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The Good Samaritan; Mary and Martha

Last week was a watershed in Jesus’ ministry, climaxed by his Transfiguration on a high mountain, and his affirmation as Messiah and Son of God by a voice from heaven. Before and after this special event, Jesus began to explain to his apostles what it really means to be Messiah. He will not overthrow the Romans as the Jews believe; the Messiah will be crucified; his victory will be his resurrection. Jesus therefore begins instructing his disciples how to do his ministry without him . . . and about the risks they face by following a leader who will be executed as a criminal.

Today’s lesson continues that theme . . . beginning with three "one liners" about what it means to be a disciple. Jesus says his followers don’t get guaranteed income and lodging (9:58) . . . to the contrary, they must trust God for their needs. And true believers don’t follow Jesus at a time when it’s convenient; they follow him when called . . . without waiting until a parent dies (9:60) or until other personal obligations are fulfilled (9:62). A commitment to follow Jesus must take priority over everything else.

Next Jesus sends a group of 72 disciples to prepare towns and villages for his visit. He gives instructions similar to what he told his 12 apostles before their trial mission run (9:1-6). They are to preach and heal (9:6; 10:9). They are to travel light, and rely on the charity of grateful hearers for food and shelter (9:3-4; 10:4,7-8). If they are rejected, they should shake the dust off their feet to indicate coming judgment against that town (9:5; 10:11-12). Why does Jesus send these people out on such a task? "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few," he says. "Ask the Lord of the harvest . . . to send workers into his harvest field" (10:2). He is telling them John the Baptist—and other things discussed in the first session—prepared the hearts of the people to receive Jesus the Messiah . . . but these receptive hearts must hear the gospel so they can be gathered up as followers of Jesus, somewhat like ripe grain is gathered up at the harvest. Jesus is asking God—and telling his disciples to also ask God—for evangelists to preach the gospel and gather up these new believers.

Yet Jesus emphasizes that—despite many willing hearts waiting to hear the gospel—the 72 face a difficult task because of opposition from the Jewish establishment: "I am sending you out like lambs among wolves" (10:3), he says. And according to Matthew, Jesus adds: "Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matt 10:16). I like to summarize it like this: "Trust God to protect you, but don’t be stupid!"

Nevertheless, an even worse fate awaits those who reject Jesus and persecute his followers. Jesus condemns the towns of Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, which witnessed most of his preaching and his miracles, yet rejected him. It’s hard to miss the irony: that most Jews reject Jesus, even though he preaches words from God and performs God-like miracles to prove he is the Messiah, the savior God promised the Jews. Their punishment will be worse than that of Sodom (10:12)—which experienced a rain of fire and brimstone because of their sin.By contrast, Jesus says if Gentiles—even wicked Phoenicians—had heard Jesus and seen his miracles, they would have repented and believed. Therefore, even though Gentiles have no history of revelation from God, they will be better off on the day of judgment than Jews who foolishly cling to a self-righteous assurance of salvation because they follow Jewish rituals and have a history as God’s chosen people (cf 3:8).

And Jesus concludes: "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me" (10:16). These 72 disciples—and Jesus’ future followers—are preaching on his behalf. Those who listen to them listen to Jesus; and those who reject them reject Jesus . . . and even reject God himself!

When the 72 return, Jesus elaborates on this theme. Although his gospel is rejected by "the wise and learned" (10:21), who cling to the legalism of the Jewish oral law, it is received with joy by people with open minds and open hearts like "little children" (10:21). Nevertheless, although Jesus’ gospel seems new and radical, in reality it’s just fulfillment of the Old Testament (cf Matt 5:17); it’s what "prophets and kings wanted to see . . . but did not see it, and to hear . . . but did not hear it" (10:24).

The 72 report enthusiastically about their powers. Jesus is delighted (10:17-19) . . . but adds a word of caution:

The humility theme again. Those who are proud and arrogant—even proud and arrogant about their salvation—are not true followers of Jesus; they will suffer consequences.

The balance of this lesson—which we’ll spend most of our time on—is an indictment of the Jewish oral law, as preached and practiced by "wise and learned" (10:21) Jews who reject Jesus. One such "expert in the law"—certainly a Pharisee—wants "to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’" (10:25).

Remember the main point of Jesus’ ministry: he has not "come to abolish the Law or the Prophets . . . but to fulfill them" (Matt 5:17). So Jesus cleverly turns this question around into a discussion of Jewish law. "What is written in the Law?" Jesus asks (10:26).

