Luke 10:36-37 36Which of these three to you proved a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37And he said, “The one who showed mercy towards him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The lawyer had been listening carefully and perceptively to the story Jesus told. He knew the point of the story. When Jesus asked the question, the lawyer’s conscience must have been pricked. The point of the story is obvious: the Samaritan was the only one of the three who did anything to help the man. The link between compassion and the two greatest commandments is assumed at the end of this passage. Often, when something is unstated, it is up to the reader to think deeply to come up with the implied message. In this story, the context is important. Luke is the only one to record this particular story and connect it to the two great commandments which are guided by the one central command to love.
The lawyer knew the answer to Jesus’ question, but curiously, he could not even say the word Samaritan but only a generic the one who showed. The lawyer did pick up on an important point about about compassion being a form of mercy (eleos). God is merciful and compassionate (Exodus 34:6). As part of God’s family and citizens in his kingdom, we must have the same qualities. The surprise of this parable is that the “enemy” was the one to extend compassion and mercy to the injured man.
The Jewish religious leaders should have been the first to help the man, but they passed by because of their presuppositions. They put the law, or their interpretation of it, above the needs of this man. The mistaken battle behind this story is the law versus love. The lawyer probably interpreted the law like the priest and Levite and got caught up in the small details that were context specific. The ceremonial law was the application of the two primary laws to specific situations faced by ancient Israel. They were not to supersede the law of love. The law of love is the primary guide, not rituals and ancient contextual applications.
The most difficult part of this parable for the lawyer and for readers like us is Jesus’ last statement. It is one thing to understand the story, but it is another to go and live it out. We tend to be calculating about how far we should extend ourselves to those in need. We like safety and security, especially of our time and possessions. The Samaritan was wide open in his generosity to care for this man, even to the point of spending two day’s worth of wages, and likely more by the time the whole situation was resolved. To love God requires us to show love like God. The upcoming story of the waiting father in 15:20 illustrates the type of comparison God has towards the lost. The do likewise will require us to follow the way of the cross.
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