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We often see this parable as only a pleasant “be nice to your neighbor” story. But the “cast” of characters embodied many of that day’s social frictions: a priest, a Levite and (above all) a Samaritan, a hated non-Israelite. Then Jesus made the Samaritan the hero! It’s as if he drew back a curtain and said, “If I had my way, these hatreds, fears and divisions would vanish.”
- We usually apply this parable to the need for us to help others—a big part of Jesus’ teaching. But in this story, an Israelite accepted a Samaritan’s help, though Israelites usually shunned such help. How open are you to accepting help from others when you need it? What makes it easier sometimes to offer help than to accept it?
- “Jewish teachers usually used ‘neighbor’ to mean ‘fellow Israelite.’” (The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament) But Leviticus 19:34 said, “The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself.” What made that hard in 1st century Palestine? What makes it hard today?
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