Luke 10:25-37

NASB	NLT	VOICE
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”	25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”	25 Just then a scholar of the Hebrew Scriptures tried to trap Jesus. SCHOLAR: “Teacher, what must I do to experience the eternal life?”
26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”	26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”	26 JESUS: What is written in the Hebrew Scriptures? How do you interpret their answer to your question?
27 And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.”	27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”	27 SCHOLAR: You shall love – “love the Eternal One your God with everything you have: all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind” – and “love your neighbor as yourself.”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”	28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”	28 JESUS: Perfect. Your answer is correct. Follow these commands you will live.
29 But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”	29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”	29 The scholar was frustrated by this response because he was hoping to make himself appear smarter than Jesus. SCHOLAR: Ah but who is my neighbor?
30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.	30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.	30 JESUS: This fellow was traveling down from Jerusalem to Jericho when some robbers mugged him. They took his clothes, beat him to a pulp, and left him naked and bleeding and in critical condition.
31 And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.	31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.	31 By chance, a priest was going down the same road, and when he saw the wounded man, he crossed over to the other side and passed by.
32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other wide.	32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.	32 Then a Levite who was on his way to assist in the temple also came and saw the victim lying there, and he too kept his distance.
33 But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,	33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.	33 Then a despised Samaritan journeyed by. When he saw the fellow, he felt compassion for him.
34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine of them; and brought him to an inn and took care of him.	34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.	34 The Samaritan went over to him, stopped the bleeding, applied some first aid, and put the poor fellow on his donkey. He brought the man to an inn and cared for him through the night.
35 One the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’	35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’	35 The next day, the Samaritan took out some money – two days’ wages to be exact – and paid the innkeeper, saying, “Please take care of this fellow, and if this isn’t enough, I’ll repay you next time I pass through.”
36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”	36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.	36 Which of these three proved himself a neighbor to the man who had been mugged by the robbers?
37 And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”	37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”	37 SCHOLAR: The one who showed mercy to him. JESUS: Well then, go and behave like that Samaritan.

This is a lot of scripture to go over for today’s blog, I know. I have a plan and all I ask is that you stick with me through it because I trust that God’s going to reveal something bigger than anything before with what’s been taught on this passage.

Where the Law Expert Got It Right

An expert of religious law wants to challenge Jesus. He asks how to obtain eternal life? Jesus answers it with a question, asking him how he interprets what Moses taught (a blog all on its own). The expert quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Let’s break this down, because the law expert got this right according to Jesus.

The heart was the core of one’s being, holding our emotions, desires and will. Loving God with our heart shows our devotion to Him. The soul is the life force or essence of who we are. Loving God with our soul shows our commitment to Him. Our strength shows our physical capabilities and resources. Loving God with our strength shows our servitude towards Him. Our mind describes our intellect and understanding. Loving God with our mind shows our mindset and rationale towards Him. Being devoted, committed, serving, and thoughtful of God leads us to eternal life. This, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. This describes the importance of selfless love and compassion towards others, which is the same love God shows us.  

The law expert frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t trap Jesus in a legal snafu, he expands his question to ask who his neighbor is. Essentially, this feels like asking: “Is my neighbor one who looks like me or is it anyone?” Jesus, as He does often, respond with a parable: a real story with a spiritual meaning. Let’s break this story down by learning who is truest neighbor.

 

Breaking Down the Parable of the Good Samaritan

A Jewish man left Jerusalem and headed down to Jericho (a lot of important Jewish culture is shown here, but simply said: this man was walking down a dark alley in a part of town that was dangerous.) He got mugged. He was robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. It’s a gruesome image if you think about, but Jesus was showing someone who would have been desperate for any help that was offered.

