The Parable of the Guy Who Got Beat Up

Jeff Peper
Written By Jeff Rybacki
 

“And behold, 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 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

 I often feel that the original impact of Christ’s words are lost on those of us who have grown-up in the church hearing stories like good Samaritan from the time that we were very young. This was confirmed again in my mind during Rob‘s sermon a week ago Sunday when he talked about Jesus turning issues completely on their head for all those involved. Christ’s point was to get people to think about how they interact with those around them differently, the reason is that our sin has made us skew our view of the world so horribly that until that is addressed there is no point trying to fix anything else. Christ often answered a question with a question, which was intended to get the person to verbalize what was really on their heart.

Before we can ever attempt to solve anyone’s issues, we must first listen to what they have to say. Sometimes we may find that the problem we think they are having is not the real problem at all. I gave some thoughts on Sunday after Rob’s sermon of the way to think about story of the good Samaritan in a way that would be applicable to the events surrounding George Floyd. What I landed on is this, I think if Christ returned to earth right now or delivered the story of the good Samaritan through a prophet, we were dismiss it out right or at best we would completely miss the point. I think we would all hear the parable of the good Samaritan except we would title it “the parable of the person who got beat up”. We would focus on what he was doing in that part of town, or maybe his criminal history, or his religion. Some would focus on increased corruption in that area and why the authorities aren’t doing anything to solve the problem. But that’s not the point. Since the garden of Eden we have continued to tell ourselves we are capable of being God and that we’re capable of understanding and solving all matters. This is not to diminish our duty to solve injustices as they are brought to light, but we also need to make sure that our charity does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with our understanding of the situation nor our agreement.

The lawyer in the story is looking for a way to escape the responsibilities toward his neighbors, particularly those who he may not agree with. I’m sure he was hoping to hear that his neighbor was defined by proximity or by synagogue. But Christ pokes right at the issue and tells the lawyer to love those who do not share his ideology.

There’s no doubt that the good Samaritan and the Jew who was beaten would have disagreed on any number of issues. Yet the point being made is that we must love all our fellow man regardless of where we stand with them. The challenge I give myself and would encourage you to also consider is this how would Christ respond so the situation at hand. Now don’t use that statement as a license support your viewpoint, but really ask yourself how Christ would respond to the events around us. Christ’s response always includes the forgiveness of sins followed by acts of love and charity.   

Jeff Rybacki
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