Absent Master of the House – Mark 13:33-37 – Inductive Bible Study

Luke 10:30-37

30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.  31 “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  32 “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  33 “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,  34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.  35 “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’  36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”  37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

  1. What title do you give to this parable?

An Opportunity Disguised as an Interruption

Loving Your Neighbor

A Lesson on Love

Walk Your Talk

Compassion in Action

  1. What other parables have similar characteristics or theme?

The wheat and the tares – the tares looked the part but bore no fruit

Two builders – both builders hear, wise builder applies

The sower – appear to have life, but no root or fruit

The two sons – 1st son had lip service only to obedience, 2nd son obeyed from the heart

The ten virgins – same outward appearance, but only 5 were true believers

The talents – the willingness, not the ability characterized the faithful disciple

The rich man and Lazarus – what the world approves is opposite to what God approves

The Pharisee and the tax collector – it’s not the position or the appearance, but the heart that matters

The minas – the willingness, not the ability characterized the faithful disciple

  1. Who was Jesus speaking to when He gave this parable?

Luke 10:17

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

Luke 10:25

25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He was speaking to the seventy. Specifically, He was responding to a lawyer’s question about what to do to obtain eternal life. It is unclear if lawyer was one of the seventy or not.

  1. What was the context for this parable?

Luke 10:25-29

25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”  27 And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly;DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”  29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus gives this parable in the context of being asked, “who is my neighbor?” The larger context is the the report of the seventy upon their return from the completed short term mission assignment Jesus had given them.

  1. What are the main elements of the parable and what does each represent?
    1. Man – A stranger who was going to have a need
    2. Going down from Jerusalem to Jericho (about 13 miles/23 km) – routine activity of life
    3. fell among robbers – God brings a trial into his life
    4. stripped him and beat him – cruelty of the wicked
    5. went away leaving him half dead – more cruelty of the wicked
    6. by chance – according to Vine’s, it means a concurrence of events, God’s sovereignty
    7. priest – one who has a reputation for godliness, righteousness, and piety; does the Lord’s work
    8. going on that road – also going about the routine activity of his life
    9. saw him – his moment of decision, the opportunity presents itself
    10. he passed by on the other side – too busy, didn’t want to get involved, too dangerous, didn’t want to defile himself, in short he closed his heart to the need of another and did not demonstrate the love of Christ
    11. Likewise a Levite – one who has a reputation for godliness, righteousness, and piety; does the Lord’s work
    12. came to the place –  his moment of decision, the opportunity presents itself
    13. saw him – his moment of decision, the opportunity presents itself
    14. passed by on the other side – too busy, didn’t want to get involved, too dangerous, didn’t want to defile himself, in short he closed his heart to the need of another and did not demonstrate the love of Christ
    15. Samaritan – they were hated by Jews, mixed ancestry, unclean, Jews would not even associate with them
    16. on a journey –  also going about the routine activity of his life
    17. came upon him – his moment of decision, the opportunity presents itself
    18. saw him – his moment of decision, the opportunity presents itself
    19. felt compassion – the automatic response of a true believer
    20. came to him – took initiative to minister to one in desperate need
    21. bandaged up his wounds – ministered to his needs
    22. pouring oil and wine on them – ministered to his needs
    23. put him on his own beast – sacrificial love
    24. brought him to an inn – sacrificial love
    25. took care of him – sacrificial love
    26. he took out two denarii and gave them  – generous love
    27. innkeeper – used available resources
    28. “Take care of him” – delegated
    29. whatever you spend – generous love
    30. when I return – continuing love, love never fails
    31. I will pay you – generous love
    32. proved to be a neighbor – love takes action
    33. one who showed mercy – the light of “love” shone to all
    34. go and do the same – we are commanded to love
  1. What spiritual principle(s) does this parable teach?
    1. Hard circumstances sometimes hit us by surprise.
    2. There are wicked people who care nothing for us and will take advantage of us any way they can.
    3. It is wise to take extra safety precautions in isolated areas where help is not readily available.
    4. God supplies us with countless opportunities to serve.
    5. These God given opportunities often come disguised as trials, interruptions, or inconveniences.
    6. The very nature of serving opportunities is generally dirty and undesirable.
    7. The love that we show (or fail to show) to those in need demonstrate what kind of person we are.
    8. You cannot judge a person’s character by his position, race, or the way he dresses.
    9. Judge a tree by its fruit.
    10. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
    11. Loving others is usually inconvenient, costly and difficult.
    12. God had compassion on us and restored us when we were helpless, so we should do the same for others.
    13. I should be knowledgeable about how to minister to those in need.
    14. Love requires me to “get involved” in the everyday lives of those around me.
    15. The mere fact of seeing someone in serious distress should evoke a compassionate response from me.
    16. We can make our plans, but the Lord always controls our agenda.
    17. Those who merely profess belief go out of their way to avoid involvement.
    18. True believers go out of their way to be a servant and meet the needs of the helpless.
  1. Cross references to this parable?

Matt 7:16-20

16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?  17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.  19 ” Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 

Luke 6:31

31 ” Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind and  is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,  6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

James 2:14-17

14What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, ” Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

1 John 3:17

17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1 John 4:11

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:20-21

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

Matt 9:36

36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Deut 10:19

19 “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Prov 14:21

21 He who despises his neighbor sins,

But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.

Prov 14:31

31 He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker,

But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

Matt 6:2

2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Mark 12:44

 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Rom 12:9-13

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be  devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

2 Cor 8:7-9

7 But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. 8 I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

2 Cor 9:13

13 Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,

1 Tim 6:18-19

18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

Heb 6:10

10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.

Gal 6:9-10

9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

  1. Questions or problems with the interpretation of this parable.
    1. What would be comparable to a Samaritan in our society today?
    2. Why did Jesus make a Samaritan the hero of His parable?
    3. Compare the Samaritan’s compassionate response to an everyday opportunity that we all have.
    4. To whom are we supposed to be a neighbor?
    5. Of the Levite, the priest, and the Samaritan, which would you say was a believer and why do you think so?
    6. Why would Jesus supply this answer to someone who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life? V28
    7. What answer would you expect Jesus to give to his question?
    8. To you, what was the most surprising point Jesus made in this parable?
    9. What do you think was the most surprising point He made to the lawyer?
    10. Why do you think the lawyer asked this question?
    11. Why would the Samaritan even pay for the man’s lodging and care out of his own pocket?
  1. Based on this parable, what changes in my life does Jesus want me to make?

Whenever there is an opportunity, stop and help anyone who has a desperate need.

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