How to inherit eternal life, part 19: the Samaritan

And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.' Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands? " And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same." (Luke 10:31-37 NASB)

The priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan all saw the wounded man but only the Samaritan saw with his heart. He was moved by compassion for the man's needs and did all he could do for him. The actions of the Samaritan are remarkable on many levels, but especially because he was on a journey, headed to a destination where he would stay, likely for several days. "When I return", he told the innkeeper, he would settle accounts for all that had been needed in the care of the man. With that, the Samaritan committed himself to an ongoing involvement in the life of the wounded man that would continue until the man was able to care for himself. 

The Samaritan did not stop at merely bandaging the hurt places. He committed himself to the man's recovery and provided what was needed for that to happen. Truthfully, I prefer the one-time handout. I'm happy to send blankets to homeless people, but I'm not so quick to involve myself in the lives of those same homeless people, helping them until they are back on their feet. It's the same with those who have a myriad of overwhelming needs. Just like them, I am easily overwhelmed by their need. Not seeing how to deal with all the problems, it's easier to deal with none of them. 

What I've come to realize is the very thing the Samaritan understood all along. He was not responsible for helping every person with trouble along his journey, but he was responsible for one. When he saw with his eyes and his heart, he responded by doing what he could, and it was enough. In that same way, we will never be able to respond to every need our eyes see, but, when God moves our heart with compassion, we can respond to the need of one. 

I think the kind Samaritan was accustomed to helping people along the journey. He had a relationship of trust with the innkeeper that made the man's care possible, so perhaps he had done the same thing for other wounded people along his way. He was the kind of neighbor God has called us to be, responding, one at a time, with all the compassion and care and commitment we can until the injured one has recovered enough to care for themselves.

May we look at the great need around us and allow God to move our hearts with compassion and our hands with action, commitment, and care. Let's not hold back from the one who needs us the most, but love and give as the kind Samaritan, staying involved until the need is completely met. After all, that is exactly what Christ has done for us. 

Go and do the same. 

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How to inherit eternal life, part 18: The obedient one

But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.' (Luke 10:33-35 NASB)

In order to understand the reference to the Samaritan, and to fully understand the richness of this parable, the last two posts have looked at how the problem between the Jews and the Samaritans developed. You can read those two posts here #1 and here #2. 

The parable of the Good Samaritan is incredibly rich on multiple levels, and it also gives us a glimpse into the humor of God. He loves using the unlikely to do the unexpected, especially when He can plant an ironic and deeply profound lesson in the midst of things. 

Remember that the trouble with the Jews and the Samaritans began with what was essentially a civil war in Israel. Because of Solomon's idolatry, God tore the kingdom from his descendants and promised it to Jeroboam if he would only wait, listen, and obey. Eventually, Solomon died, and his son Rehoboam inherited the kingdom. Rehoboam made it clear that he would be a tough taskmaster, taking more from the people than his father, Solomon. The people of Israel would have none of Rehoboam, and they made Jeroboam king. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin stayed with the Davidic line and Rehoboam. For the most part, the kings of both kingdoms (especially the Northern Kingdom) were ungodly and led people into idolatry and heinous sin, however, we must not forget that God initiated the severing of the kingdom. 

The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, ruled by Rehoboam, became known as the Southern Kingdom and the people were called Jews. The other ten tribes, ruled by Jeroboam, became known as the Northern Kingdom, (with their capital in Samaria) and the people were called Samaritans. Both kingdoms were filled with people who were typical people. Just like us, they were arrogant and thought they knew it all. Just like us, they thought they were God's favorites. (We tend to forget that God loves everyone!) 

Of course, the Jews still had access to the temple and Jerusalem and they felt that they were the keepers of the law. Oddly enough, the word translated as "Samaritan" is Samareia and literally means "guardianship" or "guardian". There became a sense that they were the guardians of the law (Remember, it was God who tore the Kingdom apart, so they thought they had a special dispensation, despite the fact of the incredible idolatry of the nation.) There are still several hundred Samaritans today. They have their own Torah and they believe that they are the guardians of the law. Needless to say, the Jews did not believe the Samaritans were guardians of the law or that they had anything "right" at all. Over time, the Jews had come to hate the Samaritans. 

