29 But
he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him,
and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest
came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he
arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he
journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and
bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal,
brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he
departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said
to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I
will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell
among the thieves?” 37 And
he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Commentary
Preamble: This section of Scripture is a carry on from Luke 10:25-28 where a lawyer (i.e. an expert in the Law of God) asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life.
Vs. 29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Given that he already knew that God requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves, breaking this commandment down so as to make it very specific as to who one’s neighbor is, is to only undermine the very commandment which does not make distinctions as to who one’s neighbor is. For in its simplest form one’s neighbor is the person who is standing or sitting next to you, thus it is the person whom you encounter, wherever and whenever you encounter them, in whatever circumstances you encounter them.
Vs. 30-37 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Vs. 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Therefore, to reveal this the Lord Jesus now tells a story about a certain man who went down Jerusalem to Jericho and who has robbed and beaten by some thieves, “…who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” vs. 30 Therefore the man was in dire straits indeed.
Vs. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Now the fact that a minister of the Word of God seeing him in his stripped and beaten state would then deliberately avoid him by passing by on the other side of the road speaks volumes about that man, and his lack of empathy for another human being in need. For whatever his reasons were for not trying to help him, they are all inexcusable given that mans plight.
Vs. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
Similarly, a Levite (who were assistants to the priests and thus raked second to them) soon came down the road and found the same man in that same desperate condition. Now unlike the priest who when he saw him immediately went to the other side of the road to avoid contact with the wounded, beaten and stripped man, and then passed on as if he had seen nothing. The Levite when he arrived at him, first came and looked at him, (maybe even looking at his face as the wounded man looked back at him) and seeing him in that terrible condition, he too went to the other side of the road to pass him by.
Vs. 33-37 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Now so it was that a certain Samaritan, the people whom the Jews despised, and had little to no contact with, because the Samaritans held contravening beliefs to them. For though the Samaritans held to the One true God and believed Moses and the first five Books of the Bible given through him, they rejected Jerusalem and the Temple built there as the place God had chosen for Himself (however consider Isaiah 2:1-4; 47:12-13; 60:1-22; 65:17-25; Joel 2:34, 3:17; Micah 4:7; Zechariah 8:20-23 and many other Scriptures including in the N.T. Heb. 12:22-23; Rev.14:1-4; 21:1-22 etc. that establish Jerusalem and its Temple). And instead in ancient times they built a rival Temple on Mount Gerizim which was destroyed by John Hyrcanus the high priest and ruler of Judea when he captured Shechem, the capital of Samaria in 125 B.C. And so, these two people groups though both Jewish, had some deep divisions and rivalries in their divided histories, as well as in their beliefs and practices. Nonetheless Jesus never shunned the Samaritans (as we see in John 4), and indeed here in answering the Jewish lawyer’s question about “who is my neighbor”, Jesus now tells him a story of a Good Samaritan, something no devout Jew would think a Samaritan as being, and yet by his own actions and deeds towards a Jewish man in need will show himself to be truly walking and living in step with God, unlike the priest and Levite who passed the man in need by. And so, it was as a certain Samaritan journeyed along that road that he too came upon the man who had been robbed, beaten, and stripped of his clothing and left half dead by the thieves. However, when he saw that man in that terrible state, he had compassion on him. And so, he immediately went to him, and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, then he set the man on his own animal, brought him to an inn and took care of him (vs. 33-34). There was then no calculating either the risk or the cost of the helping that man in need. Now on the next day when the Samaritan had to depart, he did not abandon the man in need, instead he gave the inn keeper two denarii and told him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ This then was not a passing gesture of kindness or compassion; this was ministering to that mans need until he was well again. For that is what it means to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Not turning ones back on another in their time of need then breaks through all historical and social and political and religious barriers and boundaries.
Therefore, when Jesus finished His story, He asked the lawyer, “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” Upon which the lawyer responded by saying: “He who showed mercy on him.” And with that Jesus said to him, (and us all) “Go and do likewise.”
