And Jesus said to him, “You go and do likewise.” Luke 10:37b ESV¹

Read Luke 10:25-37

Quite a while ago, God laid upon my heart to pray for those He brought to my mind or pointed out to me as I went about my daily activities. The Lord made it clear to me that I should not only pray for the situations in which these people found themselves but for their salvations too. So, one day when I was traveling into the city nearest my home to run errands, I saw a man parked alongside the road with car trouble. I immediately began to pray that he would get the help he needed and that God would work through his situation and his day to bring him to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Then it occurred to me, that although I was faithful to God’s leading to pray for the salvation of man I had seen, if I were in an actual conversation with him, I might not even attempt to steer the discussion toward Christ. I felt like a hypocrite. As I prayed for forgiveness, I told God, “All I have ever really wanted out of life is to take care of what I have, love the people I have been given, enjoy the simple pleasures in life, be a breath of fresh air to everyone I meet, and to, hopefully, through those things, bring a smile to Your face. But if that is not enough, You are going to have to help me.”

When I reached the city, I proceeded with what I needed to accomplish. My errands required that I make stops at several stores. At each of the stores I visited, I interacted with employees and, in each case, the woman with which I dealt was visibly happier when I left her than she had been when I had first met her. But my heart still questioned if I were doing enough to please God.

As I left the department store, I fingered the charm on my necklace and said to God. “So, I am a nice person wearing a cross necklace. I know there are lots of people who wear items that signify their identification with You and are not very nice, but is being a nice Christian enough?”

Then I headed to the grocery store. There, as I was going about my business, a man approached me. Through garbled speech, he explained that he was deaf and asked for help. I assumed the deaf man was going to ask me where to find something in the store. People frequently ask me for that kind of help.

Instead, of asking for directions to a needed item, the man handed me a pad of paper on which he had written his need. He explained that he was recently homeless and had been staying in the local homeless shelter but he no longer felt safe there. Because of his disability, some of the other residents had been mistreating him. He had been sleeping outside but the coming night it was going to be too cold to do so. He needed $40 to stay in a motel for the night.

I gave him back his notebook and looked in my wallet. I had $50 which I gave to him promptly. He tried to return the extra $10. But when I asked if he needed anything else, he signed “food.” Of course, I told him to keep it. As he signed, “Thank you,” and turned to go, I told him I would be praying for him.

At that point, he began scribbling on his notepad and handed it to me again. In writing, he explained that he too was a Believer but he was so angry at God because of the current circumstances of his life. I reached for his pen and wrote in his notebook encouraging words about the character of God, His ability to work in this situation, and specific His love for this man. That began an interchange of written questions and comments with us passing the pad and pen back and forth between us.

It was evident that God was specifically directing what was being written on that paper because, eventually, the deaf man’s eyes began to brighten and a smile spread across his face as hope welled up in his heart. Finally, he wrote on his notepad, “You have put a smile on the face of our great God today.” He showed it to me, signed, “Thank you,” and left.

As I watched him go, tears came to my eyes. God had used me to furnish him with what he required for that night but God had used him to bless me with what I needed for much longer. Only a few hours before I had prayed about my desire to put a smile on the face of God. In his final comment, this man had used those exact words! As God brought the words of Luke 12:12 to my mind, He whispered to my heart, “I will arrange your interactions, and when I do, you will know just what to say and do without even thinking about it.”

For me, pleasing God, was to be about following His leading concerning the people He allowed to cross my path. Some would need prayer, some would need encouragement, some would need help, some would need exhortation, and some would need the salvation message. The important thing was that I allow Him to work through me in each situation.

It has been almost two years since the God-ordained event with the deaf man took place, but it is just as fresh in my mind as the day it occurred. Remembering it often has given me ample opportunity to pray for the man I met. I have a feeling this will be one of those moments that will affect the trajectory of the remainder of my life. I pray it will do the same for him.

