Charleen Anderson
This scripture passage takes place during Jesus’ three
year ministry. Israel was under Roman rule and the Jews rankled under the
domination. It was also a time of the inner conflict between the Jews and
Samaritans. There was a history of hatred and prejudice that went back hundreds
of years. Though under foreign rule, the Pharisees and the scribes still held
much power over the Jewish people. The Pharisees and the scribes saw Jesus
as their enemy and took every opportunity to discredit Him.
The passage does not say the lawyer who approached Jesus was
a Pharisee but it was his purpose to test Jesus with a legal question. The
passage also does not specify whether he was alone with Jesus or with others.
However, it is implied that they were not alone because there would have been
no point in testing Him without witnesses. Jesus turned the lawyer’s
question around causing him to answer it himself. This embarrassing position
implied the lawyer did not need to ask Jesus because he already knew the answer.
Those awkward moments may have exposed his true motive for the question, to
test Jesus under the guise of a seeker. Perhaps to save face the lawyer asked,
“who is my neighbor?” This question prompts Jesus’ parable
known as “The Good Samaritan.” When Jesus finished the parable
He asked the lawyer. “Which of the three was being the neighbor?”
In asking the question Jesus again caused the lawyer to answer his own question,
showing the lawyer probably knew the answer to his question and need not have
asked it in the first place.
In the process of defining “neighbor,” Jesus makes
a strong statement against racial hatred and prejudice. Not only does He put
a Samaritan in a good light, He implies a Samaritan is more admirable than
a Jewish priest or Levite. He not only makes the hero of the story a Samaritan,
He then tells the lawyer and His Jewish audience they should follow the Samaritan’s
example. This would have been unheard of and unimaginable. The Pharisees were
the leaders in religious matters. They did not follow anyone except God and
certainly not the example of a Samaritan. To be told to follow the example
of a Samaritan was the height of insult. Of course it was not Jesus’
purpose to insult the Pharisees, scribes, Jewish lawyers, or other religious
leaders. He wanted to show them the possibility of seeing Samaritans in another
light.
This Samaritan likely did not fit any of the stereotypes held
by the Jews. He was financially well off and kind enough to share his resources
to rescue the victim. He evidently did not care who the victim was or what
was his position in life. Jesus was convicting them of not measuring up to
the standard that should have been expected of them according to their positions
of authority and leadership. But He was also giving them the opportunity to
put to rest an age-old prejudice and to be free of the hatred.
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
We are prejudiced, sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes out
of a sense of superiority, and sometimes out of hatred. We lose opportunities
to know an individual because of the group he or she is associated with. It
causes us to make decisions that are unfair and damaging. People are denied
opportunities because of stereotypes. We make judgments about the homeless,
immigrants, teens, physically handicapped, athletes, stay-at-home moms, blue
collar workers, and the list goes on.
Christians aren’t exempt from prejudices but God has the
power to free us. If we give Him free reign over our minds, He will transform
our lives. He will give us the capacity to see each person, regardless of
where he or she fits into society. God will free us from the trap of prejudice
and allow us to enjoy the discovery of people who we see because of God’s
grace. This is a great gift, the ability to see past the stereotype and see
the person. He asks only that we let Him do His transforming work.
