The Good Samaritan -  The Craftiness of Lawyers

It takes a special kind of person to be a lawyer today.  They speak differently than other people.  Their profession requires them to be adept with language. When the attorney in our office said “Good Morning,” we’d hesitate before answering.  Is that a statement, or a question that might be used against us?   One rule they live by in court:  "Never ask a question to which you don’t already know the answer.”  I suppose they haven’t changed much in 2000 years.

When we think of lawyers, we see someone versed in the modern law, defending or prosecuting one accused of crime, or helping guide a citizen through the legal maze.  In the Old Testament and during the time of Christ, lawyers were most often those scribes who had graduated from copying scripture to speaking on the nuances of the law.  When their commentaries became pronounced and accepted, they became rabbis or masters of the law.  Luke referred to them as Doctors.

Luk 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?   :26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?   :27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.  

Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: :5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  :6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: :7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  :8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  :9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

The scribes, lawyers, and Rabbis would wear the law as instructed above:  On the head, with a band, holding a cloth or linen pouch or box was a Phylactery.  This was the frontlet to be ever before their eyes.  (Mat 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,).  On the arm, a small pouch called a tefillin held small parchments.  At the entrance to the home, in a glass vial or wooden box, scriptures are in what was called a Mesusah.  Entering or leaving the home, one always passed and was reminded of the law.

Luk 10:28  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.  Luk :29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 

The lawyer held a superior mindset.  The Jews have been given the oracles of God, indeed, “the Temple and the Ark are with us, and we are a people chosen of God.  Really, who can be my neighbor?”  The lawyer exposed his self righteous attitude. 

Jesus answered him with the story we call the Good Samaritan.  Jesus knew the lawyer was trying to set a scriptural trap; it had become needful for the Pharisees to try to get Christ to say something they could condemn.  He responds with a story exhibiting the policy of love thy neighbor and mercy that has but one answer to the question – ‘who is my neighbor?’  Even though it was not the answer he wanted, the lawyer was forced to confess the much hated Samaritan was the good neighbor.

This story lays out our responsibility to our neighbor, the golden rule, and how we are to treat strangers, but on a deeper level it reveals the mission of a King, neighbor and redeemer.

And Jesus answering said, A certain [man] went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded [him], and departed, leaving [him] half dead.

Primitive Baptists often speak in terms of dead being dead.  There is no dead, deader or deadest, but when we look at our Adamic inheritance, we come into this world alive in the flesh, but dead in trespasses and in sins.  In that sense, we are 'half-dead.'

A certain man.  Jesus uses the term “certain man” throughout his parables and teachings.  In many instances, we find these “certain” men are called such to identify their condition before God.  A certain man called Cornelius.  A certain man named Lazarus.  A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. In this scenario, we feel safe declaring the certain man a child of God.

…went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.  In the time of Christ, Jericho was as low as you could go as far as society was concerned. When we speak of people leaving the church going downhill from Jerusalem, Jericho would be their symbolic end.  Historians described the area as that day’s Sodom and Gomorrah.  Located near the Dead Sea, it’s the lowest place on Earth near civilization –1,371 feet below sea level.

…and fell among thieves.  A popular and necessary trade route, the road to Jericho was actually filled with bandits and robbers. 

We fell among thieves as well.  But our fall was in the Garden of Eden.  We were robbed (John 10:10) by Satan of every good and perfect gift God had intended for us.

 …which stripped him of his raiment.  Satan’s deceit stripped us of our heavenly raiment, our covering, our protection.

…and wounded [him], and departed, leaving [him] half dead.   The enemy departed and we were left half dead. 

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.   It’s said of the 24 priestly courses in a year, 12 of them were at Jericho and 12 at Jerusalem.  It would be a common site to see priests and Levites traveling this road.

