Jesus as Uniter of Peoples
One of the most distinctive features of Jesus’ ministry and indeed personality involved reaching out to outsiders and building bridges to them. This aspect of Jesus’ life is hinted at in Matthew and Mark (and John!), but the lasting impression Jesus made over the whole Church in this regard owes more to Luke’s gospel than all other three combined. The scribes and Pharisees and customs of society had erected barriers between people but Jesus broke down those barriers. He wanted to reveal the love of God to all people and show all people that God loves them equally. Therefore Jesus did not pay heed to social taboos or the restrictions of society and religion of his time but he broke down barriers between God and sinners, tax collectors, Samaritans and women. Let us look some examples of this. We have already seen Jesus dining with tax collectors and sinners above, but the outreach to Samaritans is something new.
Jesus Broke Down Barriers with Samaritans
The Samaritans lived in Samaria which was between Jerusalem in the South and Galilee in the North. Samaria was invaded by the king of Assyria and finally captured in 722 B.C. The Samaritans intermarried with the foreigners. You can read an account in 2 Kings 17:5-41. Therefore they were not regarded as fully Jewish, but half-Jews. (See John 4:9.) The Samaritans built their own temple in Samaria in opposition to the one in Jerusalem. It was destroyed in 128 B.C. and since then there was continuous hatred between Jews and Samaritans a condition which persisted to the time of Jesus. Jesus’ dealings with them show him breaking down barriers between Jews and Samaritans. In Luke 9:52, on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus sent messengers ahead of Him to a Samaritan village to prepare for his visit. Although Jesus was not made welcome in the village (9:53), it is significant that Jesus intended to visit a Samaritan village because it is in stark contrast to Jesus in Matt who forbade the Twelve to enter any Samaritan village (Matt 10:5).
In response to the lawyer’s question as to who is his neighbor, Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30-35). A priest and Levite pass by on the other side of the road disregarding the man who had been beaten up by robbers and left for half dead. But a Samaritan took pity on him, bound up his wounds and paid for his keep in the inn. In Israel there was a trio, priest, Levite, Israelite. But in the parable Jesus did not give an Israelite as an example of loving neighbor. Instead he gave a Samaritan as an example! Imagine the shock. Jesus is teaching that love of neighbor has no limits.
Only the Samaritan leper out of the ten who were healed came back to thank Jesus (17:16). In this incident, as well as in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in the contrast between the behavior of the Samaritan and that of the Jews, the Jews come out in a bad light, while the Samaritan comes out in a good light. It is significant that a Samaritan is portrayed as an example of someone open to salvation in contrast to the Jews. Once again Jesus is trying to break down barriers.
Jesus Broke Down Barriers with Women
Luke’s gospel is sometimes known as the women’s gospel since not only are there many more named women than in the others, there are many examples of Jesus’ kindness to women. Before we proceed on this theme we should consider a bit of background on the cultural attitudes to women in Jesus’ day to gain a greater appreciation of this aspect of his ministry.
Women were segregated from men both in synagogues and in the Jerusalem temple. Women had to remain behind a screen in the synagogue. They were not counted in the number ten which was the minimum required to hold a synagogue service. The temple forecourt was divided in two by a wall, the western half and the eastern half. The eastern half was called the Women’s Forecourt or Court of Gentiles, because women were also allowed access there and only male Israelites had access to the western half of the temple, which was the temple proper.
Segregation of men and women in society was just as thorough, though much of our information about this comes from sources about the Roman Empire. It is debated how far segregation of women had spread in Palestine. However, we see that a self-respecting Jew would not talk to a woman in public, a point evident from John 4:27 when Jesus’ disciples marveled that He was talking to a woman.
Women’s witness had no validity in law courts. By the time of Jesus, segregation of women had become harsher. They were forbidden to take part in a meal when someone was invited to the house. Only the upper class could stay shut up in their houses, the rest would have to fetch water from the well, work in the fields, and help their husbands with their business. Men were not to walk behind women and one of the six things rabbis considered unsuitable for one of their disciples was talking to a woman in a square. One occasion when women played a large part outdoors was at funerals.
Jesus Broke Down Barriers with Samaritans
The Samaritans lived in Samaria which was between Jerusalem in the South and Galilee in the North. Samaria was invaded by the king of Assyria and finally captured in 722 B.C. The Samaritans intermarried with the foreigners. You can read an account in 2 Kings 17:5-41. Therefore they were not regarded as fully Jewish, but half-Jews. (See John 4:9.) The Samaritans built their own temple in Samaria in opposition to the one in Jerusalem. It was destroyed in 128 B.C. and since then there was continuous hatred between Jews and Samaritans a condition which persisted to the time of Jesus. Jesus’ dealings with them show him breaking down barriers between Jews and Samaritans. In Luke 9:52, on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus sent messengers ahead of Him to a Samaritan village to prepare for his visit. Although Jesus was not made welcome in the village (9:53), it is significant that Jesus intended to visit a Samaritan village because it is in stark contrast to Jesus in Matt who forbade the Twelve to enter any Samaritan village (Matt 10:5).
In response to the lawyer’s question as to who is his neighbor, Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30-35). A priest and Levite pass by on the other side of the road disregarding the man who had been beaten up by robbers and left for half dead. But a Samaritan took pity on him, bound up his wounds and paid for his keep in the inn. In Israel there was a trio, priest, Levite, Israelite. But in the parable Jesus did not give an Israelite as an example of loving neighbor. Instead he gave a Samaritan as an example! Imagine the shock. Jesus is teaching that love of neighbor has no limits.
Only the Samaritan leper out of the ten who were healed came back to thank Jesus (17:16). In this incident, as well as in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in the contrast between the behavior of the Samaritan and that of the Jews, the Jews come out in a bad light, while the Samaritan comes out in a good light. It is significant that a Samaritan is portrayed as an example of someone open to salvation in contrast to the Jews. Once again Jesus is trying to break down barriers.
Jesus Broke Down Barriers with Women
Luke’s gospel is sometimes known as the women’s gospel since not only are there many more named women than in the others, there are many examples of Jesus’ kindness to women. Before we proceed on this theme we should consider a bit of background on the cultural attitudes to women in Jesus’ day to gain a greater appreciation of this aspect of his ministry.
Women were segregated from men both in synagogues and in the Jerusalem temple. Women had to remain behind a screen in the synagogue. They were not counted in the number ten which was the minimum required to hold a synagogue service. The temple forecourt was divided in two by a wall, the western half and the eastern half. The eastern half was called the Women’s Forecourt or Court of Gentiles, because women were also allowed access there and only male Israelites had access to the western half of the temple, which was the temple proper.
Segregation of men and women in society was just as thorough, though much of our information about this comes from sources about the Roman Empire. It is debated how far segregation of women had spread in Palestine. However, we see that a self-respecting Jew would not talk to a woman in public, a point evident from John 4:27 when Jesus’ disciples marveled that He was talking to a woman.
Women’s witness had no validity in law courts. By the time of Jesus, segregation of women had become harsher. They were forbidden to take part in a meal when someone was invited to the house. Only the upper class could stay shut up in their houses, the rest would have to fetch water from the well, work in the fields, and help their husbands with their business. Men were not to walk behind women and one of the six things rabbis considered unsuitable for one of their disciples was talking to a woman in a square. One occasion when women played a large part outdoors was at funerals.
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