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.”
We can find the account of the Good Samaritan used in all kinds of secular situations, classes and morality instruction. People who want to do “good” seem to like
this parable of Jesus. And often, what Jesus is teaching has been entirely missed. Don’t get me wrong, of course Christians are to be helpful and racial and religious prejudices account for all kinds of evil in the history of this world. But the parable does
not come in a vacuum and is not to be used in some moralistic sense as if Jesus were telling us to feed the hungry, take care of the sick and you will go to heaven. The reason that many have moralized this, the reason that those who promoted a social gospel
latched on to this parable is because they have failed the context of Luke and failed to understand the heart of this message.
But I am sure we can understand how easy this might be to do. Jesus tells the lawyer at the end of this, go and do likewise, go and do as the Samaritan did and this
of course in response to the man’s question, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? This is tailor made for the self-righteous, self-reliant man or woman to pick up and run with it in some self-satisfied determination to do enough and to be enough, even
as this lawyer was doing in his attempt to trick Jesus, as if Jesus didn’t understand the law. But that is exactly what Luke has presented Jesus as doing…flushing out those who think this way, those who are confident in themselves. This lawyer proves to be
just that! But Jesus’ point has been and continues to be altogether different.
For all the books we have read and all the sermons and sermon tapes we have listened to, for all the conferences attended, what is it that comes out of our mouths…our
hands and our feet?
Because that is really what Jesus is driving at. Do we understand the life of love and service? Is our giving of our life one that is calculated, holding resentments
and bitterness? How has this gospel that we say we love and this Christ that we say is our life, seen and not because we put them on in a display for others, but because they are as natural to us? At great cost, inconvenience and disruption of plans this Samaritan
cared for the beaten man. There is never a hint of doubt as to what he should do, or to his wondering what is right, or his doing this so that others would be impressed with him. I think we are right to infer that the helped man never met the fellow who helped
him, he never knew his name.
The hatred between Jews and Samaritans had gone on for hundreds of years and is still reflected in the tension between Israel and Palestine today. Both sides claim
to be the true inheritors of the promises made to Abraham and Moses; Both regard themselves, therefore, as the true inheritors of the land. This man, this Jew beaten and bleeding to death, is completely helpless to do anything for his own life’s sake and he
can hardly be faulted for walking on the road.
So, there lies the man and by the providence of God, two men are brought to this point of passing by him. Verse 31 tells us that “by chance a certain priest…” From
the human perspective a priest just happened to be passing by, but we know the Lord sent him. Jesus is telling us this story, the same Jesus who ordered the stars in their place. The priest and the Levite had positions, religious positions among the people
of the day. The priest was a teacher of Israel, one who had responsibility for superintending the worship of God’s people before the Face of our Father in heaven. He would have been responsible for sacrifices and sacraments and no doubt being well trained
would have read that he was to love his neighbor as himself. He would have known the text, “…I desire mercy not sacrifice…” and that he was to “…do justly.” The point is that both of these men would have been theologically astute and in the eyes of men very
religious and even teachers and examples of what God would have his people to be, at least that is what their title would suggest.
We may spend our time learning the great truths of our holy faith as we should, as we must. But if it leaves us proud and failing in our calling our duty to love others
for Christ’s sake then we have failed to understand even the least of those doctrines. If anyone should have had compassion it was these men, not only did their profession require it of them, but if there be any knowledge of the Lord at all, such should move
them to it.
I am afraid that far too many Christians talk a big game but it is nothing but words. I wonder if we even think that this is necessary? We are often insensitive in
the words we speak; the offhand way we deal with others, we are easily annoyed if someone should disturb our plans for the day and we exercise little to no concern for the comfort of others even when it is within our means to be a comfort. And we are filled
with excuses just like I am sure the priest and Levite filled their minds with such good reasons as to why they could not and in fact must not stop to help. I am confident that there is no man on earth who has refused to act when given by God’s providence
the situation in which to act, who has not given at least one very admirable excuse. And I am sure that when you
have your excuses that you are completely convinced that you are right in your justifications, just as I am in mine.
~I am sure both men were in a hurry.
~They had families to get home to.
~They had duties to attend to in Jerusalem.
~Maybe they did not understand medicine very well.
~The sight of blood made them queasy.
~This is a dangerous road after all, what good will it be if I stop to help and I get jumped and beat up?
~The important things are not physical anyway, but spiritual. I will leave a tract with the man, a good one, on, ‘Sacrament and Sacrifice: The Meaning of Godliness.”
And I will say a prayer for him.
~How will I afford this? Everyone knows that we have little money, let Grace or CCC do this work, they are way bigger churches than we are.
