By Jim Mettenbrink
That man wants to live beyond the grave is evident. It is noticed in some of man’s doings, yet he knows he will die – gone from society, friends, and family, never to return. Philanthropists give huge amounts to have names on institutions. In a remote area of the sandhills of Nebraska, a man built a monument to himself at the entrance to his acreage. He wants to be remembered if he can’t be on terra firma. Do these folks believe that death is the end of their existence that prompts the desire to somehow have an existence of some sort here? Even if it is just the posting of their name on a building? Or a carved stone? The Bible reveals that death is not the end of man’s existence. In fact, without the Bible, no one would know he/she became an eternal entity from the moment of conception in their mother’s womb.
In several places in the Old Testament (OT), the desire of folks to live beyond the grave is known (eg Psalm 30:3; 49:14-15; Ezekiel 37:11-14; Hosea 13:14). The New Testament accounts of the gospel record that the Jews inquired of Jesus what they must do to live forever.
The most revealing was when a lawyer asked Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”(Luke 10:25). What follows is the account of the good Samaritan who helped a wounded man left on the road to die. Yes, it is wonderful to help save a life in whatever way a person is able. There are several thought-provoking lessons in this story, especially for those who resolve to follow Jesus to inherit eternal life. To live eternally requires a radical change in one’s character and perspective of one’s fellow man. However, it is necessary to review the OT background to grasp and understand Jesus’ profound answer to inheriting eternal life.
The key to that answer is a Samaritan man. Samaritans suddenly appear in a religious sense as a people who built shrines on “high places” in the former Northern Kingdom (NK) of Israel that was destroyed in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:29). Their name is connected to the NK’s capital – Samaria. Who were these people and why did Jesus use them as an example of giving aid to a dying man?