|
Instead, Israeli children with bunches of
flowers ran toward the Jordanian king. Unarmed, unaccompanied, they surrounded
the king and gave him the flowers. The king wept. The media didn’t understand.
Even in a land and among a people that don’t know their King of Kings, they know
how to greet a king. They sent their little ones.
Child Becomes King: That was the
year 1994. In 1951, this king was a child standing next his grandfather, King
Abdullah, as he was shot to death while in prayer at the Al Aksa Mosque in
Jerusalem. The underlying reason for the assassination was that Grandfather
Abdullah envisioned a peaceful coexistence with the Jews of Israel. Moslem
fanatics apparently thought that killing the king would eliminate peace. Among
the shots was a bullet that glanced off a medal on young Hussein's chest. His
life was spared. Somewhere tucked in the environmental code of his royal blood,
Hussein was destined to become the king who would see the peace his grandfather
yearned for. Although not the first peace treaty a Moslem nation would have with
Israel, it is by far the warmest peace agreement Israel has with any Arab
neighbor. With matching borders and a common Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan are
once again peaceful neighbors.
Up to Jerusalem: From the Dead Sea
an ancient highway goes up to Jerusalem. In just a dozen miles or so, there is a
climb of about four thousand feet in elevation from thirteen hundred feet below
sea level to about twenty-seven hundred feet above. The term “up to Jerusalem”
has a physical as well as a spiritual implication. The ancient road out of
Jericho leading to Jerusalem was rather desolate. Most of it is below sea level
and below the rainfall line. It was, however, the road traveled by temple
priests living in the Levite city of Jericho and serving in Jerusalem’s temple.
The travel was about a day’s journey.
Caravan Travel: Travelers in
ancient times included animals in their caravans. The animals were used for
transportation and food, as well as for barter. Travelers had to carry money for
accommodations, so it was not wise to travel alone. As a support group and
defense against highway robbers, caravans were organized and regularly
scheduled.
Rules of Cleanliness Also Apply to
Traveling: Special travel rules of cleanliness applied to the priests who
had to remain “unblemished” to serve in the holy temple. They stayed away from
any decay or waste matter. They kept at least a specific distance away from
anything dead (unless it was killed as a sacrifice in the temple). “And
whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead
body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean.” (Numbers 19:16)
It is still a custom among some of those considering themselves to be Levites to
circumvent graveyards or any place where there is death.
Where Did the “Good” Come from in the
Good Samaritan Inn? On the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, an old inn has
been restored to represent the inn of a New Testament story Jesus told. Modern
Christians refer to the inn as the “Good Samaritan Inn.” The truth is that
Jesus never used the term good Samaritan. The setting, however,
reminds us of the parable Jesus chose as he answered a lawyer, who challenged
Him, the Lawgiver: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25)
Carpenter or Craftsman: Background
will be helpful in understanding why Jesus answered as He did. It is sometimes
surprising to consider Jesus, known as Rabbi, to be a “Master of the law” (rabbi
in Hebrew), instead of a carpenter. You’ll remember, that the New Testament
Greek word was not carpenter but craftsman. The craft in Nazareth
was a huge stone quarry. It may be more than mere coincidence that Jesus was
referred to as the “Rock of Salvation” and the “Chief Corner Stone.” Was He sent
to earth to be educated only as a craftsman or carpenter? Or is it more likely
that Jesus studied the law that He was to restore? After all, He is the
lawgiver, our advocate with the Father. He was recognized as a rabbi, a lawyer,
one schooled in the law; he was authorized to read in the synagogues. “And he
came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went
into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” (Luke
4:16)
Legal Definition: So, responding to
the lawyer who challenged Jesus and having been trained in the law himself, the
new rabbi from Nazareth answered with a question, “What is written in the law?
how readest Thou?” (Luke 10:26) Showing his own legal acumen, the
lawyer recited the first law of loving God and neighbor, but challenged Jesus to
a legal definition. “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29)
The Parable: The Savior then
related this story: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell
among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed,
leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way:
and when he saw him, he passed by the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he
was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by the other side. But a
certain Samaritan [a non-Jew] . . . came where he was: . . . and bound up his
wounds, pouring in oil and wine and set him on his own beast and brought him to
an inn and took care of him.” (Luke 10:30-34)
Anti-Semitic Implications: Today
local Jews don’t use the term “good” Samaritan; to some, it has anti-Semitic
implications to bad Jews. I remember that an instructor of the Ministry of
Tourism Guide Course even suggested that Jesus was an anti-Semite. She said,
“Even when Jesus made up a story he portrayed the Jews as ‘bad guys’ and the
non-Jew as the ‘good guy.’”
Real Intent of Parable: Of course,
Jesus had no intention of portraying Jews as uncompassionate. In His story He’s
making a legal point responding to the lawyer’s question, “Legally, who is my
neighbor?” The Hebrew inference was that the priest and the Levite were within
their legal rights - not to be defiled by being too close to the dead - and
rather than take a chance, they walked on the other side. Their lack of action
was strictly legal, but it missed the higher law of compassion, governed by the
spirit not the letter of the law. Talmudic commentary written some hundreds of
years later indicates an additional guideline. Now Levites, or Cohens, are
required to bury the dead if they chance upon a cadaver.
Do We Judge Them as Good or Bad? In
developing true forgiveness, understanding and childlike faith, and to truly be
a neighbor, we should consider removing the “good” from the “good Samaritan,”
thereby removing the inferred “bad” from the Jews in the story. All three were
good in their own perceptions. The Levite and the priest just missed the point
of a higher law – governed by the spirit. That doesn’t mean the lesser law –
governed by the letter of the law – is bad and those who ardently attempt to
keep it are thereby bad as well. As an example for us, the Savior’s compassion
for all of God’s children rises much higher than the question, “Who is my
neighbor?”
|