The Good Samaritan is the story of a man who was robbed and beaten and left for dead. As he lies clinging to life, he is overlooked by several people from prominent ethnic groups and communities who choose not to help him. Finally, a Samaritan who is not as prominent and has a different religious view helps him.
The most significant part of this story for me was the fact that this Samaritan who had the most differences with the man who had been beaten did not ignore him, unlike this man’s companions.
This parable teaches us about the way God wants people to interact with each other. and break down all religious and racial barriers. God wants everyone to get along no matter how they choose to worship him. This is made evident in the story by the Samaritan who helped a man who in turn probably would not have helped him in the same situation.
This parable can be interpreted today, as it is commonly interpreted in a more social setting. For example, when someone has been hurt in an emotional way he may be sitting and crying and will be encouraged by a person who is also not of a high social standing. In the modern world, if everyone was like the Good Samaritan, we wouldn’t have anywhere near the problems we do because everyone would care about each other, no matter who they are.
Who are the Samaritans?
The Samaritans were despised by the Jews because they were known as half-breeds.Half Jews and half Gentiles. When the northern kingdoms were taken captive by the Assyrians, they intermarried with them to settle in the place called Samaria, just north of Judea. As often happens in these cases, they adopt the worship of their false pagan gods, falling into idolatry.
When the Jews returned to Jerusalem and tried to rebuild the temple, the Samaritans would spill pig’s blood in the temple area, which was to make it unclean, and the temple construction project had to be stopped so that the temple area could be cleansed of it. new. This was abhorrent to the Jews and polluted what they considered a holy place; therefore, the Samaritans were hated even more than the conquering Romans.
They would not even walk in Samaria, but they would try very hard, even if it was a longer journey, to avoid entering Samaria because they believed that the Samaritans were unclean people. This is precisely the reason why Jesus mentioned the Samaritan in this parable because he would be the least likely to help a fellow Jew because the Samaritans also had a hatred that was equal to what the Jews had against the Jewish people because of the way they that were treated by them.
Summary of the Biblical story of the Good Samaritan
Jesus Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan was prompted by a question from a lawyer:
And behold, a lawyer stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? (Luke 10:25)
Jesus asked him what was written in the law, and the man replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
Pressing further, the lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?
In the form of a parable, Jesus spoke of a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. The robbers attacked him, took his belongings and clothes, beat him and left him half dead.
A priest came down the street, saw the wounded man, and passed him to the other side. A Levite who was passing by did the same.
A Samaritan, from a race hated by the Jews, saw the wounded man and had compassion on him. He poured oil and wine on his wounds, tied them up and then put the man on his donkey. The Samaritan took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next morning, the Samaritan gave the innkeeper two denarii to take care of him and promised to pay him on the way back for any other expenses.
Jesus asked the lawyer which of the three men had been a neighbor. The lawyer replied that the man who showed mercy was a neighbor.
Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.” (Luke 10:37)
Story Points of Interest
The people of Samaria, an area sandwiched between Galilee to the north and Judea to the south, were hated by Jews because they intermarried with non-Jews and did not strictly observe Mosaic Law.
Jesus gave the word “neighbor” a new meaning: anyone in need. When we help others, we help Christ. (Matthew 25:40)
The Samaritan “had compassion” on the wounded Jew. In other places in the Gospels, we hear that Jesus himself “had compassion” on the people: Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Mark 6:34, and Luke 7:13.
One interpretation of the parable identifies the Samaritan with Christ, despised and rejected by others, and the wounded traveler as every person, unable to rescue himself except by the love and grace of a Savior.
Ma’ale Adummim, on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, has been identified by tradition as the place where the Good Samaritan helped the wounded man. Archaeological excavations show that the stations for travelers were there for thousands of years. Today, a modern museum covers the site, with exhibits honoring Christians, Samaritans, and Jews.
conclusion
Who was the neighbor in this parable? He is the one the Jews hated and the Samaritans who hated the Jews were helped by one who was hated by them; the samaritan. Our neighbor does not refer to our next-door neighbors. It could mean that the stranger you give a hand to, the person you give a word of encouragement to, the one who hates you should be the person you pray for.
Jesus fulfills the Law by saying that we should not only love our enemies, as the Samaritan did, but that we should go as far as to pray for them. When was the last time you prayed for someone who hated you, despised you, and wanted to hurt you? That is what Jesus expects from those who are His and from those who are enemies of Jesus, He wants them to repent and trust Him.