Opportunities Often Begin with Questions

I had asked God a question and He brought the answer through human interaction. The deaf man had asked me a question; my reply supplied his need. God has a way of coordinating opportunities through stirring up questions in the hearts of those He is attempting to reach for His purposes. The answers to those inquiries are intended to glorify Him while giving direction and provision to those searching for answers. When Jesus was walking on Earth teaching and ministering, He encountered many who had questions about how to best please God. Some responded to Jesus’ answers and made the required adjustments, others not so much.

Once “A lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance, a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, “Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.” Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go and do likewise’” (Luke 10:25-37).

The Question

The lawyer asked, “‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” (Luke 10:25b). This was a question that was in the hearts of more than one individual. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record an interaction between Jesus and another man, a rich, young ruler, who asked the same question. (See Matthew 19:16, Mark 10:17 & Luke 18:18).

Though the inquiry was exactly the same, Jesus’ reply was somewhat different. When Jesus answered the rich, young ruler, His instruction began with keeping the commandments and ended with a charge that this man sell his many belongings, give to the poor, and begin to follow Jesus unhindered. Though Jesus’ words were different, His meaning and manner were the same. (For my commentary on this event, check out https://blueturtletrails.com/truly-amazing/).

Jesus started with what each man knew concerning the Law and finished with a personalized way that each man should apply his knowledge. Jesus’ petition to each man was specific to his needs. But, in both cases, Jesus showed that knowing the Law and doing it can be two totally different things.

The Questioner

At first glance, it may seem like the man who approached Jesus in the passage we are considering today did so with pure motives. But the questioning lawyer did not come to Jesus primarily to discover the answer to the question: “‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” (Luke 10:25). He came to test Jesus. Often, those who didn’t really want to believe Jesus was who He said He was came to discredit Him by attempting to stump Him with questions. The Pharisees were especially guilty of appearing before Jesus with such inquiries; they came with the Sadducees (see Matthew 16:1), they came with the scribes (see John 8:6), they came with the Herodians (see Matthew 22:18, 35 & Mark 12:15), and they came by themselves (see Matthew 19:3, Mark 8:11 & 10:2). Each time, they came with the intention of tricking Jesus into saying something wrong.

The image of Jesus being questioned by a lawyer may invoke in our imaginations a picture of a courtroom but this man was not a lawyer in the sense that we have lawyers.

“Lawyers as we know them today—professional public servants who know the ins and outs of the legal process and can lend their knowledge to resolve various conflicts with clarity and justice—did not appear until after the Middle Ages … Israel was under the legal jurisdiction of Rome during Jesus’ time, so when the Bible mentions ‘teachers of the law’ (Luke 5:17) or ‘lawyers’ (Luke 14:3, ESV), it is referring to the religious leaders who were experts in the Mosaic Law. The modern-day court system, with prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys, did not really exist at that time.”²

Many such experts in the Mosaic Law were Pharisees, as is seen in the following passage where a Pharisee, who was also a lawyer, questioned Jesus.

“When the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him” (Matthew 25:34-35).

The lawyer mentioned in the passage upon which we are reflecting today may have been a priest or a Levite considering the fact that Jesus used a member of each of these professions in His parable. Priests and Levites both worked in the temple serving the LORD and helping God’s people worship Him. The job of a priest was to offer sacrifices and sacred rites. All priests were Levites but not all Levites were priests. Only those who were descendants of Aaron could serve as priests. Levites served as assistants to the priests. They kept the sacred utensils and the temple clean, provided the sacred bread, opened and shut the temple gates, and sang songs and hymns. If the lawyer in the passage we are studying were a priest or Levite, he may have been a Sadducee actually. “Not all priests were Sadducees, but many of them were.”³

Another Question

As was His practice, Jesus didn’t directly answer the lawyer’s inquiry; instead, Jesus asked him a question of His own. Jesus asked this expert in the Mosaic Law, “‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it’” (Luke 10:26)?

This man knew the Law of Moses well. He answered, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27). His answer was straight out of the Law. “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” is found in Deuteronomy 6:5. And “‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” is found in Leviticus 19:18.

