I'm puzzled as to why Jesus told the story from the point of a Samaritan helping a Jew instead of a Jew helping a Samaritan. Of course there was much hate with Jews and Samaritans back then like there are Palestinians and Israelies today! He could have left the story about the same but had a Samaritan in the ditch and 2 Jews pass by and the final one stops to help but Jesus didn't. He had a Jew in the ditch and a Samaritan stopped to help him.
Of course in answering this question we must keep the point of the parable in mind. It was spoken to answer the question - "who is my neighbor." I'm speculating here but I wonder if Jesus had the Samaritan helping the Jew because the point was until your pride and enthocentric/egocentric mindset is gone - you can't be a good neighbor.
Jesus is speaking to a Jew and as always when we ask Jesus a question He knows the real thing we're struggling with even when 99% of the time we don't. Have you ever had a child ask you something like - "could you help me turn on a toy" - but from your adult position - they shouldn't be playing with that toy right at all. You can see a bigger problem that trumps their concern.
The bigger picture to the Jew asking this question - the real problem all Jews needed solved was not "who is my neighbor" but "why do we hate everyone who isn't Jewish?" Obviously in the last chapter some of the pride came out in Jesus' own disciples as they wanted to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans.
The way Jesus tells the story would be humiliating to a Jew. Our own country men wouldn't stop and help one of their own but a dirty, no good Samaritan did? If it had been a Samaritan in the ditch there would be nothing in their minds wrong with leaving him there. It would have been extraordinary for any Jew to help a Samaritan. Jesus is wanting to communicate this kind of love shouldn't be the exception but the rule.
Jesus' plan was to not only show what a good neighbor does but how wrongly the Jews perceived people. God's love is so much bigger than they understand. In reality A good neighbor is one who is hated and continues to love anyway. That should not be the exception but the rule.
I think Jesus was hoping this Jew would meditate on this and learn one thing. The Jew in the ditch represents him - the man who asked the question. When we see that we have all been in the ditch of sin and we were the ones needing delivered - and the one who delivered us owed us nothing and sacrificed much - then the pride that keeps us from loving others falls off.
questions
1) who is someone you tend to treat good or bad based on their performance?
2) why doesn't God want you to do that?
3) why doesn't God treat us that way?
prayer
Lord we know our pride gets in the way of loving others. We so easily forget that we are only saved by your grace and many of the things we hate in others - reside in our hearts. We repent of our hypocrisy. Teach us the depth of your love for us. Thank you for sending Samaritans in our life - people who had no reason to love us but they did. Let us remember what it means to be loved when we least deserved it - so we can love others when they least deserve it!
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