Luke 10:25
25 And a [a]lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” A question of such enormous magnitude, with such immeasurable consequences, that it should not be asked lightly. After all, to take such a question lightly is to put one’s own eternal peace at risk, is it not? Yet, ‘a certain lawyer’ thought to challenge Jesus in this way. Why?
Luke 10:17-20
17 The [i]seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
Twelve disciples is a bible study. Seventy disciples is a megachurch. The religious leaders and scholars had been following Jesus’ ministry since its beginning. From the beginning, they witnessed miraculous healings, signs, and wonders not witnessed since the time of the Pentateuch. Now they were seeing something different: an escalation of resources and manpower, that if allowed to flourish unchecked would challenge the religious infrastructure of all Israel. In that Rome was in control of the civil government, the religious order was all that the Jewish leaders remained in control of. And now, this young Galilean Rabbi threatened to topple that order. And so, a challenge.
The Grand Sanhedrin council at Jerusalem numbered seventy-one members. By sending the seventy disciples out into Israel to spread the good news of the Kingdom, Jesus is signaling a challenge to the religious leaders of that day that a change is underfoot, that a change has come to Israel. The death knell is sounding on the waning influence of the old order and Jesus is ushering in a new and everlasting way. The handwriting is on the wall.
It must be assumed that the lawyer who challenged Jesus had some very concrete ideas about eternal life that came from years of immersion in the Law of Moses. His query surrounding the concept of eternal life indicates that his training was in line with the training of the Pharisees, because, unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees believed in life after death. It can then be surmised that this ‘certain lawyer’ was sent by the Pharisees to question Jesus, so as to strengthen their case against him.
Luke 10:26
26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? [b]How does it read to you?”
While the lawyer posed a question to Jesus that smacked of guile and insincerity, notice that Jesus’ question has no such undercurrent. God looks on the heart. Jesus looks on the heart with the intent to bring healing and wholeness. His honest questions seek … honest answers. In his first question, Jesus recognizes and acknowledges his scholarship. In his second question, he probes deeper; past his mind and into his soul.
Luke 10:27
27 And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.”
The answer is near-instantaneous. The lawyer answered in a manner that reflects, not only years of training and study and labor in the Law of Moses and in the things of God but of a conviction and confidence that reflects a devout belief in that of which he spoke. “... all your heart, ... all your soul, … all your soul, and all your strength..” were the words that quoted from Deuteronomy, the sixth chapter:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
There is good reason for the lawyer’s response. The passage he quoted is from the Old Testament ‘Torah. It is known, independently, as the Shema, the most significant passage of scripture in the Torah. The Shema serves as the centerpiece of every morning and evening Jewish prayer service. The Shema instructs it’s hearers to devote all of their love and devotion to God. Combined with what we commonly refer to as the golden rule, “ to love… your neighbor as yourself”, it remains foundational to Christendom even today.
Luke 10:28
28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.
Jesus’ response both confirms the validity of the lawyer’s response and reflects the heart of our Blessed Creator, God Almighty. The Gospels and the Epistles are anchored by these precepts. In a different confrontation with the religious leaders, Jesus summed it up best with these words:
Matthew 22:40
40 “...On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
My brother used to say to me, “ If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were ‘candy’ and ‘nuts’, we’d all have a Merry Christmas!” I echo his sentiment in regard to what happens next in Jesus’ conversation with this ‘certain lawyer’. What happens next exposes the sham that the lawyer is attempting to perpetuate.
Luke 10:29
29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The writer of this narrative, Luke, records the lawyer’s subsequent response to Jesus and the power of God’s word to expose the thoughts and intent of every heart. Suddenly, the lawyer is not arguing on behalf of the religious order of Jerusalem. No, suddenly, the lawyer is arguing for himself. The Word of God in conjunction with the Holy Spirit has the ability to convict all of us. Most certainly, the lawyer has been confronted with his own guilt. He seeks to assuage his guilt by posing the question, “who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with the following parable:
Luke 10:30
30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and [c]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a winding, treacherous path that descended some 3500 feet in seventeen miles. Narrow and fraught with blind curves and dangerous pitfalls, the road to Jericho was hazardous, especially in the evening. Additionally, partially due to the ruggedness of the terrain, the road was fraught with robbers and thieves who took advantage of the steep, rugged incline to hide in wait for unsuspecting travelers caught alone. Such was the circumstance that befell the unfortunate traveler Jesus describes.
Luke 10:31
31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Why Jericho? Jericho was a city on the southeast side of Jerusalem. It is one of the oldest cities recorded in history and acquires its biblical fame as the city whose fortified walls fell when the nation of Israel marched around them and shouted at the Lord’s appointed time. In Jesus’ day, Jericho was something of a suburb to Jerusalem. In that it had within it a natural oasis, it was regarded as an upscale community. Subsequently, it was found to be the home of many in the religious community. That is also what made the mountainous path to Jericho a prime target for thieves.
