I'm So Glad He Didn't Pass Me By!

When Mercy Meets Need: Lessons from the Good Samaritan

Bible Passage: Lk 10:30–37

Summary: In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus contrasts the reactions of a priest and a Levite with that of a Samaritan, who acts out of compassion. This narrative unfolds the importance of mercy in action, illustrating that true neighborly love goes beyond social norms and prejudices. The Samaritan’s willingness to help a wounded stranger reveals the heart of God’s love for humanity and challenges us to reflect on our own responses to the suffering of others.

I can remember a time when I was coming home from work one night; this was maybe some 8 or 9 years ago now. I was working in Lexington at the time and I was living in Aiken, SC. I was working the mid shift this particular night, and after getting off at 11:30 pm, as soon as I got into Aiken, I had a tire blowout! Rolling on 3 tires and a rim, I pulled into a nearby parking lot to calm my nerve. It’s a little after 12 in the morning and here I am on the other side of town with no spare tire, my phone was dead, and it’s cold! At this point I’m just mad and frustrated, so I begin to walk home. As I’m walking, I’m watching car after car, pass me by. Not one even slowed down a little bit! 5 public police cars with the words serving the public stamped on the side, never even stopped to ask me where I was coming from. After walking for what seemed like forever, I finally made it home some hour and half later. Tired and damp from walking in the cold air, I slowly drug myself up the stairs to my apartment. And as I turned the key and opened the door, thanking God I made it home, boom, my wife is sitting there, arms folded, ready to go off like a fire cracker! Where you been? You see what time it is? You got off work at 11:30, ain’t no way it should have taken you this long to get here. I told her what happened, she still fussing! Why you ain’t call me? I said my phone dead. She still fussing! I almost thought I was better off staying outside in the cold lol. I was like look, all I want to do is run me some water, take a nice hot bath and go to sleep! I know you were worried about me, and I’m sorry. God blessed me to make it home safe and sound, so let’s just leave it at that for now. So, I took my bath, got ready for bed, and as I lay there, my mind couldn’t help but to go back to all the cars that passed me by. And I began to think about some of the times where I passed people by. When I felt the urge to pull over and help, but kept going. Trying to make myself feel better by saying things like: they could have been crazy, or that could have been some kind of setup, or I don’t know that much about cars anyway, or somebody else will stop and help. I would always find some kind of reason to justify to myself, why I kept going and passed them by.

This parable, known as the good Samaritan is one of the most well-known parables in all the Bible! Many of us learn it in our childhood. And we would often times envision ourselves only as the Samaritan. But if we were to be honest with ourselves, there were times when we have acted as the Priest, and not even blink an eye! There were times where we acted as the Levite, where we pretended to care but still went about our business. And there have been times where we have acted as the Samaritan, where we actually took the time to stop and help somebody in need! But to envision ourselves as the Samaritan only, means we have missed the gospel message in the text! True enough, there are times where we can ACT as the Priest, where we can ACT as the Levite, and even when we can ACT as the Samaritan! But understand, we are neither of the three in the text! Instead, we are the man, that was stripped, wounded and left for dead!

Walk with me through the text for a little while. Let us observe the fall of this Jewish traveler. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho, was a steep, descending, and winding road! Jericho, being about 3,300 feet lower in elevation, was a 17-mile journey from Jerusalem. On this steep and rocky road, there were also caves and sharp turns that made it easy for robbers and thieves to hide themselves and ambush travelers. This Jewish man is traveling down this road, also known as “The Path of Blood”, where he is ambushed by theives! He is stripped of his clothing, he is beaten mercilessly, and is left for dead! This verse is a depiction of the fall of man! This certain man in the text, is a representation of Adam! Adam was created without sin! He was made upright! Created in the likeness and image of God! But because Adam sinned by eating the fruit from the tree that God forbade him to eat of, that image was now marred from sin! He fell from his uprightness, and all mankind with him. Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”

Every last one of us is guilty of sin, and deserving of a punishment of death! I don’t care how holier-than-thou you think you are, how saved or super-saved you claim to be, you might as well humble yourself and get down off of your high-horse because Romans 3:10 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;” Satan in his deception, robbed man of his honor, defaced the image of God on him, and deprived him of the glory of God. Stripped us of our righteousness, leaving us destitute, naked and exposed to the wrath of God! We were wounded with disobedience and left half dead! Physically alive, but spiritually dead!