With all that as background, look at this parable again. Jesus was talking to a group of Jewish people. The question that prompted the parable was, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus told the story of a man, likely a Jewish man, who was traveling on a dangerous road and was accosted by robbers. They beat him, robbed him, and left him for dead. A Jewish priest and a Jewish Levite walked past, saw the man, and kept going. They did not stop and they did not help the man in any way. The Samaritan (guardian) came down the road, saw the injured man who was, in a sense, his enemy, and at great expense and considerable inconvenience, helped the man. 

Jesus asked the lawyer to whom he was speaking, "Which of these three proved to be a neighbor to the injured man?" Because the discussion had revolved around the law, Jesus was essentially asking, "Which one of these three kept the law?' We cannot even imagine what it must have felt like for the lawyer, the expert in the law, (as well as the crowd) to admit that the Jewish people, who considered themselves keepers of the law, had totally failed at loving their neighbor, while the Samaritan man, who turned out to actually fulfill the law concerning his neighbor, had done the good they failed to perform. The Samaritans were not their worst enemy, but they were despised and rejected, and it must have stung. 

What Jesus showed the lawyer, the crowd, and those of us reading today was that they, who considered themselves as God's favorites, were not as godly as they presumed. The priest and the Levite were only thinking of themselves. The Samaritan thought first of the man on the road and it caused him to intervene. Our actions often demonstrate what is in our heart, and the Samaritan's actions demonstrated the compassion in his heart. 

When I look at this parable, I cannot help but think about all the times I've been a priest or a Levite instead of a Good Samaritan. The problem is not just that my actions have been more like the priest and Levite, but that my attitude has also been one with theirs. "It's only natural", we say, and that is right. The natural man cares first for himself, does first what he wants. It is the transformed-by-the-blood of the Lamb, obedient, godly man who cares for the things of God, the people of God first, and who first does what God wants rather than satisfying his own desires. 

Dear ones, we are not called to be "natural", we are called to be men and women of God, obedient and self-sacrificing, loving our neighbor as we do ourselves. Our actions will never be what God intended until our attitudes are right, and that requires a heart change, a relinquishing of our pride and our judgmental spirit. Let us, then, make it our goal to have the heart of God toward our neighbors, the heart of the Samaritan to those in need - despised, rejected, yet giving of ourselves to those who cannot help themselves. 

How to inherit eternal life, part 14: Walking past the need

Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (Luke 10:30-32 NASB) 

In the previous post, we looked at the city of Jericho. (click on the link to read that post in a new window) 

The word translated here as "going down" is katabainō and means "to descend". As we saw in the previous post, there is a significant difference in altitude between Jerusalem and Jericho, so that a traveler literally "descends" when he travels from Jerusalem to Jericho. There have been some who suggested that the priest did not want to be defiled because of his duties as the priest, but he was clearly traveling katabainō, descending, which makes it obvious that he was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and away from the temple, just as the wounded man had been doing. That fact suggests that the priest had completed his priestly duties, performed in Jerusalem, and was heading to Jericho, possibly for the night. Matthew Henry references a historian (Lightfoot) who says that many of the priests lived in Jericho. If so, perhaps he was going home for the night.

Let's think for a moment about the position of priest. It was a highly visible leadership position. People would have looked to him, expected obedience to God from Him, and taken guidance from the priest's behavior. He was to set the example for righteousness because it was the job of priests to minister to the Lord in the temple on a continuing basis. Because of that ongoing ministry before God, one might expect them to understand something of the heart of God, the compassion of God, but apparently that was not the case in this particular priest. 

