Luke 10:25-37

Butler's Comments

SECTION 2

Promoting Kindness (Luke 10:25-37)

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26He said to him, What is written in the law? How do you read? 27And 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. 28And he said to him, You have answered right; do this, and you will live.

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? 30Jesus 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. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, 34and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35And 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.-' 36Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? 37He said, The one who showed mercy on him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.

Luke 10:25-28 Love the Lord: A lawyer had been sitting among the crowds listening to Jesus teach. Lawyer (Gr. nomikos) was a term applied to an elite class of Jewish men trained in the Scriptural law and in the oral traditions (which had the force of law). His duty was to settle questions and disputes arising about matters of the Law in everyday Jewish life and to perpetuate the office of lawyer by teaching all young Jewish men who would come to him to learn. The term lawyer is synonymous with scribe. They are often found in association with the Pharisees but are distinguished from them in that Pharisees were a religious party while the lawyers-scribes held an office. Undoubtedly the majority of the lawyers-scribes belonged to the party of the Pharisees (cf. Matthew 5:20; Matthew 9:3; Matthew 12:38; Matthew 15:1; Matthew 23:2; Matthew 23:13; Mark 2:16; Mark 3:22; Mark 9:14; Mark 12:38-39; Luke 5:21; Luke 5:30; Luke 6:7; Luke 7:30; Luke 10:25; Luke 11:45; Luke 15:2; Luke 19:39; John 8:3, etc.). Lawyers and scribes were revered and feared by the people; called rabbi (meaning, master); demanded an honor surpassing that due to parents. Proudly they claimed the positions of first rank, and dressed in long robes like the nobility. Along with the Pharisees, they were thought to be, and thought themselves to be, the most pious of all mankind. Because Jesus refused to be bound by scribal traditions, they fiercely opposed Him.

The foregoing characterization of lawyers and scribes makes this confrontation rather amazing. Luke says the lawyer's question, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? was asked in order to put Jesus to the test. Some commentators think the lawyer had some wicked motive for the test. Perhaps he hoped to trap Jesus in some statement that would appear to be anti-rabbinical. Whatever the motive, Jesus put the onus back on the lawyer by asking, What is written in the law? How do you read? The answer of the lawyer is very impressive in view of his rabbinical background. One would expect a lawyer to have answered with a long list of rabbinical traditions one should do to inherit eternal life. But he said, You shall love the Lord your God. and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus told him he had spoken correctly.

It would take an uncommonly spiritually-minded Jewish rabbi to make a statement such as this lawyer made. The popular theology of the Jews (going all the way back to the days of the prophets; cf. Isaiah 1:11 ff.; Jeremiah 7:21-26; Micah 6:6-8) was that the sacrificial ritual was the heart and core of their covenant relationship to God. But it wasn-'t! God made covenant with their father, Abraham, long before the Mosaic sacrifices, based on Abraham's loving God with all his being. Eternal life is in a Personnot a religion. Of course, man must have some systematic way of expressing his devotion to his Loving Father so God ordains certain rituals and deeds acceptable to Him for such expression. Man was created in the image of His Creator; man must love. What, or whom, he loves determines his character (cf. Hosea 9:10). It is not just the doing of religious rituals or deeds of piety, but the motive for doing that makes what is done godly or not, (cf. Matthew 6:1-24). How does one love God? By loving his neighbor! There is no possibility of loving God without loving one's neighbor, (1 John 4:20-21).

Another lawyer asked Jesus practically the same question in the last week of His ministry (Matthew 22:34-40). Jesus gave the same answer, and added, On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. In other words, the essence of the law of God and the teaching of the prophets was to reveal God's nature (faithfulness, justice, mercy, love, purity, etc.) so that men would trust Him, love Him and obey Him. Since the law of God reveals Him as loving all men, the essential core of man's relationship to God is that he love his fellow man just as God loves him. When God's law to Moses required the Jew to be separate from the heathen, it was not meant to kill the love of man for man. It was intended to keep the Jew separate from the heathen wickedness which was spiritually destructive. The commandment to love the Lord is from the Hebrew shema (hear, obey) in Deuteronomy 6:4-6. The commandment to love one's neighbor is found in Leviticus 19:18. There are many more commandments in the Old Testament urging the Jew to be kind and merciful to his fellow man, even to aliens and sojourners, (cf. Leviticus 25:35-38; Leviticus 16:29; Leviticus 25:6; Numbers 15:15-16; Numbers 35:15; especially, Leviticus 19:33-34 and Exodus 22:21). Jesus makes it very plain in other teachings that if one loves God and His Son, he will keep Christ's commandments (John 14:15; John 14:21; John 14:23-24; John 15:10; John 15:12, etc.).

