Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 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 given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, 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 while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:25-37 – NRSV).
Introductory notes
General
Both Matthew 22:34–40 and Mark 12.28–34 share the story of the questioner – in Matthew it is a “lawyer” and in Mark it is a “scribe” – who asks Jesus about the “greatest” or “first” commandment. It is probable that Matthew and Luke got the story from Mark.
There is a second such encounter in Luke: “A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” (18:18). On this occasion the question prompts a response from Jesus on the Decalogue. It is not clear whether there are two separate incidents in the life of Jesus referred to here or perhaps two ways of recalling the same incident.
This encounter takes place in Samaria. There is more than a little irony in the fact that the strongest hostility comes not, as we would expect, from the Samaritans but from the Jewish authorities. This lends a special power to the parable.
The parable of the good Samaritan is unique to Luke.
One commentator sums up: “The Prophet travels to Jerusalem and on the way interacts with three groups: the amorphous crowd, the eager disciples, the watchful and increasingly hostile adversaries. Jesus has just addressed his disciples with a blessing (10:21–24) and is immediately confronted by a lawyer (10:25). We have been instructed by the thematic statement in 7:29–30 to recognize in the ‘teachers of the Law’ those who reject prophets and reject God’s will for them, failing to justify God. We are not surprised, therefore, to find a lawyer ‘testing him’ by asking how to gain eternal life, and when given an answer, not accepting it but ‘seeking to justify himself’, trying to trap Jesus in a classic casuistic puzzler” (Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991, 174).
Specific
to test Jesus: The Greek verb ekpeirazō is also used in Luke 4:12, when Jesus rebukes the devil in the desert: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”.
inherit eternal life: This same question occurs again in Luke 18:18. We find similar references in Matthew 19:29 and Mark 10:17. Torah makes no mention of inheriting eternal life. In Daniel 12:2 there is a reference to the just rising to eternal life. Hebrews 9:15 is the only other clear reference to eternal inheritance. It is suggested by 1 Peter 1:4. There are of course a number of references to eternal life – for example, Romans 2:7, 5:21 and 6:22–23; Gal 6:8; Jude 21; and especially John 3:15–16.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart etc: These are the first words of the Shema – a prayer said twice daily by faithful Jews. Presumably, Jesus would have been taught this prayer by his parents. The full text of the Shema may be found in three places in the Torah: Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41.
Luke adds a fourth phrase: “your whole mind”.
The Shema is to be said as follows:
Cover your eyes with your right hand and say:
Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G‑d, the L-rd is One.
Recite the following verse in an undertone:
Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.
You shall love the L-rd your G‑d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
The L-rd spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to attach a thread of blue on the fringe of each corner. They shall be to you as tzizit, and you shall look upon them and remember all the commandments of the L-rd and fulfill them, and you will not follow after your heart and after your eyes by which you go astray – so that you may remember and fulfill all My commandments and be holy to your G‑d. I am the L-rd your G‑d who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your G‑d; I, the L-rd, am your G‑d. True.
See Text of the Shema Prayer in Hebrew and English – Chabad.org
your neighbor as yourself: See Leviticus 19:18. “The commandment of love of neighbor is widely attested in the nt writings (Mark 12:31; Matt 22:39; Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14; Jas 2:8; John 15:12). Luke’s version is distinctive because he collapses the two commandments into one” (Luke Timothy Johnson, op cit, 172).
who is my neighbor: In Leviticus 19:18 the neighbors are “sons of your own people”. Later, in Leviticus 19:33–34, this is extended to strangers and sojourners living in your land. And it is worth noting that, “among sectarians like those at Qumran, the division between love for the sons of light and hate for all others was absolute (cf. 1QS 1:9–10). For the Pharisees, discussion of the limits of interaction with non-Jews was extensive, as e.g., m.Abodah Zarah 1:1; 2:1–2; 4:9–10. The call to love is therefore limited” (Luke Timothy Johnson, op cit, 172-173). Jesus breaks new ground!
moved with pity: The Greek word used here – splanchnizomai – is the same word used of the father waiting for the return of the prodigal son – see Luke 15:20. The language of the Bible is indicative of a people much closer to human experience than we in the West are today. The Greek word splanchnon means the entrails or guts. Although we use words like pity and compassion to render splanchnizomai, they do not quite get there. This is no ordinary care being expressed by the Samaritan!
Prejudice
In today’s Gospel – Luke 10:25-37 – Jesus calmly but incisively enters the destructive world of human prejudice and exposes it to the light. You might think that this lawyer who is putting Jesus to the test would not only know the words of the Shema – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,” etc, words found in the Torah and recited twice-daily by every faithful Jew – but would actually live them. It is very clear – even to the non-Jew – that the Shema is intended as an expression of one’s very being.
This raises a disturbing question: How can we – and yes, we all do it – live contradictions, act in ways contrary to what is factual, believe what is patently false, label and even condemn people we have not even met? Prejudices can turn reality on its head, making lies out of the truth, turning beauty into something ugly, suppressing our innate interdependence and interconnectedness with others, making us blind to possibilities and subordinating objective reality to subjective illusions. But, prejudices can also make us feel secure, comfortable. They can make us feel in control. Prejudices can assuage our anxiety, save us the discomfort of facing ambiguity and doubt, dismiss the need to encounter the other and open ourselves to new possibilities.
Jesus responds to the lawyer’s prejudice with a story. Stories – indeed, like all good art – have a way of unmaking our prejudices. Perhaps because stories get beyond thinking ideas to imagining possibilities? Jesus begins to unmake the lawyer’s prejudice by planting in his imagination an outrageous possibility: A good Samaritan! This image has potential to release the lawyer from his unacknowledged prejudicial prison and give him a freedom he has never dreamed of. It also has potential to make him feel very threatened and defensive, leaving him imprisoned in his prejudice.
A hated Samaritan hero is not the only disturbing image that Jesus has planted in this man’s imagination. There is also “the priest (who) was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite.” The lawyer, again, has two options. He can honestly submit to the challenge of these images and reflect honestly about his own life and the lives of the religious authorities he knows or he can dismiss the truths the images carry. The first option is a painful one. But it offers growth, life, freedom. The second option is probably the most obvious one because it fits the world upheld by his prejudice.
We might wonder which option the lawyer took. A more relevant question would be: Which option do I take every day, as I encounter the people in my life? Prejudice may be manifest in feelings such as anger, impatience, and frustration. It may also emerge in thoughts and words of condemnation, mockery, dismissal, internal or external arguments. Listen to Jesus’ story. Listen further to feelings or thoughts it may arouse in you.