Parable on the Good Samaritan.

(Luke 10:25-37).

This parable is narrated by St. Luke only, and is the Lord’s reply to a tempter’s (Scribe’s) question in attempting to trap Him with words: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The Lord forces the sly lawyer to answer his own question through the words in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, on love of God and love of thy neighbors. By pointing out the demands of the law, the Lord wants to force him to fathom the power and meaning of these demands, and comprehend how far away he is from fulfilling them. Apparently, the lawyer felt this, and that’s why he “wanting to justify himself,” asked: “And who is my neighbor?” i.e. he wanted to show that even though he may not be fulfilling the law as required, it’s because of the vagueness of its demands — such as, who do you regard as a “neighbor”? In response, the Lord related a wonderful parable about a person that fell into the hands of robbers, was subsequently ignored by a passing priest and Levite, and only saw compassion from a Samaritan — a person that was hated and despised by the Jews. This Samaritan knew better than the priest or Levite, that in order to fulfill the law, there shouldn’t be any distinction between people: everyone is our neighbor. As we can see, the parable is not fully suitable to the question. While the lawyer was asking: “Who is my neighbor?” the parable indicates how and who of the three, in seeing the unfortunate, become his neighbor.

Consequently, the parable doesn’t instruct as to who should be regarded as a neighbor, but how one can make himself a neighbor to every person that is in need of compassion. The difference between the lawyer’s question and Lord’s answer is of great significance. In the Old Testament, in order to shield God’s chosen people from vile influences, divisions were established, separating them from the surrounding people, and only countrymen and people of the same faith were regarded as “neighbors" by the Jews. The moral laws of the New Testament repealed these divisions and teach the all-encompassing love of the Gospel toward all people. The lawyer was asking: who is my neighbor — seemingly fearing to love those people that he shouldn’t. The Lord instructs him that he should make himself a neighbor to him that is in need, and not question as to whether he is his neighbor or not: he should not be looking at people but at his own heart, so that it doesn’t become cold like that of the sacrificator or Levite, but be compassionate as that of the Samaritan. If you are going to differentiate logically between a neighbor and stranger, you will not be able to avoid being harshly cold toward people. You will go past those who “fell among thieves,” just like the priest and Levite, even though that unfortunate — as a Jew — was their neighbor. Compassion is a prerequisite for inheriting eternal life.