The Parable of the Good Samaritan - Essay Example

The Parable of the Good Samaritan The Meaning of Text, Literal Analysis and Relevance Today March 2006 The meaning of text The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) is the piece of writing the meaning of which is understood by everybody, even those who are not familiar with the teachings of Jesus. Every person knows that the Good Samaritan described in the parable is the loving person who is ready to help those who are in the trouble. The parable starts with the question of the lawyer "what shall I do to inherit eternal life" (Luke 10: 25). This is actually the question asked by all people who believe in Jesus Christ and seek his kingdom. Jesus replied, "What is written in the law How readest thou" (Luke 10: 26). First, the answer to the lawyer's question might be found in the Bible. Second, every person has different perception of what he reads and should find the answer to this question on his own. Thus, in this short reply Jesus has said that the way to salvation was already delivered to people and it is their responsibility to find it. Verses 27 and 28 are the summary of the right way of living "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself". This answer did not satisfy the lawyer and he further asked who can be considered the neighbor and received the reply. Verse 30-35 are the story of how the certain man was beaten by robbers and left half dead on the road. The priest has seen him but passed by. The same has done the Levite. Nevertheless, when the Samaritan saw this beaten man, he was moved with compassion and took care of him. After finishing this story, Jesus has asked the lawyer for his opinion who proved to be the neighbor for the beaten man and the lawyer replied that he was the one who showed mercy. Jesus noted, "Go and do likewise" (Luke 10: 37). Jesus did not reply directly to the asked question, but showed the example of what he meant. The golden rule of treating others, as you want to be treated can be also applied here. Literal Analysis Traditionally parables and narratives are understood differently by different people, however, the meaning of the Parable of Good Samaritan is understood universally. Referring to the story, the man was walking on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho which is surrounded by the cliffs on both sides. Moreover, it descended over 3000 feet in only ten miles and was dangerous to walk at any time. Thus, it can be that the parable is not fictitious and is made up based on the real situation. Probably Jesus himself has walked this road with the disciples, even though it is very unlikely that the priest or the Levite would travel this road alone taking into account the numerous robbers living in the caves (Brown 1990). Historically, Jews and Samaritans were enemies and not a single Jew would allow the Samaritan to help him even in such extreme situations. Maybe, with this parable Jesus wanted to say that the salvation is not granted to selected groups of people and despite of other ethnic origin they are all equal in the eyes of God. Further, these verses are showing that division of people based on their origin is false in essence. The priest and Levite being considered closer to God did not help the person who was in need of assistance, while the Samaritan who was hated by Jews took care of the beaten man. Unfortunately, very little has been written about the historical relationship between Jesus and Samaritans. First, Samaritans could be defined in terms of geography - they lived in the region called Samaria. Second, Samaritans could be defined in terms of ethnic origin - they were the mixed group of people and had non-Jewish blood. Third, Samaritans can be defined in terms of their religion - they were the Semites who worshiped Yahweh (Brown 1990). Despite of the definition Jesus assumed, it is clear that Samaritans were not welcomed by the Jews of that time. Even though the focus of the parable is not on the ethnic origin of its participants, the historical setting of the story, requires the deeper investigation of Samaritans and their place in the Bible. In particular, the theologians state that Jesus did not have the Christian mission to Samaritans as the group, the references to them are found only in two books of the Bible - the Gospels of Like and john. If to refer to Luke 17: 11-19, the reader encounters the story of the ten lepers healings and the only one who was healed turned out to be the Samaritan (Brown 1990). Luke viewed many Jews rejecting the gospels of Jesus while most Samaritans accepted it. It can be the reason why in his writings Luke puts Samaritans on the higher ladder of faith. Returning to the Parable of the Good Samaritan, some critics believe that Luke has created this parable as well as the dialogue between the Jesus and the lawyer. Their assumption is based on the structure of parables of Jesus as well as theological views on Mosaic Law. In particular, the opening dialogue between the Jesus and lawyer is based on the two commandments of love and it appears that Luke referenced writing of Mark and Matthew (Mark 12: 28-34 and Matthew 22: 34-40). Mark and Matthew presented the traditional view of religion for Jewish believers only, while Luke made it more suitable for the larger group of people, Samaritans in particular. What does this parable tell the reader in terms of historical meaning Jesus, in the words of Luke, has used the Samaritan as the tool to reverse the expectations of his listeners. The poor man (most likely the Jew) was assisted not by the priest or the Levite (the ministers of the Jerusalem ministry), but by the hated Samaritan who rejected the Jerusalem ministry. Thus, Luke provided alternative definition to the concept of neighbor. Taken literally, the Parable of the Good Samaritan tells the reader that neighbor Jesus commands to love is not only the representative of the religious or ethnic community, but is every person who needs the help (Esler 2000). It is like command to be merciful and compassionate to all who suffer and to overcome the religious barriers. When Jesus has finished his story, those who listened to the parable, expected the third person to be their hero, and they expected him being one of their origin. They did not expect that this person was the hated Samaritan. Those of them who rejected the story, have probably identified themselves with the priests and Levites. Samaritans were despised by the audience the story was delivered to. Samaritan, the key figure of the story, was also taught to hate Jews. Thus, the parable uncovers the theme of discrimination and interracial harmony. Nevertheless, it is worth to mention that very few people are aware of the historical status of Samaritans and this aspect of the story becomes less important. However, from theological and historical