[Sixty-eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]
Encore Post:
Three thousand years ago, ten tribes of Israel broke away from King Solomon’s son and formed a new kingdom north of Jerusalem. The kings of the northern tribes built a capital called Samaria about forty miles north of Jerusalem. When the Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom, it deported many Israelites and resettled people from distant places. The Samaritan people were born when the Israelites married their captors. The Jewish people considered them traitors and hated them. The Samaritans hated them in return, especially when Jewish armies destroyed their temple and their city. At the time of Jesus, Jews wanted nothing to do with them. They would avoid even traveling through Samaria, even to go to Jerusalem. The worst thing one Jew could call another was a Samaritan.
One day, an expert in God’s law asked Jesus a traditional question posed to Rabbis: Which is the greatest of all commandments? Jesus turned the question around to him. The expert replied with the commandments to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus agreed and told him that if he did these, he would inherit eternal life. Then the expert asked Jesus who our neighbor is. Jesus answered with the story we call the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37)
In this story, the two kinds of people you would expect to help you were priests and Levites. They led worship in the temple, where God showed His love for His people by forgiving their sins. They did not want to become unclean by touching a dead person. So they did not help the injured man. But the Samaritan felt very sorry for him, cared for him, and paid a lot of money to see that he was cared for until the day he recovered.
Jesus asked the expert which of these three was a neighbor to the injured man. He answered, “The one who showed mercy.” Jesus told him to do the same. As sinners, we will fail to do this perfectly. Yet as Christians, the church has responded to the love of God in Christ and has reached out in mercy to those who suffer, with countless needs, over the last two thousand years. We remember Jesus responded to our greatest need by suffering and dying that we might be saved and inherit eternal life. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we reach out to care for those who need us most, showing them the mercy God showed us.
Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog
The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack
Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana
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