Application: This sermon can help Christians evaluate their own lives and prompt them to step out of their comfort zones to assist those in need. It emphasizes the necessity of showing mercy, particularly to those who may feel ostracized or neglected in society. By embodying the Samaritan’s compassion, Christians can make a significant impact in their communities and demonstrate the love of Christ in tangible ways.

Teaching: The key teaching here revolves around the concept of active mercy. Believers learn that being a neighbor is not just about physical proximity but about a heart willing to engage with the marginalized and the hurting. This parable serves as a powerful reminder that our faith should manifest in loving actions toward others, regardless of backgrounds or belief systems.

1. Misplaced Priorities of Piety

Lk 10:30-32

You could explore the missed opportunities for mercy in the behavior of the priest and Levite. Their actions suggest that religious formality without compassion is hollow. This part could challenge listeners to evaluate their priorities, prompting them to consider whether they are placing religious rituals over tangible compassion. Perhaps, by understanding the failures of these figures, we can be motivated to be more like the Samaritan who acts selflessly.

Neither the priest nor the Levite, who are also fellow Jews, stopped to be of service to a man who is naked, beat up, and clinging to his life!

Sometimes even your own people won’t even bat an eye at you. Sometimes even your own people won’t lend you a helping hand.

The priest saw him, but kept on booking to the other side. The Levite went over and looked at the body lying there, but with not so much as asking are you okay, or checking to see if he’s even alive, passes by to the other side! You see because of the laws of purity, priests were not to touch a corpse because it was deemed to be impure. So taking the man for dead, the priest doesn’t even bother to come to the man’s rescue. The Levite, also wanting to avoid defilement, since it could have compromised his position, also chooses not to attend to this man’s needs! Both the priest and the Levite are more concerned with their position than with kindness! More concerned with their ceremonial law of purity, than the moral law of loving thy neighbor as thyself! More concerned with looking good, than actually being good! And brothers and sister I want to tell you that too many so-called Christians today are more concerned with looking like a Christian on the outside, than being a Christian on the inside! But I’m reminded of that hymn that says Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart! I want to be more loving in my heart! I want to be more Holy, in my heart! I want to be more like Jesus in my heart! Jesus, who the Bible says, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even death of the cross. It doesn’t matter what role you attain within the church, you ought to still be a servant to the people!

In Matthew 23, Jesus sternly addresses the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites for their rigid adherence to the law while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. This serves as a stark reminder that practicing our faith without compassion renders our actions hollow. We can fill our lives with rituals, but if we lack love for others, we miss the very heart of God’s command to us. Let’s not be like the Pharisees who upheld formality but forgot the essence of love and mercy.

I told you that we are the man that is laying half dead. Now let me explain the Spiritual significance of why the Priest and the Levite did not help.

The priest represents the law! No mercy is to be expected from the law! It does not allow for the fall and weakness of man. It is deaf to all repentings, cries, and tears. Righteousness cannot come by the law that leaves a man as naked as it finds him. Nor is there any healing by it to a wounded conscience. There’s not pity from it, no justification by it, and nor pardon through it!

Acts 13:39 “and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”

Galatians 2:16 “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

Please don’t misinterpret what I’m saying, I’m not saying forget the law because we know that Christ came not to condemn the law, but to fulfill it! Faith is Christ leads to loving God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind! Faith in Christ leads to loving your neighbor as yourself! The Bible says that the entire law, hangs on these two commandments. And Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments! What I’m simply saying is, no one is put right with God by means of the law. Only the person who is put right with God through faith in Christ shall live!

