The Parable of the Good Samaritan is found only in Luke 10:29-37.
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal
life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, `Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied, "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jerico, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 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,. 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 many have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:25-37, New International Version).
An expert in the law asked Jesus two questions:
(1) "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" and
(2) "And who is my neighbor?"
(Morgan, THE PARABLES AND METAPHORS OF OUR LORD, pp. 176 ff.).
The expert in the law asked the first question to see if Jesus knew the law. Jesus answered the first question with
another question: "What is written in the law?" "How do you read it?" The expert in the law answered by quoting
Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. (Trench, NOTES ON THE PARABLS OF OUR LORD, p. 109). (Love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself). Jesus then replied: "Do this and you will live." The second question precipitated the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The road from Jerusalem to Jerico dropped 3600 feet in 20 miles (+2300 to -1300 feet at Jerico). Jerome in the fifth century called it "The Red or Bloody Way" because so many people were wounded and robbed. The traveller was probably reckless and should have been travelling in a caravan. The priest would have been unclean for 7 days if he had touched the wounded man (Numbers 19:11). He placed the temple and its liturgy above the pain of man. The Levite drew nearer to the man, but he knew that robbers sometimes used decoys. His motto was "safety first"--he took no
chances. The prejudiced Jews would suspect that the villain had arrived when Jesus mentioned the Samaritan. (Barclay,
DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES, LUKE pp. 140 ff.). However, he turned out to be the hero--the true neighbor.
The Interpretation
The priest and the Levite were interpreters of the law. (Trench, NOTES ON THE PARABLES OF OUR LORD, p. 111).
However, they had missed the essence of the law: love. Jesus used the Greek word AGAPE, which the New Testament writers
used to mean the love of God. It is a love which human beings do not have natively. It is the gift of God. So Jesus gave the expert in the law a commandment to keep which is humanly impossible. AGAPE does not exist in the human heart unless the Spirit of God is there. And the Spirit of God does not take up his abode until the individual accepts Christ as his personal Savior. We are truly impoverished until God takes up his abode in our hearts and we are given the love nature of our
Heavenly Father. (See Chapter 13, "Love," in my book, HOW TO RAISE YOUR SELF ESTEEM: PROVEN BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES, for a more complete discussion on divine and human love).
Barclay sees three teaching points in this parable:
1. We must help a person even when he has brought his
trouble on himself.
2. Anyone of any nation is our neighbor.
3. Help must be practical, in deeds, not in just
feeling sorry for someone. (Barclay, DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES, LUKE pp. 140 ff.).
What is the central truth?
Central Truth
IF WE LOVE GOD WE WILL LOVE EVERYONE IN DEED AND TRUTH.
Conclusion
Let us pass on true riches to others: the Love of God. When we witness for Christ, and people accept Christ, then
they experience the new birth and partake of the love nature of God. They are then empowered to keep the heart of the
Law, which is to love God with their whole being and love their neighbors as themselves.
END