Parables, Pictures, and Questions
"Who is my neighbor?" Luke 10:29 (NIV)
Our women's Bible study continued in Luke this week with a focus on Luke 10, especially with an emphasis on one of Jesus most famous parables, the Parable of the Good Samaritan. One of my earliest church memories as a child is sitting in little wooden chairs in Mrs. Maynard's 4-year old Sunday School class at Hunter Street Baptist Church. We all sat in a circle and Mrs. Maynard sat in the middle with her flannel graph. One by one, the figures came to life as Mrs. Maynard told the familiar story. First came a Jewish traveler who was beaten, stripped of his clothes, and left for dead by some mean robbers. A priest passed by and then a Levite. Neither stopped to help the poor man. Finally, a Samaritan came along and rescued the helpless man. The Good Samaritan not only helped the poor man by the roadside, but he took him to an innkeeper and paid for the man's care until the Samaritan returned from his journey. The moral of the story, not just in 4-year old Sunday School, but ever since has been "Be a good neighbor to those in need."
That is certainly one application of Jesus' story. Parables by design are stories that pique our interest and are easy to remember. But they are also complex teaching tools that Jesus employed to both reveal and conceal deep spiritual truths. Luke's Gospel is full of parables that teach us about the kingdom of God: what it is, what it looks like, and how a citizen in the kingdom of God is supposed to live. To help us in our study of the parables, we've been asking the following questions for each Kingdom parable:
Who is Jesus' audience?
What is the parable's story?
Where do I see myself in the parable?
What does the parable teach me about God or His Kingdom?
What is Jesus' main point?
In the Good Samaritan parable Jesus' audience was a lawyer who wanted to justify himself on the basis of his good works. The expert lawyer knew from his study of the Mosaic Law that the two greatest Old Testament commandments in the Bible are to" love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength" (Deut. 6:5) and "to love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18). But the lawyer challenged Jesus with his question, "Who is my neighbor?" To answer the lawyer's questions, Jesus then told the story of a Jewish traveler who was robbed, stripped and left for dead. The man was then bypassed by two religious leaders, but ultimately rescued by his natural enemy, a Samaritan. Jesus ended the parable with his own question: "Who was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The lawyer was left with only one answer:" the one who had mercy on him." Jesus, satisfied with the man's answer, commands him to go and do the same.
After we finished reading the parable, I asked our young moms, "Where do you see yourself in this story? How many of you see yourself as the priest who passes by?" Zero hands went up.
"How many of you see yourself as the Levite who passes by?" Again, no hands went up.
"Alright, how many of you see yourself as the Good Samaritan? Four hands went up.
"How many of us WANT to be the Good Samaritan? Every hand in the room went up.
Then I asked a final question, "How many of you see yourself as the traveler, left for dead, in need of a Rescuer. Someone who was rescued, not just from death, but from debts he could never repay." One look at their faces told me that no one had considered seeing herself as the beaten traveler.
The Good Samaritan is ultimately a picture of what God has done for us. God sent His Son to save us while we were still his enemies (Romans 5:8,10). Out of His great mercy, God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus is the Ultimate Good Samaritan who at great personal expense gives us both life and freedom from sin and death. And because God has been merciful to us, He calls us to be merciful to others.
"Who is my neighbor?" The one who has a need.
Who do you know this week that needs your help? Who needs your words of life and encouragement? Who needs your financial resources? We can never earn our salvation with our good works. Salvation is a gift of God's grace. But our love for God has to determine the care for His people.
"Go and do likewise." Luke 10:37 (NIV)
Amen and Amen!