And Jesus stood again within the temple courts and taught. A master of the law was sent to question him that he might find a cause to censure and accuse him of a crime. He said, Lord, tell me what to do that I may have eternal life? And Jesus said, You know the law; what does it say? The lawyer answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus said, Lo, you have answered well; this do and you shall live. The lawyer said, My neighbor, who is he?
And Jesus said, A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, and lo, he met with robbers on the way, who beat him, robbed him of his goods, and left him bleeding by the way. A Pharisee was going down that way; he saw the wounded man; but then he had no time to lose; he passed by on the other side. A Levite came and saw the man; but he was loath to soil his sacerdotal robes, and he passed by. A lawyer on his way to Jericho observed the dying man, and then he said, If I could make a shekel I might help the man; but he has nothing left to give, I have no time for charity; and he passed on. And then a stranger from Samaria came that way; he saw the wounded man; his heart was touched with pity, and he stopped, dismounted from his horse, revived the man, and placed him on his horse and took him to an inn and charged the keeper of the inn to nurse him back to strength. He gave the keeper all the money that he had and said, Your charges may be more than this, but care for this unfortunate, and when I come again I will pay all; and then he went his way.
Now, master of the law, which of these four was neighbor unto him who fell among the thieves? The lawyer said, The man who showed him mercy; he who cared for him. And Jesus said, Go on your way and likewise do, and you shall live. (Aquarian Gospel 136:1-17)
The only thing to note distinctive to this Aquarian Gospel account is the motivations of the four people who saw the wounded man.
The Pharisee was too busy and told himself he had no time. I have encountered this more than once in the East, for some reason, and each time the person who said: “I can’t, I am too busy,” was a selfish, self-centered hypocrite.
The priest did not want to dirty his vestments with the man’s blood and sweat. Ceremonial purity, obsession with clothes and aversion to any extra effort involved in cleaning them was his motive. Trivial and selfish.
The scribe did nothing because there was no advantage in it for him. He was one of those who Look Out For Number One at all time. That was the crassest motive of all.
The Samaritan had a sensitive heart, not just an intellectual idea of right and just behavior. Moved from deep within he helped the man. This was the motivation of a worthy human being
Now, Jesus, Peter, James and John went out to Bethany where Lazarus lived. And Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and heard him speak the words of life while Martha served. And Martha called, but Mary would not leave the Lord to help her serve. And Martha said to Jesus, Do you not care that Mary makes me bear the burdens of the serving all the day? I beg that you will bid her help. And Jesus said, You are too anxious, Martha, for your guests; you need not trouble so about the things of life. You grow a-weary by your care for little things and slight the one thing needed most of all. Your sister here has chosen far the better part, a part that none can take away. (Aquarian Gospel 136:18-24)
We are always hearing: “We need Marthas as much as Marys,” but Jesus did not seem to feel so. Might he have known something the “needers” do not? Yes. “You grow a-weary by your care for little things and slight the one thing needed most of all.” This should never be forgotten.
Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis