Sunday Sermons
The Good Samaritan
The Good Samaritan
As we enter into this lesson I want you to make a list of all the people you know who do not matter to God. Luke 10:25: The term “lawyer” was used synonymously with teacher of the law and scribe (Matt. 22:35;Mark 12:28). His duties would include the study, interpretation, expounding of the law, teaching the law in the schools and synagogues, and deciding questions of the law.“And put Him to the test”: “Came forward to put this test question”(NEB), from the fact that this man would ask a question to which he already knew the answer (10:29), indicates that his motivation was less than honorable. “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Others would ask the same question (Matt. 19:16).
Luke 10:26 “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” Jesus believed that the Word of God is understandable, even when it comes to finding the answers to questions that impact one’s eternal destiny. Jesus is asking this man to interpret, “What is your understanding of the Law?” He is asking this man to use his mind, logic, and reasoning abilities. Jesus did not have the attitude that we cannot understand the Bible alike. The Word of God contains the answers to any question that involves the future of our soul (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Notice the teaching technique that Jesus used. He made the student solve the problem. “The more one thinks of how simply and naturally this was done and done at once, the more one marvels at the mind that did this” (Lenski p. 597). Consider the patience demonstrated by the Master Teacher, even though this man was testing him (which Jesus knew), Jesus still took the time to help him. Jesus even took the time to help people who were less than honest in their motives. Luke 10:27 “And he answered and said”: The man had a ready answer. “You shall love the Lord” This is a quotation from two passages (Deut. 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18). “You have answered correctly”: Even less than honest men can understand the truth concerning serious questions (Matthew 21:45). Luke 10:28 “Do this, and you will live”: Present tense, “keep on doing”. “If you keep the law as well as you quote it--you will have eternal life” (Lightfoot p. 63). One has never been saved by faith alone. Please note that this man had the right answer, the right belief, but a mere belief never saved anyone (John 12:42-43; James 1:22; 2:26). Note that Jesus did not say, “Well, good answer, but such a standard is impossible to live by”.
Luke 10:29 “But wishing to justify himself”: “Wishing to justify his question” (Gspd); “Wanted to vindicate himself” (NEB); “Anxious to make an excuse for himself” (Mof). This man stood up in the audience (10:25) and asked a question to which he already knew the answer. On top of that, this man was a professional expert in the Scriptures. How much confidence would you have had in a scribe who had to ask, “How do you get to heaven?” He meant to put Jesus on the spot and now he is looking for a way to get out of the hole he has just dug for himself. “The lawyer saw at once that he had convicted himself of asking a question that he already knew, in his embarrassment he asks another question to show that he did have some point at first” (Robertson p. 152). “And who is my neighbor?” The Jewish leaders had narrowly defined the meaning of the world “neighbor”. “At their worst and their narrowest they confined the word neighbor to their fellow Jews. For instance, some of them said that it was illegal to help a Gentile woman in her sorest time, the time of childbirth, for that would only have been to bring another Gentile into the world” (Barclay p. 143). “To the Jew, no Gentile was a neighbor; to the Pharisee, the non-Pharisee was excluded; the Essenes required that a man should hate all ‘sons of darkness’ (cf. Matthew 5:43)” (Jackson p. 71). The following parable was designed to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:30 “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho”: 'The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a notoriously dangerous road. Jerusalem is 2,300 feet above sea-level; the Dead Sea near which Jericho stood, is 1,300 feet below sea-level. So then, in little more than 20 miles, this road dropped 3,600 feet. It was a road of narrow, rocky defiles, and of sudden turnings that made it the happy hunting ground of brigands. In the fifth century Jerome tells us that it was still called "The Red, or Bloody Way." In the 19th century it was still necessary to pay safety money to the local Sheiks before one could travel on it. When Jesus told this story, He was telling about the kind of thing that was constantly happening on this Jerusalem to Jericho road” (Barclay p. 141). This was not the only way to Jericho, but it was the most direct. “Fell among the robbers”: That is, became surrounded. The word "robbers" is defined by Vine as meaning, “one who plunders openly and by violence (in contrast to a thief)” (p. 301). These were not petty criminals, but rather, men of violence, and they made a thorough job of robbing and beating this man. “Stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead”: They even stole his clothes. This man will soon die unless someone comes to his aid. He cannot help himself or even move from the spot at which he was robbed.