This Pharisee is pretty sharp. Quoting from the Old Testament, "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’" (10:27). "Right," says Jesus. "If you want to inherit eternal life, that’s what you should do."

Permit me to digress for a minute. If you want to know the basic plan of salvation, this is it. Jesus says so. We don’t really need to do any of this ritual stuff . . . or follow the official "Plan of Salvation" of Christians who claim they don’t practice rituals. We can do it if it makes us feel like better Christians; but the essential thing we must do to gain salvation—ie, eternal life—is to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.

The expert in the law wants to pursue the point; remember: he is trying to "test" Jesus. He asks: "And who is my neighbor?" (10:29). This simple—but important—question brings about the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. The hero, of course, is a "good Samaritan." To get the full impact of the parable, we need to understand who the Samaritans are, and how they relate to the Jews.

After the reigns of David and Solomon, the 12 tribes of Israel divided into two kingdoms. In 722 BC, the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom, and carried the people into captivity. These people are called the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel, because they lost their identity, and never returned to their homeland. The land was resettled with foreigners, who intermarried with lower class Israelites who had not been deported. These foreigners did not worship the LORD God of Israel, and as a result God sent lions to terrorize them. When the Assyrians realized God was causing the lion problem, they allowed an Israelite priest to return home and instruct the foreign settlers on proper worship of God (cf 2 Kings 17). This solved the lion problem, yet "even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols" (2 Kings 17:41). In other words, these half-breeds—who became known as Samaritans—evolved a new religion which combined Judaism with pagan idol worship.

Just over 100 years later, the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom, and carried the people into captivity. But in a miraculous event unique in the annals of history, the "southern" Jews retained their identity in captivity and eventually returned home. Yet, upon their return, the people occupying the land—including Samaritans (Neh 4:2)—opposed their resettlement, and especially opposed their efforts to rebuild the Jewish temple and the wall of Jerusalem. Years later the Samaritans built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim; but a Jewish army destroyed it in the 2^nd century BC; it was never rebuilt.

In summary, the Samaritans are Jewish half-breeds, with a separate religion much like Judaism, but with many pagan practices. It’s easy to see why Jews looked down on Samaritans; and since the Jews had destroyed the sacred Samaritan temple, it’s easy to see why Samaritans disliked Jews.

There are two other characters in this parable: both are Jewish "clergy"—a priest and a levite. The Old Testament Jewish religion was centered on animal sacrifices performed in the temple in Jerusalem. Priests are directly involved with the sacrifices, and levites perform supportive services in the temple.

The parable goes like this. A man—presumably a Jew—is going from Jerusalem to Jericho, along the desolate, dangerous road shown on the web site. The man is robbed, beaten, and left half dead (10:30). A priest—and later a levite—are going down the same road and see the man . . . but rather than help him, they hurry by on the other side (10:31-32). But when a Samaritan passes by, he "bandaged (the man’s) wounds . . . (and) took him to an inn and took care of him," and even pays for the man’s care (10:33-35). Jesus asks—rhetorically—"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" (10:36).

Before we answer that, let’s think about the way Jesus has framed this parable. Both Jewish passersby are "clergymen"—not random Jews. And the parable is designed to answer a question from a Jewish expert in the law. Hence although the obvious point is that some Samaritans are nicer than some Jews, Jesus is making a much deeper point about the Jewish religion and/or the Jewish law. We realize this when we ask why the priest and levite ignore the half-dead man? It seems unlikely two random members of the Jewish clergy would both ignore the man out of lack compassion; yet both go out of their way to avoid him! Why?

The answer—no doubt instantly recognized by the expert in the law—is found in the Old Testament. Touching a dead body makes a Jew ceremonially unclean for 7 days, and a priest is forbidden to touch the dead body of anyone but a close relative (cf Nu 19:11-22, Lev 21:1-4). Let’s put ourselves in the sandals of the priest and levite as they approach the man. Their first responsibility—as Jewish clergy—is to obey the law and maintain ceremonial purity so they can serve in the temple. If they touch a dead man, they will be unable to perform temple duties for 7 days . . . and the priest will have broken the law. Moreover, ancient Jews avoided breaking the law by doing more than the law required; they called this a "hedge." Avoiding a half dead man is an example of such a rhetorical "hedge": it prevents them from touching a dead man; who knows if the man might die while they try to help him! Therefore, even if the priest and levite are exceptionally compassionate, Jewish law requires them to pass the injured man by!

