the role of the lukan parables in terms of the purpose of luke's gospel

of neighbour, the lawyer would believe that Jesus’ action and fellowship with sinners and
Gentiles are non-law. If Jesus gives an extended view of ‘neighbour’ that includes sinners and
Gentiles, in answer to the lawyer’s, then the lawyer would unmask that Jesus’ definition of
neighbour is against the law to which Jews adhered.
Jesus, in response, begins to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan with 13
at the beginning. The description of the traveler as serves to involve the
audience. On this road which is located between Jerusalem and Jericho, the anonymous
traveler suffers maltreatment at the hands of robbers. The terrain descends approximately one
thousand meters from Jerusalem (750m above sea level) to Jericho (250m below sea level),
and provides a hiding place for thieves because of the many rocks. 14 According to Strabo,
the ancient Roman historiographer, this road was a notorious place for bands of robbers who
lived there. 15
expression for audiences.
In this respect, the parable might well be a story with actual feeling and
“Now by chance a priest was going down that road” (v. 31a). Given the fact that Jericho
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was one of the popular residences for priests, the priest was probably returning to his
residence after officiating at the temple. The audience could have anticipated that he would
help the half dead, especially due to his clerical status but, contrary to expectations, “when he
saw him he passed by on the other side” (v. 31b). It has been conjectured as to why the priest
had acted so: The foci of these arguments have converged on the laws regarding ritual purity,
not a lack of compassion and fear of robbery. Priests were prohibited from contact with
corpses and allowed to be defiled only for close relatives (Lev 21:1-4; 22:4-7; Ezek 44: 25-
27). But this exemption did not apply to the High Priest (Lev 21:11) or a Nazarite (Num 6:6-
12). If a priest caused defilement because of contact with corpses, he is defiled for seven days
and required purification measures with much costs (Num 19:11-22). In the Mishnah, both
the High Priest and the Nazarites, as an exception to the rule, were allowed to attend to a
neglected corpse. We’re told a funeral of a neglected corpse had priority over studies of the
Torah. 17
On the basis of the exception rule in the Mishnah and Talmud, some theologians
13. G. Sellin regards the characteristic of this formula as pre-Lukan and conclude that it is pre-Lukan. It appears
in Sellin’s analysis by Blomberg. ‘The Tradition History of the Parables Peculiar to Luke’s Central Section’,
248-258. See also Nolland, Luke, 592.
14. E.F.F. Bishop, “Down from Jerusalem to Jericho,” EvQ 35 (1963), 97-102; S.J. Kistemaker, The Parables of
Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 168.
15. Strabo mentions how Pompey defeated a stronghold of robbers near Jericho. (Geography, 16, 2, 41).
16. See b. Ta`anit 27a; cf. m. Ta`anit 4.2; Josephus, Ant. 7.365.
17. b. Meg. 3b. for some illustrations, see b, Nazir 48b; J.D. Derrett, Law in the New Testament (London: Darton,
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