Only the direct descendants of Aaron, the first priest of Israel, born of the tribe of Levi could serve as priests in the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. The priests were solely responsible for carrying out the daily sacrifices to the Lord. They served in a regular rotation which would require that they remain ceremonially clean during the time of their service. Thus, the priest who encountered the wounded man on the road down to Jericho would have had two concerns: his personal safety and his vocational responsibilities. Neither was to be taken lightly.
Luke 10:32
32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Jesus presses the point, by then bringing into his parable a second, similar example: a Levite. The Levite, like the priest, was separated for service in the Temple. These were men from the tribe of Levi, but not direct descendants of Aaron. While they were not responsible for sacrifices, they were responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Temple implements, the care of the grounds, and even the security of the Temple. Again, ceremonial cleanliness would have been a requirement for maintaining one’s qualification for service during their rotation. The lawyer with whom Jesus was conversing, being an expert in the Mosaic law could certainly relate to Jesus’ parable up to this point. Certainly, he found himself in agreement with Christ, and may even have thought that Jesus agreed with him.
Lule 10:33
33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
But now, the parable takes a turn. Help has arrived from an unlikely source: a Samaritan. The Samaritans were a people of non-Jewish origin who made their home in Samaria, the region directly north of ancient Jerusalem. They had a history of conflict with the jews. In Jesus’ parable, the last person that you would think would offer help to the wounded man was a Samaritan. Additionally, within the context of the conversation Jesus is having with the lawyer, compassion would not be an attribute associated with someone so despised by the Jewish community. The thought of a compassionate Samaritan was oxymoronic to the point of absurdity in the mind of a good Jew. Does that ring any bells? It does for me.
I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. The wrong zip code. The wrong side of town. I grew up in an economically disadvantaged community. My skin was the wrong color. There are many who, when they see me, or people that look like me, are moved to indifference, or fear, or sometimes, outright disgust. Likewise, many from my community experience the same range of emotions when they encounter people from what could be regarded as the societal mainstream. Welcome to Anywhere, on the Planet. These are failures of all of the community of man, are they not?
Luke 10:34
34 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.
So, to hear that a Samaritan, a Samaritan!, felt compassion, but then responded in a perfectly compassionate way by bandaging his wounds and administering oil and wine on his wounds, and then, putting him on his own beast and transporting him to safety. The oil may have been a mixture of myrrh and frankincense harvested from trees in the region of Gilead that had medicinal qualities,. Additionally, the wine would have been used as an antiseptic.
Luke 10:35
35 On the next day he took out two [d]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.’
The Samaritan cares for the wounded man overnight, then makes arrangements for the continued care of the wounded man, assuring the innkeeper that if any additional costs are incurred by the recovering stranger, he will return and repay the added expenses.
Luke 10:36
36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”
With his parable complete, Jesus now queries the lawyer with a slight turn on the lawyer’s original question. The lawyer posed the question originally, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus now parries by asking returning to him the same question, but with added conditions. He can only choose any of the three examples Jesus provided in his parable. In essence, no real ‘choice’ was given the lawyer, as there was only one acceptable response. Be reminded, the original scope of this conversation has, as its end, eternal life. Literally the eternal reward from God for being in a place of right relationship with Him. This is what ‘Shema’ looks like.
Luke 10:37a
37a And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.”
I won’t attribute anything to the heart of the lawyer, based on his response to Jesus’ question. Only God knows his heart. I will make note of the fact that he did not distinguish the Samaritan by his ethnicity in the same way that Jesus had. Could it have been the lingering ‘otherism’ that so commonly divides us? One can only guess. What I can surmise is according to scripture, The Word of God is able to divide between the soul and the spirit of man. It is able to cut away the dross of emotionalism and .. save.
Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Isaiah 55:11
11
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Epilogue:
John 8:48a
48a The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan
Just a note here. In a different confrontation, the Jewish religious leaders hurl a supposed insult at Jesus by calling him a Samaritan, followed by calling him demon-possessed. Jesus counters by exclaiming that he is not possessed by a demon. He, however, does not refute the association to Samaritans. I won’t go into a long explanation as to his reasons, rather I will take a moment to rejoice in the fact that the Master set the example for us, his servants. Jesus is the original “Good Samaritan.”
Luke 10:37b
37b … Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do [e]the same.”
DWJD - Do What Jesus Did. Beloved, I can identify with the wounded man. What about you? I was sin-sick, without hope, alienated from the love and grace of God. Jesus saw me. He saw my condition and he had compassion for me. He picked me up out of the dust and he healed me. Then, he saw to it, that he put me in a place of healing, the church, until I could stand up and make it on my own. He has done the same for so many millions throughout the centuries and he has charged us to do the same.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to Me, all [z]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is [aa]easy and My burden is light.”
Luke 4:17-19
17 And the [e]book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the [f]book and found the place where it was written,
18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
John 20:21-23
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins [c]have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
Be Blessed my friends…
Selah
wb
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