Do We Care for our Neighbor?
The Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 is one of the most popular parables of Jesus Christ. We have heard of this parable several times and what it meant is primarily about being a good neighbor.
The familiarity of the parable and the outright implication that we have received from our bible teachers could limit us from discovering an eye-opener of the story. Their interpretations are of course valid and there is no question that it is about being a good neighbor based on the narratives of the characters involved. But parables are filled with hidden meanings that I believe our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to discern.
Reading through the parable several times, praying and asking Jesus Christ for a fresh perspective of the allegory, the first thing that the Lord has impressed to me is to study the characters involved. There was a man from Jerusalem, robbers, a priest, a Levite, a Samaritan, an innkeeper, and let’s include the expert of religious law (lawyer) whom Jesus was telling this parable.
The lawyer trying to test Jesus, asked what he must do to inherit eternal life (Luke 10:25). Jesus Christ who is full of wisdom, throwed back the question by asking him what he understands the law says. He quoted the law in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 to Jesus. “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 love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Jesus started to tell the parable when the lawyer asked Him again, “who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29).
There was a man from Jerusalem going down to Jericho. In his journey he cannot avoid the pass later called the Ascent of Blood[1] according to American Bible Society. This place is known for bloodsheds from murders caused by bandits. No other information was given about the man aside from his fatal condition after he was attacked by robbers. The robbers or thieves in the parable made the pass after Jerusalem and preceding Jericho as their stronghold; it’s where they mercilessly steal from, kill and destroy any victim they may find.
The next three characters in the story are by-passers on the same dangerous path who saw the crime victim in his serious condition. A priest was the first who noticed the victim, then a Levite was the next one. Both of them were called by God to be responsible for keeping the sanctuary. The book of Numbers 18-19 describes the duties of priests and Levites. Priests can only come from the tribe of Levites. Both are experts and keepers of religious laws which is similar to the characteristic of the law expert that has asked Jesus.
In the story, they saw the helpless man and walked on the other side of the road and did not offer to help. Jesus intentionally mentioned the priest and Levite since they normally pass that road when they go to the Temple in Jerusalem and He emphasized their common attitude towards a helpless person. They are both familiar with the religious law that priests or Levites will be unclean for seven (7) days when they touch a dead body and had to go through water purification to be cleansed (Numbers 19:11-14). There are several possible reasons why the priest and Levite did not offer to help the wounded man. They could make an excuse for not helping because they will be unclean based on the law but, they could still help and perform water cleansing later, for which would cause them some inconvenience. Another reason they could have avoided aiding the beaten man was that they may not be sure that the man was a Jew as he was stripped of his garments and no way for identification. The Jewish priests and Levites do not associate with Samaritans in those days.
In the parable, the third witness was a Samaritan. He took pity on the man, helped him, nursed his wounds, and even paid the innkeeper to look after the man and promised to re-pay any more expense incurred for his care (Luke 10:33-35). Samaritans are known to have issues with the Jews during those days. This Samaritan in the parable, however, did not think twice to help the dying man; he gave his care, time and resources.
The innkeeper in the story is someone that offers to help but with payment. I noticed his willingness to expend his own resources to care for the wounded man and he trusted the Samaritan’s promise of reimbursement.
The final question was pitched by Jesus to the expert of the law, “Which of the three do you think was neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” (Luke 10:36). Actually, the law expert was the one who initially asked who his neighbor is. He answered his own question after understanding that the one who showed the man mercy was the neighbor.
There are many people around us who are like the wounded man. This man could be likened to anybody left helpless and almost dying following the attack or torment by the enemies (the devil and his demons). The man may be an unbeliever or a believer of Jesus Christ who happened to be struck by the enemy and needs healing. The robbers can be compared to the enemy of Christians, the devil and his demons (John 10:10). The three passers could be any kind of people that have different reactions when they saw someone in need. They may be like the priest and Levite who are not willing to give their care, time, or resources. They work for God yet aren’t willing to open up their schedules to accommodate someone in need.
Even though the setting of the parable is based on the time of Jesus, this still applies today that some religious leaders preach but do not practice mercy and kindness towards the people who are in dire need because they may not belong to their religious groups. Some might be like the innkeeper who is supposed to be the nearest refuge of the victims of the robbers, but they will not care unless they get some payment for their service.
There are many people who are spiritually dying and in need of our care, time and resources to be healed. Are we willing to open up our schedules to share Jesus Christ the one that can heal them and make them whole? Consider, a neighbor is the one who showed mercy, let us go and do likewise (see Luke 10:37).
[1] American Bible Society. From Jerusalem to Jericho. Retrieved from https://bibleresources.americanbible.org/resource/from-jerusalem-to-jericho
