Point of view makes all the difference in the world, doesn’t it?  I mean, sometimes, especially when differences are involved, it’s a good idea to try and see situations from other people’s perspectives.  It’s the right thing to do, after all.  But today, I want us to consider the parable of the Good Samaritan.

  The parable of the Good Samaritan is probably the best know parable Jesus tells followed closely by the Prodigal Son.  The parable has captured imaginations since Jesus first told it.  This simple tale of compassion has launched many great endeavors in helping others.  Presently, in the United States alone, there are over a dozen Good Samaritan hospitals, more when you consider world-wide.  So, the story moves us in a way that few others do.  It motivates us with a message of unexpected compassion from a questionable stranger.  But if we read this story as merely a simple tale about “doing better”, “helping more people” or just being kind, then we’ve extracted far too little from this very rich, very lush parable.  That isn’t to say that “do better” isn’t a decent read on this passage but one that misses much of the point Jesus is trying to make to his listeners as well as us. 

  The passage begins when a lawyer stands us and asks Jesus a question.  Now it’s important to keep in mind, this isn’t Perry Mason.  You and I, when we think of lawyers, we think of Perry Mason or some other television attorney but that isn’t the type of guy I’m talking about here.  This lawyer that stands up to ask Jesus a question is really a theologian.  These laws the man studies, well, they’re God’s laws.  You see, this lawyer is an expert in knowing God’s law – what God requires in each and every situation.  That’s the kind of guy he was, a theologian.  And not the most genuine theologian in the world, as it turns out.  We see in the description of the man that he’s out to put Jesus to the test.  Now, this kind of guy we know, don’t we?  Not of course this guy, but we know guys like them – the kind that always like to be right and are happiest when they’re telling you that you’re wrong.  That’s the kind of guy this lawyer strikes me as.  He’s just spending some of his time looking for a debate with Jesus to try and trip Him up.  So, not that his intentions are just to learn, but, being a student in the law, the man asks a question.  No, strike that.  This man with a foul intent asks Jesus the biggest honking question of all-time.  “What must I DO to inherit enteral life?”    Is there a bigger question than that, I wonder?

  Because one thing is for certain – we will all die.  And that thought sits heavily upon our souls.  So, we like every single person every born wonder this very questions.  I look out and see that people have died and know that the reaper comes for me as well one day.  But while I’m still around, is there anything I can be DOING to make certain that when I die, I continue to live on?  So, it’s a big question.  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” he asks Jesus.  Ah, but notice, Jesus doesn’t answer him back but instead baits a bit of a trap.  So, Jesus, likely knowing just how full of himself this man was, asks him a question in return.  A question really designed to help the lawyer show off just how much he knows about God’s Law.  “What is written in the Law?  How do you read it?”  Jesus inquires.  Just as a side note, this is a brilliant tactic when dealing with someone who is questioning faith at an insincere level.  They’ll ask you things like, “do you really believe Ghandi is in hell?” but it’s a trick question.  They don’t really want an explanation so much as they catch you saying something foolish.  Instead of answering them sincerely, turn it on them, just like Jesus does with this man.  Ask them, “In your opinion, should anyone be in hell?” or something like that.  It trips them up, keeps them on the defensive. 

  So, what is written in the law?  Jesus asks the theologian and HE NAILS IT.  Merging Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19, he identifies exactly one must do to inherit eternal life according to the Law.  But I wonder, as the man was answering, if an uneasy feeling started creeping into his bones.  I can’t help but wonder if he got the sense that something wasn’t quite right in the state of Denmark.  You see, there’s a bit of unease now in what he’s said.  Now, he’s probably sure he’s got the loving God part but, this neighbor business, probably needs a little more clarity.  After all, this is the biggest question of them all, no sense in not asking a follow-up question of two. 

  So, the man asks, essentially, who then is my neighbor?  Great question, right?  After all, if part of your eternal life is bound up in how you treat your neighbors, you’re going to want to identify exactly who your neighbors are.  It’s at this point that Jesus tells the parable.  It goes like this – “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.’”