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“Without an Illustration He Would Not Speak to Them”The Watchtower—2002 | September 1
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14. In the parable of the neighborly Samaritan, why is it significant that Jesus used the road that went “from Jerusalem to Jericho” to make his point?
14 Second, recall the parable of the neighborly Samaritan. Jesus began by saying: “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who both stripped him and inflicted blows, and went off, leaving him half-dead.” (Luke 10:30) Significantly, Jesus used the road that went “from Jerusalem to Jericho” to make his point. When relating this parable, he was in Judea, not far from Jerusalem; so his listeners likely knew about the road in question. That particular road was notoriously dangerous, especially for someone traveling alone. It wound through lonely terrain, providing many lurking places for robbers.
15. Why could no one rightly justify the indifference of the priest and the Levite in the illustration involving the neighborly Samaritan?
15 Something else is noteworthy about Jesus’ reference to the road that went “down from Jerusalem to Jericho.” According to the story, first a priest and then a Levite were also traveling that road—although neither stopped to help the victim. (Luke 10:31, 32) The priests served at the temple in Jerusalem, and the Levites assisted them. Many priests and Levites resided in Jericho when they were not working at the temple, for Jericho was only 14 miles [23 km] from Jerusalem. Hence, they undoubtedly had occasion to travel that road. Note, too, that the priest and the Levite were going along the road “from Jerusalem,” thus heading away from the temple.b So no one could rightly justify the indifference of these men by saying, ‘They avoided the injured man because he appeared to be dead, and touching a corpse would have made them temporarily unfit to serve at the temple.’ (Leviticus 21:1; Numbers 19:11, 16)
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“Without an Illustration He Would Not Speak to Them”The Watchtower—2002 | September 1
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b Jerusalem was higher in elevation than Jericho. Therefore, when traveling “from Jerusalem to Jericho,” as mentioned in the parable, a traveler would be “going down.”
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