The Good Samaritan

Good morning! Today, I want to share a story with you. One of the things we have been learning as Disciples of Jesus is sometimes we have to UNLEARN things to see them with fresh eyes.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

I want to share a story Jesus told, one most of us have heard before, and let’s allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us this morning, give us fresh insight and inspiration - to speak to our hearts and help us become a little bit more like Jesus today. Can we do that together?

Please stand with me for the hearing of God’s Word this morning.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

[READ]

The NIV Application Commentary: Luke Luke 10:25–37

ON ONE OCCASION an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

English Standard Version Chapter 10

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

An Interesting Conversation

So let’s dig into this parable this morning.

Let’s dig into God’s Word this morning. To really understand Jesus’ story, it’s important to understand who he is talking to?

To really understand Jesus’ story, it’s important to understand who he is talking to?

Jesus is discipling his people and in the group is a Jewish lawyer, someone who is an expert in Jewish law, and he stands up to test Jesus.

In Middle Eastern culture the teacher usually sits and the student stands to show respect as they ask a question - kind of like raising your hand.

The lawyer does the respectful thing by standing up - like raising your hand in class - but what he really wants to do is trap Jesus, make him look bad, and test him.

The lawyer does the respectful thing by standing up - like raising your hand in class - but what he really wants to do is trap Jesus, make him look bad, and test him.

10v25 “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The lawyer asks.

Jesus answers, 10v26 “What’s written in the Law? How do you read it?” How do you understand it?

The lawyer answers with the Shema, and includes Jesus’ command to love your neighbor as yourself.

10v27 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

English Standard Version Chapter 10

27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

English Standard Version Chapter 10

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

“You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” Jesus tells the man.

The order in which Jesus says this is important - Jesus places loving God with all you heart, soul, strength, and mind BEFORE loving your neighbor as yourself.

We can’t really love others until GOD’S love fills us first. Until we are filled with the Holy Spirit! Amen! What happens if we try to love people in our own strength and not out of the overflow of God’s Spirit in our lives?

Often, the person we are serving, trying to love, misunderstands us, they don’t want our help, maybe they even get mad at us!

What happens is: My ability to love them depends on their response to me.

Have you ever tried to be nice to someone, help them, serve them, only to have them misunderstand you ?

Anyone know how hard it is to love some people? Some people are really hard to love, aren’t they?

Your ability to love someone is not fueled by their response to you. It is fueled by the overflow of the Spirit in your life.

If my ability to love you (pick a person) is powered by YOUR RESPONSE TO ME, I can quickly get discouraged, defeated, and give up. If my motivation to love you hinges on how you respond to my love, I’m doing the same thing sinners do. It aint’ going to work.

If my motivation to love you hinges on how you respond to my love, I’m doing the same thing sinners do.

If my ability to love you (pick a person) is powered by HIS/HER RESPONSE TO ME, I can quickly get discouraged, defeated, and give up. If my motivation to love you hinges on how you respond to my love, I’m doing the same thing sinners do. It aint’ going to work.

If my ability to love you (pick a person) is powered by YOUR RESPONSE TO ME, I can quickly get discouraged, defeated, and give up. If my motivation to love you hinges on how you respond to my love, I’m doing the same thing sinners do. It aint’ going to work.

If we only love the people we receive a certain response from them, we

But if we only love others when we receive a certain response from them, we

Luke 6:32 ESV

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

But if we are first filled with the Holy Spirit, if we love God first with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength…THEN we can fully love others and ourselves.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Sometimes its the ONLY way we can love others - hard person in your life…you have to love your neighbor with the LOVE OF CHRIST! Right? The Holy Spirit powers our ability to love unlovely people! THAT’s THE WAY OF THE JESUS DISCIPLE!

Then comes the trick question from the Lawyer: 10v29 “And who is my neighbor?”

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

The ancient Jewish book of wisdom tells the Jews to not help sinners, only to help the Sons of your own people. Who is my neighbor? Certainly not sinners. Certainly not Gentiles? Are you wanting me to go against the Law of Moses? Do you want me to call sinners God’s People and love them as well? He’s trying to trap and discredit Jesus.

I mean says, “ You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against “The sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself” - where “Sons of your own people” meant God’s people, Israel, the Jewish people! So Jesus, I understand where you get love your neighbor as yourself, but by this scripture, my neighbors are God’s people, Jews! Are you asking us to go against Scripture? HE’S TRYING TO TRAP JESUS AND DISCREDIT HIM!

Jesus answers with the story of the Good Samaritan.

THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN

English Standard Version Chapter 10

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

10v30 “A man (a Jew) was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.”

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

(PIC) The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was particularly dangerous, still is today …lots of caves and hiding places for thieves to jump our and rob people.

(PIC) The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was particularly dangerous, still is today …lots of caves and hiding places for thieves to jump our and rob people.

Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

10v31 “Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The temple in Jerusalem had three classes of people. 1. Priests 2. Levites 3. Laymen

10v31 “Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.”

The priest was on his way down the mountain from Jerusalem to Jericho - many of the temple priests lives in Jericho and would go up to Jerusalem for a 2-week assignment and then return home to Jericho.

Test

Priests were wealthy and wouldn’t have hiked the 17 mile journey on foot when they could afford to ride. He could have easily transported the man to Jericho.

What stopped him?

Priests in this time were identified by the clothing and their language. It was how they could tell you apart from them.

But the priest had a problem, the wounded man was unconscious and stripped naked. He couldn’t be sure he was a Jew. He also didn’t know if he was dead. If he was and the priest touched him, he would be ceremonially unclean and would have to return to Jerusalem for a week-long process of purification, during which time neither him or his family would receive food or pay.

If he decided to help anyway and became unclean and still tried to serve in the synagogue in Jericho he would be killed. So, he decided to pass on the other side.

He was more concerned about follow the law, the way things have always been done. To break out of his routine, to understand what it meant to live differently would be too radical, too scary, too much of a disruption to his schedule. It would be too costly if he provided a ride for the injured man and he would have to walk. So he did nothing.

English Standard Version Chapter 10

So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

10v32 “So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”

Levites were assistants to the priests in the temple. They manned the entry gates, cleaned the temple, provided medical care, helped with animal sacrifices and music for worship.

So the Levite was probably an assistant to the priest who was riding ahead of him. He would NOT want to upstage the priest. Would the priest think he understood the law better than him? What would the other priests in Jericho think of him that night if he helped? He didn’t want to offend anyone or make anyone think he is better than them.

They manned the temple gates, cleaned the temple, slaughtered some of the sacrificial animals, and performed the music during temple worship

Instead of showing compassion, instead binding and cleaning the injured man’s wounds, he was motivated by what other people thought and how others would respond to him. So he did nothing.

He was more concerned

English Standard Version Chapter 10

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

10v33 “But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.”

First-century Jewish stories always had an order to them: It started with a Priest, them a Levite, and the third person should be a Jewish laymen.

But this is where the story explodes in the face of Jesus’ listeners. The HERO of the story is not the Jewish laymen…BUT A HATED OUTSIDER.

I mean, the story would have worked for the Jews if it was a good Jewish laymen who helped the wounded Samaritan on the way the Shechem.

But it is TOTALLY OFFENSIVE and BACKWARD to tell the story with the a hated Samaritan helping a wounded Jew. ESPECIALLY after the Priest and the Levite both failed to help!

ESPECIALLY after the Priest and the Levite both failed to help!

NOT ONLY THAT, Jesus begins to tells the story, showing how the Samaritan was moved with compassion and began to do the things the church should be doing!

NOT ONLY THAT, Jesus begins to tells the story, showing how it was a Samaritan who was moved with compassion and began to do the things they should have done!

So what did the Samaritan do?

10v34 “He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.”

He had to have been seriously injured, because a deep cut had to be bound up before the oil and wine (antiseptic) could be poured on. He did what the Levite failed to do.

The Samaritan was using all his available resources (oil, wine, cloth wrappings, time, energy, and money) to care for the wounded man. He did what the Levite failed to do.

10v34b “Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”

The Samaritan risks his own life by transporting a half-dead Jew into Jericho - a city filled with Jewish priests! If a Samaritan showed up in the city, you may get assaulted, if not killed. It certainly wouldn’t look better if you had a half-dead Jewish man on the back of your donkey!

Does he drop him off at the gates and run. Nope! He puts the man on his donkey, and walks him through the city to an inn and stays with him all night . He did what the Priest failed to do.

10v35, “And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back’”

Two denarii would have paid his bill for food and lodging for two weeks.

Two denarii would have paid his bill for food and lodging for two weeks.

If you stayed in an inn and were unable to pay the bill, you could be sold into slavery!

The Samaritan was using all his available resources (oil, wine, cloth wrappings, donkey, time, energy, and money) he risked being assaulted in Jericho to care for the wounded man, now he is compensating for what the thieves took from him.

Jesus ends his lesson,

10v36-37, “‘Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise.’”

Remember the lawyer’s question? Who is my neighbor?

Jesus doesn’t tell him. Instead, Jesus ask him, “To whom must YOU become a neighbor?”

You become the neighbor!

The Samaritan became the neighbor to the wounded.

He became the neighbor at great cost

He became the neighbor at great risk

He did care about follow the way things have always been done.

He wasn’t worried about what others thought of him.

He wasn’t concerned about how they would respond.

He was filled with compassion, overflowing with the love of God for his fellow man.

Your neighbor is anyone in need, regardless of how they look, who they hang out with, what clothes they wear, regardless of language, religion, ethnicity.

We don’t follow what others do, we follow God!

How are you doing at showing UNEXPECTED LOVE? The Jewish man will never be the same again.

This is discipleship! Go and do likewise.