How to...Be a Good Samaritan

Call to worship

Psalm 29:1–2 NKJV

Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Hymn

[Children's talk - Horton the Elephant]

Notices/Announced by notices person: Offering/Hymn 2

Offertory Prayer - they bring the plates out the front

Hymn 3

After this we would have the reading or readings. We can ask someone else to do the reading if you wished.

Luke 10:25–37 NKJV

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Prayers normally follow and we would normally say the Lord's Prayer to conclude either in the morning or the evening

Hymn 4

Message.

This sermon should come as no surprise to us. We all know this parable. And a parable is a story with a spiritual meaning. But this one, like all spirituality has to do with the real world, so to speak, that we are presently living in. But because we are all familiar with this story does not mean that we have not yet something to learn from it.

Introduction

The start of this parable is interesting for it actually starts with a question:

Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Now I would answer this by saying believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. But Jesus took a different tack. He asked him in reply for he knew the questioner was a lawyer: how do you understand the law?

This is an easy one he thought - and without thinking totted off the answer:

Love God and love your neighbour.

And Jesus says that's it! That is absolutely right. If you love God with everything and love your neighbour as you love yourself then eternal life is yours!

Now, this answer is right. If we are able to love God and neighbour like this then we have done no wrong and will do no wrong. We are, therefore, already perfect in all our ways.

And that is why the lawyer, knowing he has not done all this, wants to feel OK with God and wants to justify his own actions. Now, do not have a go at the lawyer. He got the answer right but though he knew the answer he didn't like the answer. And we should feel the same.

Can we, even as Christians, claim to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all of our strength and with all our mind?

The lawyer went for the easy option. Not how to love God like this and not even how to love our neighbour like this but:

Who is our neighbour?

After all, if I can exclude some people that at least makes it possible to get one part of it right. And so Jesus tells a story and we get the impression that it may even be a true story for we feel like we are there on the road to Jericho.

The Seeking of Love

Luke 10:33 NKJV

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

We know the story. Roads are dangerous places even today and I don't just mean cars and trucks but some places in our cities can be like this. But, even so, you were brave or foolhardy to make journeys in those days for even Paul says he was:

2 Corinthians 11:26 NKJV

in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

These travellers must have really needed to make this journey from Jerusalem to Jericho which was about 16 miles. And there were highwaymen, not quite how we see in the movies, but a gang of thieves and they literally robbed the man of everything he had, even the clothes that he was wearing, and was beaten up to an inch of his life.

Then we come across a few other journeymen who came across this man and it is here the story gets trickier, our expectations are turned upside-down.

A priest came across this man. He was obviously repulsed by what he saw. A man lying in the road all bloodied. Even if it crossed his mind to help him he needed to stay ritually clean for if he touches a man and he dies then he cannot fulfil his priestly duties that day. Anyway, he was on God's business and that came first, heading for Jerusalem, no doubt. The priest represents ceremony and ritualism and the deadness of religion. Anyhow the man had already been robbed - there was nothing left for him to take!

A Levite also came across the man, came and looked and it was too much trouble for him to do anything about it. He has the same problem as the priest for it will make him unclean and then he has to go and make an offering. Too much work for a man who clearly is going to die. This man represent legalism. Both the priest and the Levite supposedly have good news but they kept it to themselves.

The man lying in the road with all his energy is asking for help: "somebody call an ambulance already!" Those who should have helped have passed by and have avoided him. They did not show love nor compassion for this man.

This man is also a picture of us in our state. And a picture of the state of others, some of whom we would cross the other side of the road to pass by. But Christ came to seek and save where we and they are. If we are to win people over to Christ we must be like Him.

The Sympathy of Love

Luke 10:33 NKJV

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

This Samaritan came along and did not pass over on the other side. He had compassion upon the man who had been robbed and was left naked and injured at the side of the road.

Even today we see man's inhumanity to man. Violence in the streets, wars and civil wars. Are we salt and light in the midst of darkness?

Do we close our eyes to those who have been left desolate, without homes, without possessions?

Do we feel no compassion for those fleeing conflicts?

Just think if Christ did not have compassion upon us and all the world... But He did and He does have compassion for the world He created. We, too, if we are going to help others must first have a heart of love and compassion.

The Service of Love

Luke 10:34 NKJV

So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Compassion is one thing, isn't it? Another is to turn compassion into action. This is what the Samaritan did.

What is not obvious to us is that the man lying in his own bodily fluids is a Jew. And we know elsewhere that Jews and Samaritans do not get on.

