25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
-Luke 10:25-27, NLT
Eternal Life Question–aka Salvation Question
I find this exchange between Jewish and the Jewish leader very interesting. In this, they are discussing what it takes under the Law to “be saved” eternally.
What first strikes me in this exchange is how Jesus does not say salvation is available simply via right “belief” or right profession of something.
While both are important, Jesus does not go either direction here. Instead, Jesus emphasizes ethical behavior. He agrees with the religious lawyer’s assessment of Moses’ teaching us to love God with all our being and our neighbor as ourselves as the way to eternal life.
The religious leader pushes Jesus to clarify his answer by asking the question about who counts as a neighbor. This leads to Jesus giving us “The Parable of the Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:30-37).
For those unfamiliar, this is the story where a Jewish man is attacked by robbers and left half-dead on the side of the road. A Rabbi passes by, a Levite passes by, and a Samaritan passes by this man. Only the Samaritan stops and takes care of the battered traveler caring for his wounds plus paying for him at a nearby inn.
Jesus asks who was the neighbor in the story and gets the answer that it was one who showed kindness–i.e. the Samaritan. He then instructs the listeners to do likewise.
Does Jesus know he is endorsing a heretic?!
Samaritans had different beliefs and religious practices than the Jewish people of Jesus’ day. They were treated as half-breeds and cultural compromisers. Samaritans were despised by the Jews in the day.
So, this story hits on a lot of different levels. Here, Jesus is talking about what it takes to be saved, and he uses a story whose hero is someone that did not adhere to the “acceptable” theology of his day.
In fact, Jesus pushes his audience theologically. Jesus’ audience would assume the Samaritan was the furthest from God, whereas the Jewish Rabbi and Levite were the closest. Yet, it is the Samaritan who was closest and reflected God best.
Let that sink in… Jesus endorses a “heretic!”
What was more important was how the individuals loved. Knowledge wasn’t enough. The person who acted as God’s child in caring for the vulnerable man was the one who behaved as part of God’s eternal kingdom.
Kindness matters more to God than pedigree or one’s “correct” theology.
The convicting nature of this story is how the help comes from the least likely place. It has made me ponder who might be a “Samaritan” in my culture today.
Who are people that are hated by our culture or subculture? Transwomen? Cisgender, white males? “Illegal” immigrants? MAGA voters?
What would you do if that person was the one who showed you kindness? Are you being a good neighbor to them?
I see this parable as a challenge to my theology. It pushes me to see salvation as more than agreement to theological propositions. The test is in how we live our life, and eternal life comes to those whose lives exhibit the fruit of the Kingdom–namely, love.
