"What do you mean 'Good Samaritan'?"

In my last blog, I rewrote the parable of the Good Samaritan. I want to talk a little more about that today.

We often tell this story, but rarely focus much on the context. The parable was in response to a lawyers question. He asked Christ what he had to do to go to Heaven. Jesus answered his question with another question- "What does it say in the Law? What's your take on it?" The lawyer answers with the same answer Christ gives the lawyer in Matthew 22, to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Here's where things get interesting. Christ tells the man "Do this and you will live." But this lawyer wants to justify himself, so asks "Who is my neighbor?" Basically "Who do I really have to love?" Christ's answer is the story of the Good Samaritan.

Its a little ironic that we even call the story "The Good Samaritan," because in Christ's day, the average Jew would probably see that as an oxymoron. There was nothing good about Samaritans. They got their name from the city of Samaria, which was the capital of the Northern Kingdom, Israel. When Israel was taken over by Assyria, the Israelites mixed with Gentiles (non-Jews). So these Samaritans were half-breeds, partially Jewish, but also disgustingly part Gentile, and that made them social outcasts. They were not allowed into the temple for regular worship. They were socially unclean and thus made outcasts.

I find it very interesting that Jesus' story didn't come out and say "You should love the Samaritans" or even a more general plea to love the outcast. Instead, He chose to shame the socially elite religious people. Priests and Levites held a lot of respect for leading the worship at the temple, but in Christ's story, they are the bad examples, not showing love to their neighbor and disobeying the law. Instead, the outcast Samaritan is showing extraordinary love to a stranger.

And all this in response to the lawyer's question "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Is Jesus really saying these good religious people are not going to inherit eternity? Was He possibly alluding that this Samaritan, who was not accepted by the religious, would be accepted by Father God and given a place in Heaven? Sounds pretty radical to me. What do you think?