First, there are the racial tensions. Maybe an example of this is Russia and the USA. They don't really like each other but for the sake of peace make some sort of effort but it can boil over at any moment. This is how it was for the Jews and Samaritans. The thought of helping one another was a very distant one.

And then, there are the religious tensions. This one is raw. The Jews and Samaritans did not agree when it came to religion. I liken it to the Syrian conflict going on now and the refugee crisis. Hungary, Slovakia and other Countries closed their borders to those fleeing conflict mainly based upon their religion for the refugees are not Christians in the main. Of course, no-one mentions Saudi Arabia not letting anyone in either! But that's beside the point. As Christians we are called to not only have compassion but also to actually help.

Note this very important lesson: The Samaritan did not ask the man's race or religion but saw a fellow human in trouble. He did not find out whether he was a Jew, for sure. He did not find out if he worshipped in Jerusalem. He did not find out whether he was under 18. This was not important. He does not know who he is helping...maybe the man deserved to be at the side of the road, maybe the man hates the Samaritans, maybe if he gets well he will be like a Hitler.

Then there is the other side of this: for a Jew to hear that a Samaritan helped is like today hearing a Muslim helping a Jew or a Christian in the Middle East. It's just not possible, is it?

Then there are those Christians who say God helps those who help themselves believing it to be a biblical quotation when, in fact, it was Shakespeare! How could this man help himself? He needed help. Christ helps those who come to Him: He is the one who binds up our wounds pouring on us healing balm. But actually, Jesus went further than that:

Romans 5:8 NKJV

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

How often do we fail to help others even if we feel compassion for them?

The Selflessness of Love

Luke 10:34 NKJV

So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

So, what we find here is that the man has poured in oil and wine, then put him on his own animal, probably a donkey. This Samaritan denied himself. How? He now had to walk for a donkey should not carry two people. This man showed true love in the midst of another man's trouble. This truly is loving your neighbour as yourself.

Our supreme example, of course, is Jesus. He denied Himself, first, by coming into this world and restricting Himself to the confines of a body, then by allowing Himself to be arrested, falsely tried, and then crucified. He denied Himself for us.

This is exactly what we are called to in caring for the needs of others. This Samaritan also sacrificed more of his time taking care of the man...truly this man loves!

How are we crucified to this world?

The Spending of Love

Luke 10:35 NKJV

On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’

Now we find this man goes the extra mile, not only by walking and giving up his ride, but pays two days wages to help him get better. He was probably a regular at this inn for he says he'll return and pay anything extra that is incurred in the treatment and lodging of this man. It cost him. We have no idea if this man was wealthy, middle-class or working-class but he was prepared to pay the cost. What mattered was that the man got well.

Jesus paid the ultimate cost for his compassion and care and mercy: He paid the price for our sin. It cost Him His very blood.

Are we willing to pay the cost of being a disciple of Jesus?

Luke 9:62 NKJV

But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

It will cost us time, talent, and money to help those who are in need and to win the lost to Christ.

When the man recovered he probably found out who it was who helped him get back on his feet. Do you think his attitude changed towards the Samaritans?

If we keep those whom we don't like at arms length because of their ethnicity or because of their religion how do we hope to be a witness of Jesus to such people?

Conclusion

I know that some of us have qualms about immigration or asylum seekers but this is not a political sermon or a discussion of multiculturalism or the change of our nation away from Christianity to humanism and other religions like Islam and the related concerns of terrorism. Instead, it is a sermon about our attitudes and whether they are Christ-like or even Samaritan-like. We are called to be a different people, a peculiar people, a people of mercy.

Who is our neighbour?

Don't be so quick to answer to say: "everyone is". It is the correct answer but it is only when we become like the Samaritan we have only got it partly right. You see, the lawyer got the law right: He knew what the Bible said about loving God and loving our neighbour. And it is to these that Jesus says:

Matthew 23:23 NKJV

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

The second part , to complete the answer to the question who is our neighbour, is that we should also have compassion on those who are in need and then we are to do something about it even when it means it deprives us of something and/or costs us something or even everything.

Mark 8:35 NKJV

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Nothing less should be expected of Christians who want to be disciples of Jesus.

Go and do likewise.

Hymn 5

Benediction

Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook, 2002 Edition Helps for the Pastor’s Family

As this hour of praise shall cease, let Your children, Lord, depart with the blessing of Your peace, and Your love in every heart.