perspective, the fact that the third person was the Samaritan has primary importance to understanding the parable. While the parable has strong meaning for the modern society, it also delivers the strong spiritual message to the believers as well as non-believers. Many people accused Jesus that during his ministry he associated with the "sinners" (those tribes which were not entitled to be saved according to the Old Testament writings). The Parable of the Good Samaritan is like the reaffirmation of the reasons for acting in the way he did. The similar reasoning can be found in Luke 5: 31-32 (Kilgallen 1988). The beaten man represents all people who are sick, who are sinners and are in need of either material or spiritual help. The figures of the priest and the Levite who have passed by, add the ironical meaning to situation. They were the ones who were expected to provide the help, while the person they hated did provide the help. Interesting, some of the sources indicate that the priest might have the reason not to help that beaten person. There is the chance that the person was already dead and touching a dead body was high unadvisable for the priests who had to cleanse themselves later in accordance to the Mosaic Law. It can be that the priest decided that being closer to God was more important than saving the life of the person. In this parable, Jesus challenges all believes by asking the unspoken question whether people are willing to help because of compassion or because it is convenient to them. Having faith is not about telling about it or occupying the priestly rank, it is about everyday activities which prove the true faith. The salvation is not granted to selected groups or races and with this parable, Jesus wanted to show all nations that being the true believer comes from inside. Sometimes, the figure of the lawyer is not considered important in the context of the story. However, the lawyer and the fact that the question is asked by him bear the deep theological meaning. The lawyer appears to put Jesus to the test, while his figure stands for the non-believers who are struggling to live the rule-based lives. Lawyer-type individuals are not willing to build relations neither with God nor with other "neighbor". These individuals, just like the priest and the Levite in the parable, are passing by even if they see that their help is needed. The lawyer, the priest and the Levite are trying to justify their existence and make themselves look better than they really are (Winch 1987). They are unable to admit being wrong and they always have the good explanation of not doing something. Jesus replies by calling to be merciful as if noting the failure of that day society to become good "neighbors" to others. From the theological and literal analysis of the parable, it can be assumed that Jesus himself is like that Good Samaritan with the mission to bring non-believers to God. The hated Samarian just like Jesus helps to bring people to God, but unlike priest and Levite, he sees those individuals in need but does not pass by. The opening question of the paragraph asked by the lawyer is the question asked by numerous people everyday. To get the eternal life, it is necessary to live in accordance to the law of God, to love him and everybody around, even if these people seem not to deserve the help and assistance. In Matthews !9:11 and Luke 18:20 Jesus once again stresses that eternal life can gained only by keeping the commandments of God (Waldron 2003). Even though Jesus does not answer the question about eternal life directly, the parable of the Good Samaritan is closely related to it. It appears that the lawyer lacked faith in God as well as love to the neighbor. He was unable to understand who his neighbor was. Thus, it can be that Jesus told the parable in order to show the lawyer that he was not eligible to inherit the eternal life because he had no faith. The interpretation of the parable can be in contrasting the religious people to non-religious. Moreover, Luke puts the non-religious individual above the religious as if the inheritance of the eternal life depends not on being considered the believer but on being good to others. From religious perspective, it is impossible for the non-believer to be saved. Relevancy Today The Parable of Good Samaritan delivers the important message to the modern readers. Its importance can be summarized as following - not sharing the faith or religion is not an excuse of treating some social groups unfair. Everybody is equal before God and if the person claims to have faith he has to treat every person with compassion and offer the hand of help to every single person in need. Faith is not about visiting the church and praying, it is about obeying the commandments of Jesus Christ and behaving in accordance to the Law of God. The neighbor is not the person who lives nearby, it is the person who is near us at the moment. Samaritan has helped the Jew even though he was the representative of the hated group. Samaritan did not think about it when he saw the Jew needing help, he has assisted him despite of all circumstances. Thus, the Parable of Good Samaritan today stands as the example of the Christianity being against any forms of discrimination. In addition, the parable invites the reader to take the action and prove his faith in everyday situations. Even though it seems that the world has much changed for the last two thousand years, the human relations have remained the same. Offering help and assistance to those in need is the cornerstone of faith in Jesus Christ. If to re-cast the story in the modern setting and to replace the Jew with the member of Al-Quad group and Samaritan with the Christian American, the parable does not change its meaning. Similar situation would be the racist helping the representative of another race, or the religious person helped by the non-believer. The message of the parable in the modern setting is that human relations and faith transcend the social and emotional barriers which are so common in everyday life. If we see the person in a trouble, we should have no moral or other reasons to walk by, as it the priest and Levite did. If the person is asking for help and we refuse him without even trying to help, we have no true faith. Word Count: 2304 References Brown, RE 1990, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall Publishing. Esler, P 2000, "Jesus and the Reduction of Intergroup Conflict: The Parable of the Good Samaritan in the Light of Social Identity Theory", Biblical Interpretation, vol. 8, pp. 325+ Kilgallen, JJ 1988, A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Paulist Press. Waldron, J 2003, "Who is My Neighbor: Humanity and Proximity", The Monist, vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 333+ Winch, P 1987, Trying to Make Sense, Oxford: Basil Blackwell Publishing. Read More