The Parable of The Good Samaritan and The Importance of Context

The Parable of The Good Samaritan and The Importance of Context

Key Questions Why was Jesus tested by the lawyer? What was the big deal about the question: what must I do to inherit eternal life? What was it that the lawyer wanted to do? What did Jesus hold the lawyer responsible for? Did the lawyer understand the meaning of the verses he cited? If so, why did he try to justify himself? What does all of this have to do with the parable of the good Samaritan?

Key Questions Why was Jesus tested by the lawyer? Many of the religious leaders of the day were challenged by Jesus. He taught as one having his own authority. His miracles and teachings, and the crowds that followed him, eroded the influence that they had.

Key Questions What was the big deal about the question: what must I do to inherit eternal life? The different religious leaders often challenged each other with difficult questions. The question about eternal life was asked in order to point out a flaw in Jesus teaching. Similar to the answer to the question of which is the greatest commandment, the answer to this question would probably, the lawyer assumed, offend someone. If you chose this commandment as the greatest, you would alienate someone you differed with you. If you teach that this item of obedience is key to one inheriting eternal life, you would also offend someone.

Key Questions What was the big deal about the question: what must I do to inherit eternal life? The lawyer assumed that there was no way that Jesus could answer without jeopardizing his role as a teacher worthy of being followed. Jesus answer, by asking his own question about what the law taught, put the burden of coming up with the right answer on the lawyer.

Key Questions What was it that the lawyer wanted to do? After the lawyer answered Jesus question, and answered it correctly, Jesus told him that he was right. Now you need to do what those great commandments, love of God and love of neighbor, obligate you to do. This caught the lawyer off guard. His question suggested that he was looking for just one great thing to do. That one thing that lead to eternal life was so great, so important, that he would never have to do any other thing. That s the sort of answer he was hoping to get from Jesus.

Key Questions What did Jesus hold the lawyer responsible for? When Jesus turned the tables by asking him what the law said, Jesus held the lawyer responsible for: Knowing what the scripture said Knowing what the scripture meant The same things apply to us today.

Key Questions Did the lawyer understand the meaning of the verses he cited? He understood that they related to what we must do to inherit eternal life. That s why he cited them. But it does not appear that he fully understood the extent of their application. Love of God is quite far reaching in its application. And. so is love of neighbor.

Key Questions If so, why did he try to justify himself? After Jesus told the lawyer that he answered correctly he told him that he must do these things, that is, love God and love neighbor. Only Jesus did not say do in the sense that the lawyer wanted to do. He wanted to do one big thing and be forever done with his responsibility before God. Jesus answer held him responsible for more than that. Jesus answer held him responsible for continual doing toward God and toward our neighbors. That s when the lawyer balked. Probably realizing that it would not be a good idea to challenge Jesus answer with the question who is God?, he challenged Jesus by asking who is my neighbor? If he could restrict the limits of who his neighbor was, he could restrict his responsibility of fulfilling the second great commandment.

Key Questions What does all of this have to do with the parable of the good Samaritan? This is why Jesus launched into the parable of the good Samaritan. He used it to do one very simple thing. He used it to answer the lawyer s question who is my neighbor?

In the parable four central characters appear A man beaten and robbed A priest A levite A Samaritan The Parable

The Parable In the parable the man beaten and robbed is ignored and overlooked by both the priest and the Levite. The hero of the story is the Samaritan Why? Because he is the only one that showed mercy to the beaten man. And because he is the only one that demonstrated what both the law and Jesus had in mind in the second great commandment, love your neighbor as yourself.

The Parable This parable worked because the illustration was so obvious in so many ways: There was an obvious need - helping the injured man There was an obvious oversight - twice - neither the priest nor the Levite helped - both passed by There was an obvious case of mercy - by the Samaritan

The Lawyer s Problem The Samaritans At one point the term Samaritan just applied to people who lived in the Northern kingdom of Israel (cf. 2 Kings 17:29). The Northern kingdom of Israel, during Ahab s reign he constructed a temple for Baal worship there (1 Kings 16:32-33) for instance, was often identified with pagan systems of worship. Over time, however, the term referred to a people of mixed origin, composed of the peoples brought by the conqueror from Babylon and elsewhere to take the places of the expatriated Israelites and those who were left in the land (W. Ewing, ISBE - Samaritan )

The Lawyer s Problem The Samaritans These mixed origin peoples worshiped their own gods (cf. 2 Kings 17:24-41) They challenged Israel to let them be part of the rebuilding of the temple and the city of Jerusalem during the period of restoration, but were not allowed to participate (cf. Ezra 4:4ff; Nehemiah 4:7ff) By worshiping on Mt Gerizim, they engaged in a system of worship that was contrary to the Jews (cf. the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacobs well in John 4).

The Lawyer s Problem The Samaritans As a rule, the Jews simply had no dealing with the Samaritans (John 4:9) On one occasion Jesus was accused of being a Samaritan (John 8:48), perhaps because he occasionally made positive use of them in his life and teachings. (cf. Lk 10:25-37; 17:11-19) Understanding the context of Luke 10:25-37 specifically the Jewish attitude toward Samaritans and the varying belief systems among the religious leaders is critical to understanding the parable of the good Samaritan. It s narratives, truths and principles do not occur in a vacuum. To appreciate the full import of what is taught, we must take the time to learn everything we can about context.