A parable straight from the heart of Jesus.
The Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37
“Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Have you ever considered that some of the Pharisees that questioned Jesus, did so, not from an antagonistic angle? Some certainly did so with evil intent. The scripture plainly tells us that.
Today, Jesus meets a Pharisee who was obviously testing Jesus, but who may have simply been curious, not adversarial. His story precedes Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan.
Scripture refers to this man as a lawyer. He was a Pharisee; one who upheld, enforced and taught Hebrew law.
Whenever Jesus had an encounter with Pharisees who had evil intent, that fact is made clear in the scripture. But in this meeting, we are simply told that the Pharisee was testing Jesus.
Jesus drew this Pharisee into conversation, but the Pharisee didn’t see it that way. He thought that the conversation was all his own idea. Jesus always knew where the man would be on that day.
Doesn’t this make you think of the story of Nicodemus? He was a Pharisee who had good questions for Jesus. (John 3)
The Pharisee in today’s story had a question, too.
“Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 10:25
That is precisely the right question to ask. Jesus guided the conversation. He didn’t reprimand the Pharisee. Jesus used something they both knew well, to capture his attention: the law of God from the Old Testament.
He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
Luke 10:26
The Pharisee was well versed in the Holy Scripture. He answered correctly.
He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Luke 10:27
Jesus affirmed his statement.
He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
Luke 10:28
But this Pharisee knew that he could never love like that. He didn’t even really want to know certain people, much less love them. Pharisees would never extend a merciful hand to a Samaritan.
Think about all you know about the Pharisees. We get a clear view of their vile nature from Mark 12:38-40.
The Pharisees –
- demanded the best for themselves
- were hyper-religious
- stole from widows
- created and enacted extraneous laws
But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:29
The Pharisee wanted Jesus to approve of how he loved others. But Jesus’ answer must have disappointed him. He received the answer from the parable that Jesus told.
And Jesus painted a picture for this empty soul. Jesus painted it with His own true love that flew in the face of people’s idea of love.
Robbers and a Victim
Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
A Priest and a Levite
By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
A Certain Samaritan
Here is a link to understand why the Samaritan’s were outcasts among other Jews. 1
But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
The Host
On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’
A Test for the Pharisee
Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?” He said, “He who showed mercy on him. “Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:25-42
I hope that Pharisee found God’s grace. Like Nicodemus, the Bible doesn’t tell us about his decision.
But it isn’t just the Pharisees of ancient times that did not grasp Christ-like love. Even ordinary people don’t understand the love of God.
Some people reduce love to mere feelings and emotion. Many see Christian love as a sign of weakness. Others always elevate self-first. There are so many ways that people corrupt the love of God.
But there are still believers all over the world that radiate God’s love wherever they go. You can easily see Jesus in their lives.
What contentment and peace of mind and heart are given to those who follow Jesus.
Share the Good News in your world!
Isaiah 52:7
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Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
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Statement of Faith
Baptist Faith and Message 2000
- Who Were the Samaritans
gotquestions.org ↩︎
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 