Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Hello, welcome to Grace in Focus. This week, we will be looking again at tough texts. And today, the parable of Good Samaritan. What is the point of this parable? Does it argue that works are necessary to make it into the kingdom of Heaven? Thank you for joining us, friend. This is the radio broadcast and podcast ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. Find us at faithalone.org. Much can be learned there about our many articles and videos and books. And as well, our free online seminary, where you can earn an MDiv degree. All the details at faithalone.org. 

And now with today’s discussion about the Good Samaritan, here’s Bob Wilkin along with Ken Yates. 

KEN: We’re continuing a series of podcasts, plugging Bob and Zane’s book on tough texts and also the course that I teach through the GES Seminary, which is also called Tough Texts. 

BOB: And that’s where we are now, is on various passages you cover in the course. 

KEN: Right. And there’s some overlap between what’s in the book and what we cover in the class. But here’s one that is not in the book. And if you’re interested in the class and you take it, well, you’re already ahead of the game because you’ll know what at least my view is and Bob’s view is. 

And it’s the parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s found in Luke chapter 10, verses 25 through 37. And this is a parable, even though it’s well known, it is a parable that many look at and argue that works are necessary to make it into the kingdom of heaven. Because it starts off, the Lord gives the parable because there is a lawyer who asks him a question. The lawyer in verse 25 asks the Lord what he has to do. That’s an important word. What do I have to do to inherit eternal life? And the parable ends with the Lord saying, now you go and do likewise. And in between he tells this parable where the Good Samaritan does a lot of good things. 

BOB: For a Jewish person. 

KEN: For a Jewish person. So there would be many who would say, well, what the Lord is teaching is, if you want to inherit eternal life, what do you have to do to inherit eternal life? Well, let me tell you a story about a man who serves others. He, you know, goes the extra mile, he saves this guy. He binds his wounds and he pays for his hotel room and he does everything to make this guy okay. And then he tells the lawyer, well, you want to know what you have to do? Well, go do what I just talked about. 

And so people will say, okay, well, that’s what a person has to do to inherit eternal life. Now, there’s going to be people who say, well, if you’re a believer, that’s what you’ll do. You know, or there’ll be other people who say, well, if you don’t do these things, then you lose your salvation. 

But either way, what they’re saying is you have to do good works. And by the way, it’s not the only time the word do occurs in verse 28. Before that, the Lord asks him, well, what does it say in the law? And the man goes, well, it means you got to love the Lord your God with all your mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus says, that’s right, go do that and you will live. And so there’s another emphasis on love, God, love your neighbor, do these things, and you will inherit eternal life. 

And so the bottom line is the parable of the good Samaritan is often used to describe or teach that you have to do good works in order to make it in the kingdom. Okay. So how do we understand this parable, how would you understand? 

BOB: I was just looking at the Greek and it’s interesting because you were talking about doing when he says, go and do likewise, but the verb for do is poieo. It’s poiei in the second half of verse 37, but it also appears in the first half of verse 37, but it’s not translated that way by the New King James. In the Greek. It says, and the one, or and he said, the one doing mercy with him. 

KEN: And the New King James pronounce it showed, he showed mercy, but we would say he did mercy, but that sounds weird. 

BOB: But it’s the same verb, poieo, used there. 

KEN: Wow. I didn’t know that the verb in the Greek occurred for another time. 

BOB: Oh, twice in verse 37. There’s nothing wrong with saying we have to do something to be born again, right? Obviously, believing in Jesus is doing something, right? But what this is talking about is showing love and showing mercy, showing compassion, right? That’s clearly not the same as believing. 

KEN: And I would even say more than that, this good Samaritan, and by the way, the word good, doesn’t occur in the parable, but this Samaritan, he does a lot of things. I mean, this guy, he is going above and beyond the call of duty.

BOB: Okay, and keep in mind, the reason a Samaritan is used in Jesus does this. Like for example, with the 10 lepers and the only one that comes back thankful is the Samaritan. Samaritans were kind of like in America today, someone who’s not here legally, but this person is kind of how they would view Samaritans. Samaritans were not Jewish. They were people who lived in the old region of the Northern Kingdom, and they were half Jewish and half Gentile or descendants that way. 

And they did believe in the Torah, but they didn’t believe in the entire Old Testament, the Tanach. They just believed in the first five books of the Old Testament. So they rejected most of the Scriptures of the Jews, and they were not beloved people. They were considered outcast. But, here, this is the victor in the story, right? 

KEN: He’s the hero.

BOB: He’s the Samaritan.

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BOB: This Samaritan is the one who shows mercy, and it’s kind of an interesting twist on the story. But the other part, you mentioned at the beginning, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And you said, do is important. The other part is important is inherit eternal life. 

