Once again engaging God's Word, we're looking at the pretty well-known parable of Jesus, known as the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37. For today's post, I want to focus primarily on the figure of the Good Samaritan. Who is this mysterious, compassionate man? Why would he help a poor beaten man, even at his own expense? Why does he even care about this guy?
To be fair, Jesus rather challenges the lawyer when He makes the Samaritan the good guy in the parable. Samaritans and Jews simply did not get along well. When the nation had been exiled, some had been left behind in the country. Since they were few in number, they ended up marrying the people of the nations around them. So when the nation was re-populated by the full-blooded Israelites, these half-blood (at best) Samaritans were looked down upon. They weren't really seen as God's people. They had done that which God had said not to do, when they had married people of other nations.
In many respects, Samaritans were despised, especially in relationship to true Israelites. So when Jesus tells the parable and makes a Samaritan the good guy, well, that would just be plain offensive. It would be like a Democrat telling a story, and making a Republican out as the good guy (or vice versa).
Jesus makes a very important point here, even as He uses a Samaritan as the good guy. Care and compassion can be found in even the most unlikely of places. I've known any number of "rough" people in my life, and they have had truly great moments of compassion. Compassion is not found only in the people of God, but to some degree, it's present in every single part of God's human creation. Everyone has the capacity for compassion within them.
In one respect, that's the point that Jesus is making here. God is a God of compassion, and He has created all human beings with the capacity for compassion. God actually does take great joy in seeing His people live out compassion. Now, to be fair, this isn't the thing that makes us right in God's eyes. This is simply living as God created us to live. It's only in God's compassion toward us that we are restored in His eyes, a compassion that He gives through Jesus and the cross and resurrection. And yet, God does indeed take great joy in seeing His human creation demonstrate compassion, even when we discover it in the most unexpected of places.
To be fair, Jesus rather challenges the lawyer when He makes the Samaritan the good guy in the parable. Samaritans and Jews simply did not get along well. When the nation had been exiled, some had been left behind in the country. Since they were few in number, they ended up marrying the people of the nations around them. So when the nation was re-populated by the full-blooded Israelites, these half-blood (at best) Samaritans were looked down upon. They weren't really seen as God's people. They had done that which God had said not to do, when they had married people of other nations.
In many respects, Samaritans were despised, especially in relationship to true Israelites. So when Jesus tells the parable and makes a Samaritan the good guy, well, that would just be plain offensive. It would be like a Democrat telling a story, and making a Republican out as the good guy (or vice versa).
Jesus makes a very important point here, even as He uses a Samaritan as the good guy. Care and compassion can be found in even the most unlikely of places. I've known any number of "rough" people in my life, and they have had truly great moments of compassion. Compassion is not found only in the people of God, but to some degree, it's present in every single part of God's human creation. Everyone has the capacity for compassion within them.
In one respect, that's the point that Jesus is making here. God is a God of compassion, and He has created all human beings with the capacity for compassion. God actually does take great joy in seeing His people live out compassion. Now, to be fair, this isn't the thing that makes us right in God's eyes. This is simply living as God created us to live. It's only in God's compassion toward us that we are restored in His eyes, a compassion that He gives through Jesus and the cross and resurrection. And yet, God does indeed take great joy in seeing His human creation demonstrate compassion, even when we discover it in the most unexpected of places.
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