The Parables of Jesus - The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:30-37

Introduction

1. Kingdom Parables
   1. The General Theme is The Kingdom of Heaven
   2. Three "Sub-Themes" Are Stressed in The Parables
      1. The character of the KINGDOM
      2. The character of the KING
      3. The character of the KING'S SUBJECTS - for example...
         1. The Good Samaritan
         2. The Persistent Widow
2. The Good Samaritan is not a kingdom parable

   Through my study I have become convinced that this is not a kingdom parable.

   We will see this as we study the parable. And if we treat it as a kingdom parable we will miss Jesus' point, and possibly interpret it to mean exactly the opposite of what Jesus was teaching.

I. The Context

1. Location: Unknown, near Bethany - Lk 10:38-39

   Possibly on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho

2. Those Addressed: A lawyer, but overheard by the disciples (not just the twelve) - Lk 10:23,25

Jesus spoke this parable to the lawyer, but there was a crowd around them that also heard the parable.

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3. Motivation: A challenge from a lawyer - Lk 10:25
   1. The question

      The lawyer stood up, drawing attention to himself, and asked this question.
      The same question as the Rich Young Ruler, Mt 19:16

   2. What kind of challenge was this?

      Was it a trick question?
      Was the lawyer attempting to hurt Jesus' reputation with the crowd? To embarass Him?
      I think this was just a theology challenge. He wanted to prove his superiority to Jesus, like seminary students debating eschatology.

   3. Jesus' response, "What does the Law say?" - Lk 10:26

      Similar to Jesus' answer to the Rich Young Ruler, "keep the commandments". Jesus pointed him to the Law.
      However, Jesus asks the lawyer what the law says. This is a lawyer after all.
      We ask ourselves, why does Jesus point him to the Law and not the gospel? more on this later

   4. The lawyer answered well - Lk 10:27
      When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus used the same response - Mt 22:37-40, Mk 12:28-34
      The words of the Shema - Dt 6:5 - and the royal law - Lev19:18, Jm 2:8
      And Jesus commended him - Lk 10:28 "Do this and you will live"

      Is this ("Do this") law, not gospel?
      One might expect the lawyer to answer with a list of laws and regulations that he was certain to have kept. Instead he gives a good, the right answer.

   5. "But wishing to justify himself, ..." - Lk 10:29

      The lawyer was honest enough with himself to know that there were some people he did not love as himself. Therefore he wanted to distinquish between his neighbors and his enemies. By rabbinic tradition he was not required to love his enemies.
      Note: Judaism is not the same as biblical religion, not even OT religion. Judaism had become a monster of legalism, self righteous classism, and burdens upon people, especially those who lacked priviledge.

      Samaritans would be a good example of people whom the lawyer would not classify as neighbors.
      [What are some history and examples of animosity between the Jews and Samaritans?]

      The point to the lawyer was, "You don't love your neighbor as yourself, therefore you will not inherit eternal life."

II. The Parable: Luke 10:30-37

1. "A man" - v. 30

   MacArthur does a masterful job of expositing this parable. I will mimic what he says, but if you want the real deal you should read the book.

   The man is not identified, but he was almost certainly a Jew. Probably a trader.

2. "was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho" - v. 30

   The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notoriously dangerous. In seventeen miles it drops 4000 ft in elevation (thus going down to Jericho). The road winds through barren mountains through very rough terrain. In places the road is bordered by a precipitous 300 ft drop. Much of the route is lined with caves and boulders, perfect hideouts for gangs of robbers.

3. He was ambushed by robbers - v. 30

   They did not merely rob him. They stripped him, took everything he had, brutally beat him, for no particular reason, and left him for dead.

4. Three passersby
   1. The priest - passed by - v. 31

      A "man of God". One dedicated to serving the Lord in the temple. One who would know the right thing to do in this situation. Think of a pastor.

      But no, he passes by on the other side, avoiding contact with the man in trouble. He may have thought the man was dead. If so and the priest touch the carcass, he would have been defiled and would need to go through the elaborate cleansing process to resume service in the temple. The risk was too great and there was no obvious reward.

   2. The Levite - passed by - v. 32

      Not a priest, but one who served the Lord in various capacities in the temple. Think of an elder or deacon. He likewise deliberately moved to the opposite side of the road to avoid the man.

   3. The Samaritan - had compassion - vv. 33-35

      The Samaritan, think of a ?
      The Samaritans and Jews despised each other. There was a long history of animosity between them. So when the Samritan showed up in the story, the hearers would immediately expect him to at best pass by also, at worst they would expect him to finish off the man. But no, he "had compassion", extravagant compassion. How did he show compassion?

      1. He went to him - v. 34

         He did not pass by on the other side.

