Yesterday's post talked a bit about the background and context of the famous "Good Samaritan" parable of Jesus. A lawyer, who would have been well-versed in the law from Moses, asked Jesus about what to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responded by asking him what the Law said. The lawyer responded, love God and love your neighbor. Jesus told him to do this and he would live. And then, in an effort to justify what we can only assume to be a lack of love toward his neighbor, the lawyer asked Jesus, "who is my neighbor?"
Jesus responded with the parable that so many people know as the Good Samaritan. Truth be told, there are a lot of elements in this story that we could cover. But for today, I want to take some time to focus on the first two characters who pass the man who had been beaten and robbed and left for dead. They bear some consideration as we ponder the question, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus mentions a priest and a Levite passing the beaten man. Each of them walks to the other side of the road. But I want to point out an interesting detail about these two. Both of them would have been involved with the religious life of the people of Israel. In fact, they likely would have held positions of respect. They had significant duties to attend to on behalf of God and for His people.
But you notice something interesting. Jesus doesn't really give us a reason for their lack of compassion. I'm sure many have assumed their motivations, both good and bad. But for Jesus, the very plain and simple fact is, they didn't stop. They left the man there. They surely failed to love their neighbor as themselves.
That's what I'm going to call a negative example. These two men in Jesus' parable are examples of what NOT to do. Love for one's neighbor does NOT involve simply leaving them there on the side of the road in their broken condition. The example that Jesus is painting for this lawyer is that we can say for sure that failure to demonstrate compassion to others is a failure to love our neighbor.
Tomorrow, we'll jump in and take a look at the Samaritan.
Jesus responded with the parable that so many people know as the Good Samaritan. Truth be told, there are a lot of elements in this story that we could cover. But for today, I want to take some time to focus on the first two characters who pass the man who had been beaten and robbed and left for dead. They bear some consideration as we ponder the question, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus mentions a priest and a Levite passing the beaten man. Each of them walks to the other side of the road. But I want to point out an interesting detail about these two. Both of them would have been involved with the religious life of the people of Israel. In fact, they likely would have held positions of respect. They had significant duties to attend to on behalf of God and for His people.
But you notice something interesting. Jesus doesn't really give us a reason for their lack of compassion. I'm sure many have assumed their motivations, both good and bad. But for Jesus, the very plain and simple fact is, they didn't stop. They left the man there. They surely failed to love their neighbor as themselves.
That's what I'm going to call a negative example. These two men in Jesus' parable are examples of what NOT to do. Love for one's neighbor does NOT involve simply leaving them there on the side of the road in their broken condition. The example that Jesus is painting for this lawyer is that we can say for sure that failure to demonstrate compassion to others is a failure to love our neighbor.
Tomorrow, we'll jump in and take a look at the Samaritan.
No comments:
Post a Comment