In Jesus’s Parable of the Good Samaritan, when a man was beaten, robbed, and left for dead, two eminent religious leaders came upon him.
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance, a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
In Jesus’s Parable of the Good Samaritan, when a man was beaten, robbed, and left for dead, two eminent religious leaders came upon him. Both of these men avoided the victim on the road, leaving plenty of distance as they walked by. The leaders were privileged in that they were born into their honored roles. They were used to being treated in a special way, not inconveniencing themselves to care for a victim of injustice. From their example, we learn that we mustn’t let the advantages we have in life keep us away from people in need. It’s easy for that to happen, but it’s not the way of Jesus.
In the parable of Jesus, we call The Good Samaritan, a man is beaten, robbed, and left for dead along the side of a road. While he’s lying there, two potential helpers come along. Both are honored, Jewish religious leaders. One is a priest; the other a Levite. Levites assisted the priests, taking on a variety of duties in the temple. Both priests and Levites received financial support from the tithes given to the temple. A Jewish man did not earn the right to become a priest or a Levite. Rather, this was a matter of heredity. Levites were descendants of Levi, the third son of Jacob, a grandson of Abraham and Sarah. Priests were also descendants of Levi, though they traced their lineage back through Aaron, the brother of Moses and the first high priest.
Jesus doesn’t tell us very much about the priest and the Levite in his parable. All we know is that when they came upon the wounded man, they “passed by on the other side” of the road (Luke 10:31-32). In particular, we are not told why they avoided the injured man.
The priest and the Levite passed by on the other side of the road. Someone usually brings up the possibility that the victim, being “half-dead” (Luke 10:30), might have appeared to be completely dead. The priest and Levite would not want to touch a dead body because that would defile them ceremonially (see Leviticus 21), keeping them from performing their temple duties. You may wonder if the religious leaders are too busy to help someone in need, or if the men fear that robbers might still be lurking nearby. All of these explanations are possible and not mutually exclusive.
I wonder if something else is going on here, in addition to what I’ve already mentioned. Priests and Levites were people of high status. They were used to being special people in their cultural and religious context. Yet their specialness, as I noted above, was not a matter of earning or accomplishment. It came by virtue of their ancestry. They were classic examples of people with privilege.
We hear the word “privilege” quite a bit these days. It shows up in the familiar phrase “white privilege,” but also in phrases like “male privilege” and “ableist privilege.” Basically, privilege is an unearned advantage or status, especially an advantage or state that some people have while others do not. Priests and Levites had many advantages by virtue of their birth. They were treated specially and had special benefits. They were clearly privileged.
Privileged people are used to living in a different way from unprivileged people. They receive unearned advantage, perhaps without even thinking about it. It’s a normal aspect of their reality. So, it makes sense to me that the priest and the Levite avoided the wounded man because they were used to living as privileged people. They were not used to going out of their way, compromising, inconveniencing, and perhaps even endangering themselves in order to assist a man badly in need of help.
Thus, I find the Parable of the Good Samaritan troubling because I’d much rather be like the Samaritan rather than the people I’m naturally like. I want to be someone who cares for people who are victims of injustice. I don’t want to “pass by on the other side of the road.” Yet, as I reflect on my life, I recognize that I have done this very thing. I expect in some ways I continue to do it, even though I wish this were not true.
What can we do so as not to be people who pass by on the other side of the road? A couple of things emerge from Jesus’s parable. What I want to mention is so obvious that it almost feels simplistic. But, in practice, I don’t believe it is. Here’s what I’m thinking: If we want to be people who love in the way of Jesus, then we shouldn’t pass by “on the other side of the road.” Notice that the priest and Levite didn’t just walk by. They made an effort to avoid the injured man. They got as far away as they could. Distance allowed them to be disengaged, to avoid any feelings of empathy or compassion. And the distance from people in need, from victims of injustice, from those Jesus wants us to love, is something that goes hand-in-hand with privilege.
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