CSSA 1-4-13 - THE KIND SAMARITAN

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88. THE KIND SAMARITAN

"Go and do thou likewise"

Aim

To show how Jesus answered the question: "Who is my neighbour¹?"

We have already seen that the Pharisees loved the praise of men. They were self-righteous, proud of their "good works'. God was not interested in that kind of "righteousness" at all. He wanted people to humble themselves before Him, The Pharisees and Scribes (sometimes called lawyers), the leaders of Israel, were bad examples to follow. Jesus said, "Do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not" (Matt. 23:3).

Luke 10:25-37

THE LAWYER SPEAKS TO JESUS

One day when the Lord Jesus was teaching the people, a man stood up to ask a question. This man was a lawyer, one who had studied the Law of Moses very carefully and knew very well what it taught concerning the way people should live to please God.

Believing he could embarrass Jesus before all the people, the lawyer asked the question to test him. He was not looking for an answer, because he was sure he already knew the answer. "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" he asked, and Jesus answered, "What is written in the Law? How readest thou?" This was no problem to the lawyer, who instantly replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. His answer was an excellent one, for he had correctly put together two very important verses from the books of the Law - Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. (On a later occasion, Jesus also joined these two scriptures together, and said, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:40).

So Jesus replied, "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live € (v28). The lawyer had known the right answer; he could quote the Law off by heart, but Jesus' words showed him that there was something he must do if he wanted eternal life. The Lawyer could see that he had not embarrassed Jesus at all. Quite the opposite, for he himself now felt uncomfortable. Hoping to save face in front of the people he asked Jesus, "and who is my neighbour¹?" (v29).

Jesus realised that here was something the lawyer really did not know. So that no-one would make any mistake about his answer, Jesus told a parable.

JESUS ANSWERS THE LAWYER WITH A PARABLE

"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves," Jesus began. The road to Jericho was steep and rocky. It passed through mountainous country, full of caves, just the sort of place for robbers to hide in. People used to travel the thirty kilometres to Jericho in small groups so that they could protect themselves from trouble on the way. This man in the parable travelled alone and on the way was attacked by thieves, who "stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead" (v30) by the side of the road.

Before long another traveller came along the same road. It was a priest. When he saw the poor man lying there in need of help, he chose to mind his own business and continue on his way.

Later a Levite came by. When he saw the unconscious traveller lying on the road, he also passed by.

Both these men, the Priest and the Levite, were well aware that the Law said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. They considered, however, that the traveller lying battered on the side of the road had nothing to do with them. Perhaps, since he was "half dead", he was past help anyway. So they chose to ignore him and go their way.

A little later, a Samaritan came along the same lonely road. When he saw the unfortunate traveller, his heart immediately went out to him. His first thought was to offer help. He went over and examined his wounds. Then he carefully bound them up, "pouring in oil and wine", as they used to do in those days, to soothe and to heal. Having done his best, he lifted him on to his own beast and continued slowly on the way till they came to an inn. There he made him as comfortable as he could. On the next day he gave the inn-keeper two pence (equal to half a shekel in Jewish money), and said, "Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee" (v35).

JESUS ASKS THE LAWYER A QUESTION

Having finished the story, Jesus asked the lawyer, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?" (v36).

There was only one answer. Reluctantly the lawyer answered, "He that showed mercy on him" (v37). It was a Samaritan who had shown "mercy" to the traveller. Now the Jews had despised the Samaritans for centuries and would never imagine them to be worthy of praise in any way. How pointed Jesus' story was! A Priest and a Levite had failed to do what God required, but a Samaritan had shown "mercy".

"Go, and do thou likewise", Jesus told that proud lawyer (v37).

LESSON FOR US

There was one thing about the Samaritan that made him so different from those who were proud of their knowledge of God's law. He showed mercy. Many times in the Bible we read of God being angry with Israel because they did not show mercy. God Himself is very merciful (Exod. 34:6-7) and He wants us to show that same quality in our lives.

There are many ways we can show mercy, as the kind Samaritan did. It means seeing what we can do to help others, comforting them, forgiving them, being kind and thoughtful. Above all, we can help people understand the gospel message of salvation. This is the way God has shown mercy to us (1 Pet. 1:3). What greater kindness or mercy can we show than to teach others that Christ is coming again.

The lawyer was right when he said that we must love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind. The apostle John said: "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments'¹ (1 John 5:3). The lawyer knew it was right, but Jesus said, "do" it. "Be ye doers of the Word", said James, "and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (Jas. 1:22).

ADDITIONAL NOTES

THE MEANING OF THE PARABLE

As always, this parable of Jesus had a hidden meaning.

Jesus is the Samaritan. He was hated by the leaders of the Jews, who thought they knew more about God's laws than he did. Jesus, better than all men, kept the law of God, for he did all those
things which God required.
We are like the traveller, as good as dead because of our sins. God has said, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). If Jesus did not help us, we would die. He was called "Jesus" meaning "God shall save", "for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21).
He gave us "oil and wine", which represent the gospel message found in the Word of God. It is the Word of God which gives us hope of life eternal. If we listen to its healing message we will live.
The Samaritan gave the inn-keeper two pence, or half a shekel to help save the man by paying for his care. Under the law this amount was the price of redemption. It was money paid to God by
every Israelite. Jesus is our Redeemer. The price he paid was his own life blood that we might be saved (redeemed) from our sins (1 Pet. 1:18-19).

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

What was the question the lawyer first asked Jesus?
What was the correct answer to the question?
Why did Jesus tell the story of the kind Samaritan?
What terrible thing happened to the man who travelled from Jerusalem to Jericho?
How many people came by and saw the man lying on the road? Who were they?
Which one of them stopped to help?
When Jesus asked which one acted as a neighbour, what did the lawyer say?
How was the Samaritan different from the Priest and the Levite?
How do we show God that we love Him?