Luke 10:30-37
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The manner in which Jesus dealt with the expert in Jewish religious law’s questions in verses 25 to 29 of Luke chapter 10, we can very clearly see Jesus’ omniscience, knowing the motives behind the questions but also knowing the character of this man. In addition to this, we can also see Jesus’ love for this person which is displayed with His patience and willingness to continue to help the expert with his issue of pride which influenced his character which was displayed by what he said.
How many of us would have responded differently than the way Jesus did when the expert answered Jesus’ comments as we read in verse 29, 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus responded with a parable to this person’s conceited and seemingly disrespectful question, “And who is my neighbor?”. Why did Jesus respond with a parable and not simply state to the expert what his problem was?
Jesus is a rabbi or teacher, we see this in Mark 9:5, “Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.”, He used this situation as a teaching opportunity. However, we must not forget that Jesus is also the living expression of agape love. “Agape denotes an undefeatable benevolence and unconquerable goodwill that always seeks the highest good of the other person, no matter what he does. It is the self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object.” This is why Jesus was not offended by this person’s harsh response in the form of a question. It is not that agape love is ignorant or naïve, but because of Jesus’ omniscience He not only knew of this person’s problem, but because of His agape love, Jesus was willing to help him overcome this character condition or flaw caused by his pride.
As maturing believers in Christ, how often does Jesus deal with us in many different ways to help us shed off the “old self” and put on the “new self” so we can be who God created and predestined us to be in Christ Jesus? Ephesians 4:22-24, 22 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…”
“Jesus’ characteristic method of teaching was through parables.”
We see in many portions of the gospels that one of Jesus’ preferred methods of teaching was the use of parables. Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary tells us that a parable is a “short, simple story designed to communicate a spiritual truth, religious principle, or moral lesson; a figure of speech in which truth is illustrated by a comparison or example drawn from everyday experiences.”
Jesus was not in a competition with the expert to see who could out do the other in a spiritual debate and have the last word. Jesus by His omniscience knew what this man needed in his life. And by His agape love was going to lead him to find the answer himself. 1 Corinthians 13:4a “Love is patient, love is kind.” Ver. 5, “…it is not easily angered…”
The expert thought he had all the answers to Jesus’ questions and comments, however Jesus being a master of the parabolic form, used a parable to expose the heart of this person. The parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates God’s love for sinners and submission to God’s command that we “Love your neighbor as yourself” which means that we are to show compassion to all people. Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary tells us the following about the parable. “The central point of the parable of the Good Samaritan is that a “hated” Samaritan proved to be a neighbor to the wounded man. He showed the traveler the mercy and compassion denied to him by the priest and the Levite, representatives of the established religion. The one central point of this parable is that we should also extend compassion to others—even those who are not of our own nationality, race, or religion.”
When reading a parable, we always need to be careful not to spiritualize its meaning which is to give a spiritual representation or symbolism to what is said in the parable. Warren Wiersbe makes a very good point concerning this in the following paragraph as it applies to the parable of the Good Samaritan.
“The worst thing we can do with any parable, especially this one, is turn it into an allegory and make everything stand for something. The victim becomes the lost sinner who is half dead (alive physically, dead spiritually), helplessly left on the road of life. The priest and Levite represent the Law and the sacrifices, neither of which can save the sinner. The Samaritan is Jesus Christ who saves the man, pays the bill, and promises to come again. The inn stands for the local church where believers are cared for, and the “two pence” are the two ordinances, baptism and Communion. If you take this approach to Scripture, you can make the Bible say almost anything you please, and you are sure to miss the messages God wants you to get.”
In verse 36 Jesus ends the parable asking the expert in Jewish religious law a question, 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” Many times, this is how Jesus works in our lives when we make ourselves available to listen to what He is telling us. When we realize the answer for ourselves instead of someone giving us the answer, we will always remember it because we were the one who discovered the treasure that applies to our lives.
Jesus’ purpose to ask this man the questions was to not just to get the correct answer, but for this person to realize that he had no excuse not to do and live out what he knew was the right thing to do.
As before the expert answered Jesus’ question correctly, 37a, “The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” The expert of Jewish law now knew what he should do based on his own words, Jesus did not have to specifically tell him what he needed to do. 37b, Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” This was the second time Jesus told this man to go and do something based on the correct answer that he gave.
Who is Jesus telling you to go to and show agape love and be a neighbor to whom you find it hard to do?
Pastor John
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.
At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view.
How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
