Sometimes a story becomes so familiar we gloss over it assuming we already know the answer.  It’s the video we pull off the shelf, already knowing the end of the story.  It can be the family tradition that continues to be repeated, year after year because of the warmth it brings to the soul. Yet rarely do we expect these experiences to say anything new to us.  We know the ending.

Jesus was asked a familiar question. It wasn’t intended to entrap him. This man was posturing with the audience. His question was one to which he already knew the academic answer. He wasn’t motivated by a desire to discover something new. Rather, in asking, he sought to impress the crowd with his depth of spiritual inquiry.

We know his question.  We also know his answer and we know the answer Jesus gave.  It is familiar.  It is like a warm blanket on a cold night. Familiar, predictable - but tell it again.  

“Jesus, what do I need to do to inherit eternal life?” - What does it say in God’s Law?

“Love God completely and love my neighbour as myself. - Who is my neighbour?”

“I’ll tell you a story,” says Jesus.

A man was mugged and left for dead on a deserted road. A priest came by and saw him but did nothing.  So too did a Levite, a man who worked in the temple. Eventually a Samaritan came by.  This was a man whose ancestors rejected God.  They intermarried with other nations and worshipped other gods. This man, a Jew would utterly reject.  Yet this man cared for the victim, broken in body, nearly dead. He brought him to an inn.  He nursed him through the night. He left cash for his needs to be met and pledged to reimburse any additional expense.  This man, did that.

“Which was the neighbour for the victim?” - The one who had mercy on him. 

A comforting story.  A familiar story.  A story I have completely misunderstood for most of my life.

What was the original question? “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” And what does this story have to do with that question?

I had assumed this story was more about the second question. “Who is my neighbour?” It is, but in the context of the first question. 

This might be a good time to get a Bible and turn to Luke 10:25-37 and follow the progression.  The questions are:

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v.25)

“What is written in the Law?” (v. 26) Answer: Love God and my neighbour.

“Who is my neighbour?” (v.29)

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man? (v.36)

Part of the answer to the first question is that I must love my neighbour.  Who is the neighbour in this story?  The Samaritan. But that is not my familiar answer.  That isn’t the warm blanket for me.  It’s supposed to be the wounded guy.  I felt comfortable knowing that I can help the abused and broken.  But that isn’t what is actually said here.  What is actually said is that I need to love the one who found me broken and dying, helpless and vulnerable.  In loving that person, I am to “go and do likewise.”

For most of my life the story of the Good Samaritan was about loving the broken.  In reality, it is a story that explains what I must do to inherit eternal life.  Only when I recognize that I would have died at the side of the road, that I have received mercy and given another chance at life, only then do I fully realize the gift given to me.  Only then, am I able to understand why I should bind up the wounds of the broken.

And just when I thought I knew how the story ended, God’s Spirit changed the plot. Jesus reminds us again in this parable, that apart from him, we can do nothing.