Luke 10:29-37 Minister to Man: Theologically and theoretically, the lawyer knew the essence of God's will for man. He was honest-hearted enough to see that the ritual observance of sacrifice and ceremony was not the core of man's relationship to God. He had seen from God's revelation that surrender of the total man, heart-soul-strength-mind, to God and love of one's neighbor was the key to eternal life. But when it came to putting what he knew to practice, he was apparently not ready to give complete surrender. He wanted to reserve the right to be selective as to whom he should love among mankind. Knowing that he had loved some men, he sought to justify his own selectivity by asking Jesus, And who is my neighbor? Perhaps he expected Jesus (considered to be a Rabbi, since He had disciples) would define neighbor in the classical rabbinical exclusiveness as being, one of my fellow scribes. Jewish society in Jesus-' day was regimented within a strict caste system. There was first of all the religious fanatics (Pharisees, scribes, lawyers); then there were the pragmatic, vacillating politicians (Sadducees, Herodians); then there were the am-ha-aretz (the people of the land,), most of whom were poor and oppressed. Scribes were hated! Rabbi Akiba said to his disciples, Before I became a scribe myself, I thought, -Ah, if only I had one in my grasp, I would bite him like an ass.-' One of his disciples replied, Master, would it not have been enough to bite him like a dog? Akiba replied, No, like an ass, for an ass bites better: he crushes the very bones. Pharisees and scribes considered all am-ha-aretz as ignorant of the law and therefore accursed (cf. John 7:49). One Pharisee was shocked that the rabbi Jesus would allow a sinner-woman to touch Him (Luke 7:39). If a Jewish scribe had difficulty considering a lower-class Jew his neighbor to love as himself, what would he think of neighborliness to a Gentile? So this Jewish scribe or lawyer was hoping Jesus would follow the traditional definition of neighbor. He could thus justify himself for he had probably acted quite neighborly to his fellow lawyers.

When Jesus told His story of the Samaritan who had helped the robbed and beaten Jew on the road to Jericho, this lawyer and many others standing near must have gasped in utter shock! There was a violent hatred between most Jews and Samaritans in that age. Samaritan was one of the vilest epithets a Jew could use against any man (cf. John 8:48). The animosity between Judeans and the people of the north of Jerusalem probably began with the division of the Solomonic empire when the ten northern tribes withdrew and formed the nation of Israel (about 935 B.C.). The two remaining tribes formed the southern kingdom, Judah. Israel formed its own religion, government, priesthood and army. Upon Israel's captivity by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., most of the able-bodied Israelites were deported to Mesopotamia and heathen peoples were immigrated into that territory. The heathen immigrants intermarried with the Hebrews who had been left behind and this formed a half-breed Jewish population known as Samaritans. Judah was taken captive in 606-586 B.C. and its people deported to Babylon. Seventy years later, 536 B.C., fifty thousand Judeans were allowed to return to their homeland by Cyrus, king of Persia. The Judeans reoccupied their farms and villages and this dispossessed many Samaritans who had moved -into the southern part of Palestine when the Judeans had been carried off to Babylon. That added fuel to the fires of animosity between these two peoples. The Samaritans wanted to help the Judeans rebuild their Temple and their cities (cf. Ezra 4:1 ff.), but were told bluntly and unceremoniously their help was not wanted! From that point on, the hatred intensified. Rabbinic tradition soon declared the Samaritans excommunicated from the Hebrew covenant (Talmud, Tanahim Luke 17:4). About 333 B.C., Manasseh, grandson of the Judean high priest, but also son-in-law of Sanballat the governor of Samaria, persuaded Cyrus, king of Persia, to allow him to build a temple to Jehovah on Mt. Gerizim that would be a rival to the temple in Jerusalem. He made himself the high priest, convinced some priests from Jerusalem to join him there, and allowed them to marry heathen women, (cf. Josephus, Antiquities, Luke 11:8). John Hyrcanus, Hasmonean king of Judea, destroyed the Samaritan temple on Gerizim along with the city of Samaria. Herod the Great rebuilt Samaria and called it Sebaste (Greek for Augustus) in honor of the Roman emperor. Herod also built the Samaritans another temple in the city of Sebaste, but the Samaritans refused to use it, preferring to continue their worship at the ruins on top of Mt. Gerizim (cf. John 4:20-21). Conflict and invective continued between Jew and Samaritan for centuries. Around A.D. 6-9, according to annual custom, the gates of the temple in Jerusalem were opened at midnight, whereupon some Samaritans who had secreted themselves nearby, polluted the Jewish temple by scattering human bones in its porches. Samaritans were thereafter excluded from the services (Josephus, Antiquities 18:2:2). In 52 A.D., Samaritans attacked some Jewish pilgrims travelling south to one of their annual feasts. The Jews counterattacked and the struggle became so fierce the Roman legate of Syria had to send in troops. These troops crucified a number of Jews as punishment for the riot. The Samaritans were cursed by the Jewish people. One Talmudic proverb says, A piece of bread given by a Samaritan is more unclean than swine's flesh. Remember, Samaritans refused lodging for Jesus and His disciples as they were on their way to Tabernacles (cf. Luke 9:51-56).