How does the expert in the law answer Jesus’ question? He says: The neighbor is "the one who had mercy on him" (10:37). That, too, is filled with deep meaning, because using the word "mercy" implies he is answering Jesus in the context of Jewish law—in particular Hosea 6:6:

It is more important in the eyes of God that his people are merciful than that they practice ritual worship. The expert in the law knows this, and he immediately recognizes it as the point of Jesus’ parable.

In other words, the Parable of the Good Samaritan is really an illustration of the superiority of the New Covenant of Jesus over the oral law of the Pharisees. Jesus is saying: "Get your heart set on following God; love God and love your neighbor as yourself . . . and don’t let ritual and legalism stand in your way!"

This week’s news carries a poignant story from the West Bank illustrates putting law above love. Two Palestinian brothers raped their sister and she became pregnant. The parents were so overcome with shame that the mother . . . murdered her daughter . . . an "honor killing" based on ancient Islamic "oral law" law. But where was love??!!

Jesus’ point would be exactly the same if the merciful man were a Jewish merchant, rather than a Samaritan. But by making him a Samaritan, Jesus emphasizes the inclusiveness which characterizes Luke’s gospel. The Jews had a fortress mentality; they applied God’s law only to themselves, and considered non-Jews cut off from salvation. By making the merciful man a Samaritan, Jesus applies God’s law to everyone.

And as a logical follow-on, Jesus expands the religious role of women in the next story. Jesus pays a visit to Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha at their home in Bethany (Jn 11:1-2), a Jerusalem suburb. Martha busies herself with arrangements for the visit, but Mary listens to Jesus’ teaching (10:39). This upsets Martha, who says, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" (10:40). Jesus refuses . . . and instead tells Martha that "Mary has chosen what is better" (10:42).

My dad used to say Jesus was wrong . . . that Mary should have helped her sister. He said society’s planners and organizers and "doers" don’t get the credit they deserve; and he was right. But Jesus says something that suggests a different meaning. "Martha, Martha," Jesus said, "you are worried and upset about many things" (10:41). I think Jesus is reiterating a point he made in Genessaret: that planners and organizers and "doers," sometimes try to overmanage and worry; but they should trust God more (Matt 6:25-34). After all, Lazarus’ family is well-to-do and politically connected (Jn 11:45, 12:3); they surely have enough servants that the issue isn’t getting the work done; the issue is getting the work done the way Martha wants—and on her timetable. She wants the house to be spotless and perfect; but Jesus wants her not to worry if it’s not!

But I think there’s another reason Martha objects that Mary is listening to Jesus (10:39) . . . and that’s the issue of "men’s work" vs "women’s work." We often misunderstand the role of women in ancient Jewish society. They were not the inconsequential nincompoops of modern legend; they were responsible to manage the household. Like the "perfect wife" described in Proverbs 31:10-31, well-to-do women like Mary and Martha would be expected to run their household like a successful small business. But Jewish women did not receive formal religious training; that was just for men. Mary is doing "men’s work" by sitting "at the Lord's feet listening to what he said" (10:39); and Martha wants her where she belongs: doing "women’s work" by getting the house ready for Jesus.

The conventional interpretation of the Mary and Martha story is that Martha represents the old Jewish oral law of ritual and "works gospel," whereas Mary represents the New Covenant of Jesus, with God’s law written on the heart (Jer 31:33-34). Under the "old law," Mary must do "women’s work"; but under the "new law," Mary is allowed to learn God’s law for herself—along with the men.

More than 20 years after this incident, Paul writes a pithy one liner which sums up the inclusiveness represented by both these stories: "There is neither Jew nor (Gentile), . . . male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28).

Next week we’ll discuss three really neat stories. The first is The Lord’s Prayer: the basic but all inclusive prayer Jesus teaches his disciples. The second is called the Beelzebub Controversy, in which the Pharisees adopt a new tactic in their opposition to Jesus: they claim Jesus’ power to do God-like miracles comes from Satan. Jesus uses irrefutable logic to make them look ridiculous . . . but months later this ridiculous charge becomes the basis of Jesus’ condemnation by the Jewish high court. And this charge leads into Jesus most vociferous attack against his opponents . . . culminating in a series of "woes," in which Jesus says the Pharisees will be condemned by God for following the letter of the oral law while ignoring the spirit of God’s law. If you thought Jesus was meek and mild-mannered . . . wait ‘til next week! And the Pharisees give a remarkable response: "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us" (11:45). They just don’t get it!