Justifying Ourselves

The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most popular and well known parables of the Bible. It is so well known that the phrase “good Samaritan” has worked itself into our culture to describe anyone who goes out of their way to help a stranger in need. As well known as that parable is, what sometimes goes unnoticed is the motivation behind Jesus’ telling of the parable.

The narrative account — found in Luke 10:25-37 — begins with a lawyer coming up to Jesus and asking him what he must do to inherit eternal life. There are several things to note right off the bat. First, this man is a lawyer. The concept of a lawyer back then in first century Palestine is much different than the concept of a lawyer here and now. A lawyer in Jesus’ time was someone who was an expert in Jewish law — more of a scholar than a lawyer in the modern understanding.

Secondly, this lawyer was putting Jesus to the test (v. 25). In other words, as an expert in Jewish law, he wanted to see how Jesus would answer his question; whether or not he would give the orthodox reply. This highlights the tension that existed between Jesus and the religious authorities. Oftentimes when Jesus taught, the crowd was astounded at the authority with which he taught. It was said that Jesus taught unlike the Pharisees; he spoke with his own authority. It is clear that this lawyer’s motives in asking this question were not honest. He wasn’t truly seeking an answer to the question. Rather he wished to discredit Jesus and expose him as a false teacher.   Continue at Carl Gobelman

Only God is good, and that includes Samaritans

The most misinterpreted and wrongly applied of Jesus’ parables is certainly the story of the good Samaritan. The prevailing contemporary understanding of this passage sees the story through the lens of Christian ethics, as if the Samaritan was invented by Jesus as a means of demonstrating to Christians how they should express God’s love to the world. This interpretation—common as it may be—is the polar opposite of what Jesus meant by the parable. Jesus did not tell this parable to illustrate how we are supposed to live, but rather to refute the idea that being a good neighbor can earn you salvation. The Samaritan is not in Scripture to serve as an example of Christian ethics, and to conscript him for that cause largely misses Jesus’ point.

As a side note, the concept of working one’s way to heaven through doing good deeds and being a good neighbor is not limited to Ancient Near East priestly societies. In fact, it is as common today in the United States as it was in second temple Judaism. How often have you witnessed to someone who says they are going to heaven because they are “a good person”? When you follow up by asking them to describe what it means to be a good person, the response is generally along the lines of “I help people, and do what is right in my own eyes.” The story of the good Samaritan was told to crush exactly that concept of good.  Keep Reading...