Luke 10v25 42 bible study

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The Gospel of Luke Chapter 10:25-42 An Important Question 10:25 Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

When this expert in the Mosaic law asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life, he was not being sincere in his inquiry; rather he was trying to catch Jesus out, so that he might accuse him.

10:26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you understand it?"

Jesus, realising the man’s hypocrisy, turns the question back on him, asking to hear his opinion first.

Jesus asks not only what was written in the scriptures, but also how this expert interpreted those scriptures.

10:27 The expert answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."

The lawyer quoted the text from Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5 "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbour as yourself." This may have been a standard Jewish answer to the question, although I wonder how much Jesus’ influence is present in the lawyer’s linking love for God with love for one’s neighbour (Mark 12:29-31).

10:28-29 Jesus said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus told him the expert in the law that he had quoted correctly, and that if he kept these instructions perfectly then he would have life. In this way Jesus had avoided the trap which the man had set for him, and being piqued about this, the lawyer demanded of Jesus ‘who is my neighbour?’

At this point Luke is introducing something unique to his own telling of the Jesus story. The question is fairly similar to those found in Matt 19:16, 22:36 and Mark 12:28, but the answer is unique to Luke

and fits in with Luke’s emphases both on practical care for the poor and needy as well as on the fact that Jesus would be, after his resurrection, the saviour of all people, not only the Jewish nation.

A Unique Answer 10:30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.

In reply to the question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Jesus then told the parable which we know as ‘The Good Samaritan’. As a man made his journey to Jericho from Jerusalem he was attacked by thieves who violently robbed him of all that he had—even his clothes—and left him for dead on the road.

10:31-32 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side. So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

Notice that Jesus is not picking his bad examples at random. Two of the three passers-by he mentions failed to show love and compassion to the injured man, and both of them were religious leaders among the Jews. As this parable was addressed to some of these leaders, they cannot have failed to take Jesus’ hint that religious observance itself is of no value unless it is accompanied by a true change of heart. In the first instance it was a priest who came down the road and seeing the man lying there and knowing he was in need of help, chose instead to crossed over and pass by him on the other side; in the second, it was a Levite. It has often been mooted by preachers that these men were motivated by the desire to stay ritually clean – but that would only be the case if the man were dead (Numbers 19:16), and Jesus says he say the injured man, which implies the priest and Levite knew the man was not actually dead. Yet what is striking about this parable is that Jesus does not give any reasons for the actions of these religious men – for there were no reasons good enough to excuse them from not helping the man in need (Exodus 23:5).

10:33 But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him.

If Jesus choosing the religious leaders as examples of those who did not show love and compassion caused some upset, imagine how outraged his audience might have been to hear his good example was one of the Samaritans, who were hated because not only because they were not true Israelites but also because their religion was not true Judaism. Yet Luke shows how Jesus interacts with Samaritans in a positive way (Luke 17:16), perhaps looking ahead to the time (Acts 8) when they would respond to the message of salvation.

This particular Samaritan was a good example because, says Jesus, he initially felt compassion which the other two had failed to feel – an indication of the hardness of their hearts.

10:34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Importantly, the Samaritan’s love did not end with feeling; he showed love in a practical way by cleaning the man's wounds with wine and pouring oil on them (probably all he had to hand) before binding them (open wounds are implied) with cloth (again, probably torn from whatever was

available). Since the man was still unable to tend for himself, and since there were no relatives near, the Samaritan took it as his own responsibility to help the man until he was better. So he placed the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he could shelter him and tend to him properly overnight.

10:35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.'

The Samaritans’ other personal commitments did not permit him to stay and tend for the man for longer than one night. Yet he would not abandon his responsibility, and so the following day he gave the innkeeper two silver coins to pay for his housing and caring for the man until he was cured. In addition to food and bandages, by now fever may have set in and a physician might need to be called. But whatever additional costs the innkeeper incurred, the Samaritan promised to reimburse him on his return. This would tell us that the Samaritan was a well-known and trusted regular visitor to this inn, a merchant perhaps, although whether or not he was a real character is unimportant to Jesus’ parable.

10:36 Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"

As he did earlier, Jesus turns the lawyer’s question back on him by asking which of the three men were good neighbours to the injured man.

10:37 The expert in religious law said, "The one who showed mercy to him." So Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

By now it appears that all thought of testing Jesus had gone, and that eh parable had achieved its desired effect. The expert in the law could do no other than acknowledge the validity of Jesus’ teaching and reply that it was the Samaritan who had shown mercy and had compassion upon the wounded man. Jesus told him to go and do the same.

Seeking The Better Part 10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.

As Jesus and His disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem they entered the village of Bethany where a woman named Martha lived and she welcomed Him into her home. John’s gospel tells us more about this family, which featured a brother Lazarus as well as Martha sister Mary; and it seems that Jesus had a close relationship with the family and was a frequent lodger in their home (John 11:1-5).

10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he said.

Clearly Jesus used the opportunity to teach the people who gathered with them in the home.

Martha’s sister Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to what He taught; Luke’s wording may imply that she did this frequently, not just on this occasion.

10:40 But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me."

Martha on the other hand was hot and bothered as she was busy preparing the meal; so she came to Jesus to complain that he had left her to work all alone whilst her sister did no work at all. She asks Jesus to send Mary out of the Bible study and into the kitchen to help her.

10:41-42 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her."

Jesus tells Martha that it was unnecessary for her to become worried and anxious about the things which distracted her mind from the spiritual things (Philip. 4:6). Mary had chosen to listen and receive the Word of God, and the spiritual things she received as a result were far better, and lasting – they would never be taken from her. That is not to say Martha’s work was not important to Jesus – indeed, unless Martha was seeing to the food no one would had anything to eat. But it is still possible to serve the Lord in practical ways without allowing our minds to be distracted by worry and care. It is also usually possible to arrange our day so that we can set aside times for God. Martha had put her food serving before listening to the Words of Jesus Christ which would have edified and given her the strength and the calmness of spirit she needed to do the what was necessary every day. © Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2014. Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges. Sign up today for our FREE monthly Bible study magazine “Living Word” Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org