The first important point of Luke 6:46-47 is that Jesus is only Lord of our lives when we live out what he has established for his Work. Many people say Lord, Lord, preach in the name of Jesus, claim to do wonders in the name of the Lord, raise their voices in meetings, services and religious events, but they don't live out the Work that the Holy Spirit has done. They don't observe God's genuine plan, they don't do his will. God's Work is one of sanctification (Heb 12:14) and obedience (I Pet 1:2). The Work of the Lord is for those who want to hear what the Spirit has to say, what his plan is, what his will is. In the Work of the Holy Spirit, not human will is done, but the will of the One who owns the Work (Jn 6:38).
He who lives in obedience to the Father's plan, in the cry for the Blood of the Son, and in the Communion of the Holy Spirit is like a man who builds his house (spiritual life) on rock and with a deep foundation. The Rock is Jesus, the deep foundation is the doctrine that we have lived, especially with the teaching of Sunday School. Our lives are founded on Jesus through knowledge and a deeper understanding of the doctrine. We have all this because Jesus opened up this opportunity for us on Calvary (Heb 10:20) and left his Spirit to show us the way to Salvation (Jn 14:26). He who stands firm in Jesus and in the revealed doctrine of the Holy Spirit stands firm. The flood may come, that is, everything that is in the world with its rottenness being dragged into people's lives, the wind may come, that is, all religious and worldly doctrine, which will not shake the spiritual life of the one who has become a new creature (II Cor 5:17).
However, the disobedient, the one who doesn't want to live by revelation, the one who doesn't live the Work of the Holy Spirit, the one who despises revelation, the teachings of Sunday School, the services, the Lord's instructions, his Work, is compared to the one whose life is based on the fragile foundations of this world (Luke 6:49). In the first moments of tribulation, of affliction, of worldly invitations, he is shaken. He gets involved and loses his blessing, his communion with God, the project of Salvation. Without the foundations, that is, without the revealed doctrine of the Holy Spirit in his life, he is soon shaken, and his ruin is great. What we see is that all those who despise the Father's plan, abandon it, deny the faith, deny what they have lived and preached all their lives, deny the plan (apostatise), the ruin of their spiritual and even personal lives is great.
Jesus, our Saviour
Jesus, God's Samaritan
Details:
Leaving Jerusalem for Jericho means leaving the presence of the Father and going towards the curse, the passing things of this life. Jericho was cursed by Joshua (Josh 6:26). The closer man gets to Jericho, the further he moves away from God. On this path contrary to blessing, man becomes subject to the one who came to steal, kill and destroy (Jn 10:10). He stole everything the man had, wounded him and left him half dead. Disobedience, sin, has left man subject to the one who wants to kill (take eternal life); wants to steal (steal communion with God, the joy of salvation, spiritual values) and destroy God's work. Man's soul is seriously wounded. Man is half dead because without God man only has this earthly life, which is fleeting, quick, ephemeral, but he doesn't have eternal life.
The priest didn't help him because the priest represents religion, which has no more help for man because it is focussed on this life. Religion cannot help man, it cannot change his situation. It can't heal the wounds of his soul or give him back the eternal life that was stolen from him. Despite this, the priests considered themselves superior to the common man. So the priest wasn't close to the needy man, he was better than him, so he passed him by. The Levite didn't help him either. The Levite represents religious tradition. They served in the house of the Lord by heredity. The Levite was chosen by the Lord to take care of things concerning the tabernacle and the temple. But they never managed to understand that both the tabernacle and the temple symbolised man himself. They kept the tradition, but they didn't know the meaning of what they were doing. That's the problem with religious tradition: they have no understanding of what is spiritual, they just repeat what they learnt from their parents. He didn't come to the man's aid either, because even though he had no understanding, he thought he was better than the sinner and the needy, so he passed him by.
The Samaritan was the result of what was left of Israel. When Israel was divided in two, ten tribes continued to be called Israel and the other two Judah. Israel was destroyed by Shalmaneser during the reign of Hosea and the people were taken to Assyria. These people were never again considered God's people by the Jews. Those who were taken captive never returned. Those who remained in the land mingled with the foreigners who inhabited the land. The Jews didn't consider them brothers. In the parable, however, it was the Samaritan who came to the aid of the needy. The lawyer had to accept that the Samaritan was the neighbour of the needy Jew. The word ‘neighbour’ has several meanings:
i) The first relates to distance, proximity;
ii) The second relates to being next in line: ‘next in line’; ‘next in order’;
iii) The third has the meaning of being ‘similar’; ‘equal’.
It is in this sense of being similar that it was used in the parable. The lawyer didn't accept that the Samaritan was like him, because the Jews were, in his view, better, the faithful, the keepers of the law, etc. But in the parable, the Samaritan became like the Jew by healing his wounds, taking him out of the way, taking him to an inn, paying his expenses, leaving someone to look after him and promising to come back for him. Now it's easy to understand the text that seemed incomprehensible. Jesus is the Samaritan. The Jews didn't accept him as their brother, but he was rejected, judged unworthy, despised. He, being the Son of God, was not close to anyone; no one was his equal, but he became man, incarnating himself to become their equal and die in their place. It was Jesus who left his glory and came to the aid of the man who, like the prodigal son, left his Father's house and went to live in a dissolute way. He became subject to the enemy of his soul and lost all the spiritual riches he had received as an inheritance. Who has been wounded in his soul. He has lost his way, lost his direction, lost his prophecy.
Jesus found the man in this state and healed his soul, giving him forgiveness. He took him out of abandonment and put him on the road to salvation and personally led him to a place of rest, communion, security, peace, where he can be cared for (church). He didn't leave him alone (orphaned), but left the Holy Spirit to take care of him. He paid all his debts, redeeming him with his blood. He promised to come back for him one day. Isaiah describes in his book Isaiah 6:1-3 what the glory of the Lord was like in his eternity and how he became a neighbour to those who needed salvation (Isaiah 53:2-10). The law said: ‘But if death comes, then you shall give life for life; eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot’ (Exodus 21:23-24). Jesus made himself man's equal: ‘But you, man, were my equal, my guide and my close friend’ (Ps 55:13). The redeemer had to be exactly the same as the debtor. Jesus became close to man in this world in order to make man his neighbour in eternity.