"And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” Luke 10:37
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” Luke 10:37
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The parable of the Good Samaritan was offered in conjunction
with the Great Commandment in the Gospel According to St. Luke. The Great Commandment was also given in
Matthew 22:36-40 in response to the challenge of a trick question, as several
opponents were trying to trip Jesus up with his words. Much like in modern
politics, they wanted to get Jesus to say something they could then take a
little soundbite from, twist it around and turn it into a controversy.
Jesus was teaching after the disciples had returned
rejoicing from their missionary journey.
A lawyer asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responded by asking the lawyer what his
thoughts were, and the lawyer answered with what would become known as the Great
Commandment, to love God and neighbor. These laws came from the ancient times, from
the same Law of Moses people quote so emphatically about all kinds of other
issues. Jesus elevated these to the most
prominent position of all the laws in the Bible.
Jesus later emphasized, in the Temple on Tuesday of Holy
Week, that these two commandments are the most important of all. Even though many people often prefer and
argue others, these are the ones Jesus says provide the basis for interpreting “all
the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). Two days later Jesus took this
commandment to an even higher level. On
the way to the Garden where he would be arrested, Jesus gave the New
Commandment, for us to love each other as he has loved us. This view encompasses much more
territory. Christ has loved and accepted
us with all our baggage and so we are also expected to love and accept others along
with whatever that may entail.
The love and acceptance illustrated in the parable of the
Good Samaritan is what makes it so popular among people of all different
religious views, and even many who claim no religious affiliation. The lawyer had a follow-up question, like in press
conferences, “Who is my neighbor?" We may decide we will love our
neighbors, but then we might also want to limit our definition of who that
means. We might be tempted to have a narrow view, confined to those who think
and act like us to the point we are picking only those who resemble the image we
see in the mirror. Jesus had a much
broader view, calling us to consider everyone as our neighbor and to love
accordingly.
One characteristic of the neighbor in this parable is that the
Samaritan did not pick the neighbor, but rather met him in an entirely chance
encounter. Most of the people we know have been met by chance. Many different circumstances come together in
the crossing of each other’s paths. We
had no choice in the places or the families into which we were born, or the
cultures in which we were raised. Many
factors about our lives and the people we know are completely outside of our
control. So it was with the Good
Samaritan. Jesus used that very phrase, “by
chance,” in reference to the first passerby (Luke 10:31). None of the characters in the parable are
presented as having been in this situation by anything but chance.
Another characteristic, according to this parable, is that
the concept of neighbor includes everyone without exception. The parable sets
the standard for inclusive acceptance of everybody regardless of who they are,
what they believe or how they practice their faith. God expects us to find it
in our hearts to love and accept everyone into our fellowship as fully and
freely as Christ has accepted us.
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Those are very inclusive words in that verse. Any words we
might choose to replace “world” or “whosoever” with anything less inclusive
would diminish what the Bible says.
Jesus did not narrow his concept in the least. When Christ gave his life at Calvary it was
for all, without exception. If we
exclude anyone at all, our view is narrower than what God had in mind in
sending Christ to be our Savior. No one
is excluded, as communicated in the words of this famous verse. As Christ died for all, so we live for all,
extending the same love and grace Christ has extended to us.
Unconditional love is characterized in the parable of the
Good Samaritan. The victim was not assisted because of his merit or to
compensate him for any good works. Nor
was he helped because of his ability to repay.
Jesus had several other teachings and parables illustrating the importance
of loving even those who would never be able to return the favor. Not even was
there a limit placed on the extent of need required. The parable concludes with
the Samaritan promising to compensate the inn keeper for whatever other expenses
might accrue in meeting the needs of this neighbor, no matter what they may be.
There were no restrictions, and there were no conditions.
Think about the characters in this passage. The robbers left
the traveler for dead, but so did the religious people who perpetuated his
circumstances when they went by and left him in the same condition. Those who actually helped included the donkey
who served as an ambulance and the inn keeper who provided hospitalization and
served as medic. The issues raised by Jesus in choosing a Samaritan as the main
character of this parable bear striking resemblance to our current events in
terms of race, religion, marriage and other timeless issues people argue about
today in church and society.
"Let us go and do likewise,
regarding every [person] as our neighbor who needs our assistance. Let us
renounce that bigotry and party zeal which would contract our hearts into an
insensibility for all the human race, but a small number whose sentiments and
practices are so much our own, that our love to them is but self-love
reflected. With an honest openness of mind let us always remember that kindred
between [person and person], and cultivate that happy instinct whereby, in the
original constitution of our nature, God has strongly bound us to each
other." John Wesley, Notes on the
New Testament (1755), on Luke 10:37.
The parable of the Good Samaritan invites us to unite with
those of every age before us in forwarding to the next generation God’s plan of
salvation through acceptance and love. The
definition of the word “neighbor” provided by Jesus in this parable encompasses
everyone without exception or limitation.
We are invited to address the issues of our day with the same response
Jesus indicated to the lawyer at the conclusion of the parable, “Go, and do
thou likewise” (Luke 10:37).