Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Genesis 6-9
     New Testament Reading: Luke 10

Jesus took up the question and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend’.” (Luke 10: 30-35).

Luke is the only gospel writer that tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Other than the 23^rd Psalm, this parable is perhaps the most well-known section of scripture. Besides being the most well-known parable of Jesus, it may well be the most misunderstood.

Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan in response to the lawyer’s question. Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? This is without a doubt the most important question a person can ask. However, this lawyer was not sincere in his question, but, as Luke tells us, he was trying to lay a trap for Jesus.

Jesus asked this expert in the Mosaic Law what was written in the law. The man responded correctly, but incompletely. The Law of the Pharisees in that day stated they were to love their neighbor as themselves but hate their enemy. He tried to draw Jesus into a debate by leaving off that last phrase and asking Jesus who his neighbor was.

Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan not just to answer who his neighbor was, but to help the lawyer gain an understanding of his first question – how to inherit eternal life.

A closer look at this story reveals some important truths. First, the Samaritan had compassion for the Jewish man and bandaged his wounds. But then he went further and took the man to the nearby town by placing him on his animal, which meant he probably had to walk the rest of the journey. He then spent the night with him in the Inn caring for his wounds. In the morning, he paid two days’ wages for the stranger to continue to stay there and be taken care of. Then, he gave the innkeeper a blank check by saying that when he returned, he would gladly pay for anything that is still owed.

Who would we provide such care for? Certainly, we would do that for ourselves and our immediate family, our loved ones. But would we ever go that far to take care of a stranger? And not just one stranger, but to love everyone in the world providing that kind of care and compassion. It’s humanly impossible to do so. The greater lesson that Jesus was trying to teach here is that if you want to earn your way to heaven by your good works, it’s impossible to accomplish.

If you want to earn your salvation by keeping the law, as this man was trying to do, then you must love and treat everyone the same as you would treat yourself. To behave this way every day with every person we meet is just not possible. And that is the message Jesus was conveying. We cannot be good enough to earn our salvation, we need a Savior.

Certainly, Christians are to be at the forefront of providing for the physical and social needs of the community and the world. This parable of showing mercy has inspired millions through the years to provide sacrificial ministry to people in need, as it should. As Christians, we should always pursue opportunities to be good neighbors to all those around us and not withhold love and kindness from certain people. But we should not lose sight of the greater message. The greater need of the people is their spiritual need that is only provided by the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, and victory over death through His resurrection.