New teachers of pop psychology or physical fitness or Bible are always approached with great skepticism from those who are experts in their field and/or have been around for awhile. Just recently, I overheard an older, more seasoned college professor bash a “the new way” of learning (and instruction) and a skeptical cynicism from some “energy” folks about the mythical value of windmills.
If we are challenged in our long-held beliefs about a particular subject, most of us tend to lean into a pessimistic defensive stance of certainty.
Jesus got this all the time from the teachers of the Jewish law. These men were the keepers of the law, the protectors of the law and they obviously did not want Jesus messing with their interpretation of the law.
To illustrate this point, the writer, Dr. Luke notes, “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’”
People are also reading…
“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.’”
“Good answer!” Jesus said. “Do it and you will live.”
That seems pretty straightforward.
Except the Bible scholar was looking for a loophole so he asked Jesus, “And who exactly is my neighbor?”
Jesus answered by telling a story: “There once was a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They beat him up, took his clothes and left him half-dead.
“Luckily, a priest happened to be going down the same road, but when he saw the man, he angled across the road and passed by. Then a religious leader, a Levite showed up, but he did the same thing, avoiding the injured man.
“Finally, a Samaritan (a social outcast and reviled by the Jews) traveling the same road came upon the man. When he saw him, his heart went out to him. He immediately fell to his knees, he poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged him. Then he lifted the man onto his own donkey, took him to an inn and made sure the innkeeper would care for him. He paid him and said, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill and I will settle up with you on my way back through.’”
When Jesus finished this short story he asked the religion scholar, “What do think? 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 the same.”
The Jewish listeners would have hated this quaint little story from Jesus. They believed the Samaritans were nothing better than a feral animal. They were dirty, socially and religiously. So using a Samaritan as someone who they were “to love” in order to attain eternal life would have been repulsive to them … so vile to them that it would eventually lead to his brutal death.
Jesus loved the sinners, the culturally offensive, and the religious outcasts. He had mercy on them … and we who call ourselves Christ followers are to do the same. Have mercy, have life. It’s just that simple.
