Luke 10: The Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha

Luke 10 holds two of the New Testament's most-preached pericopes back-to-back. Most pastors take one or the other; the chapter intends them together.

Historical context

Luke 10 sits in the long "travel narrative" (9:51-19:27) — Jesus heading toward Jerusalem and the cross. The 72 are sent and return (vv. 1-24). A lawyer asks how to inherit eternal life (vv. 25-28). Jesus answers with the Samaritan parable (29-37). Then Jesus visits Martha's home (38-42). Each section builds on the prior.

Three sermon arc options

• The lawyer's question and the Samaritan answer. 25-37. The lawyer's two questions: "what must I do?" and "who is my neighbor?" Jesus' answers turn both. The parable redefines neighbor as the one who shows mercy. Walk the parable carefully.
• Mary chose the better portion. 38-42. The familiar Mary-Martha scene. Don't flatten it — Martha's service is not bad. Mary chose what cannot be taken away. Apply pastorally: contemplative and active life both matter, but the contemplative cannot be skipped.
• 72 sent and 2 visited. Open with vv. 1-24 (the mission of the 72) and close with vv. 38-42 (Jesus at Mary and Martha's). The chapter has both outward mission and inward formation. Both belong to the disciple's life.

Original language notes

Samaritēs ("Samaritan," v. 33) — the racially despised group in Jewish first-century context. Jesus deliberately chose the most offensive possible hero for his parable. Plēsion ("neighbor," vv. 27, 29, 36) — the word turned in the parable from "who deserves the title" to "who acted as one."

Five illustration hooks

• A "Good Samaritan" — the phrase has become idiomatic. In Jesus' day, the word combination was an oxymoron.
• A priest and a Levite passing by — religious experts failing the test the law tested. Jesus' critique is internal.
• Mary at Jesus' feet — the rabbinic posture of a disciple. A woman in the disciple's seat in first-century Palestine. Quietly radical.
• Martha's "distracted by much serving" — the working pastor's diagnosis on Tuesday morning.
• The one thing needful — not no things, but ordered things. Mary's priority is the priority.

Cross-references

• Matthew 22:34-40 — The great commandment — Jesus' summary.
• Leviticus 19:18 — The Old Testament source for neighbor-love.
• James 2:8-13 — James on the royal law of love and partiality.
• John 11:1-44 — The other Mary and Martha narrative — same family.

Pastoral application

When preaching the Samaritan parable, name a contemporary equivalent for "Samaritan" — the racial or political "other" your congregation has trouble seeing as neighbor. The parable was designed to offend; it should still offend.