Compassion for the Least by Wade Urban

Lk.10:30-37, “Then Jesus 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. Now by chance a certain priest came down the road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 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. 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.” So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”’
This parable was spoken to a scribe testing Jesus by asking Him about inheriting eternal life. Jesus answered with a question of His own, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it” (Lk. 10:25-26)? The scribe answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Lk. 10:27). Jesus told the scribe had answered rightly; the scribe then asked his real question: “Who is my neighbor” (Lk. 10:29)? At this point Jesus gave the parable. To truly understand the gravity of this question and His response, it is important to know background information about both Pharisees and Samaritans.
Scribes were Pharisees, lawyers who were experts at their own interpretation of the Law of God. Jesus was often followed by them in hopes of tripping Him up so He could be accused of blasphemy and executed. Pharisees represented the religious spirit of their day and formed their own exclusive society which excluded everyone who didn’t live up to their standards. They loathed others, even other Jews whom they considered to be sinners, unworthy of their high calling. Every Pharisee concluded only another Pharisee could legally be considered his neighbor, deserving preferential treatment. Everyone else was a lower form of humanity or equal in status with an animal. So it was with sinners, tax collectors and Samaritans.
Samaritans were a mixed culture which was created by Assyria when the northern kingdom of Israel was captured and deported through Assyrian occupation. Hosea prophesied the demise of the ten northern tribes of Israel through the names of his children, Lo-Ruhamah meaning, “I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel”, and Lo-Ammi meaning, “You are not My people, and I am not your God” (Hos. 1:6-9). Shortly after this prophecy, Assyria swept down and captured Israel and removed all occupants of the land, replacing them with people from other conquered territories. 2Kgs. 17:24-41 details this event and describes how God released lions which began to kill new occupants of the land. They asked the Assyrian king to send a priest who would teach new occupants rituals of the God of this new land so lions would no longer be a threat. 2Kgs. 17:33 explains, “They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away.”
Samaritans were of mixed nationalities and mixed religion. They were the most hated of all peoples by Jews, especially by religious Pharisees! Samaria’s geography was an issue of controversy, located between Judea in the south and Galilee in the north. Jews who wanted to travel from Judea to Galilee would go 100 miles around the outskirts of Samaria so they wouldn’t have to go through it! Racial and religious hatred was so intense between Jews and Samaritans that raiding parties from both sides would often attack border settlements killing each other. Without knowing the background of hatred and disdain for Samaritans, one wouldn’t understand the audacity of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan or His acts of compassion for the least of society, even for Samaritans! Each week in synagogues, Pharisees would publicly curse Samaritans. They could never be permitted in synagogues nor could they ever inherit eternal life according to Pharisee law. If a Pharisee ever came across a Samaritan child in danger, they would never intervene because it was better the child die than grow up to adulthood as a mature Samaritan.
In this heated racial and religious environment Jesus “needed to go through Samaria” (Jn. 4:4). No Jew ever needed to go through there; it was not safe and Jews had no dealings with them. Yet, Jesus went through this forbidden territory because He had an appointment in Sychar with a woman at Jacob’s well, resulting in many Samaritans believing in Him (Jn.4:1-42). Jesus saw all men as His Father’s creations and loved them despite popular opinion. His compassion toward sinners, tax collectors, and Samaritans was underscored by His anger at the religious system represented by Pharisees who hated and persecuted those considered beneath their high standards. The parable of the “Good Samaritan” is representative of Jesus’ compassion and anger at Pharisees’ religious beliefs. The attitude of the scribe who tested Jesus was similar to any Pharisee concerning the man attacked on his way to Jericho. First of all, every Jew knew you didn’t travel that road alone! You always traveled in the company of others for safety.
The Pharisee mindset was the man was asking for trouble! It was also logical to a Pharisee that a priest passing by a wounded man in a ditch wouldn’t stop to offer aid because if he touched the man who may be dead, he would have been considered ceremonially unclean for a period of days and couldn’t conduct his priestly duties on schedule. Therefore, it was reasonable for the priest to pass by! The same rationale existed for the Levite who passed by the wounded man, even though he looked at the man and presumably knew he was still alive. Obviously, the Levite’s religious duties were too important for him to alter his schedule—very reasonable to understand for any Pharisee! The ultimate bad guy in every Jewish story was the hero in Jesus’ parable–the Samaritan. Any self-respecting Jew would believe it was all over for the wounded man in the ditch when the Samaritan was introduced in the parable! The Samaritan would most certainly finish the man off! But Jesus turned the parable back on the scribe with His story of ultimate compassion. Not only did the Samaritan care for the man, but he committed financially to whatever extra care was needed to bring the man back to health. This was unthinkable for a Pharisee, especially a scribe, to even acknowledge possible. In attempting to trick Jesus in His doctrine, the scribe exposed the Pharisee religious system’s hypocrisy! Jesus asked the scribe, “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?” The scribe was even unable to say the word “Samaritan”; instead, he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise” (Lk. 10:36-37).
I have learned valuable lessons from this example of Jesus’ compassion. I know I can become so involved in ministry, busy doing good works, I miss divine intersections Holy Spirit sets up for me, just like the priest and Levite. I also have to admit I too often have to check my attitude toward those who have fallen into sinful conditions–they should know better! Even worse, I confess I often have a Pharisaical attitude toward brothers and sisters caught up in a religious spirit. Instead of praying for them, I criticize and fall into a similar if not worse trap by becoming “an accuser of the brethren” (Rev. 12:10)!
My prayer is that these past three month’s articles have caused you to take pause and consider your lives in relation to Jesus Christ’s compassion. Having done so, like me, you may have some repentance and renewing of the mind that must occur. Know this, God is good and His desire is for transformation in our lives to bring us into conformity with His. Trust Him and be assured He who began that good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6). Amen.