Fall 2014
Ethical imperatives for the Kingdom of God revealed in Luke 10: 25-37
By: Charmaine Warford
From the perspective of the legal expert in Biblical law:
Jesus confronted the “expert in the law” with God’s law and left him without a defense. For Paul, covenant right standing before God, is neither maintained nor advanced by obedience to the law, but is a gift of grace through Jesus Christ. 1. Faith incorporates the believer in Christ, in his faithfulness to us through his death on the cross and his vindication through his resurrection. Thus, a believer stands approved before God, not by works of the law, but as a gift of divine grace through the instrument of faith. In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus confronted the expert of the law with the simple fact that eternal life is not secured by …show more content…
He most probably saw the priest ahead of him and could have thought to himself, “If the priest may pass, then so should I.”
Perhaps the Levite might have feared for their own safety. What if someone saw them with the naked and wounded person and reported to the officials that the priest and/or Levite committed a crime against the injured person?
From the perspective of the Samaritan:
The Samaritans were a mixed race between the Jews of captivity and the Samaritan people of the land they were captive in. The relationship between the Jews and Samaritans was one of hostility because of bad things that happened in the past. A Jewish proverb said, “He that eats the bread of the Samaritans is like to one that eats the flesh of swine”.
The Samaritan was not gentile. He was bound by the same law as the Jews. The Samaritan would not be naturally from that area, so the half dead man would certainly not qualify as his neighbor. 6.
The Samaritan risks defilement. He approached this unidentifiable man and helped