Sometimes I forget, and maybe you do too, that this familiar parable of the Good Samaritan is precipitated by Jesus’ conversation with the lawyer. “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
In many ways, this is really the main question of life, the only one that really matters. Because this world, this life, is not permanent, and everyone should be concerned about what happens next. Where do I go when I die? Will I inherit eternal life? And what must I do to make that happen?
And this lawyer, he asks his question in terms of the law, doesn’t he. There’s some assumption there. That he has to do something. I wonder what he thought Jesus would say: “Feed the poor, and you will inherit eternal life” or “take care of mom and dad” or “make sure you live in peace” or make a certain sacrifice, or say a certain prayer, or what? Surely there must be something I can do!
But Jesus’ answer is a bit coy, and he doesn’t spoon-feed the man. Rather, he engages him. He begins to teach him.
Well, you’re a lawyer: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” In a way, Jesus shows the man he already knows the answer. Ask a question of the law, get an answer of the law.
Love God – with all your heart and soul, strength and mind, and love your neighbor. A succinct and thorough summary of the entire law. A similar summary that Jesus would offer when they asked him what was the greatest commandment. In a way, this fellow hits it out of the park with his answer. Home run. A plus. Perfectly said. Jesus says, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But easier said than done. Easier to summarize the law, than to fulfill it. Easier to recite the 10 Commandments than to keep them.
Now the fellow gets in trouble. Because he wants to justify himself. So he does what a lawyer does, he looks for a loophole. “just who is my neighbor, anyway!?”
But hold on a minute. Before we get to the parable, and the question of who is the neighbor. What about Jesus’ statement, “do this and you will live?”
That should have crushed him right then and there. It should crush us all. For we do not keep the commandments, and therefore we do not deserve life. Sin has a different reward, the wages of death.
But there’s a lot of attempts at self-justification today, too. People try to give the commandments a haircut, trimming off the “all your heart” part and re-writing it to accept something half-hearted. Delete “all your soul” and just make it say, “for the most part.” And all your strength and all your mind. Well, we can’t be held responsible for thought crimes, can we?
There are so many ways we try to wriggle out of the law’s condemnation, its all-pervasive demands. Sure, if we could keep it, we would live. But we don’t keep it. Not even close. No matter what the little lawyer in each man’s heart tries to argue.
Right then and there the lawyer should have pleaded guilty before Jesus, and begged for mercy. For that’s the real answer. How do we inherit eternal life? Only by the grace and mercy of Christ.
Christ, who, for his part, did keep all these commandments, and perfectly. Who did love God with his all, and loved neighbor as himself. Jesus does what we cannot, and he does it for us, for our good. He lives a perfect life, and dies a sacrificial death to free us from the condemnation of the law, to overturn the guilty verdict, and to secure for us the inheritance of eternal life. Jesus is the answer to the question the lawyer should have asked, not, “what must I do to be saved,” but, “since I can’t keep the law, how can I even hope to be saved?” Only by the grace of God, in Jesus Christ crucified and risen.
Now on to the parable. Who’s the neighbor to the man who was beaten and mugged? Well all were neighbors, the priest, the levite, and the Samaritan. But only the Samaritan was a good neighbor to the man. He helped him, tended to his wounds, paid for his care, and put the others to shame by his love and kindness.
On one level here we have an example of loving the neighbor, and it is a good example. Be like the Samaritan, of course. Don’t be like the priest or Levite.
But there’s more going on here, too. For we just showed the futility of trying to earn eternal life by our actions. We can’t love God or our neighbor as we should, we don’t do it, and too often we don’t even want too. We are quite often like the priest and Levite, passing on opportunities to serve others, and likely justifying our actions nonetheless.
But here again we ponder Jesus, who is the true and ultimate Good Samaritan. He finds us beaten and bloodied by sin, and shows us mercy. He takes us to the inn of the Christian Church and provides for our care. He pours on us the healing oil and wine of the Sacraments. And he promises to one day return and settle up, which he will do on the last day.
That road from Jerusalem to Jericho was well known to the people of Jesus’ time as particularly dangerous one. So often did people fall among robbers there, it was actually called, “The Way of Blood.” How fitting that Jesus comes rescue us by his own holy precious blood. His cross is the way of blood that saves us from the blood on our own hands, and the broken commandments that earn us death.
And it is in his loving mercy that we are taught to love our neighbor. Indeed, only by his grace do we have the faith required to do truly God-pleasing works of love for our neighbor.
So, Christian, you who would inherit eternal life. Don’t try to justify yourself, for you’ll never measure up to the many “all” demands of the law. It will leave you beaten and bloodied, as good as dead. But look to Jesus, the Good Samaritan, and having been pulled out of the ditch by his grace, now go and likewise show mercy. Be the good neighbor to others that he has been, and always is, to you.
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