Title True Neighbor / Luke 10:30-37
Contents
True Neighbor / Luke 10:30-37
This text is Jesus' answer to the lawyer who asked about eternal life in parables.
(Luke 10:30) Jesus answered and said to them, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he met a robber, and the robbers stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and left him completely dead.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho is about 35 km long. Jerusalem is located on a plateau 762 m above sea level, and Jericho is 250 m below sea level (400 m in the Dead Sea), so the road is steep. In addition, there were many rocks along the road and there were many bends, so thieves often appeared.
Here, while traveling, a man met the most vicious robber. The identity of the person has not been revealed, but I think he is a Jew. On the way, this traveler was deprived of everything he had. The robbers even took his clothes, beat him violently to get rid of his remorse, and left him almost dead.
1. A Priest and a Levite Passing by
(Luke 10:31,32) Just when a priest was going down that road, when he saw him, he passed by on the other side, and in the same way a Levite also came to the place, saw him, and passed by on the other side.
At this time, a priest and a Levite passed by by chance, and they passed by avoiding the man who had been hit by a robber. However, in view of their status, this is an act beyond common sense.
Moreover, considering that the priest did not make even the slightest effort to ascertain whether the robber was alive or dead, his conduct could never be justified. In the end, this priest did nothing to help the person who was desperately in need. It was an unacceptable mistake not only as a priest in charge of serving the people (Numbers 18:1-32), but also as a natural person.
Come to think of it, the priest took such action out of fear that he too might encounter a gang of robbers along the way, or in the spirit of law observance (Lev. 21:1-3).
On the other hand, the Levites, like the priests, were a tribe set apart to serve God and the people (Numbers 18:1-32). Although the Levites were of a lower rank than the priests, they were to be examples of all people because they belonged to the religiously privileged class of Judea. Unlike the priest who had passed before, this Levite approached the man and looked at him, but left without any help to him.
(Mark 10:45) The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
John Wesley said, "No matter how much you repent, your money bag cannot believe in the repentance of an unrepentant person."
2. The Good Samaritan
(Luke 10:33-35) A certain Samaritan, while traveling, came there, saw him, had pity on him, went near him, poured oil and wine on his wounds, bound him up, put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, took care of him, and gave him two denarii the next day to the innkeeper. and said to him, "Take care of this man, and if you have more money, I will repay you when I return."
Another man passed behind them. But this man was a Samaritan, whom the Jews regarded as beasts and despised. The Samaritans were people of mixed race who were remnants of Israel's exile and married Gentiles who had migrated there. They were despised and hated by the Jews. They could not even go up to the temple in Jerusalem, so they set up a separate altar on Mount Gerizim and worshiped (John 4:4-9).
But the fact is that the Samaritan whom they despise saw the man hit by the robber and took pity on him. I had deep sympathy for him. He poured oil and wine on the man's wounds, tied them up, and gave first aid. At that time, oil and wine were widely used as a remedy for wounds.
Usually oil relieves the pain of a wound, and wine acts as an antiseptic (Robertson). He put oil and wine on the wounds and bound them up. It would be different if the traveler had carried a bandage in case of an emergency, but otherwise he would have ripped his clothes and bound the wounds.
And the Samaritan, who carried the exhausted patient on his donkey to the inn, continued to take care of him by entrusting him to his master. The word 'care' here is used in the sense of caring for the church in 1 Timothy 3:5, suggesting that the Samaritan cared for the sick to the end with 'responsibility'.
'Inn' ( ) is a word that appears only here in the Bible, and it is a place for "everyone ( ), receiving ( )". Even today, there is a ruin called "The Inn of the Good Samaritan" halfway between Jerusalem and Jericho, which inspires the beautiful spirit of this parable.
In the Sinai translation, it says "at the dawn of that day" instead of "the next day", giving a more accurate point of view. In fact, he was busy enough to have to leave early in the morning, but he sacrificed his busy time and material for those in desperate need of help.
He gave two denarii to the innkeeper and asked him to look after him, saying that if he needed more money, he would come back and pay it back. According to the historian Polybius, this amount was equivalent to about two months' accommodation.
This Samaritan is the epitome of perfect neighborly love. Because he showed an attitude of caring for those in need, but willing to take responsibility until fully recovered.