But apparently not all Samaritans were like this. Jesus here relates that one Samaritan knew better than Jewish priests and Levites what mercy and neighborliness was. Another time (Luke 17:12 ff.) a Samaritan was the only one of ten who knew how to express gratitude for being healed of leprosy. A Samaritan woman changed her life as a result of Jesus-' preaching and evangelized a whole city (John 4:1-54). Multitudes of Samaritans became Christians at the preaching of Philip (cf. Acts 8:4-8).

Jesus began His parable, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was called Adummim (Joshua 15:7; Joshua 18:17) which means, The Pass of Blood. It was a notoriously thief-infested, steep, long road, crowded along its sides with caves and hiding places. Josephus records that Herod had dismissed 40,000 workmen from the Temple shortly before Jesus told this parable and a large part of them became vicious highway robbers, The Jewish traveler of the Lord's parable was set upon by such thieves and robbed, stripped, beaten and left half-dead. A priest and a Levite came upon this man as they traveled the road, but they passed by on the other side. The Greek word antiparelthen is very expressive. It is a triple compounded word: anti, against; para, alongside; erchomai, come, go. These two Jewish holy-men came upon the victim, one of their own people, but quickly crossed over to the other side of the road. We really don-'t know why they crossed over to the other side of the road. Perhaps fear of ceremonial pollution from touching a dead body (as far as they could see he was dead); perhaps they were afraid to get involved lest the robbers might still be around. Whatever, Jesus doesn-'t give their reasons, because no reason they could give would be justifiable. But a Samaritan came alongand incredibly, unexpectedly, inexplicably stopped and helped the victim. Jesus said the Samaritan had compassion on the victim. The Greek word is esplagchnisthe and describes a gut-feeling type of compassion; one that describes literally hurting because someone else hurts. Splagchnon is a word often translated inward parts, bowels or tender mercies in the KJV. The Samaritan bound the man's wounds, put medicine on them, took him to an inn, cared for him, and paid the bill in full.

Now the point of this parable is not who is my neighbor, butbe sure you are always a neighbor when someone needs one! Neighborliness has nothing to do with geographical boundaries, but it has everything to do with need, anywhere one finds it. It was not the victim but the Samaritan who was the neighbor!

The Samaritan was a true neighbor. He could see need above other less important matters. He could have thought of just as many excuses that he shouldn-'t help the victim as the priest and Levite, but his conscience would not let him justify himself as had the others. There is only one justifiable way to love God and that is through helping people in need (1 John 4:20-21). We may do many other things and say we love God, but if we do not help those in need our profession is hypocritical. Mercifulness is the Christian way of lifeBlessed are the merciful.. (Matthew 5:7). The Samaritan got personal. We like to organize our goodness through benevolent organizations. If we hire others to do benevolence we don-'t have to get our hands dirty, smell unpleasant odors, lose sleep and get involved. We want to institutionalize goodness so we can spend our own time searching for our own happiness. And we never find happiness that way because it is found in doing good personally (Acts 20:35; John 13:16). The Samaritan didn-'t turn the man over to anyone else until he was sure he had personally done everything he could for the man. He didn-'t give the victim money and tell him to go find an inn and a doctor. The Samaritan got down on his knees in the dirtexposed himself to dangergot his hands dirty, and helped. The Samaritan was flexible. The priest and Levite probably rushed on past because they were on very important missions with tight schedules and just didn-'t have time to stop. The Samaritan didn-'t do his goodness on a schedulehe did it when the need arose, no matter what his schedule was. The Samaritan was brave. There is always an element of danger in every effort to help someone; danger to one's reputation, to one's safety; to one's possessions. Helping others puts one in a position of vulnerability to be rejected, ridiculed and misunderstood. One must be brave to be good.

