Untitled Sermon

The Parable

The lawyer had asked Jesus a question prior to this, he had wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. He was not ready to let the matter rest, so he asks Jesus who his neighbor is. He knew it meant more than just the man next door but the Jews had different ideas as to who ones neighbor was. None of them went beyond the borders of Israel; the idea of love towards mankind had yet to reach them.

Jesus did not answer directly but tells a story. Clearly the traveler is a Jew, but he is just called a man. It is the need of the neighbor, not his nationality that is important.

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho runs through steep desolate country. In th course of 17 miles there is a 3,000 foot drop in elevation. It was wild country, the kind in which robbers would be safe. Not content with robbing the man, this band beats him mercilously and leaves him for dead.

It happens that the first man to come along is a priest. Given that the man was half dead, the priest was probably not aware if the man was alive or dead. The only way he could have found out would have been to have touched him. But, if he touched him and he was in fact dead he would have been ceremonially defiled according to the law. He could only be sure of his ceremonial purity by leaving the man alone. There may have been other factors that weighed upon him but we do know that the priest left this man in his time of suffering and need.

The same thing happens as a Levite comes by. He was also of religious personage and might be expected to be interested in helping a man in need. But he also was a man interested in ceremonial purity and thought it better to not get involved. So, he also passes by on the other side.

Much the same thing happened with the Levite. He was of religous personage and might be expected to help a man in need but he too doesn’t get involved. He also would have been worried about being deemed unclean, so he also passed by on the other side of the road.

The audience would have expected that after a priest an

He continued to care for him even as he had to leave. He gave the innkeep two denarii and instructed him to look after the man. According to Polybius, a historian, at this time a man could get a day at an inn for about 1/32 of a denarius.