      2. He treated the mans wounds - v. 34

         From his own traveling supplies.

      3. He put the man on his own animal - v. 34
      4. He took him to an inn - v. 34
      5. He cared for the man through the night - vv. 34, 35
      6. He paid generously for the man's needs - v. 35

         Two denarii, two days wages, which would have been enough to support the man for two months - MacArthur.

      7. He pledged himself for the man's further needs - v. 35

         Was the man a neighbor to the Samritan in common parlance?
         No, the man was a stranger to the Samaritan. The Samaritan did not ask why the man had come to be in that state. He did not guard himself (perhaps the robbers were nearby waiting for another victim). He did not stop to ask "who is my neighbor", he acted like a neighbor.

5. Who was the man's neighbor? - v. 36

   The one who showed mercy, v. 37. The supposed enemy.

6. Go and do likewise - v. 37

   Love your neighbor, anyone in need, as you love yourself.

7. The End?
   • I end the outline of the parable like a B grade monster movie. Is that the end of the story?
   • Do you think the lawyer began to love his neighbors as himself?
   • Do you love your neighbors as yourself?
   • Does anyone love their neighbors as themselves?
   • Who do we all love most?
     You may have heard people say that to love your neighbor as yourself you have to love yourself. You may have said it. I have said it. The truth is, we love ourselves very much. We give ourselves what ourselves want. We commiserate with ourselves when we are sick. We hurt when other people don't love ourselves like we do. We get angry when people don't treat ourselves fairly. We want to protect ourselves from pain, discomfort, loneliness, bad people, suffering. We want to give ourselves good things. We want ourselves to feel good. And we want to escape when ourselves hurt too much. We love ourselves very much. And we don't love our neighbors as ourselves.
   • Then how will we inherit eternal life (citizenship in the kingdom)?

III. Explanation

1. The Good Samaritan is not a kingdom parable

   Why would we think this is a kingdom parable? Teachers, like me, hav assoicated it with kingdom parables.

   Why not?
   The parable does not have of the characteristics of kingdom parables.

   1. No "the kingdom of heaven is like"
   2. Nothing is concealed
   3. It does not teach us about the kingdom, the king, or His subjects. Contrary to what I indicated in the introductory lesson, the point of the parable of the good Samaritan is not to teach us how to be good kingdom citizens. The point of the parable is to teach the lawyer and us that without outside help, we cannot be kingdom citizens.
2. Nathan's parable to David - 2 Samuel 12:1-7

   What kind of parable is this? It is a story Jesus told to bring a lesson home to the lawyer. The lesson was not so much about the kingdom of heaven as it was about the lawyer.

   The parable of the good Samaritan is somewhat like the parable that Nathan told to David.

   Nathan needed to confront David with his sin, but if he simply went to David and accused him of adultery and murder he may have only gotten his head cut off for his troubles. He told the parable to get past David's defenses, to enhance the impact of the lesson, and to get to his heart.

   The lawyer was in a defensive, argumentative posture. But, Jesus was not concerned about winning an argument. He was concerned about the lawyer's soul. The lawyer had confidence in himself and that he was on the right road to inherit eternal life by his theological knowledge and moral life. So Jesus used the parable, and the shock value, to break through the lawyer's defenses and self confidence.

IV. Central Truth

You do not love your neighbor as yourself.

Corollaries:

You won't get to heaven by being good

You need a Savior

V. Application

• How are you doing on the two greatest commandments?
  None of us ever fulfills either of the two greatest commandments, even for a minute. We can be fooled into thinking that we can keep the ten commandments. We can even come to believe that we hardly ever sin. But the truth is we never fulfill the most fundamental of commandments. And for that reason, we need a Savior.
  

  What Laura and I learned from the Presbyterians

  Laura and I both grew up in a Baptist church. But for the first eight(?) years of our marriage we were members of a Presbyterian (PCA) church. One of the profound things that we learned from the Presbyterians was the pervasiveness of sin in our lives. We also learned about the depth of our sin.

  It is easy in a typical Baptist church to get the idea that sin is limited to breaking the ten commandments, and that most of those are not too difficult to keep if you are a pretty good person. I remember thinking on occasions that I had gone for long periods of time without sinning. The Presbyterians helped me to understand that I probably have never loved God with all my being for a minute, nor have I ever loved my neighbor as myself. I need a Savior.

  Laura's testimony.

  To be saved we need to radically recognize our sinfulness and our desperate need for a Savior. That is what the lawyer lacked. He thought he was pretty good, much better than the average person. Hopefully, in God's providence, the parable of the good Samaritan had its effect and the lawyer cried out to the Savior for mercy.

• What will you do about it?