Ep. 71: Good Samaritan
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LUKE 10:25-37,11:5-13
The period now leading up to his last entry into Jerusalem starts with the brief visit to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. The parables of this period look back on the past and forward into the future. Those originally spoken by the Lake of Galilee were purely symbolic. They presented unseen heavenly realities under themes that required to be translated into earthly language. It was quite easy to do so, but only if you possessed the key to the heavenly mysteries; otherwise, they were dark and mysterious. They were easily read from above downwards. Viewed from below upwards, only strangely intertwining outlines could be perceived. In other words, you needed to be in the know first!
It is quite different with this second series of parables. They could, as they were intended, be understood by all. They required no translation. They were not symbolic but practical. Their prevailing character is not descriptive but encouraging and they bring the Gospel, in the sense of glad tidings to the lost, most closely and touchingly to the hearts of all who hear them. They are signs in words, as the miracles are signs in works, of what Jesus has come to do and to teach. Most of them bear this character openly and even those which do not, but seem more like a warning, still have an undertone of love, as if Divine compassion lingered in tender pity.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is linked to a question, addressed to Jesus by a ‘lawyer’, an expert in Jewish Canon Law, ‘Teacher, what can I do to inherit eternal life?’ At the root of this lay the notion that eternal life was the reward of merit, of works. The only question was, what these works were to be. The idea of guilt had not entered his mind; he had no conception of sin within. It was the old Judaism of self-righteousness speaking without disguise; that which was the ultimate ground of the rejecting and crucifying of the Christ. And so our Lord, using the common Rabbinic expression ‘how do you read it?’, pointed him to the Scriptures of the Old Testament.
As regards the duty of absolute love to God, indicated by Deuteronomy 6:5, there could be no hesitation in the mind of a Jew. Rabbinism is never weary of quoting its greatest teacher, Hillel, that he had summed up the Law in these words; ‘What is hateful to you, that do not to another. This is the whole Law; the rest is only its explanation.’ Hillel put it in a negative form, while Jesus put it positively. It is the preaching of the Law that awakens in the mind a sense of sin. Then Jesus was able to show in a parable how far orthodox Judaism was from even a true understanding, much more from such perfect observance of this Law as would gain heaven.
The question that should have been asked is not ‘who is my neighbour?’ but ‘whose neighbour am I?’ The Gospel answers the question of duty by pointing us to love. Thus is the parable truly Christian and points up to him who, in our great need, became neighbour to us, even at the cost of all he had. And from him, as well as by his word, are we to learn our lesson of love.
The parable which follows seems closely connected. A man has a friend who, long after nightfall, unexpectedly comes to him. He has nothing in the house, yet he must provide for his need, for hospitality demands it. Accordingly, though it is so late. He goes to his friend and neighbour to ask him for three loaves, stating the case. On the other hand, the friend so asked refuses, since, at that late hour. He has retired to bed with his children, and to grant his request would imply not only inconvenience to himself but the disturbing of the whole household. The main circumstances, therefore, are a sudden, unthought-of sense of need, obliging to make what seems an unreasonable request. It is a gross misunderstanding to describe it as presenting a mechanical view of prayer, as if it implied, either that God was unwilling to answer or else, that prayer, otherwise unheard, would be answered merely for its persistence.
So important is the teaching of this parable, that Jesus makes detailed application of it. The emphasis of the parable and its lesson are in the word ‘everyone’. Not only this or that but ‘everyone,’ shall so experience it. The reality is of our need (‘ask’), the reality of our belief that the supply is there (‘seek’), and the intensity and energy of our spiritual longing (‘knock’). This applies to ‘everyone,’ whoever he be, and whatever the circumstances which would seem to render his prayer especially difficult to answer. As we follow Jesus’ teaching, we ask for the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit, in leading us to him, leads us into all truth, to all life and to what satisfies all need.
This is an extract from the book, Jesus : Life and Times, available for £10 here (Finalist for Academic Book of the year at 2023 CRT awards)