A CERTAIN SAMARITAN, AS HE JOURNEYED, CAME WHERE HE WAS

This parable is perhaps the most widely known of all those told by the Lord. The ‘good Samaritan’ retains a place in our society in the guise of those who do charitable deeds. The archetype of this noble man was the Saviour Himself, who was referred to as ‘a Samaritan’ by the Jews, when attempting to grossly insult Him, John 8. 48.

The lawyer knew the answer to life’s most important ques­tion, ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He knew the answer but not its application. How desperately sad!

In order not to let the Lord evade his theological ambush so easily, he posed another question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ In so asking, he revealed his own shortcomings. If he needed his neighbour to be identified for him, he could not have been previ­ously observing the command to ‘love thy neighbour’, Lev. 18. 19. The Lord didn’t only show him who his neighbour was, He also showed him how to be neighbourly. I can know the for­mer without being the latter, but not vice versa.

There is rich imagery in the story related by the Lord. The descent from the place of His presence, Jerusalem, to the place associated with a curse, Jericho, cf. Josh. 6. 26, is typical of the degeneration of this world from Eden to its present evil state. Along the way, men fall foul of many dangers. Two men had the opportunity to help but chose not to. The priest passed by to avoid defilement. To him ceremony meant more than charity. The Levite was inquisitive without wishing to be involved. Are we guilty of similar neglect?

Thankfully, into this way came ‘a certain Samaritan’. The Man he typifies could not be defiled and chose to be involved! To the Jew, the Samaritans were the most detestable people, so much so that the lawyer could not bring himself to name him in his answer in verse 37. Yet, He that was despised has shown complete love. This man went beyond the demands of duty. The Samaritan had every excuse not to be engaged but would not suffer himself to be vexed by a guilty conscience. Our Lord’s example behoves us to ‘go, and do … likewise’.