30 And
Jesus answering said, A certain man went
down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of
his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that
way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place,
came and looked on him, 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 on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil
and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took
care of him. 35 And on the
morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and
said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come
again, I will repay thee. 36 Which
now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the
thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou
likewise. (Luke 10:30-37)
The
Collect
Third
Sunday after Trinity
|
O
|
LORD, we beseech
thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an
hearty desire to pray, may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all
dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The
Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most often quoted and popular of
all the parables with the possible exception of the Parable of the Prodigal
Son. It is my favorite of them all. It defines, for the lawyer as well as for
us, to whom we should show mercy and of whom we should consider to be our
neighbor.
To get
to the setting for this parable, we need to examine the reason for our Lord's
giving it: 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted
him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said
unto him, What is written in the law? how readest
thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with
all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my
neighbour? (Luke 10:25-29)
This
"certain lawyer" was an accomplished academic of Holy Scripture. He
was presumptuous of his own wisdom, both Holy and worldly. He was most likely
of the mold of many modern theologians who love `refined' and `brainy'
arguments about "finding themselves" or better still, "how to
help others find themselves." Such people love argument for the sake of
argument and have little taste for simple truth. His motive was to reveal his
own vast knowledge and to cast dispersions on that of a poor and itinerate
teacher – Jesus Christ. The lawyer `tempted' Jesus in order to expose what he
believed to be uncultured and unrefined learning. Even when he had answered
correctly a question posed by Christ, he yet persisted in displaying his
prideful, philosophical grasp of the ridiculous – "And who
is my neighbor?" Can't you just imagine the arrogance in which this
question was posed as the lawyer spoke with a heavy nasally-tempered Oxford
accent?
30 And
Jesus answering said, A certain
man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped
him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Jerusalem is the place of the Temple and the
Holy City, but a certain man left the place closest to the worship of God and
went DOWN to Jericho. The further we depart from the Will of God, we are
placing ourselves under the power of the Prince of the Air. As we learned from
Psalm 1, sin is a DIRECTION. Jonah, too, in order to escape the commands of
God, ran DOWN to Joppa, went DOWN into a ship, went DOWN into the sides of the
ship, was cast DOWN into the sea, went DOWN into the belly of the fish, and then
DOWN into the very depths of the sea. When we depart from the presence of God,
we are going DOWNHILL! This man was robbed and beaten to within an inch of his
life. He was left by the world "half dead." All who are in the world
and not in the Kingdom of God are "HALF DEAD!" They live their
temporary moments on earth and then depart for the long night of outer
darkness. The world will always leave you half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain
priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. "By chance" only happens in parables –
not in the lives of God's chosen. The priest was also going to Jericho. He had
been to the Temple for services and was ritually cleansed. He, too, was going
DOWN. The priest is without excuse in failing to help the poor victim because
we are expressly told that he saw him. Instead of helping the man, the priest
passed by as far as he could get from him (the other side). This is an example
of the very person who should be expected to harbor the greatest care for those
in need not even lifting an eyebrow to comfort the man. The priest had an
overwhelming religious responsibility to see to the hurt man. The Law of Moses
even requires compassionate treatment for hurt animals: Thou shalt not
see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from
them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again. (Deut 22:4) Is
it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are
cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that
thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (Isaiah 58:7)
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the
place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. The Levites were the lowest order of the
priesthood having responsibility for the Temple grounds and upkeep. This Levite
has also come DOWN from Jerusalem and is, undoubtedly, ritually cleansed from
Temple work. He at least SEES the poor victim lying bleeding by the road, and even
went to him to look upon him proving that he was aware of the seriousness of
the man's predicament. He, too, shamefully went by on the other side
The
priest and Levite were both men whose positions were called for under the Law.
Their behavior suggests that the law is incapable of compassion and feeling.
The Law offers no grace.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, When we come
to the end of our proverbial rope, it may be time to turn our eyes and hearts
to heaven. This `Good' Samaritan is a type of Christ symbolized in the parable.
He is hated by the Jews as are all Samaritans. He is the One least likely to
feel an obligation to the poor and sinful man (for He has no sin). The
Samaritan is traveling UP to Jerusalem. Just as Christ came into a sinful
world for us, the Samaritan goes to where the man was. That is why we are the
"salt of the earth." We must deliver our healing balm to the point of
need. The Samaritans were despised by the Jews for the felt they were unclean
people simply for the blood that coursed through their veins. But this
Samaritan had no such feelings of malice toward the Jews. He came to where the
man was, he SAW him, and (the most important element of the entire
parable) he had COMPASSION on him. Compassion is an emotion that comes from God
alone. The hated Samaritan was far more Christ-like than the priests and
Levites of the Temple who had credentials to serve God but not the heart.
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil
and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took
care of him. Christ CAME to
us, He BOUND UP OUR WOUNDS, He has given us the wine and Oil of His Spirit, He
has given us a conveyance to safety (the Cross), and He has brought us to a
place of care and love. The wine, the oil, the physical sacrifice of allowing
the hurt man to ride his own beast while he walked, his personal time devoted,
and the care he gave were all Christ-like evidences of compassion.
Compassion is an arm of Grace – something the Law could not provide.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took
out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care
of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Having carried the assault and robbery victim
back down the trail to an Inn, the Samaritan treats this stranger as his own
brother – he treats him with expensive oils and wine, he gives of his time and
resources. But, when he has done all for the moment of danger, he decides to
continue on to his pressing business in Jerusalem. But he does not abandon his
assumed charge. He gives the Inn Keeper two pence (two days' pay) to continue
to watch after the needs of the injured stranger. Christ has not left us
Comfortless has He? When He ascended on High, He sent to us the Comforter
to care for us during His sojourn. The Samaritan tells the Inn Keeper to care
for the man and, if more money is need, he will recompense on his return.
Christ has a CONTINUING care for us.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was
neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? The greatest
points of Christ's teachings are made with searching questions: "But whom do you say that I am?"
"Woman, where are thine accusers?"
"Lovest thou me more than these?"
"How readest thou?"
The answer is so obvious that none can escape its admission: Who was neighbor
to him that fell among thieves? Was it a priest of his own people? Was it a
Levite of his own faith? or was it a perfect stranger of a hated race of
people? The lawyer is a Jew and his prejudices will make it very difficult to
respond correctly, but his own pride requires an answer.
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus
unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. The
lawyer, beleaguered and defeated by a greater mind than he imagined existed,
could not bring himself so much as to utter the word `Samaritan,' so he
responds with a sterile "He that shewed mercy on him."
Now the lawyer KNOWS the right answer, but even though we KNOW right, it avails
us nothing if we do not ACT on that right: "Go
thou and do likewise." Have you done all that your heart
has known to be right?