Finally, the Samaritan was realistic. He did not try to do more than he could. We are not commanded to be a miracle-worker or a slave to everyone we help. Not every cry for help will be a permanent assignment. The Samaritan did not take the victim home with him and adopt him into the family. He did what he could and departed. Some have to take over the victim's life and manage it or dominate everyone they help. There are subtle pitfalls in too much helpfulness. Some want to help in order to put those they help forever in debt to them in order to hear the constant thank yous which build ego and identify and earn merit. The Samaritan did all he could, the best he could, and let it go at that. It is not even recorded that the victim thanked the Samaritan!

When asked, which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man, the lawyer apparently gagged on the word Samaritan and so he said, The one doing the mercy to him. The Lord's reply, as recorded by Luke in Greek is, poreuou kai su poiei homoios. The word Go is in the imperative mood. Jesus is not suggesting this, He is commanding it! Literally translated, Jesus said, Go! and you keep on doing likewise.

Applebury's Comments

The Story of the Good Samaritan
Scripture

Luke 10:25-37 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and made trial of him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 And he said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? 30 Jesus made answer and said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a certain priest was going down that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And in like manner a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34 and came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought him -to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow he took out two shillings, and gave them to the host, and said, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, I, when I come back again, will repay thee. 36. Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbor unto him that fell among the robbers? 37 And he said, He that showed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Comments

a certain lawyer.This incident is similar to the story of the Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-29), but there are striking differences. The ruler was evidently sincere in his desire to know what he had to do to have eternal life. The lawyer was deliberately trying to trap Jesus. Perhaps he was trying to get Jesus to set aside the Law of Moses or at least say something that could be used to condemn Him.

What shall I do to have eternal life?Under the Law of Moses the answer was simple and should have been understood by the lawyer, as his response shows. Paul says, Moses writeth that the man that doeth righteousness which is of the law shall live thereby (Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12). The law, of course, could not forgive the sinner who broke the law (Galatians 3:21). Only the blood of Christ could provide forgiveness which is made available under the New Covenant to the obedient believer in Christ through the grace of God (Romans 3:21-26). This explains the difference between the answer of the lawyer which Jesus approved and the answer given on the Day of Pentecost to those who asked what to do for remission of their sins (Acts 2:36-38).

What is written in the law?Jesus was born under the law, and His ministry was carried out during the period in which the Law of Moses still held jurisdiction over God's people. The Old Covenant did not give place to the New until the Day of Pentecost. Naturally, when He was asked about eternal life, He pointed to the Law of God for the age in which He lived.

Jesus answered the lawyers question by asking another, for He wanted him to think about it. He was aware of the purpose the lawyer had in asking it. So Jesus said, What is written in the law? How does it read to you?

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.The lawyer's statement first summarized the Law of Moses with reference to duties to God. The manner in which they were to be carried out is stressed in these details: (1) with all your heart; (2) with all your soul; (3) with all your strength; and (4) with all your mind. Then he added the statement that summarizes the duties toward man: Love your neighbor as yourself.

desiring to justify himself.The embarrassed lawyer who had deliberately tried to embarrass Jesus asked, Who is my neighbor? Jesus answered his question by telling the story of the Good Samaritan. A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, but he was ignored by a priest and a Levite. Of all people, these should have gone to his rescue. But a Samaritanthey were despised by the Jewscame along and gave him aid. Then he took him to the inn where he could be cared for until he got well. As he was leaving, he said to the inn keeper, Whatever else you spend, I-'ll repay when I return.

Which of these three?Jesus-' question made the lawyer answer his own. There could be no doubt about it. The one who had shown mercy to the distressed and beaten man was the neighbor. Was the proud lawyer ready to be taught? The Master said, Go and do likewise.