Our parable today is one of Jesus' most famous ones—the story of the good Samaritan. You might have heard people use the term in our culture, for people who, say, stop by a broken-down car or an accident scene to lend a hand. Levine will explain why Jews during Jesus' time would have been so surprised by the hooks here—not just that they'd expect a Jew as the third character in the story instead of a Samaritan, but that there could be a "good" Samaritan at all!
As you read the parable be able to do the following:
Describe the context of Luke 10:1–11:4, and be able to analyze what the context Luke has given tells us about the meaning he's assigning to the parable.
Assigned Readings
Primary: Luke 10 (Action Bible 594-598; read the NRSV version of Luke 10 closely)
Secondary: Levine, Short Stories by Jesus chapter 2 (pp. 71-106); online class prep
Slides from lecture
Today's Authors
Amy-Jill Levine is the University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Profesor of New Testament Studies, and Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderilt University Divinity School in Tenessee. She is a specialist in the Christian Gospel of Matthew and in feminist studies, and is an Orthodox Jew.
Sergio Cariello is a Brazilian-American comic book artist. He's published with major comic book publishers such as Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and recently has been penciling and inking "The Lone Ranger" for Dynamite Entertainment" and the "Son of Samson" series for Christian publisher Zondervan.
Further Reading
Ateek, Naim Stifan. "Who Is My Neighbor?" Interpretation 62:2 (2008) 166-9.
Gribble, Jennifer. "Why the Good Samaritan Was a Bad Economist: Dickens' Parable for Hard Times." Literature and Theology 18:4 (2004) 427-41.
Schaab, Gloria L. "Which of These Was Neighbour?: Spiritual Dimensions of the U.S. Immigration Question." International Journal of Public Theology 2:2 (2008) 182-202.
Scheffler, Eben. "The Assaulted (Man) on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road: Luke's Creative Interpretation of 2 Chronicles 28:15." HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 69:1 (2013) Article #2010, 8 pages. Online, http://
dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.
v69i1.2010, accessed 13 November 2015.
Walker, Maxine E. "'How Do You Read It?': Rowan Williams, Marilynne Robinson and Mapping a Postmodern Reading of the Good Samaritan Parable." Journal of Anglican Studies 12:2 (2014) 203-225.
Video Links:
My Syrian Friend – A modern parable as told by New York Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Noah Weinerg, zt"l.
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The Price of Invulnerability – In this TEDxKC talk, qualitative researcher and University of Houston professor of social work Brené Brown explores the vital role of vulnerability and how damaging our attempts to be invulnerable are. A.-J. Levine says that the "hook" of the Good Samaritan parable is to identify with the man in the ditch rather than the saving Samaritan, and to imagine that even our enemy may be merciful. What if we stopped trying to be the extraordinary stand-out (the lawyer of our story) and imagined instead that love requires vulnerability rather than superior achievement?
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Acknowledgements
Image adapted from Donald Jackson, Luke Anthology (Luke 10; 15; 16), 2002, illuminated manuscript, The Saint John's Bible, St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. The parables visible in this close-up are, from top left to bottom right, the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7), the good Samaritan (10:29-37), the lost son (15:11-32), and the rich man and Lazarus (uke 16:19-31). For a larger image in color, click here.
Our parable today is one of Jesus' most famous ones—the story of the good Samaritan. You might have heard people use the term in our culture, for people who, say, stop by a broken-down car or an accident scene to lend a hand. Levine will explain why Jews during Jesus' time would have been so surprised by the hooks here—not just that they'd expect a Jew as the third character in the story instead of a Samaritan, but that there could be a "good" Samaritan at all!