First, a priest came by. The priest saw the man. The priest avoided the man and continued by. Why? Priests were descendants of Aaron and held high religious authority, responsible for the temple sacrifices and rituals. We would expect the priest, being a religious leader, to show compassion and care for this person (following Leviticus 19:18). The priest saw the man, knowing he should do something because he knew he had responsibility. Yet, he intentionally avoided the man. It could have been because of ritual purity concerns and his role – we don’t truly know. However, this avoidance highlights something important: the critique of ritual over mercy. Jesus was calling out the religious formalism that neglects the importance of things like justice and mercy.

So, what about the Levite that came next? Now the Levites also had important responsibilities. They assisted the priests in the temple and helped keep the sanctuary in order and taught the law. The Levite saw the man, just like the priest. The Levite avoided the man, just like the priest. Culturally, touching a potentially dead body would make the Levite unclean for any ceremonies, which could have been the reason – but again, we don’t truly know. Jesus calls out the Levite for focusing on religious duty over the need for compassion.

Now, what did the Samaritan do? For context, the Samaritans and Jews DID NOT LIKE EACH OTHER. Like, at all. Samaritans were descendants of the Israelites who had intermarried with foreigners after the Assyrian conquest, which led to religious and ethnic tensions. The Samaritan saw the Jewish man, like the priest and Levite did, but something changed. The Samaritan had compassion. In Greek, the Samaritan had a deep, visceral empathy. It wasn’t just emotions, but it was the action that the Samaritan took. It reflected what Jesus would have done. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, sharing immediate and practical care. He used oil and wine to soothe and heal the wounds. He took him to a place of refuge. The level of care between the Samaritan and the priest/Levite is outstanding, and the Samaritan was not done. The next day, the Samaritan gave two denarii to the innkeeper. This was two days’ worth of pay. Imagine doing that for a stranger with your paycheck. And the Samaritan was willing to pay more if needed.

At the end of it all, Jesus asked the law Expert who was the neighbor. The Samaritan was chosen. Jesus told Him to go and do the same as the Samaritan. The Samaritan went above and beyond. For a person who would have culturally not gotten along with the Jewish man, he was a true neighbor. He cared for and bandaged his wounds. He took him to a place of safety. He paid for the best care for the man, and willing to do more if needed. All while the religious leaders walked right on by, focusing on their lives over the lives of others. How often do we still see this today? How often do we see people like the Jewish man on the side of the road and become the Levite and the priest without even thinking about it? It’s uncomfortable to be the Samaritan in today’s time, right? However, Jesus wants us to live in that uncomfortableness. To live in the upside-down way of life that He creates for us.

Today’s Topic: Xenophobia

This leads me to talk about xenophobia. To be honest, before I started working on this series, I had heard the word before, but never fully understood or even knew what it meant. Even more reason, we need to learn about it. Xenophobia is the fear, hatred, or prejudice against strangers, foreigners, or people perceived as different from one’s own community or culture. It shows through hostility, discrimination, or negative attitudes to those viewed as outsiders, like immigrants or people of different ethnicities or cultural groups. It’s generally an “us vs. them” mentality here. It’s shocking to me to learn there’s a phobia for people that just don’t like people who don’t look like them. As a cisgender, heterosexual, white male – I’m not surprised at the same time. So how is xenophobia shown in our world today and who is being affected?

Some common xenophobic acts are microaggressions and exclusionary acts, like being denied service or facing stares and insults in public places. It can happen in the workplace through wage theft, harsh working conditions, and harassment – tends to be aimed towards immigrant and minority workers. It can even be shown through restrictive immigration policies or in political rhetoric, using migrants or other marginalized demographics as scapegoats during social economic crises. Some recent acts happened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, where individuals of Asian descent faced verbal abuse, physical assault, and job loss due to being wrongly associated with disease. Latine, Middle Eastern, African immigrant communities in the US and Europe show higher rates of profiling, police harassment, barriers to healthcare and legal protection. Refugees and migrants in countries like Malaysia and Thailand have faced hate speech online, harassment, and government actions that limit their freedoms or increase vulnerability.

