God's Nature

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) differs from most other parables because it is so simple, yet so concrete that a child can understand its basic point. However, it is also an insightful and memorable exposition of practical moral principles. Many religious and secular people understand that the parable shows its effectiveness and its simplicity and depth. Unlike other parables, each figure in the story does not necessarily represent a spiritual equivalent. The whole narrative describes working compassion as contrasted to selfishness, of hate compared with love.

The parable of the Good Samaritan told by Jesus, struck a certain cord with me for a number of reasons. First of all, the parable can only be found in the Gospel of Luke and secondly, Luke's account on the life of Jesus is guaranteed to be trustworthy as well as orderly.

"And so your Excellency, because I have carefully studied all of these matters from their beginnings, I thought it would be good to write an orderly account for you." (Luke 1:4)

This passage reveals to its readers, the innermost problems of ethics and the point of ethical obligation. In this text it is the scholars, the wise and most learned that are exposed for what they are or are not. I found it interesting that the Gospel of Luke began differently than the other three Gospels. I wondered why Luke thought that his account of Jesus' life was more "orderly" than the other gospels in the New Testament. It raised a question of what Luke's purpose was in writing an account of the Gospel in dedication to Theophilus.

According to the Studying Jesus-Learning Christ, by Tom Yoder Neufeld, Luke already knew that there were many others that set themselves the task of writing presentations of what Jesus did, said, experienced, and why it mattered. Also we are aware of the Gospels of Thomas and Peter proving that we could not fathom how many gospels were actually written in that time where Luke made reference to "Eyewitnesses" and to servants of the Word.

I agree with Neufeld, when he states, that Luke's "orderly attempt" was not an attempt to get specific stories of the other evangelists correct, but rather, it was an attempt to persuade Theophilus of the truth from a theological or evangelistic point of view. Many biblical interpreters contend that Theophilus was perhaps a sympathetic Roman ruler, but still of pagan faith, whom Luke was attempting to influence the truths of the Gospel. Theophilus in Luke's account described, as "most excellent" was obviously a man who was of a higher status than Luke. It was an appropriate way to address government officials. (The Interpreters Bible p.120).

The geographical location of this story is significant because the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was legendary, treacherous and dangerous. The given name to this area was "Adummim" (Ah-doo-miym), "The Pass of Blood"(Calvary Chapel Luke 10:1-37). This mountainous area was an inhospitable gorge that left great opportunities for thieves to ambush travelers. In this parable a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was robbed, stripped, wounded and left for dead. And by chance, a Priest passed by the wounded man and went to the other side of the road, paying no attention to him.

Also a Levite passed by, looked at the wounded man and continued to walk on the other side of the road. But a Samaritan, on his journey, came to where the wounded man was and his heart filled with compassion. He went to the wounded man, bound his cuts and poured oil and wine on them. He even set him on his own animal, took him to an inn and made sure he was taken care of. The following day the Samaritan gave the innkeeper enough money to take care of the wounded man for more than a few days. After this parable Jesus asked the lawyer, "In your opinion, which of these three acted like a neighbor towards the man attacked by the robbers?" (Luke 10:36)

The lawyer said he thought it was the one who helped the wounded man. Jesus told him to go and do the same. Although the lawyer feels absolutely certain that he loves the Lord with everything he is and everything he has, he will fail to meet the required righteousness of God's law. Now that the lawyer is satisfied with his answer, his next objective is to fulfill the part of being a neighbor (Luke 10:29).

The religious scholars of their time were seen as the ones who would most likely stop and help a wounded man. However, it was the Samaritan, the one who was considered to be lower than the gentiles, who put himself aside to help a man he never knew despite creed or religion.

I think the practical application for us today is obvious. But for the lawyer, Jesus was showing him how short he fell of the law. When the Lawyer asked, who is my neighbor? [That I am supposed to love] Jesus showed him a Samaritan.

The relationship between Jews and Samaritans began when the Assyrians conquered Israel; the Israelites in the northern kingdom were relocated among the gentile nations. Also foreigners were brought in to help repopulate the land. The northern Kingdom then became a land of mixed race. After the Babylonians took the southern kingdom of Judah captive, they did not intermingle the races, but kept the Jews separate. The "Jews" of Judah came to disregard the half-breed Samaritans, and not without reason, since the Samaritans gave those who returned from their Babylonian captivity much grief and opposition as they attempted to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, it's walls and the temple (StraightDope.com).

This "low life" Samaritan, unlike the other two travelers sees the injured man and is drawn to him, rather than going to the other side of the road. The Samaritan's good will displays his love for mankind. He was not concerned whether or not the man was a Jew, he saw this man in need and even though he was on his journey through a very rough and dangerous place he never let anything stop him from helping the injured man. "This passage seems to answer not only the lawyer's question, Who is my neighbor? ie., Ð''Who is an appropriate object of neighborly love?' but such a question as "Who is the true bestower