Section 6
to a place of curse. The way he was taking was the way of such a fall.
FALLING AMONG ROBBERS
The man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. These robbers signify the legalistic teachers of the Judaic law (John 10:1), who used the law (1 Cor. 15:56) to rob the lawkeepers like the self-justified lawyer. The word "stripped" signi fies the stripping by the law misused by the Juda izers. The Greek word translated "beat" literally means "laid blows upon." This beating signifies the killing by the law (Rom. 7:9-10). Further more, the robbers leaving the man half dead signifies the Judaizers' leaving the lawkeeper in a dead condition (Rom. 7:11, 13).
All the Pharisees, legalistic teachers of Juda ism, are here likened to robbers. The lawyer is likened to the one going down from Jerusalem to Jericho who fell among these robbers and was stripped and beaten by them. The legalistic teachers of the Jewish religion stripped people and beat them and then left them half dead. This was the situation of the lawyer, although he did not realize that he was in such a condition.