Immigrants and refugees are frequent targets. Religious and ethnic minorities experience both directly hostility and policy-driven exclusions. People from different cultures, even with the same ethnic background, can be scapegoated or marginalized based on perceived outsider status. As Christians, we should be ashamed and disappointed that this is happening. God’s word is for all people. God’s kingdom is open for all people. Yet, we are witnessing people being abused in all ways due to simply “looking different.” Their way of life, their background, their lifestyle, and more are frowned upon because they don’t fit the standards of the world. We, as Christians, are called to reflect a lifestyle that counters the world with the foundation of love and compassion – and yet, we don’t. The same people that Jesus calls us to love and protect, are facing the harshest realities currently. It makes me ask: where does xenophobia come from and how does it affect its victims?

Evolutionarily, we develop a cautiousness toward strangers as a protection mechanism from their early communities. Psychologically, we have this need to belong which can create this “us vs. them” mindset, which makes those who are viewed as different feels unwanted, threatened, and isolated. Our social and environmental influences heavily shape these behaviors through family ideologies, friend groupthink, education, and what we take in on media. Growing up in environment where everyone looks the same and little exposure to diversity can lead to stereotypes and fear of outsiders. Economic or social insecurity exacerbates xenophobia when outsiders are scapegoated for societal problems.

People who are victims of xenophobic acts often experience a range of effects. They face discrimination, social exclusion, harassment, and even physical violence. This leads to chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and social isolation. Victims can withdraw from communities and suffer deteriorated mental and physical health. There’s also affects to social inequalities, where victims face opportunities in employment, housing, healthcare and legal protection. In societies, it creates conflict, hate crimes, misinformation, and polarizing political climates.

All this is heartbreaking to learn about. All this is heartbreaking to share. All this is heartbreaking. What can we do? How can we work to combat xenophobia and to help victims of xenophobia?

The first things we can do is educate and be aware. We can promote diversity and inclusion. Teaching kids and adults about cultural diversity, history, and contributions of different groups can foster understanding and acceptance. We can encourage critical thinking and media literacy. When we start to evaluate information that we see online and through forms of media, we can begin reducing the spread of xenophobic stereotypes. We can also support community engagements. Support events like cultural festivals, intercultural dialogues, and community project that build bridges between groups and dispels biases and myths.

The next things we can do can is through legal and policy measures. We can implement anti-discrimination laws. By enacting and enforcing legislations that penalizes xenophobic acts, hate speech, and hate crimes, we can work to deter such behaviors. We can promote human rights frameworks. Upholding international and regional human right stands, and encouraging governments to change and implement key laws, protect vulnerable groups, and holding offenders accountable. For citizens of the US, our human rights includes our freedom of speech, religion and press; due processes and fair trails; equal protection and citizenship; protection from discrimination and more.

Then, what we can do for victims is offer support. We can provide legal, medical, and psychological assistance. Providing these accessible channels for victims to report incidents and seek compensation, counseling, and healthcare helps mitigate trauma and promotes recovery. We can encourage our leaders to speak up and speak out. Leaders speaking out against xenophobia and hate speech sets a tone of intolerance for discrimination, fostering a culture of respect and inclusiveness.

We can also find roles in different community groups and organizations. We can support human rights and social justice organizations. Groups like UNICEF, HIAS, and local NGOs can mobilize resources, coordinate efforts, and advocate for policy change. They often work on education, community dialogue and legal aid. We can also encourage bystander intervention. By educating communities on how to safely intervene in situations of discrimination or violence, we can prevent escalation and provide support to victims.

I encourage you to go check out: Faith and Racial Justice by JustFaith Ministries. They offer Christian-rooted training to address systemic racism in churches and communities, emphasizing prayer, spiritual practice, social action. To learn more about them and to become involved, check out: https://justfaith.org/courses/faith-and-racial-justice-changing-systems-and-structures/

Next part: Gender Equality in Christ || Serving Up Justice || Part 6 (FINALE)

Links Used:

• https://bensguide.gpo.gov/bill-of-rights-1789-91
• https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/combating-hate-speech-and-hate-crime_en
• https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/
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• https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv
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