“Then Yeshua answered and said: ‘A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?’
37 And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Yeshua said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” – Luke 10:30-37
Context in Luke:
The parable as an answer to question “Who is my neighbor?” It’s a genuine question.
Hebrew “rea/רֵעַ” has a range of meaning: friend, person who is close, Ruth/reut – close companion, in biblical Hebrew – anyone
Shilom Inscription/Hezekiah – when tunnel was constructed in Jerusalem they cried “rea” on both ends = coworker, colleague, but not a close friend.
1st century circumstances:
The Hebrew meaning of words changed. How then are we to understand Leviticus message “love your neighbor as yourself” in the 1st century CE context?
- Judea under Roman occupation
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5: Hear O’Israel… – command to listen/hear
- Jewish learning involved asking questions and answering questions with more questions
- Dialogue – no hostility or confrontation
- Learning involved asking questions
- The Torah scholar answered Yeshua’s question correctly: “the one who showed mercy”
- New Testament scholars understood the message as neighbor = person in need/friend in need
- Any person is one’s rea/רֵעַ, including an enemy
Sermon on the Mount:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” – Matthew 5:43-44
Samaritans were considered enemies of the Jewish people. Some time after Herod’s death, Samaritans scattered human bones in the Temple during Passover, desecrating it. But here the Samaritan is the hero of a Jewish story – perplexing, shocking, an enemy becomes a friend!
Here it’s a question and answer session with Yeshua on how should Leviticus 19:18 be interpreted.
“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 19:18
Leading characters in the parable:
- The victim
- Levite (Sadducee)
- Priest (Sadducee)
- Samaritan
The levite, priest and Samaritan had one thing in common, they did not accept the oral law. The Torah scholar accepted the oral law – he was a Pharisee. Many priests lived in Jericho at the time. Priest and Levite continued the actions of the robbers. The Samaritan reversed the actions of the robbers.
The Mishnah states: “He who says there is no resurrection has no heritage in the world to come.”
- Sadducees = literalists, followed only written law
- Priest, Levite and the Samaritan rejected the oral law
- Samaritans = enemies, nothing in common
“Then the woman of Samaria said to him, ‘How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?’ For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” – Yohannan 4:9
Priests – concerned with ritual purity and no oral law
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for the dead among his people,’” – Leviticus 21:1
They were more interested in ritual purity than saving a life. Priests are sharply criticized in rabbinic literature for being overly concerned with ritual cleanness, while neglecting ethics and morals. There was a conflict between Yeshua and Sadducean priests.
It’s possible that the priest/Levite thought the victim, the man on the road, was already dead. The oral law states an urgent need to bury an abandoned corpse – met mitzvah/מת מצוה. Oral law – even the high priest or Nazarite war required to bury abandoned corpse (Naz. 7:1).
Literal Torah/the letter of the law states: “…nor shall he [the high priest] go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother” – Leviticus 21:11
According to the story, the robbers abandoned the man, leaving him “half dead” (Luke 10:30), indicating that the man was still alive. The issue at stake here was saving a life. They failed to act.
Half dead = still alive
Hebrew – “goses/גוֹסֵס” – between life and death, highly doubtful he will live, beaten so badly, that one cannot be certain he will survive
Jewish tradition/principle of saving a life at all cost:
Preservation of life = pikuach nefesh/פיקוח נפש/safef nefashot/שקף נפשוט – all written laws must be violated to save a life. Goses may even marry, divorce, buy and sell.
Even the Samaritans cared for human life more than priests and Levites – the guardians of the Temple. The enemy of Israel portrayed in such a positive light – it’s shocking!
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” – Matthew 5:43-44
The Torah scholar responded: “he who showed mercy” (Samaritan) = my enemy is my neighbor
The Samaritan risked being implicated and charged with the crime. He was willing to risk.
Who is my neighbor?
Common understanding – any human being in need
Torah scholar said: not the injured man, not the Samaritan; he answered with wisdom: “the one who showed mercy.”
Each person must understand the needs of his neighbor in order to become a neighbor. In order to define the meaning of neighbor, one must first become a rea/רֵעַ/neighbor.
Torah scholar saw the Samaritan for what he did.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself = you shall love your enemy as yourself!
– Tom Aish
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