The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (93 page)

10:25 a lawyer:
An expert interpreter of the Mosaic Law. 
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10:27 the Lord . . . your neighbor:
A reference to Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18, which Jesus calls the two greatest commandments of the OT (Mt 22:37-40; Mk 12:28-34). 
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10:30-37
The parable of the Good Samaritan presents both a moral and a theological lesson. Morally, Jesus teaches that love for our neighbor must accompany our love for God. These together, and not one without the other, are indispensable for living in God's friendship. Theologically, Jesus illustrates that holiness as defined by the Old Covenant is now surpassed by the holiness of the New. The
priest
and the
Levite
adhere to Israel's purity laws, which forbade them from touching the corpses of anyone other than family members (Lev 21:1-3). They therefore chose to preserve their legal purity and so passed by the
half dead
victim. The
Samaritan
exemplifies this new standard of holiness, where God no longer requires his people to separate from others, but calls them to extend mercy to everyone in need and exclude no one on the grounds of prejudice, dislike, or even legal uncleanness as defined by the Torah (CCC 1825, 2447).
See note on Lk 6:36
. • The parable recalls a similar story in 2 Chron 28:8-15, where the people of Judah were ravaged and captured by a northern Israelite army. Instead of taking them as prisoners, four men of Samaria had compassion on the Jews. Among their works of mercy, they "anointed" them, put them upon their "donkeys", and took them peacefully to "Jericho". •
Allegorically
(St. Augustine,
De Quaest. Evang.
2, 19): the parable signifies Christ's restoration of mankind. Adam is the man attacked by Satan and his legions; he is stripped of his immortality and left dead in sin. The priest and the Levite represent the Old Covenant and its inability to restore man to new life. Jesus Christ comes as the Good Samaritan to rescue man from death and brings him to the inn of the Church for refreshment and healing through the sacraments. 
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10:30 from Jerusalem to Jericho:
A 17-mile journey eastward that descends nearly 3,200 feet. Its rough terrain made the roadway a target area for bandits and thieves. 
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10:35 two denarii:
About two days' wages. It would have paid for several days of lodging. 
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10:38 a village:
Bethany, the home of Lazarus, near Jerusalem (Jn 11:1). 
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10:39 at the Lord's feet:
i.e., like a disciple before his master (8:35; Acts 22:3). 
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10:42 one thing is needful:
Martha was preoccupied with hospitality, while Mary gave her full attention to the guest himself. Her quiet devotion displayed greater reverence for Jesus than Martha's anxious toil. •
Mystically
(St. Gregory the Great,
Moralia
2, 6): the two women signify two dimensions of the spiritual life. Martha signifies the active life as she busily labors to honor Christ through her work. Mary exemplifies the contemplative life as she sits attentively to listen and learn from Christ. While both activities are essential to Christian living, the latter is greater than the former. For in heaven the active life terminates, while the contemplative life reaches its perfection. 
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11:2-4
A shorter version of the Our Father from Mt 6:9-13. As a model of prayer, it leads us first to adore God as our Father, and only then to petition him with our spiritual and material needs. Because it calls us to converse with the Lord on a
daily
basis, it is a sure means to deepen our relationship with him and develop confidence in his fatherly care. The repetition of the word
us
makes it is a family prayer for the Church (CCC 2601, 2765-66).
See note on Mt 6:9
. 
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11:2 hallowed:
The holiness of God's name should be revered by all (1:49; Ezek 36:22-28; Jn 12:28). 
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11:3 daily bread:
Literally "bread for tomorrow" or "super-substantial bread". It is food for the whole person: for the body, God gives us daily necessities, and for the soul he gives us the eucharistic "bread of life" (Jn 6:48) (CCC 2837).
See note on Mt 6:11
. 
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11:8 importunity:
i.e., persistence. The parable (11:5-8) advocates perseverance in prayer, so that God's children learn to approach him repeatedly with daily concerns. It is not that God needs to be informed of our needs, but that we must realize our total dependence on him for everything (CCC 2613). 
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11:13 the Holy Spirit:
The Father's greatest gift to us is his own divine life (Jn 14:17). Through the Spirit, he sanctifies his children and distributes the graces of salvation won by Christ (Rom 8:14-17; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Gal 5:22). The fullness of the Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) (CCC 728, 2670-71). 
