common for us. What if stopping to help wasn't the most practical thing to do?
In my research of this parable, I discovered that Jericho is about seventeen miles from Jerusalem. I never knew this, and it brings a whole new dimension to the story. This wasn't an easy walk to the 7-11 half a block down the street! Maybe the sun was setting, and the priest and Levite were hurrying to reach their destination before dark. They couldn't justify stopping. Maybe they assumed somebody else was already getting help. Or perhaps they feared that if they stopped, they would become the robbers' next victim.
Jesus made it a point to say all three travelers "saw" the injured man. But the Samaritan took two additional actions: he "came to where [the man] was" and "had compassion" (v. 33, ESV). These are the three steps we need to take to love our neighbor. It starts with seeing them, but it cannot end there. We must also come near to their pain and offer them compassion. This is often inconvenient and uncomfortable.
As the priest and Levite walked past the man, I wonder if they thought, I wish I could unsee this! They tried their best to get the image of the beaten man out of their head as they continued down the road. We all have things we wish we could unsee.
One morning, I had my own "I wish I could unsee this!" moment. I was on my mobilized scooter heading to Panera to do some work. My mind was racing with everything I "had to" get done that day. As I approached the entrance of Panera, I saw a woman sitting at one of the tables outside. We smiled politely at each other.
"How are you?" she asked me.
"Good," I replied. Then I added the obligatory, "How are you?" But I didn't wait to get an answer. I continued to roll past her into Panera, expecting her to say, "Good," as well.
But she didn't. As I strolled on, I heard her say, "Not so great." I was stunned by her response. I thought about turning back around and talking to her. But instead, I went on with my day.
What small act of compassion might I have offered her in that moment? Maybe I could have bought her a bagel and a coffee. Maybe I could have listened to her for a few minutes. All I know is I missed an opportunity to love my neighbor. And for the rest of the day, I regretted it. Even now—two years later—I can vividly picture the scene in my head.
We all have moments like this. God doesn't want us to beat ourselves up over past mistakes. But he does want us to learn from them. On that day, I was reminded of how easy it is to put practicality over love. The good news is God offers us new opportunities each day to show his love to others.
In God's Kingdom, it's not enough to simply see our neighbor. We must also be willing to set aside our plans to step into another person's mess.
Questions to Ponder:
What are some "noble” excuses Christians make up for not helping others? When are you most tempted to use some of these reasons?
Why is it sometimes uncomfortable or inconvenient to come near to a person in pain and step into their mess? Who is someone who has done this for you?
Have you ever had an "I wish I could unsee this!" moment where you could have helped someone but didn't? How can you move forward in God's forgiveness, knowing there will be more opportunities to "see, come near, and have compassion"?
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City of the Senseless
Parable of the Good Samaritan, Part 2
This Week's Bible Reading: Luke 10:25-37
Supporting Passages: Luke 9:51-56; John 4:1-26
A few weeks ago, we explored the parable of the Rich Fool. I pointed out that it was one of the few parables where Jesus takes on a topic directly. Jesus tackled the subject of greed by telling a story about a man who hoarded his possessions.
The Good Samaritan also falls into this category of parables. Jesus used this story to directly address the command to love your neighbor. The Samaritan’s compassion for the injured man is not a metaphor for some other topic.
[SIDENOTE: There are a few commentators who would disagree with this me on this. Some see this parable as purely an allegory for the way Jesus saved us. I do not dismiss this view entirely, and we will explore it in a few weeks. But first and foremost, I believe Jesus used this parable to tackle the lawyer's question about who our neighbor is.]
We commonly associate the word Samaritan with someone who goes out of their way to help others. But this was not its original meaning. To truly appreciate the story's twist ending, we need to understand the history of bad blood between the Jews and Samaritans.
The feud between these two groups began centuries before Jesus. When the Assyrians conquered northern Israel, they intermarried with the Jews. Their descendants became known as Samaritans because Samaria was the capital of Israel.
The Jews saw Samaritans as half-breeds. Though they had similar views on God, the Samaritans built a different temple to worship him in. (This is why when Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well, she says, "Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem" [John 4:20, NIV].)
At times, their feud seemed like nothing more than a petty practical joke war. For example, the Jews had a ritual of lighting fires to signal the new year. So, the Samaritans got the clever idea to light fires at random intervals to confuse them. I guess this would be like someone in your neighborhood shooting off a massive fireworks display in the middle of September!
But other times, things got violent. Several years after Jesus' death, in about 50 A.D., Samaritans slaughtered a group of Jews traveling through Samaria. In response, Jews burned down some Samaritan villages.
As I researched the tension between Jews and Samaritans, I came across a quote that perfectly sums it up. This quote comes from an ancient writing called the Testament of Levi. The author is discussing Shechem, a major Samaritan city:
Shechem shall be called "City of the Senseless," because as one might scoff at a fool, so we scoffed at them. (7:2)
City of the Senseless! That sounds like a jab a modern-day politician might make, right?
Imagine a candidate for mayor saying, "We don't want to turn into that city over there, run by those senseless liberals." Or, "If you don't vote for me, we'll become like that city run by backward conservatives."
Here's why I bring this up: While we may not understand the animosity between Jews and Samaritans, we carry our own disdain for certain people. Jesus' parable has something to say to us about who our neighbors are and how to love them well.
Despite their hatred for each other, Jews and Samaritans still crossed paths in everyday life. In the parable, the Samaritan was coming back from Jerusalem. He may have been doing business there.
