Jesus, the
Professor, and the Good Samaritan
[Luke chapter
10, verses 22-37]
Last
week when we concluded the first part of chapter 10, Jesus had just
prayed to his Father about the great success the Seventy-two had had
in proclaiming the Gospel and bringing the good news to the poor. He
then compared them to the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious
leaders of that time, as being like a bunch of unruly children, an
apt description if ever there was one. Sadly much the same is true
today for churches of the 21st
century. The real truth has been hidden from them, and revealed only
to those who embrace Jesus with the wide-eyed wonder of a little
child, being reborn like little babies in the massive soul saving
power of the Holy Spirit. Today as we begin this week's study of the
apostle Luke, we find Jesus commenting on this very thing as he
finishes this train of thought, beginning at verse 22.
“'All
things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the
Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except
the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.' Then he
turned to his disciples and said privately, 'Blessed are the eyes
that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings
wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you
hear but did not hear it.' On one occasion a teacher of 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, to 'love your neighbor as your self'. 'You have answered
correctly', Jesus answered. 'Do this and you will live'. But he
wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my
neighbor?'” (Luke 10, verses 22-29)
The
first two sentences were uttered to the crowd that was gathered all
around, which had become routine stuff to our Lord and Savior and his
disciples by now. Jesus told the crowd, 'I am the heir to the entire
universe. As such, nobody can ever approach the Father except for
myself, and that's just the way it is.' But then, right at that
moment, Jesus turned to the apostles and says, “Blessed
are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets
and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear
what you hear but did not hear it.”
The apostles and other followers didn't know how good they had it.
Try to imagine, if you'll bear with me for a moment, what it would be
like to be right there watching Jesus preach and listening to him
teach! I honestly am not sure whether I would be able to keep my
emotions under control, or whether I would break down and cry like a
little kid. You know, like one of “these little children” that
Jesus prayed about just a few minutes before.
“On
one occasion a teacher of 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'?”
This is the modern-day equivalent of a theology professor at a major
university or a college professor at a seminary challenging Christ,
only to have Jesus deflect the question right back. 'You're a
teacher, am I right? What do you think it says?' The professor
responded by reciting Leviticus 19: 18 perfectly. Notice how Jesus
responds: “'You
have answered correctly', Jesus answered. 'Do this and you will
live'.”
Meaning, the flip side of that coin is that if we do not obey those 2
all-encompassing commandments, it will result in our untimely demise,
and that's never a good thing! But the teacher/professor wanted to
justify himself all the more, wrote the apostle Luke. Evidently he
was, if nothing else, a rather egotistical individual. One thing you
can be sure of – there will be no egomaniacs in heaven! So he asked
Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” This was anther wrong move on the
teacher's part, because we can never justify our own selves. No human
being has the right to do that because we have no such authority.
Only the blood of Jesus, shed upon the cross, can do that. Trying to
justify ourselves would be like having a pathological need for
validation coming from others, when in fact we should be finding our
validation through Christ. In other words, not only is being
egotistical wrong, it is a form of idolatry because it's
self-worship. So Jesus, not wanting to publicly humiliate the man
even though he could have, answered the man in the form of another of
his many parables, beginning at verse 30.
“In
reply Jesus said, 'A man was going down the road 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. 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 to 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 may 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, verses 30-37)
So
here we have Jesus telling his “parable” about this hapless
traveler who gets jacked up by some thugs and barely survives his
experience. As you can clearly see, crime is nothing new – it's
been going on for centuries. The main stream media's coverage of
crime here in America is reported in a way that gets more readers,
subscribers, and television viewers rather than reporting the news
honestly and without bias towards one special interest or another, or
against any other (like minorities). Maybe if the sensationalism
about criminal activity that is generated through the media was
redirected towards the healing of poor communities and confronting
the growing cancer of income inequality across the world, that would
go a long way towards making our world a better and more equitable
place to live.
The next thing we notice as Jesus relates his parable
to the crowd around him, and particularly to the Pharisee who had
asked him the question, is his continuing contempt for the religious
establishment of his time. We can all be sure that the Lord's
contempt for man-made religion, which under scrutiny is found to be
an attempt to replace or duplicate God, still applies to the
religious establishment of the modern world. Not much has changed
over the centuries. The only exception is the mushrooming of the true
Church in the last 500 years or so, the church without boundaries of
dogma and creed, the church where there is only One who can be truly
called 'Father', and where all are equal under Christ without
exception! For those who are unsure about the accuracy of what I'm
saying, to find out the ultimate fate of the World Church from the
Last Days – a church that is already here and active – go and
read Revelation chapter 18. It only takes about 5 minutes, and the
answers to all your questions are right there.
“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where
the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.” The key
word here is 'pity'. This Samaritan, who was from what were
considered to be a lower class of people during Jesus' time, had
compassion and empathy for the badly injured man, something the world
needs a lot more of! Some of us have been physically injured, but
many more have been hurt mentally or spiritually by other people and
circumstances. If we're going to be followers of Christ, it is
vitally important that we all become more attuned to the needs of
others rather than that of ourselves. “I desire mercy”, Jesus
said, “not sacrifice.” Luke's narrative makes it quite clear the
teacher of the Law understood the meaning of the parable exactly. “
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'.”
That's our task for the rest of the week, people. Go and find someone
to be merciful to. Then, don't stop with only one person. Keep doing
it until it becomes a habit. Remember that money is not the solution
to every problem. Sometimes it boils down to being there for someone
when they are needed.
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