The priest, representing the moral law could only acknowledge our condition, but could provide no help.  It only served to remind us of our state and show us the standard to which we were being held, a condition from which we could not extract ourselves.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked [on him], and passed by on the other side.  The same is said for the ceremonial law.  The slaughter of millions of animals and the running of blood from the first unto the last over centuries reminded us of salvation that was coming.  Our condition didn’t change.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:  A certain Samaritan; a particular Samaritan.  Christ is the certain Samaritan.  And he journeyed from Heaven to Earth to save His people from their sins.

The Samaritans (Hebrew: שומרונים‎ Shomronim), known in the Talmud as Kuthim, are an ethnic group of the Levant. Ethnically, they are descended from a group of Israelite inhabitants that have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Christian era. The Samaritans, however, derive their name not from this geographical designation, but rather from the term שַמֶרִים (Shamerim), “keepers [of the law]”.Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, a religion based on the Torah. Samaritans claim that their worship (as opposed to Judaism) is the true religion of the ancient Israelites, predating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

That’s the fancy explanation for the origin of the Samaritans, but when Gad, Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh opted to stay on the other side of Jordan, they put a river of difference between themselves and their brothers.  Eventually, they waned away from the things they had learned of God, and when overtaken by Assyria, they intermingled, inter-married and further diluted their position to the point that they allowed and worshipped false Gods.

Jhn 8:48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?  8:49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.  Jesus didn’t deny being a Samaritan.  It does no harm to the gospel to make Christ a Samaritan – at least for the purpose of our story.  Here’s salvation for the Jews and Gentiles in one body – representing both groups.  In the temple of his body, there is no middle wall of partition. (Eph 2:14)

…came where he was - for it’s clear in our dead condition we could not come to Him, and He stood where we were, in our place, room and stead, 

and when he saw him, he had compassion [on him],   When did he see us, and have compassion on us?  Was it not before the foundation of the world?  Who but Christ would have compassion on us?  Who but Christ could come to where we were?  It’s impossible but Christ to “seek and save that which was lost.”  The world insists you must come to Christ.  Yet here is God’s proper method.

:34 And went to [him], and bound up his wounds, We don’t have the capacity to bind our own wounds. If you’ve ever tried to bind your own wound, you know you can’t really secure it without help.  Here Christ binds our wounds so sufficiently we’ll never be in danger of the binding being undone.  We’re secured, sealed.  (2Cor 1:22; Eph 4:30)

pouring in oil and wine,  - oil and wine, and only Christ could administer the healing power of oil and wine.  The oil, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the wine, the very blood He shed for the remission of sins. 

and set him on his own beast, we could not get upon the beast ourselves, as we had no strength, no power.  And while we might speculate whether the beast was a horse, an ox or an ass, we do note the ownership of the beast…He bore for us a burden we could not.

and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And placed him in the assembly among like-minded believers.  And took care of him.  He lacks for nothing.  (Rom 8:32; 1Cor 2:12) He’s ready for eternal heaven.  He only needs to survive this lifetime.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, two coins.  A coin is unique in that it contains two equally important sides that cannot exist without the other.  Two coins, two testaments; we would need those in the inn.  Two pence.  A pence was considered a day’s wage.  Christ left the innkeeper two.  That’s an indication he’ll be gone for two days.  2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  That sounds like he’ll be back after two days. 

Hos 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.  :2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.  :3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.        

and gave [them] to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him;  the price has been paid. Take care of him.  Who gets these instructions?  The innkeeper's (we’ll call him Pastor) responsibility is to care for the ones brought into the inn; he must see to their spiritual needs. Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.  Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Can you see yourself in this story?  Before our transformation, we could have been the condemning, tricky lawyer, challenging the things of God. But our condition is revealed as being dead in trespasses and in sins, wholly dependant upon the Savior to come to us, where we lay.  Jesus saw us where we were and had compassion, poured in oil and wine, bound up our wounds, took our burden and placed it upon himself, and paid our debt – in advance – and promises to pay whatever may be due when He returns.  He left us in the care of the inn’s host for spiritual food and drink and we can go in and out and find pasture.

If you are not enjoying the food, rest and comfort, perhaps it's time to check in with the innkeeper.  

Royce Ellis