A. Carl Michael said, "You can't give without love, but you can't love without giving." R.G Ingersoll said, "Hands that help others are more sacred than prayer lips." There is also an old saying, "There is nothing to be salvaged, but there is something to be stolen." This means that there is nothing worth helping and giving away, but there are things that are valuable enough to be stolen.
Comparing our love of neighbor today with this Samaritan is a stark contrast. Love of neighbor requires heart and material, labor and effort, time and attention. I see cases where we shout to do good things with other people's things or public possessions, but we are stingy when it comes to doing things with our own things.
True love of neighbor is temporary and must not be driven by impulsive motives, but must be done with complete responsibility to the end. When you do this, you will be able to put into practice the perfect love of Jesus, who loved the saints and loved them to the end, even a little.
(John 13:1) Before the Passover, Jesus, knowing that the hour had come for him to leave the world and return to the Father, loved his own who were in the world, but loved him to the end.
In the ancient Jewish temple, there was a special place where people who wanted to give but could not give because of shame could help the poor. Also, those who were poor but shy to beg went there and took what they needed, and the name of the place was 'Silence'. There was no longer any need for words, only the needs of the poor were met without anyone knowing.
3. True Neighbor
(Luke 10:36,37) In your opinion, which of these three would be a neighbor to the man who was struck by a robber? He said to him, "The one who showed mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise with you."
In response to the lawyer's question, "Who is my neighbor?", Jews were not included in the concept of a neighbor as Gentiles. To them, neighbors were limited to Jewish relatives or neighbors. In that definition, the lawyer would have loved his neighbor. This is the way we discriminate, choose and love people.
Jesus knew that Samaritans and Gentiles were excluded from the lawyer's concept of neighbor, so he came to answer this man's question in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The intention of Jesus' question is to divert attention from 'who am my neighbor' to 'who should I be my neighbor'. The former is 'me' centric and focuses on the debts people owe to me, while the latter is 'others' centric and focuses attention on the debts I owe to others.
Without answering who deserves love, Jesus paradoxically stated that every neighbor is in need of love. This concept explains that the right attitude of those who have received grace is to become a neighbor on their own rather than having their neighbor set up someone in advance.
The lawyer answered Jesus, "He who showed mercy." The lawyer avoids the crux of the question by expressing himself as 'the one who showed mercy', even though he should have answered 'Inida the Samaritan'. Through this parable, Jesus tried to break down the Jewish concept of neighbor, which had national and racial restrictions, and to show the fact that Samaritans, whom they regard as enemies, can also become neighbors.
The lawyer was caught up in this Jewish preconceived notion and tried to identify a fixed neighbor, but Jesus taught that anyone can be a neighbor beyond all human barriers. He delivered a lesson with the weight of a thousand gold: "Go and do likewise." The lawyer would not have had any objection to the lesson he had already obtained a conclusive answer on his own. And Jesus' authoritative command was a dignified word that broke the pride and hypocrisy of the lawyer.
The important thing for a lawyer is to show mercy right away to those who need help, both physically and mentally, rather than acquiring professional and extensive knowledge about the law. The love Jesus spoke of is not selfish and limited, but voluntary and unconditional.
One day, a philosopher asked Rabbi Akiva. "If your God loves the poor, why doesn't God care for the poor?" Akiba replied, "God has always given us the poor to give us an opportunity to do good."
conclusion
The world's highest-paying country is the United States. There are probably few countries in the world that have not been helped by the United States. If our country hadn't been helped by the United States, the war might have failed during the 6/25 Incident and even everyone would have starved to death. If you look at the fact that the United States, which likes to give hard, has become the world's most prosperous country, you can see that the 'truth that gives you wealth' is the true truth.
Therefore, for us, a 'true neighbor' is a person with love who can help others at any time, sacrificing themselves, regardless of who they are.
In fact, seeing his misfortunes for those who have no interest in me, we often overlook his misfortune, and on the contrary, we are afraid that even even the slightest disadvantage will come to us. It can't be a character thing.
Even in modern society, there are many people who are stained with wounds and pain, like a man who was struck by a robber while going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. In times like these, we should be their true neighbors, heal and bind up their wounds, and bring them to the church, the temple of God, which is like an inn, a haven for those who were struck by robbers, and take care of them until they rest in peace and are completely healed.
(Luke 10:36,37) In your opinion, which of these three would be a neighbor to the man who was struck by a robber? He said, "He who showed mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise with you."