Two Questions

Two Questions

Luke 10:25-37

Luke’s story of the Good Samaritan raises two questions: 

Am I my neighbor’s keeper?  Who is my neighbor?  

Both questions are answered explicitly, the first in the conversation between Jesus and the lawyer.  The second, raised by the lawyer in an attempt to clarify the law, is answered by Jesus’ parable.  Even though the answers are obvious, they invite examination.

            When I was teaching college classes I often used the expression, “That’s a teacher question!”  I meant that the question had an obvious answer (usually “yes,” or “no”), but an answer that led to a host of other questions with not so simple answers.  I see “Am I my neighbor’s keeper?” as a teacher question.  The lawyer gives the correct answer: “Yes.”

            The lawyer asks Jesus a rabbinical question:  What shall I do to inherit eternal life?  Luke says the question was asked to put Jesus to the test.   Does Luke mean he was trying to trap Jesus?  This happens frequently.  Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees try to catch Jesus making a statement for which they can condemn him as a heretic or dissuade people from following him. 

            It is also possible that the lawyer was trying to engage Jesus in the kind of debate any expert on Judaic law would expect.  One expert would pose a question; the other would answer, and the debate would begin.  I’m willing to give the lawyer the benefit of the doubt, especially since other evangelists present this story in a less confrontational way.

            Jesus answers in rabbinic fashion; he asks a question in return: “What does the law say?”  The lawyer’s answer is interesting.  Instead of quoting one or more of the Ten Commandments (the heart of Torah law), he quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”), and adds, “and your neighbor as yourself.  His answer is the heart of the Ten Commandments, and of Jesus’ message and ministry.

            Clearly, if we love our neighbors as we love ourselves we must be our neighbors’ keeper.  If I treat myself to a new item of clothing, I should make sure my neighbor is well-dressed.  If I enjoy a good meal at a fine restaurant, I should make sure my neighbor is well-fed.  Sound familiar?  You’ll find similar thoughts in Matthew 25:31-46.

            The lawyer doesn’t want to end the discussion so he asks, “Who is my neighbor?”  Good question.  Logical question.  Jesus answers with the parable of the Good Samaritan.  This is also in keeping with rabbinic teaching.  Western preachers make a point then use stories to illustrate that point and bring it home to their congregations.  Middle Eastern preachers/teachers tell stories (parables) then demonstrate how the principle flows from the story.  The two styles are exactly opposite.  I wonder sometimes if my preaching would be more effective if, like Jesus, I used the Middle Eastern approach.

            At the end of the parable Jesus asks, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”  The lawyer knows the answer: “The one who showed him mercy.”

            Jesus’ point is clear:  anyone in need is my neighbor.  Race doesn’t matter.  Gender doesn’t matter.  Religion doesn’t matter.  Political beliefs don’t matter.  Sexual orientation doesn’t matter.  What matters is need.  Jesus demonstrated this throughout his ministry, addressing people’s needs wherever and whenever he found them.

Jesus says to us, as he said to the lawyer, “You go and do likewise.”