The Good Samaritan

We’re going to study through Lk 10:25-37 to see why the lawyer asked Jesus questions and how the Lord answered him.  Then we’re going to study how the Good Samaritan typifies Jesus Christ.

The Lawyer’s attempt to tempt Jesus

A lawyer stood up and tempted Jesus.  He was knowledgeable of the law.  So, he wasn’t asking Jesus to teach him.  Instead he had two objectives in his question.  First, to entangle Jesus in his answer.  He was like the Pharisees who tried to entangle him in his talk, Matt 22:15, and like the scribes and Pharisees who sought “to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him”, Lk 11:54.  Second, to justify himself, Lk 10:29.

His question was, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life”?  Jesus had been teaching on eternal life.  See verses like Jn 3:15; 5:39, 6:54, 6:68, which happened the day after Jesus fed the 5,000, and before this lawyer questioned him, Lk 9:12-17.  No doubt, word had spread that Jesus professed to be the giver of eternal life.  The lawyer was going to try to catch him with the law.

However, Jesus answered by asking him what the law says, v.26.  If Jesus said had said something like Jn 5:39, the lawyer would likely have argued against his answer with the law.

In v.27, the lawyer answered Jesus’s question correctly.  He quoted the first and second commandments, Deut 6:5, Lev 19:18, just like Jesus did in Matt 22:37-40.  “On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets”.   Neither lawyer tripped up Jesus with the law.  He spoke truth.

In v.28, Jesus then told the lawyer, “this do and thou shalt live”.  Before the cross, this is Old Testament righteousness and life, Deut 6:24-25, Ezek 20:11, Matt 19:17, Rom 10:5.

If this concerns you, remember that the law is the schoolmaster, Gal 3:24-25, that brought them to Christ.  If this lawyer had kept the law, he would have trusted Christ as his Savior following his resurrection and the preaching of the gospel.

The Lawyer’s attempt to justify himself

The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor”?  Jesus had been teaching, Matt 5:44, love your enemies.  But those teaching the law had been saying love your neighbor, Matt 5:43, Lev 19:18, but hate your enemy, Deut 23:6.  This lawyer obviously didn’t accept what Jesus had been teaching.  For example, in Jn 4:9 we see that Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.  It was known that Jesus had been in Samaria, Lk 9:51-56; Jn 4, and that he had dealings with them.

So, Jesus didn’t answer him with what he had been teaching.  Rather, he answered the lawyer with this incident involving the good Samaritan.

The account of the Good Samaritan

In v.30 a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.  Jerusalem was higher in elevation.  This road was notorious for thieves.  Thus, it was reasonable to expect an incident on this road.  Thieves attacked this man.  They stripped him of his raiment, wounded him, departed, and left him half dead.

In v.31 a priest came down (going to Jericho).  He saw him and passed by on the other side.  Priests were not to be defiled for the dead among their people, Lev 21:1.  The man was half dead.  So, if the priest doesn’t cross the road to see whether he’s still alive, he can justify himself by saying, “I couldn’t take chances on being defiled for the dead”.  Like this lawyer, he justified himself.

In v.32 a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  The duties of Levites are given in 1 Chr 23.  They were involved in the work of the house of the Lord, such as purifying the holy things, shewbread, meat offerings, unleavened cakes, and offerings baked in a pan or fried.  They praised the Lord with instruments, waited on the sons of Aaron, thanked and praised the Lord, and kept the charge of the tabernacle.  Some were officers and judges and porters.  Nothing in his job description required him to help a half dead man on the road.  Like this lawyer, he justified himself.

In v.33, a Samaritan saw him as he journeyed.  He had business to tend to; he wasn’t a wayfarer.  Yet, when he saw the man, he had compassion on him.  Jericho was in Benjamin, Jos 18:21, part of the two southern tribes, as was Jerusalem.  Samaria was among the inheritance of the 10 northern tribes, 2 Ki 17:24.  These guys were enemies.  Jews have no dealings with Samaritans (the lawyer could have argued that).  So, Jesus turned this illustration around where the Samaritan had compassion on the Jew.  The Samaritan could have easily justified not helping this man.

In v.34 he went to him, instead of crossing to the other side,  bound up his wounds, poured in oil and wine (medicinal), and set him on his own beast. So the Samaritan now has to walk the rest of the way.  He brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  This became his business for the rest of that day, no matter what he was trying to do before he saw the man.

In v.35 on the morrow he departed, and gave the innkeeper two pence (two days’ wage, Matt 20).  His instructions were to take care of the man.  What ever the host spent more, he would repay.

In v.36 Jesus asked, “Which now of these three, thickest thou, was neighbor unto him…”?  There is no way the lawyer could answer that the first two were neighbor.  They did nothing to express love toward this wounded man.  Thus, the lawyer had no way that he could use the law to justify himself.

In v.37 he answered, “He that shewed mercy on him”.  Jesus said, “Go, and do thou likewise”.  This is not what that lawyer wanted to hear.  He failed in his temptation and in his attempt to justify himself.  None of us could ever justify himself.

The Good Samaritan’s likeness to Jesus

As the Samaritan was, so Jesus is.  He:

• Found the man stripped, wounded, and half dead, so Jesus found us half dead, Eph 2:1.
• Was not loved by the Jews, so Jesus is not loved by the world.
• Came where he was, v.33, so Jesus came to us on earth.
• Saw and had compassion, v.33, so Jesus was moved with compassion, Matt 9:36.
• Went to him, v.34, so Jesus comes to each one of us individually.
• Bound up wounds, v.34, so Jesus heals our wounds by sin.
• Poured in oil, v.34, so through Jesus, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, 1 Cor 6:9-11.
• Poured in Wine, v.34, so Jesus’s blood cleanses us, 1 Jn 1:7-9.
• Set him on his own beast, v.34, so Jesus has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows, Is 53:4, and borne our sins in his own body on the tree, 1 Pet 2:24.
• Brought him to the inn, v.34, so Jesus has placed us in a local church.
• Took care of him, v.34, so we cast all our care upon Jesus.
• Gave two pence, v.35, so Jesus supplies all our need according to his riches, Phil 4:19.
• Told the host to take care of him, v.35, Jesus gives us folks to minster to us.
• Said he would come again, v.35, so Jesus will come again.
• Said he would repay the host, v.35, so Jesus will repay us, Prov 19:17.