In the same way, we can't completely avoid the people we're not fond of. They may be our co-workers, the people in line at the grocery store, or our literal neighbors across the street. They may even sit next to us at church! We might not "hate" them the way Jews and Samaritans hated each other. But we still try to limit contact with them as much as possible.
Have you ever seen somebody approaching you—maybe after church or while doing yard work—and immediately start looking for a way to escape? You don't want to get cornered by them and hear them drone on about some heated topic. I'm not proud to say I've felt this way before. (The temptation to give them the slip doubles when I'm on my mobilized scooter—especially knowing they can't catch me if I floor it!)
One chapter before Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, he and his disciples set out for Jerusalem. Jesus attempts to cut through a Samaritan village, but the locals do not want him there. This makes the disciples angry. Here is how they respond:
When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, "Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them. So they went on to another village. (Luke 9:54–56, NLT)
It's funny to me how nonchalant James and John are about calling down fire to burn up an entire village of people. Of course this is how Jesus wants us to deal with this senseless city, right? But then again, I can't judge them too much. Far too often, I am quick to write people off based on something I don't like about them.
This is why the parable of the Good Samaritan is more than a tale about doing good deeds. Jesus steps into all this bad blood—both in his day and ours—and shows us a better way to live. He challenges the idea that only certain people deserve our love.
In God's Kingdom, withholding compassion from another person is the most senseless thing we can do.
Questions to Ponder:
Does knowing a little bit of the history between Jews and Samaritans (and we've barely scratched the surface here!) change the way you view this parable? What else have you heard about the conflict between these groups?
Is there any person (or group of people) you try to avoid because you see them as "senseless"? How can you engage with them in a loving way, even if you disagree with their views?
In John 8:48, people try to write Jesus off by calling him "a Samaritan and demon-possessed." What are some ways we try to write people off by applying labels to them? How can we see them as neighbors worthy of our compassion instead?
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The Offensive Parable
Parable of the Good Samaritan, Part 1
This Week's Bible Reading: Luke 10:25-37
Supporting Passage: Matthew 5:17-20
In the series finale of the show Seinfeld, Jerry and the gang witness a man getting carjacked. Instead of intervening, they record the crime and make jokes at the man's expense. But when the cops arrive, they are arrested and sent to jail. It turns out the town has a Good Samaritan law on the books. You are held responsible if you see someone in trouble and fail to help them!
As we near the end of our journey through the parables of Jesus, I saved one of my favorite stories for last: The Good Samaritan. It's a well-known tale. Robbers attack a man and leave him for dead at the side of the road. A priest happens to walk by but doesn't do anything to help the man. A Levite also strolls past him but doesn't stop to lend a hand, either. (A Levite was someone who assisted priests in the Temple.) But then, "a despised Samaritan" (v. 33, NLT) comes along and nurses the man back to health.
Jesus' parables are more than moral fables. But out of all his stories, the Good Samaritan is the one most likely to be put in this category. It's easy to oversimplify it and think the main takeaway is to help others even when it is inconvenient. In our modern culture, a Good Samaritan is a person who does exactly that. It's common to hear phrases like, "I was stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire until some Good Samaritan came by and helped."
While it's always good to be aware of the needs of those around us, Jesus was doing something bigger with this story. He was showing us that in God's Kingdom, we do not get to decide who is worthy of our love and who isn't.
The truth is, this parable is not the benign little story many people think it is. Jesus made the hero a Samaritan, a twist that would have shocked and offended the people who heard it. Next week, we'll explore who Samaritans were and why there was bad blood between them and Jewish people. Today, let's look at what prompted Jesus to tell this tale.
In Luke 10, a lawyer comes to Jesus with a question:
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?"
The man answered, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!" (Luke 10:25–28, NLT)
Jesus' answer may seem strange. Shouldn't his answer to this question always be, "Believe in me and follow me."?
Remember—Jesus dealt with people as individuals. He was always prodding to get to the real issue behind the question. In this case, the lawyer was trying to "test" Jesus. But what was the test about?
Maybe this lawyer saw Jesus hanging out with sinners and tax collectors. This made him uncomfortable. He wondered if Jesus was a heretic who didn't take Old Testament law (i.e., the law of Moses) seriously. After all, Jesus didn't seem to mind getting his hands dirty. And so the lawyer was trying to get a sense of where Jesus' true loyalty lay.
But surprisingly, Jesus gives the standard answer most rabbis at that time would have given. There was nothing controversial about it. He asks the lawyer what the law of Moses says. (Ironically, the same law that many Pharisees have accused Jesus of breaking!)
This point is crucial as we begin to look at the parable of the Good Samaritan. Sometimes, it's easy to pit the Old Testament and New Testament against each other. The God of the Old Testament is full of wrath, and then Jesus comes along full of love. But when the lawyer answers Jesus’ question with, "Love God and love your neighbor," he quotes from the Old Testament.
The love God part comes from Deuteronomy 6:5 (known as the Shema prayer): "And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength." Jewish males recited this verse twice a day.
And the love your neighbor part comes from Leviticus 19:18: "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."
God always wanted his people to love their neighbors. The lawyer knew that. The real question (and perhaps the real test he had in mind for Jesus) came next:
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29, NLT)
Jesus responds by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. With this story, Jesus isn't inventing anything new. Instead, he is showing us how to live out what God has already commanded.
Was Jesus taking the command to love your neighbor too far, as some had suspected?
Jesus' answer could end up offending everyone.
Questions to Ponder:
Take some time to read the parable of the Good Samaritan and write down any initial thoughts you have.
What are some ways our culture uses the phrase "Good Samaritan"? How might the parable's message differ from the way our culture usually interprets it?
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." How is Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament law to love your neighbor with this parable?
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