Lessons from: The Parable of the Good Samaritan & Martha and Mary

One of the most well-known parables is the parable of the Good Samaritan. The fame of this story has led the whole world to use the term "good Samaritan" to describe anyone who is helpful unto others. Today let us take another look at this remarkable story.

Let’s read today’s verses Luke 10:25-29
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" Jesus replied. "How do you read it?
"He answered: "`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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’."
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he (the man) wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus,"And who is my neighbor?"
It was a time when Jesus was teaching; and an expert of the Law of Moses suddenly stood up to ask a question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?".
The real purpose of the question was to test Jesus. This law expert was intending to draw Jesus into a debate. For when Jesus queried him about what the Law said concerning the matter, he had a ready answer, typical among scholars of Scipture. He gave an exact quotation from the Law : "Love God with all ......." and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (taken from Deut.6:5 and Lev.19:18).

Jesus acknowledged that his answer was indeed correct. Actually Jesus Himself used this same quotation to answer the Pharisees in another incident when they had asked Him which was the greatest commandment in the Law (Matt.22:35-40).

In agreeing with the Law expert, Jesus exhorted him : " Do this and you will live ". By this our Lord meant that if any person would succeed in following these two commandments he would inherit eternal life.

The Law expert did not seem satisfied that our Lord agreed with his answer. He pressed on with his desire to force a debate with Jesus by asking another question. Verse 29 says that "he wanted to justify himself" indicating that he already had a set mind concerning the matter. So he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor ?"

With that question, the law expert thought that he had forced Jesus into a position where a debate seemed inevitable. The word "neighbor" can be a subjective term, and its interpretation may vary in relation to place of residence, family ties, Jewish tribes, political affiliation, financial status, and a host of other variables. All of those relations often caused quarrels and animosities, thus making it extremely difficult to apply the commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
So let’s see how Jesus handled this sticky question. Let’s read the next verses Luke 10:30-35
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

Jesus started telling a story about a man, presumably a Jew, who was laying half dead on a road. The man had been robbed and mugged. Jesus then mentioned that a priest happened to pass by. Upon seeing the unfortunate victim, the priest avoided having anything to do with the bloodied man by detouring via the other side of the road. Jesus added that another passerby came along; this time a Levite. He too avoided the beaten man by likewise passing on the other side of the road.

Note here that the two men who avoided the victim were both Levites, the clan from which the priests are picked. Levites were trained to prepare them for priestly duties in the temple. Therefore they were well versed with ministering in the presence of God. And among all the Jewish clans, the Levites were claimed by God as the clan that was His (Num.3:11-13). They were set apart to belong to God. Because of their knowledge, Levites should have known God’s ways better than anybody else. And thus they should have been the most "enlightened" and the most willing among the Jews concerning the matter of loving others.

Jesus continued his story with the next man who passed by the dying victim. This passerby happened to be a Samaritan; and Samaritans were hated in Israel. Although they descended from the same race as the Israelites, they were ostracized and not treated as Jews. Samaritans were mocked and hated by the Jews.

Yet it was the Samaritan who took it upon himself to have pity on the beaten man. He did everything he could in order to relieve the distressed victim. He gave his resources and his money to insure that the victim would recover from his injuries.

Let’s read the succeeding verses Luke 10:36-37
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, " The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

In asking the law expert that question, Jesus forced him to acknowledge in his heart God’s own concept about who his neighbor was. And when he answered, we notice that he still found it difficult to consider the hated Samaritans as among the neighbors that he must love. Instead of simply answering, "The Samaritan", he tried to go around it by saying, "The ONE who had mercy on him".

Then Jesus reinforced the lesson to the law expert by telling him to do likewise — Love even those you hate; love even those that hate you. That is what it takes to inherit eternal life.
What about us? Do we love our neighbor —— the ones we hate, and the ones who hate us and make life miserable for us?

We have to admit that this is almost impossible. Given our human nature, this would be extremely difficult. Yet, God commanded it of us because He knows it can be done, as proven by the Good Samaritan. But we wonder just how we can manage to do it given our human nature.
The next verses will help us see this in a better light. Let’s read Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Among Christians of today, Martha is known as having a penchant for facing the necessary tasks that had to be done. Mary on the other hand is known for spending all her time with Jesus.

The Lord said in verse 42 that Mary had chosen the more beneficial thing that was truly needed. This is not to say that we should all forget about attending to the worldly needs of daily life. Nor is it right to say that a passive way of life is what God prefers for us.

What the lesson of Mary and Martha points to is that whatever we have to do, we can do it in the presence of Jesus. There seems to be no way that we can escape the many chores that accompany our earthly existence. Escapism is not prescribed by God’s word. But as Christians who have submitted everything to God’s reign, we can certainly spend all our hearts and minds on our Lord as we perform our chores in His loving presence. We can be both Martha and Mary at the same time. In fact, that is the way a Christian should be.

As we spend more of our hearts and our minds on our Lord Jesus, we become conformed to his likeness. Remember how Moses’ face shown brightly after he spent much of his time in the presence of God ? We too will reflect the light of Jesus as we stay united to Him in all that we do.
Philipians 2:1-4 talks of this. It speaks of the union with Jesus which would make us more compassionate and loving as we continually commune with Jesus. We become more like Him, until the point where we are enabled to live our lives following the life that our Shepherd lived on earth.

Only then can we love the way Jesus loved. Only then can we love the people who hate us and harm us. Only then can we truly love our neighbor the way God wants us to.
Eternal life is what Jesus promises for our reward.

Psalm 17:15 says :
" As for me, I will behold
Your face in righteousness;
I will be satisfied when
I awake in Your likeness."