They Thought He Was Scum, Then He Stopped On That Road
Luke 10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
Luke 10:34 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.
Luke 10:35 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.’
This is listed as the most well-known parable of Jesus. The ‘Parable of the Good Samaritan’ is really a lot of fun to take apart and appreciate. Let’s go
The Road from Jerusalem to Jericho
Ok, so you want to go for a walk with me through Bayard Park in the middle of the night? How about Central Park in New York? We all learned from Home Alone that grown men go in there at night and don’t even come out alive.
The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was a steep climb with a lot of twists and turns. It would be perfect for an ambush scene in The Mandalorian. Throughout history, it was known for bandits and as recently as 1930, as in during our grandparents’ lifetimes, it was called The Bloody Way because travelers would get robbed and killed on that road.
So was the guy an idiot for traveling that road alone? Wasn’t he asking for it to get robbed? He shouldn’t have been there in the first place? Fill in any of the things we say about victims of shootings at 4 am or women who are assaulted. Jesus put this victim on that road on purpose.
The First Two Passes
The first two guys to walk by the injured victim are a priest and a Levite. The Levite would have been from the tribe that knew the scriptures the best. They lived in special cities full of Levites and were entrusted with the Law. Never mind that they too, were foolishly traveling this road alone.
These guys would also be rich and highly respected. They were honored the way everyone watches their language when they realize you’re church people or the way everyone gets serious when the principal walks into the room
The Dirtbag Scum from Samaria
The Samaritan (phooey) was a disgusting vermin to Jewish people. They would spit to clean out their mouth every time they said the word Samaritan (tbbbb). If a dog ate off of their plates, they could wash the plates and reuse them. If a Samaritan (hack) ate off of a plate, they broke it into dust and threw it in the river.
But the Samaritan had compassion.
That compassion is what made him different and made him more righteous than a priest or a Levite.
The Levite may have made an offering, and the priest may have prayed, but the action of compassion is what made the Samaritan the hero of Jesus’ story.
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