Out of the hundreds of Laws in the Torah, this expert was able to pick out specifically the two upon which the whole Law hinged. If fact, he answered Jesus’ question just like Jesus would have answered it. Twice Jesus was questioned about the Law. Once, another lawyer who also desired to test Him asked, “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’” (Matthew 25:36). And once, a scribe, who truly wanted to know, presented the question, “‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’” (Mark 12:28).

The second testing lawyer heard, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). The sincere scribe was given the answer: “‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:29-31).

If it weren’t for the fact that the lawyer in this passage answered Jesus’ question in this way long before Jesus’ answered the other lawyer and the scribe, one would assume this man had been listening to Jesus and just repeated back to Him what He had told others. Instead, this lawyer came up with this answer on his own using his acquired knowledge of the Law. Indeed, he was an expert in the Law and could articulate it well.

And Jesus praised him for it. “‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live’” (Luke 10:28) Jesus congratulated him and gave him an exhortation to live by what he knew. If the account had ended there, we could assume this lawyer was on the same track as the scribe mentioned in Matthew 12.

“The scribe [answered back] to Him, ‘You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God’” (Mark 12:32-34).

Behind the Lawyer’s Second Question

The intelligent and articulate lawyer did not receive such encouragement. But maybe this expert in the Law wasn’t looking for the way to the Kingdom of God. He may have only been searching for a way to advance his own. Through his spiritual-sounding question and his impressive answer, the lawyer might have entertained hopes of elevating his standing among his peers and increasing his popularity among the people. A clue to that truth is in the additional question he asked Jesus.

“But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor’” (Luke 10:29)? The purpose of this man’s second question was to justify himself. One of the meanings of the Greek word used here for justify, dikaioō, is “to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered.”⁴ Perhaps this expert in the Law thought he was more learned than Jesus and was hoping for a chance to prove it.

It was pride that forced this additional question to spill out of the mouth of the lawyer. I suspect he thought Jesus was again going to give him chance to prove his superior intellect. At the very least, he likely thought Jesus would confirm that which he had already determined to be true from his extensive study of the Law about the identity of his neighbor.

Because, Leviticus 19:17-19 uses the phrase “your brother,” I imagine the lawyer expected Jesus to say that one’s neighbors were those closest to him—his fellow, Law-conscious Jews. As usual, Jesus had a different perspective and it was probably a shock to the lawyer.

Again, Jesus didn’t immediately answer the lawyer’s question. But, this time, He didn’t ask another question, He told a story of a man traveling down the dangerous and winding road from Jerusalem at the top of a mountain to Jericho in the valley. As he traveled, the man in Jesus’ story became the victim of a violent mugging. He was robbed of everything he had with him, including his clothes, and was left for dead.

The assaulted man was in dire need of help. Fortunately, he wasn’t alone on the road. The first person to come upon the sad scene was a priest. Certainly, such a servant of God should have a heart for helping the hurt man. But as it turned out, the priest showed absolutely no concern for the wounded man; he completely avoided him passing by on the opposite side of the road so as to not get involved. Then came along a Levite. He showed a little more interest in the man than the priest had. (“Came to the place and saw” is translated in the NKJV⁵ as “came and looked”). But the Levite also failed to show the injured man any compassion; he left without lending a hand. Both the priest and the Levite would have known the Law about loving one’s neighbor as oneself but their knowledge didn’t translate into action—particularly when there wasn’t anyone around to see.

Finally, an unexpected character came upon the robbed and beaten man. This fourth traveler to show up on the scene was a Samaritan. The narrative doesn’t tell us the nationality of the injured man, but we can assume he was a Jew because the ethnic difference would have made what the Samaritan in this story did even more unlikely. “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (John 4:9) and the reverse was equally true. Though they were both descendants of Israel, Jews considered Samaritans a lower class of people since they had intermarried with non-Jews and did not keep the entire Law.

Because of the extent of prejudice and animosity between the two groups, a Samaritan who discovered an injured Jew would be unlikely to have compassion for him. But the Samaritan in Jesus’ story didn’t consider the wounded man’s race or religion; he saw only a person in need of assistance. He went to the hurt man, and without reservation, poured wine on his wounds to disinfect them and oil upon them to soothe the pain. He then bandaged the wounds, lifted the man up onto his own means of transportation, and took him to an inn. The Samaritan stayed with the injured man until he was sure he would be ok. And if that weren’t enough, the Samaritan gave the innkeeper some of his hard-earned money with the promise of more to come, if necessary, to ensure the continued care of the robbed and beaten man.