Brothers and sisters, I know these temptations, for they knock at my door too. But my life as your minister and yours in whatever capacity you find yourself are not
so different. We do not have jobs and then say, the end. We have lives, with 24 hours in each day. Whether we spend them at the work site or at home is not the point. Jesus did not say lose your life for 8 hours a day. He demands 24 hours a day, every day
of every year, for we belong to Him. You’re tired. So was Jesus. You are burdened already…oh think of the immensity of the burden Jesus carried for you. You are afraid. Jesus will not leave you to your fear, but his love will cast it away!
This seems all quite straight forward; allow me to muddy the waters a bit. Think about what we have here; Two temple officials who would have thought that to contract
impurity by touching a possible dead man, or even a man who was bleeding would be to render themselves unclean according to the law of Moses. Were they not to seek this purity? Were they not required by the law of God to be pure so that they can participate
and even lead the covenant people before the face of God in holy worship? For someone else to be unclean is one thing, but for a priest or a Levite? The text implies that they were going up to Jerusalem, going up to worship, they had responsibilities, certainly
they could not forsake their duty! So, they preserved their purity. They protected their cleanliness, and I am sure they did so claiming in their minds, righteousness as their reason.
BUT they did this at the expense of their obedience to God’s law of love, and therefore they sinned against the second table of the law, they failed to know their
neighbor and therefore failed to understand the heart of God. I wonder how often we do this kind of thing. I wonder how often we think to embrace the commandments in some strict, overly scrupulous way, only to violate the spirit of the same? Sometimes we
fail to understand the heart of God’s law and we violate the spirit of it, while outwardly thinking that we keep it! Let me give you an illustration that might help: (Sorry for the length of our devotion this morning!)
Most of you are aware of the great Eric Liddle who would not participate in the 1936 Olympic Games when he found out his event was on Sunday. This beautiful story
is commemorated in the movie, Chariots of Fire. I find it astonishing how so many Christians will hold up Mr. Liddle, admire him, call him a true Christian hero, a man of conviction and honor for his refusal to be moved by the temptation and pressure of this
world to compromise his Xn faith…And then who will go out of their way to do the exact opposite of what Eric Liddle did? Eric Liddle is either a hero demanding not only our admiration but our imitation. OR, he is an absolute fool, but you cannot have it both
ways.
But how many of you know that after the Olympic games Eric went, as promised, to serve the Lord on the Mission field of China? In the communist uprising, Eric and
many others were put in prison camps, where Eric would minister to the prisoners the gospel and would end his life in this world. Things, as we can barely even imagine, were bad in this prison camp, really bad. Soon the morale of those who were captive was
abysmal and the prisoners were turning on one another. The Chinese captors decided to allow the prisoners to have a once a week soccer game to alleviate tension and to release pent up frustrations. The game was on Sunday afternoon.
Eric Liddle was the referee for those Sunday soccer games. Eric Liddle, the one who would not run in the Olympics on the Lord’s Day, the one who understood the sacredness
of God’s Sabbath. The one who said, “The Sabbath Day is the Lord’s and I for one, intend on keeping it that way.” Now, participating in a sporting event, on Sunday.
What do you think of that? Some will say compromise and weakness others will say wisdom and love. What do you say?
What the Levite and the Priest did was to use the law of God as a way of boosting their own sense of righteous and isolated purity and security. We must not be content
with easy definitions which allow us to watch other people lying half dead in the road, while we are standing somehow behind God’s word to justify our failure to keep God’s word. This life, the one that sees clearly the kingdom and has had its eyes opened
and its heart changed desires not the LOOK of righteousness and not the legality of doing all the right things so as to be considered righteous.
What the true Xn life desires is the true righteousness of Jesus who came as the despised One, One who was more despised than the Samaritan was to the Jewish people.
And this Despised One came to give all that he has to all of us who were lying in the ditch unable to lift our heads, bleeding to death in our sins. Many watching, many passing by, and no one able let alone willing to do anything for us. We see Jesus in this
parable. We see the gospel is this parable: the life that was not only Christ’s but now the life that is ours. We see all our expenses being laid to His account. We see that the Lord will set the account right in full, upon His return. We see that our Savior
did all of this because of his love AND his desire to fulfill all the law of God.
So, when we hear him tell us, go and do likewise…Go and live this way. Go and love this way. Go and put feet to My word, make the law, live in glory. When He tells
us this, go and do likewise, it makes perfect sense doesn’t it? Of course, go and do likewise, what else is there for us to do?
Prayer: Father, have mercy on me, a sinner. I think more of myself than I do of others, of my comfort, my desires and my well-being. You have told us to consider
others more than ourselves and I have scarcely ever done so, please forgive me. Give me the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ who came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many. The needs are all around me, open my eyes and fill me that
I might be Your hands and feet in the world. Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: Father, I Know That All My Life (Click “lyrics” under Samuel Anatharaj’s name)