The Good Samaritan

Love for one’s neighbor is manifest in action.

Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching, Vol.4 - The Parables of Jesus, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

Luke 10: 30 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. 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?”

The prologue of this parable recounts a lawyer who asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus asked him, what is written in the law?  He answered, love the Lord, love your neighbor.  Jesus replied: you have answered rightly; do this and you will live.

29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Hence, the parable.  Again, teaching from the known life and situation of the time and place, the road between Jerusalem and Jericho was known as a dangerous road.  Further, the antagonism of the Jews toward Samaritans is well documented in Scripture.

The priest passed the injured man.  Did he think him dead, this being the reason that he did not help?  The priest is not allowed to touch a corpse.  This is possible, and it is not explained in the parable or by Jesus.  In any case, we do know that elsewhere Jesus put love above any erroneous understandings of the law.  As for not touching a corpse, there were no such proscriptions for the Levite.

Priests and Levites were among the most honorable members of society in Israel.  Both served at the temple.  That Jesus chose these two was not an accident.  Often, Jesus would use scribes and Pharisees to make His point.  As He often referred to these as hypocrites, the use of these in this parable would not have carried similar weight as using the honored priests and Levites.

The Samaritan showed proper behavior.  The word Jesus used to describe the Samaritan, “compassion,” is used often in the Gospels, primarily to describe Jesus Himself – which perhaps hints at an interpretation offered later in Metropolitan Hilarion’s examination (which I will come to shortly).

This detailed concentration on the figure of the Samaritan portrays the nature of love for one’s neighbor more eloquently than any abstract statement of principle could do.

Love is a verb, an action word.  It means to enter into the situation of the other, and do what can be done to help.  In the parable, the Samaritan uses both his time and money for this purpose: putting love in action.

The two denarii given to the innkeeper was not a small amount.  It was enough to feed a man for a month.  It was more than sufficient to cover room and board for the injured man for a week or two.  In any case, the Samaritan promised to pay any additional charges on his return.

This is how Jesus answered the lawyer’s question: who is my neighbor?  Jesus used a Samaritan – not a priest or Levite – to demonstrate His answer.  But there is much more to this, the use of a Samaritan to make Jesus’s point:

The good Samaritan symbolizes Christ.

That’s a thought that I had never before considered.  But it seems to be an understanding with deep roots in the early Church.  Metropolitan Hilarion begins with the Gospel of John:

John 8: 48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

Jesus answered the second accusation, but not the first:

49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.”

Augustine understood the parable just this way, that the Samaritan represented Christ.  There was also Origen, offering a detailed allegorical interpretation:

The man who fell prey to the thieves is Adam.  Jerusalem is Eden, and Jericho is the world.  The thieves are the evil powers; the priest is the law and the Levites are the prophets.  The Samaritan is Christ.  The wounds are disobedience, and the donkey is the body of the Lord.  The inn that accepts all who wish to enter is the Church, and the promise of the Samaritan to return is a symbol of the second coming of Christ.

Of course, one need not see the parable this way in order to understand the point, and almost certainly it was not understood this way at the time Jesus told the parable.  But it has come to be the common understanding of the Church (and, I assume Metropolitan Hilarion here is referring to the Orthodox Church; I cannot say anything one way or the other about this).

Conclusion

The good Samaritan is the Son of God, who had mercy on stricken humanity, torn apart by passions, sins, and satanic influence.  He came to fallen, suffering, and wounded mankind, he carried us on his shoulders.  He brought us into the Church, where he arranged everything for our spiritual healing and the complete restoration of our original state.  And then, he promised to come again, to make sure that humanity has healed completely.

I have to say, I didn’t see that one coming.  I might just add one thought: the Jews rejected Jesus, treating Him as if He were an outsider – a Samaritan.