The unexpected interaction with the injured man had interrupted the Samaritan’s plans. He gave of his own resources—things he may have needed for his own journey. His care for the wounded man had interfered with the purpose of his travel, yet he didn’t seem to consider his own agenda. Though the Samaritan in Jesus’ story may have not known the Law as the priest and Levite did, he actually followed the Law by his personal behavior.

Behind Jesus’ Answer

After His story, Jesus asked the expert in the law a deeper question, one that didn’t give him the opportunity to show off his knowledge. Jesus’ question focused on application. Could the lawyer apply to his own life the lesson Jesus taught? Jesus asked, “‘Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’” (Luke 10:36). The lawyer’s answer spoke of what was in his heart. The expert in the Mosaic Law couldn’t bring himself to give the Samarian credit by name. Instead, he only acknowledged, “‘The one who showed him mercy’” (Luke 10:37a).

The Apostle Paul wrote, “‘Knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:1b-2). How true this statement was concerning this expert in the Law. Knowing the Law was no indication that this lawyer was going to apply it, especially, when his prejudice was so deeply engrained. Jesus was attempting to teach this lawyer and those in His audience that neighbors are not only those who were close to them in proximity, behavior, and beliefs but their neighbors were also those, like the Samaritans, who were far from them in many ways.

When Jesus said to the lawyer, in reference to the compassionate Samaritan, “‘You go and do likewise’” (Luke 10:37b), He was saying that knowing one should love his/her neighbor is of no benefit if one does not show mercy to others. Jesus often chastised the religious leaders for missing this same point.

Jesus said, “‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel’” (Matthew 23:23-24)!

When the Pharisees complained that He was eating with sinners, Jesus told them, “‘Go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice”’” (Matthew 9:13a). Again, when they were upset that Jesus was doing what they considered work on the Sabbath, He explained, “‘If you had known what this means, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,” you would not have condemned the guiltless’” (Matthew 12:17).

Somehow, though these religious leaders knew what was written in the Scriptures, they did not understand their meaning. According to Jesus, those who could repeat the Law with accuracy might not be following it in actually. The prophets had written:

“‘With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God’” (Micah 6:6-8)?

 “‘For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings’” (Hosea 6:6).

Questions for Us

James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27).

For years, I have had that verse, and others like it, memorized. I have spent my whole adult life in lay ministry—mostly teaching the Bible. Yet, I am not sure I always practice what I preach. I wish I were always as ready to obey God in blessing those He puts in my path as I was the day I met the deaf man, but I must confess, I haven’t been.

Sometimes when I am out and about busily checking off the items on my to-do list, and I see someone I know may need some extra attention, I go out of my way to avoid coming into contact with him/her. Other times, when I am busy at home, and my phone rings, I may stop and take a look at the name that flashes up on my screen but I don’t answer it because I know the person calling is going to need more encouragement and counseling than I feel I have the energy to give at the moment.

But what if I changed my way of thinking? What if I thought less about myself and more about the people God sets up me to encounter? What if I considered God’s plans over my own? What if I looked at that which first seemed like an interruption to be a divine appointment? What if I saw these opportunities from God as my true ministry? What if I really believed that the God who arranged the interactions could put everything else in order to help me accomplish what needed to be done?

What if I had the compassionate heart of the Good Samaritan because I allowed the Holy Spirit to extravagantly love through me? What if you did too? There is no telling, this side of Heaven, what kind of impact truly loving our neighbors could have on the world around us. Maybe we could eternally profit the people in our paths, receive blessings for ourselves in return, and put many smiles on the face of God.

 

 

¹ Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.

² https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-lawyers.html

³ https://www.gotquestions.org/Sadducees.html

⁴ https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1344/esv/mgnt/0-1/

⁵ Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.