For being well versed in the Scriptures is one thing, but doing and living it is the only true measure of one’s faith in God, as the Apostle James said: “But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18
Scripture Quotations
Commentary
Preamble: This section of Scripture is a carry on from Luke 10:25-28 where a lawyer (i.e. an expert in the Law of God) asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life.
Vs. 29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Given that he already knew that God requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves, breaking this commandment down so as to make it very specific as to who one’s neighbor is, is to only undermine the very commandment which does not make distinctions as to who one’s neighbor is. For in its simplest form one’s neighbor is the person who is standing or sitting next to you, thus it is the person whom you encounter, wherever and whenever you encounter them, in whatever circumstances you encounter them.
Vs. 30-37 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Vs. 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Therefore, to reveal this the Lord Jesus now tells a story about a certain man who went down Jerusalem to Jericho and who has robbed and beaten by some thieves, “…who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” vs. 30 Therefore the man was in dire straits indeed.
Vs. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Now the fact that a minister of the Word of God seeing him in his stripped and beaten state would then deliberately avoid him by passing by on the other side of the road speaks volumes about that man, and his lack of empathy for another human being in need. For whatever his reasons were for not trying to help him, they are all inexcusable given that mans plight.
Vs. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
Similarly, a Levite (who were assistants to the priests and thus raked second to them) soon came down the road and found the same man in that same desperate condition. Now unlike the priest who when he saw him immediately went to the other side of the road to avoid contact with the wounded, beaten and stripped man, and then passed on as if he had seen nothing. The Levite when he arrived at him, first came and looked at him, (maybe even looking at his face as the wounded man looked back at him) and seeing him in that terrible condition, he too went to the other side of the road to pass him by.
Vs. 33-37 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Now so it was that a certain Samaritan, the people whom the Jews despised, and had little to no contact with, because the Samaritans held contravening beliefs to them. For though the Samaritans held to the One true God and believed Moses and the first five Books of the Bible given through him, they rejected Jerusalem and the Temple built there as the place God had chosen for Himself (however consider Isaiah 2:1-4; 47:12-13; 60:1-22; 65:17-25; Joel 2:34, 3:17; Micah 4:7; Zechariah 8:20-23 and many other Scriptures including in the N.T. Heb. 12:22-23; Rev.14:1-4; 21:1-22 etc. that establish Jerusalem and its Temple). And instead in ancient times they built a rival Temple on Mount Gerizim which was destroyed by John Hyrcanus the high priest and ruler of Judea when he captured Shechem, the capital of Samaria in 125 B.C. And so, these two people groups though both Jewish, had some deep divisions and rivalries in their divided histories, as well as in their beliefs and practices. Nonetheless Jesus never shunned the Samaritans (as we see in John 4), and indeed here in answering the Jewish lawyer’s question about “who is my neighbor”, Jesus now tells him a story of a Good Samaritan, something no devout Jew would think a Samaritan as being, and yet by his own actions and deeds towards a Jewish man in need will show himself to be truly walking and living in step with God, unlike the priest and Levite who passed the man in need by. And so, it was as a certain Samaritan journeyed along that road that he too came upon the man who had been robbed, beaten, and stripped of his clothing and left half dead by the thieves. However, when he saw that man in that terrible state, he had compassion on him. And so, he immediately went to him, and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, then he set the man on his own animal, brought him to an inn and took care of him (vs. 33-34). There was then no calculating either the risk or the cost of the helping that man in need. Now on the next day when the Samaritan had to depart, he did not abandon the man in need, instead he gave the inn keeper two denarii and told him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ This then was not a passing gesture of kindness or compassion; this was ministering to that mans need until he was well again. For that is what it means to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Not turning ones back on another in their time of need then breaks through all historical and social and political and religious barriers and boundaries.
Therefore, when Jesus finished His story, He asked the lawyer, “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” Upon which the lawyer responded by saying: “He who showed mercy on him.” And with that Jesus said to him, (and us all) “Go and do likewise.”
For being well versed in the Scriptures is one thing, but doing and living it is the only true measure of one’s faith in God, as the Apostle James said: “But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18
Scripture Quotations
New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson
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