THE PHYSICAL COST OF LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOUR
The Time & Energy of a Priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan
Something that many of us would say we don’t have enough of. Especially if you serve in any area of leadership. Whether you lead at work, in the church, or in a community association, you know how much time and energy it takes to keep an organization pointed in the right direction and moving forward.
It can be truly exhausting!
That is course, is on a normal year. This past year has been a massive challenge for every leader. Ask any manager or director, supervisor or shop foreman, pastor, or board member, and they’ll tell you that over the past year, their time and energy has been depleted to an extent that they’ve never felt before.
Today, we’re looking back at the parable of The Good Samaritan, specifically related to the Samaritan’s sacrifice of time and energy. What can we learn about the amount the physical cost of loving our neighbour?
- If you’re unfamiliar with this parable, I’d suggest reading this previous post: The Financial Cost of Loving Your Neighbour
Let’s start with the Lawyer that questions Jesus.
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 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.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:25-29 (ESV)
This Lawyer was an Expert of the Mosaic Law, sometimes referred to as a “Scribe” in Scripture. He was a keeper, copier, and authority on the Law. He would have been skilled in the interpretation and application of the Mosaic Law.
In our modern world, this might be mildly equivalent to a Theologian, someone with a Doctrine in Theology. It’s important to note, that by challenging Jesus, he was kind of doing his job.
So why didn’t Jesus use a Lawyer as an example in the parable? Why did Jesus choose a Priest and Levite to walk by the half-dead Jewish man? Why did Jesus choose a Samaritan to be the hero and the rescuer? (Stay tuned!)
The Trek From Jerusalem to Jericho
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luke 10:30 (ESV)
Related to Time and Energy, this road was a doozy! It was an 18-mile road, descending 3200 feet, having a reputation as a dangerous route to travel. In the First Century, this is an entirely believable tragedy for that time.
“The elevation of Jerusalem is 2,600 feet (800 m) above sea level, and Jericho, eighteen miles (29 km) to the northeast, lies 825 feet (250 m) below sea level. Despite its arid and desolate surroundings, Jericho was a verdant, fertile, and productive oasis of date palms. The serpentine road from Jerusalem to Jericho descended 3,400 feet (1,040 m) through steep and rugged hill country pockmarked with caves, which, especially near the ascent to Jerusalem, offered refuge for brigands [robbers or bandits].”
James R. Edwards, Pillar New Testament Commentary
“Although Jericho is northeast of Jerusalem, travelers go “down” to Jericho…Such a dramatic change in height brought with it a startlingly rapid shift in environmental conditions that must have proven exhausting for anyone making the journey…Even without the ever present threat of bandits, it was a precipitously arduous, dry, and dangerous trek.”
“From Jerusalem to Jericho”, American Bible Society
A reminder from the last post that this was a commodity-based culture of buying, selling, and trading goods. This Jewish man likely lived and worked in Jericho, travelled to Jerusalem to sell or trade, and was now travelling home. Likely with cash in his pocket!
Again, bandits waiting just outside of Jerusalem to take out travellers with cash in their pockets is entirely believable to Jesus’ original audience.
And this piece of information will be very important when we get to the Samaritan!
1. The Priest Who Walked By
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:31 (ESV)
We might be tempted to view the Priest as lazy. But that’s simply not true!
Priests were responsible for all sacrificial systems. (Read the Mosaic Law for details.) Masses of people and animals; opinions, complaints, conflicts, and chaos!
“There would be extra teams of Priests, rotations of Priests who would come up to Jerusalem. They would be working in the Temple and it was on their shoulders that the ultimate responsibility for the correctness of this unbelievably frenzied scene would rest…It would be physically exhausting work.”
Dr. Shaye I.D. Cohen, “Temple Culture: Why the Temple symbolized the nation of Israel and, collaboration with Rome.” PBS.org
We can’t assume this priest was being lazy, nor that he didn’t have somewhere to be. This is important in understanding how Jesus audience would have heard this parable.
2. The Levite Who Walked By
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:32 (ESV)
Again, we might be tempted to think this Levite is lazy. In truth, Levites weren’t lazy either; they’re actually the grunt-workers under the Priests!
“Levites were not regarded as highly as priests…they are often described as a lower-level priesthood. They manned the temple gates, cleaned the temple, slaughtered some of the sacrificial animals, and performed the music during temple worship.”
Dr. Jonathan Stökl, “Priests and Levites in the First Century C.E.”, BibleOdyssey.org
We can’t assume. We can’t place our opinions into the text. This is important!
3. The Samaritan Who Had Compassion
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
Luke 10:33 (ESV)
How much time and energy did this Samaritan have? Like the Jewish man, he likely lived by selling or trading his goods that he made or produced. But with significant struggles that the average Jewish man would never have to work through.
Remember that Samaritans were the outcast people group. Life was harder, opportunities were fewer and far-between. Therefore, selling and trading their goods would have been more difficult. Money would have been harder to earn. They might have even had to rely on their own people group to sustain them.
Samaritans would have had to work harder, putting out more time and energy for life and livelihood.
Consider the physical cost of the Samaritan.
He decides to show compassion on the half-dead Jewish man,
- loading him on his donkey,
- travelling to the Inn,
- spending all night with him,
- traveling back home or back to work in the morning,
- and then back to the Inn to settled his debt.
We’re actually left hanging! We don’t actually know the full extent of time and energy that this Samaritan would end up sacrificing to save this man. And let’s not forget that they’re supposed to be enemies!
It’s all about sacrifice!
None of these three characters had the time or energy to save this man. They all had somewhere to go. And that’s the point!
Let’s come back to our Lawyer. Why didn’t Jesus choose to include a lawyer in the story? Why didn’t a layer walk by the half dead man? Because this would have been the least exhausted character in this culture story.
The Physical Cost of Loving Your Neighbour is about sacrifice!
Jesus isn’t telling us a parable about a guy who happened to have a bunch of time and energy to spare. To show mercy and compassion, we give our time and energy even when we’re depleted. This is the point!
And let’s remember the original question in verse 25, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
This is about eternal life.
Jesus is painting a discipleship picture of the Kingdom. That to follow Jesus, abide in Jesus, and belong to Jesus, there is sacrifice.
When Christians sacrifice for each other, the world will never be surprised. However, when Christians sacrifice their time and energy for those outside of the church, that’s radical mercy and compassion.
That’s Good Samaritan mercy and compassion!
The craziest part is that the more we sacrifice for Him, the closer we feel to Him.
“Our honor and joy as Christians is to love others as Christ loved us—through sacrifice. It costs money, time, energy, and pride, among other things. Sometimes it’s dangerous. Other times it hurts. But when you compare the cost to what you gain in return, the choice is clear. Because of Christ we don’t have to maintain a death grip on everything we care about.”
“The Savior has set us free to serve with our resources and ourselves. It’s a wonderful and mysterious paradox where the more you give away, the more you have…we don’t have to look far to find hurting people. But we do have to be willing to sacrifice our time and lovingly meet the needs of others. As ambassadors for Christ in this world, few things matter more than this.”
“The Good Samaritan”, Unnamed Author, SamaritansPurse.org
Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts
- How much time and energy do you spend on people outside of your family, friends, and church community?
- How will your group or household show mercy and compassion through sacrificing time and energy this week?