Luke 10:31 “And by chance”: “By way of coincidence” (Robertson p. 153). “To happen, turn out, accident” (Thayer p. 593). “Lit. a meeting together with, a coincidence of circumstances, a happening, concurrence of events is what the word signifies, rather than chance” (Vine p. 180). Ecclesiastes 9:11 “for time and chance overtake them all”. Notice how opportunities happen to serve! Most of us do not even have to look that far for opportunities to use our talents (Matthew 25:31ff). “Was going down on that road”: Since the time of David the priests had been divided into 24 courses or orders (1 Chron. 24:1-19; Luke 1:5,8-9). Each order of priests served in the Temple at Jerusalem twice a year, a week at a time. Jericho, like Jerusalem, was a city in which many priests lived. “And when he saw him”: This man cannot claim ignorance. “He passed by on the other side”: It appears that he did not even stop. Now some commentators have argued that the priest and Levite did not stop because if the man were dead, touching a dead body would have rendered them unclean (Numbers 19:11), hence they would have forfeited their yearly opportunity to serve in the Temple. Yet the text has the priest and the Levite heading in the opposite direction (“going down on that road” 10:31, “likewise a Levite also” 10:32). How soon we forget what we have learned. “A priest, and even one who was fresh from the Sanctuary where the law of love is taught the people. Here was one of his own people in the extremity of need--if the sufferer had not been a Jew, Jesus would have had said that. But he hurried by, for nobody saw him, perhaps not even the sufferer--nobody but God” (Lenski p. 605). Unless our heart is truly committed to God, then everything we learn will simply go in one ear and out the other. This man may have just spent a week serving God in the Temple area, and then immediately he went out and violated everything that the law of God proclaimed. Just being around a religious atmosphere, God's people, God's will, and God’s worship, will not change a person whose heart is not fully committed to Him.
Luke 10:32 “Likewise a Levite also”: A man descended from the tribe of Levi. They served as the assistants and helpers for the priests in the various Temple activities (1 Chron. 23:24-32 “For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah”). “Came to the place and saw him”: This may indicate that the Levite came a little closer than the priest. “Both men had their excuses: robbers were near, and they might be assaulted; the man was too far gone, and what could they do? To be found near the man might cast suspicion on them” (Lenski p. 605). Barclay notes, “The bandits were in the habit of using decoys. One of their number would act the part of a wounded man; and when some unsuspecting traveler stopped over him, and others would rush upon him and overpower him. The Levite was a man whose motto was, ‘Safety first’. He would take no risks to help anyone else” (p. 142). There is a lesson here: If we are looking for a reason not to obey some command of God, then we can always find a reason or a host of reasons.
Jesus is not using this story to teach that all religious leaders or people are hypocrites, for a number of priests will obey the gospel (Acts 6:7), and God had created the roles of priest and Levite in the Old Testament. Neither is the purpose of the story to prove that all Samaritans were good people.
Luke 10:33 “A certain Samaritan”: The Samaritans were the descendants of the mixed race of people who inhabited the northern region of Israel following Assyrian captivity (2 Kings 17:25-34). During the restoration, the returning Jews rejected them (Ezra 4:3), and hence they became hostile towards Jews. They had set up a Temple on Mt. Gerizim to rival the Temple in Jerusalem (John 4:19-20). In 128 B.C. the Jews had destroyed the Samaritans place of worship and around 6-9 A.D., a group of Samaritans had defiled the Temple in Jerusalem by scattering bones there during the Passover. Needless to say, Jews and Samaritans hated each other (John 4:9; 8:48). This Samaritan could have found more reasons why he did not have to stop, including the justification that this man was one of his natural enemies. The same dangers and risks that faced the priest or Levite--also faced this Samaritan. “He felt compassion”: Even though a natural enemy, this man saw another human being in great need. This man started to practice what Jesus had taught, love your enemies (Matthew 5:44-48).
Compassion will overcome prejudice or preconceived ideas. This is why it is so important to retain a tender and good heart.
Luke 10:34 “Bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them”: Love of neighbor is practical. Oil and wine (something that soothed and also served as an antiseptic) was an ancient remedy. “Put him on his own beast”: The beast on which he had been riding. “Brought him to an inn, and took care of him”: Taking care of him probably included clothes and provisions. Luke 10:35 “Took out two denarii”: The wages for two days work. “Whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you”: He went the second-mile. Notice that God does not demand the impossible, this Samaritan was not required to stay with this man forever. God does not demand that we spend every moment trying to find someone in need, but rather just to help those we can help. It appears that the Innkeeper knew the Samaritan (a common business traveler) and the word and credit of the Samaritan were good. “A day's lodging would cost about one twelfth of a denarius, hence, he left expenses for about three weeks care” (Jackson p. 73).
Luke 10:36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robber’s hands?” Notice how Jesus reverses the man's question, “Who is my neighbor?” A more practical question is “am I acting like a neighbor?” Also note how Jesus insisted that this man answer his own question. Such is a test of honesty. Is this lawyer going to honestly see the parable, and will he have the courage to state the only possible conclusion?
Luke 10:37 “The one who showed mercy toward him”: This is an honest answer, even though he did avoid the term Samaritan. “Go and do the same”: This phrase is in the present tense - go and practice this truth. True religion is not complicated; the truth is easy to see. To be of any profit, the truth must be practiced (James 1:27).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