Right. Because inheriting eternal life is not the same as having eternal life. Now, it’s interesting because, for example, the rich young ruler, and some of the gospels that says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And in some it says, what must they do to have eternal life? 

And I think it’s pretty clear that the lawyer here is asking about having eternal life when he uses what must they do to inherit eternal life. I think he’s talking about having it, but the Lord’s answer can be seen either way, because ultimately, if we do show mercy, we’re going to rule and reign with Christ in the life to come. And when he says to the guy, go and do likewise, it seems to me, he should be pointing the person like the rich young ruler to the fact that he’s never going to be perfect. That no matter what he does, he’ll fall short of the glory of God, Roman 6:23. And I would say this is pre-evangelism. 

KEN: I got to admit, when I read the parable, the good Samaritan, I say, I’m not going to do that. You know, I mean, I remember growing up, I mean, we’re roughly the same age, Bob. Can’t even remember how many times I would tell, the good Samaritan is if you see somebody on the side of the road, you got to stop and help them. Well, I don’t do that. 

BOB: Well, the part of the reason I don’t do that today is I don’t know about you, can, but I’ve heard stories of people who stop to help people on the side of the road and they get robbed or killed. 

KEN: Would you tell your wife to do this? 

BOB: I wouldn’t. 

KEN: If you see a guy broke down on the side of the road, the good Samaritans said, you got to stop and help them. I have four daughters. I tell my daughters, you better not stop and do this. Are you crazy? Again, you hear people use the parable that way telling us, this is what we have to do. But none of us do this. I don’t know anybody who does this. Now, I know people who are merciful, but let’s be honest—

BOB: The Lord is using an extreme example. But I think we could say that he obviously does want us to do things like this. He wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves, right? When they ask, what are the two greatest commandments? The second one is love your neighbor as yourself. And isn’t the question here is who is my neighbor? 

KEN: Sure. We often hear when the Lord tells him, who do you think—you often hear this—and I think there’s truth to this when he says, who showed mercy to the guy who was fell on the side of the road? And the guy can’t even say Samaritan. He says, the one who showed him mercy because he hates him. You know, he can’t believe that a Samaritan is the hero of this story. You know, and obviously this lawyer respects the Lord at least to some degree because he comes to him and wants to know. You know, he comes up to him and he says, Teacher. So he has respect for him. 

BOB: So what you’re saying is in verse 28, when he says, do this and you will live, he is talking about eternal life there. And he’s saying, hypothetically, if you could. 

KEN: Right. Without ever faithing— 

BOB: Love your neighbor as yourself, without ever failing. 

KEN: And love God with all your heart. 

BOB: Love God with your heart, soul, mind, strength, then you would make it. But because you can’t do that, you need to believe in me. And the interesting point is, and we brought this up before on many occasions, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are not evangelistic books. Right. And they’re written to believers who already know the message of John 3:16. They already know that it’s just faith alone in Christ alone that gives me eternal life. 

So when someone is reading what Luke has written here, recording the words of Jesus, they shouldn’t be at all confused and think Jesus is teaching some secondary method of being born again. 

KEN: Yeah, I’ve got to help. I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, strength. I’ve got to love my neighbors, watch myself. And if I do that, then I’ll make it in. 

BOB: Well, there are some people, you know, Ken, that say there are multiple ways you can be born again. I remember I debated one of the faculty members of the leading seminary and he said, you can be born again, simply by receiving the free gift like the woman at the well, or you can be born again by giving up all you have and selling it all and giving it to the poor like the rich young ruler, or you can be born again by turning from your sins. And this person was saying, there’s multiple different ways you could be saved. 

So you could understand someone to say, this is one way, do this and you will live. Another way is believe in Jesus. Another way is turn from your sins. And then I have, but the problem with that is there’s really only one way. I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. And the only way we can come to the Father through Jesus is by faith in him. 

KEN: This lawyer who comes up, he has a wrong idea. What must I do? And Jesus says, okay, go do this, but you can’t. And if he would have looked for another way and asked the Lord and said, Lord, I can’t do that. Then the Lord would have said it. Maybe he did. John 3:16. 

BOB: And by the way, one other quick point, a Jewish lawyer in the first century was not someone who studied the U.S. Constitution. It’s not somebody who knew the laws of one of the U.S. states. It’s someone who studied the Old Testament backwards and forwards and they knew all the 612 commands of the Old Testament or is it 613? 

KEN: 613. 

BOB: So they knew all 613 commands. That’s why they’re called a lawyer is because they’re an expert in the Old Testament law. And they’re also very legalistic. 

KEN: There you go. This guy was and he thought he could do it and then the Lord told him he could. Thanks, Bob. Great discussion. And remember, keep grace in focus. 

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On our next episode: saving your life by losing it. Please join us and until then, let’s keep grace in focus.