Now, the priest represents the law, but the Levite represents the prophets. And as mighty men as they were, they couldn’t save us either! For they were men as we are!

Though the prophets were sent to man as messengers of God, they themselves could not, nor cannot save man.

God says in Ezekiel 14:19–20 ““Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.”

That’s why the Bible says save yourselves from this untoward generation. Cause nobody else can do it for you. Momma and daddy can’t do it! The preacher can’t do it! The president can’t do it! You’ve got to get it for yourself!

2. Merciful Action Overcomes Prejudice

Lk 10:33-35

Maybe highlight the Samaritan’s genuine act of mercy. This part of the sermon could emphasize how unexpected the Samaritan's actions were given the cultural enmity. It suggests to listeners that true love for our neighbor often requires stepping beyond societal norms and prejudices. In encouraging Christians to emulate the Samaritan, there is also a reflection of Christ's own love and compassion for humanity, inviting us to adopt a similar approach.

So, between the law and the prophets, the priest and the levite, we are still left for dead!

The Samaritan in the text, represents Jesus Christ! Let us notice again, that the Priest and the Levite were both Jews which failed to help a fellow Jew. But this Samaritan, who is despised and hated by the Jews, steps beyond societal norms and prejudices and shows compassion to the man laying half dead!

The Jews historically disliked the Samaritans due to a complex mix of religious and ethnic differences. You see when the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel, they mixed the remaining Israelites with the foreign populations, creating the Samaritan people, which the Jews considered “impure” due to their mixed heritage.

The was also the matter of the Samaritans establishing their own place of worship on Mount Gerizim, which further fueled the divide.

Not only that, but when the Jews returned from exile in Babylon, the Samaritans actively obstructed their efforts to rebuild Jerusalem, further increasing tensions.

And so we have mixed ancestry, worship and religious differences, and historical conflicts making the Samaritans, enemies of the Jews! But here’s what he love of God does! While we were still sinners, Christ died for us! While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son!

The Samaritan in the text does not see religion! The Samaritan in the text, does not see ethnicity! Yet he sees a man in need of help, and he goes out his way to make sure the man is taken care of!

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad He didn’t pass me by!

He looked upon us, saw us weak and strengthless, lost and confused, as ungodly and enemies, but even with that, he looked upon us with kindness and mercy! He bound up my wounds, by his shed blood! The blood, that washes all of my sins away! The blood, that makes me as white as snow! I’m so glad, He didn’t pass me by! But He picked me up, and turned me around, placed my feet on solid ground! I don’t know why Jesus loved me, I don’t know why He cared, I don’t know why He sacrificed His life, But I’m glad, so glad he did! I’m saved, not by works, but by God’s grace! The blood of bulls couldn’t do it! The blood of goats couldn’t do it! The law couldn’t do it! The prophets couldn’t do it! Silver and Gold couldn’t pay my ransom! But I’m redeemed, by the blood of the Lamb!

3. Mandate to Mirror Mercy

Lk 10:36-37

Perhaps focus on Jesus' command to "go and do likewise." This call to action shifts the audience's perspective to a personal application of the parable. There is a suggestion that understanding God’s grace compels us to act mercifully towards others, echoing Christ’s mission on Earth. Encourage Christians to examine ways they can live out this command daily, reinforcing the sermon’s big idea about the reflection of divine grace in acts of mercy.

How this passage could point to Christ: The Good Samaritan prefigure Christ as the ultimate helper and redeemer who comes down to the broken and downtrodden. Just as the Samaritan cared for the wounded man without hesitation, Jesus lovingly reaches out to sinners, providing grace and healing. This story highlights Jesus as the embodiment of mercy, urging us to emulate that same spirit in our interactions with others.

Big Idea: Our commitment to mercy is a reflection of our understanding of God’s grace in our lives; the more we understand His mercy towards us, the more we are compelled to extend that same mercy to those around us.