Friday, April 8, 2016

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came 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 10:33-37

The first three words of this passage are the most shocking and surprising of the whole story.  “But a Samaritan…” this was the last thing that this expert lawyer would have expected Jesus to say. 

A little historical background…
This expert in the law was a most likely a scribe and a possibly a Pharisee.  A scribe was a specially trained expert in the Torah, or Jewish Old Testament Law.  A scribe’s job was to read, study, copy and protect the law.  scribes were highly respected in Jewish culture.  Not all Pharisees were scribes, but most scribes were Pharisees (think about that for a minute).  A scribe’s place was in the Synagogue, while a priest and a Levite operated within the Temple.  There was a kind of religious rivalry between the priestly class and the class of the scribes and teachers of the law.  Each group thought their role was more important and looked down their nose at the other group.  

Keep in mind that the first two men to pass by this poor half-dead traveler without helping him in Jesus’ story were a priest and a Levite.  It is quite probable that this expert in the law expected Jesus to say that a scribe or a Teacher of the Law came by next and stopped to help this man.  He might have been thinking to himself, “It is just like a priest to be too high and mighty to help someone in need. But not me! I would have stopped to care for such a man!”

But Jesus turns this expert’s world upside down when He says that it was a Samaritan who stopped to help. He must have thought, “A Samaritan?  Did he just say a Samaritan?  Nah!  He couldn’t possibly be saying anything good about a Samaritan.”  

A little more history…
Samaritans were from the northern region of Israel and the Jews in the surrounding area hated them.  Samaritans in Jesus day were descended from the Jews who intermarried with the conquering Assyrians and faithful Jews considered them half-breeds and traitors.  There were actually prayers in the Mishna from Jesus day asking God to withhold His grace from the Samaritans!  The hatred was a two-way street; the Samaritans hated the Jews right back.  Do you get the picture?  It was even worse than Bears and Packers fans!

Did you notice the question Jesus asked this expert at the end of His parable?  He asks, "Which of these three was a neighbor to the man who was left for dead?"  It is a simple question, with a fairly obvious answer.  But did you notice the way that this man answers Jesus’ question? He says that it was “the one who had mercy on him”.  He (the expert in the law) cannot even bring himself to say that it was the Samaritan; he calls him “the one who had mercy”!

It must have felt like a punch in the gut when Jesus told him to go and do likewise.  Go and live your live like this Samaritan. Ouch!

So Jesus says to you and to me, “go and do likewise”: go and love your God and extend compassion to your neighbor.  That’s it. You heard him. Get going!  Go out into the world and live your life in love for God and in service to others…go on!  Your neighbors are in need and your God is calling. Are you still reading this?  Get going!

Pastor Jeff Frazier