Why didn't the priest stop? Either he saw the wounded man or he did not. Jesus made it very clear that he saw the injured victim. Since he knew the man had a need that was obviously going to be tremendous, why didn't he stop? There are many potential excuses. Perhaps he didn't know what to do and thought he might cause more harm than good by trying to help. Perhaps he was concerned about the ritual cleansing that would be required after caring for this man and wanted to avoid that effort. Maybe he was headed home, running late, and didn't want to be delayed. God, however, is much more concerned with compassion than ritual cleansing or delayed dinners. 

There are many potential excuses, but perhaps Martin Luther King's interpretation is the best one yet. He said that the priest, as well as the Levite, asked the wrong question. They asked, "What will happen to me if I stop?" when they should have asked, "What will happen to him if I do not stop?" MLK suggested that their fear of what would happen stopped them from helping. That may be true, and, frankly, I hope it is. Equally as likely, though, is the possibility that the reason the priest failed to stop to help the wounded man was pure selfishness. He was concerned about himself and not the man lying, half-dead, on the side of the road. He was likely concerned about the things that would be delayed by stopping, the additional trouble he would encounter by stopping, and the risk to himself by stopping. He was only concerned about himself.

It is this selfishness that prevented the priest from loving his neighbor and caring for him, and that same kind of selfishness prevents us from loving our neighbor, as well. This passage suggests that, when we see a need, Jesus expects us to meet it, not walk by on the other side. The problem, then, becomes one of meeting one need or the other, either our own selfish desire or the one in greater physical or spiritual need. 

Perhaps the appropriate response today is to look at our own actions with regard to the needs of others. How quick are we to respond with aid to those in need? How consistently do we respond to need? How generously? Would Jesus view the kind and amount of aid we give as He did the priest and the Levite or as He viewed the Samaritan? When people look to us for an example of righteousness, do they see the kind of generous, compassionate lifestyle that they would do well to emulate, or not? 

Let us resolve, then, to give like the Samaritan, who risked himself for the one in need. 

How to inherit eternal life, part 10: justification

But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29 NASB)

The lawyer questioning Jesus asked how to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked Him what the law said and he condensed the heart of the law into one beautifully concise sentence. Love God with every fiber of your being and your neighbor as your self. Jesus congratulated the lawyer for His accuracy. If you do that, you will live, both now and in eternity, Jesus told him. 

The lawyer had a problem. He wanted to "justify himself." The word translated as "justify" is dikaioō and is used in this instance to indicate a desire to be declared just or righteous rather than a desire to be just or righteous. The word "declared" makes quite a difference, doesn't it? The problem with this lawyer was that he was more concerned about being thought righteous than he was about being righteous. 

If we are honest, there is likely a bit of this dikaioō in us, as well. It is much easier to appear righteous before men than to actually be righteous before God, isn't it? The difference, of course, lies in the depths of our heart, in our priorities and our goals. Which do we want more? To be righteous or to look righteous? There is a vast difference between the two and only one actually leads us to eternal life. 

We would do well to examine our motives and our priorities. Is our greatest desire to be judged as righteous by our pure and holy  God or do we simply want to look good before our fellow man? Are we seeking approval in this world or in the next? There is nothing more important than pleasing our God, nothing more critical than obedience to His Word. The path to righteousness is simple. Love God. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. The task of love, however, is the greatest challenge we will ever face. If not for the help of Almighty God, it would be impossible. What then, shall we do?

We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. (1 John 4:19-21 NASB)

The writer of 1st John said it nicely. If you don't love your neighbor, you don't love God, either. If you want to be justified before God, you must begin by loving Him. When we love God with every fiber of our being, that love will spill over onto those around us, and it won't matter a bit how lovely they are. When the love of God flows from us, it splashes onto both the greatest and the least among us. 

If we want to look justified, we can limit our interpretation of "neighbor" to those most like us, those most convenient for ministry. If we want to be justified, however, we must do what Jesus said. Love God. Love our neighbors, even those who are the least lovely. Love all.