The Red-Letter Words of Yeshua ~ Part 103

In our last post, we began our series on Ministry from Galilee to Judea. In this post, we explore the Parable of The Good Samaritan.

In this parable, an expert on the law tests Yeshua on how to inherit eternal life. Yeshua’s first answer speaks of loving God, while His second calls for loving people. After the lawyer questions Him further, Yeshua illustrates the heart of His ministry through the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which is unique to Luke’s Gospel.

Parable of The Good Samaritan

²⁵ An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap Him by asking, “Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?”

An expert in Torah indicates someone who is trained in the law of Moshe; likely a P’rushim. To try and trap Him in argumentation for the purpose of discrediting Him. What should I do to obtain eternal life?

But Yeshua quickly turns the table on the expert.

²⁶ But Yeshua said to him, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?” ²⁷ He answered, “You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ “That’s the right answer,” Yeshua said. “Do this, and you will have life.” ²⁹ But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Yeshua, “And who is my ‘neighbor’?”

Wanting to justify himself the expert seeks to support his claim to be righteous (perhaps only in his own mind) and presses Yeshua to define the term “neighbor.” The expert’s question and his own answer in Luke 10:37 frame the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

³⁰ Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead.

The road from Yerushalayim and Jericho dropped roughly 3,500 feet over about 10 miles. Having been on that road, I am convinced that it is the Valley of Death that David writes in Psalm 23:4.

 ³¹ By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side. ³³ “But a man from Shomron (Samaritan) who was traveling came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion.

There had been enmity for centuries between the Jews and the Samaritans so that Yeshua’s questioner would probably have subscribed to the prevailing low opinion of Samaritans among Jews and could be expected to think that if a cohen and a Levi refused the man aid, how much more would a mistrustful Samaritan also refuse him aid. Yeshua Himself had recently traveled through Shomron (Luke 9:51–53).

 ³⁴ So he went up to him, put oil and wine (considered medicine) on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he set him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day, he took out two days’ wages (literally two days’ wages), gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Look after him; and if you spend more than this, I’ll pay you back when I return.’ ³⁶ Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the ‘neighbor’ of the man who fell among robbers?” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Yeshua said to him, “You go and do as he did.” ^[1]

In our next post, we examine Yeshua Visits Mary and Martha and other topics.

Click here for the PDF version.

^[1] Luke 10:29–37.