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11:15 He casts out demons:
Jesus forces his opponents to decide for themselves whether he is empowered by God or the devil, leaving no neutral ground for them to stand upon.
Beelzebul:
A derogatory name for Satan. It is linked to a pagan idol worshiped at Ekron (2 Kings 1:2).
See note on Mt 10:25
. 
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11:20 the finger of God:
i.e., the Holy Spirit (Mt 12:28; CCC 700). • Jesus alludes to Ex 8:19, where Pharaoh's magicians finally confess that their own sorcery has been outmatched by the power of Yahweh. Jesus likewise wields divine power that is far superior to that of other exorcists in his day (11:19).
See note on Lk 4:36
. 
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11:22 one stronger:
A reference to Jesus, who overthrows Satan and plunders his house of sinners held captive (13:16; Is 49:24-25; Heb 2:14-15). 
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11:26 the last state:
Those delivered of demons must be filled with the goodness of Christ's kingdom. To benefit from his ministry without accepting his message leads to spiritual ruin (2 Pet 2:20).
See note on Mt 12:44-46
. 
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11:28 Blessed:
It is better to belong to Jesus' spiritual family than to his earthly family. His mother Mary is blessed on both counts, since she is Christ's biological mother (1:42, 48) and the sterling example of one who hears and keeps the word of the Lord (1:38, 45). 
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11:29-32
Both
Jonah
and
Solomon
ministered to the Gentiles, the former to the Assyrians in
Nineveh
(Jon 3) and the latter to the
queen
of Sheba (1 Kings 10). They together prefigure Jesus, who sends the gospel out to all nations (24:47; Mt 28:19). 
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11:33-36
These sayings make use of two traditional beliefs about the eye.
(1)
Ancient peoples including Israel commonly held that the human eye was a source of light that shone out into the world and made vision possible (Ps 38:10; Prov 15:30).
(2)
The difference between a good eye and an evil eye was a metaphorical distinction between a generous and compassionate spirit (Prov 22:9) and a selfish and miserly one (Deut 15:9; Sir 14:8-10). In this context, Jesus is calling for an examination of the interior of our lives. Unless one is filled with light, which shines out through healthy eyes in the form of generosity, one cannot be a lamp enabling others to see and enter the kingdom (11:33; Mt 5:15-16). To be filled with darkness and beset with an evil eye of greed and selfishness is to stand outside of the kingdom and to leave others in the darkness as well (11:52). This emphasis on what is inside a person is closely connected with the following episode, where Jesus chides the Pharisees and lawyers for their preoccupation with the
exterior
practices of religion and their neglect of
interior
holiness (11:37-52). That they appear outwardly devout to others when in fact they are inwardly filled with corruption and impurity makes them guilty of "hypocrisy" (12:1). 
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11:34 not sound:
Literally, "evil". The expression is related to several Greek terms in the surrounding context. In 11:26 Jesus warns of being filled with seven "evil" spirits; in 11:29 he calls his contemporaries an "evil" generation; and in 11:39 he says the Pharisees are full of
extortion and wickedness
(or evil). 
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11:38 did not first wash:
Jesus disregards Pharisaic customs of cleansing. These washing rituals were religious in nature, not hygienic.
See note on Mk 7:3
. 
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11:39 cleanse the outside:
The religious zeal of the Pharisees focused on the exterior of the body and often failed to penetrate to the heart. See topical essay:
Who Are the Pharisees?
at Mk 2. 
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11:42 woe to you:
An oracle of judgment.
See note on Mt 23:13
.
you tithe:
The Pharisees give a tenth part of all produce to the Temple, even the smallest of their herbs and spices (Lev 27:30; Deut 14:22-27). Sadly, their concern for the Torah's most minute laws distracts them from its most important principles:
justice
and the
love of God
(10:25-28). 
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11:44 like graves:
Jews were temporarily defiled by contact with tombs and corpses and thereby disqualified from worshiping at the Temple (Num 19:11-16). Ironically, the Pharisees also became sources of defilement, since the influence of their strict ceremonial piety was keeping people from the kingdom. 
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11:51 Abel . . . Zechariah:
Abel's martyrdom is the first recorded in the Bible (Gen 4:8), while Zechariah's death centuries later is not mentioned in the Old Testament. The point here is that the bloodguilt accumulated throughout the OT era will spill over when the Jerusalem leaders conspire to execute the Messiah.
See note on Mt 23:35
. 
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