The Story of the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:23–37
Then turning to the disciples [Jesus] said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
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.”
And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
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. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 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. 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.’
“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.” (ESV)
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending us your Son, Jesus Christ, who showed mercy on our sinful race and performed works of compassion toward us, the chief of which being his death on the cross. Forgive us of our failings to love our neighbor and grant faith to show love because of the love and mercy you have shown us. In Jesus name. Amen.
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
I can’t think of a Bible story that is more well-known throughout society than the story of the Good Samaritan. Everybody knows what it means to call someone a “Good Samaritan.” We even have “Good Samaritan” laws in all fifty states to help encourage bystanders to help in emergency situations. But sometimes the most well-known Bible stories or passages, are the most misunderstood.
One of the things that can help us understand the parables or illustrations of Jesus is to know the context leading up to it. Our lesson begins by Jesus’ telling his seventy disciples who had returned from preaching the good news that they were blessed to be able to see and hear the Messiah. Prophets and kings had longed to see the Savior, but they were blessed because they got to see him and hear him. But not everyone recognized who Jesus was—some were blind.
We are then told that a lawyer stood up to ask Jesus a question to test him. This wasn’t a friendly question, but an attempt to trap Jesus. He says, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” From his question we see that the lawyer thought that salvation was something that we could earn or accomplish by our deeds. He says, “What shall I do…” He was an expert in the Law, but he was blind towards its purpose.
The lawyer perhaps hoped that Jesus would answer incorrectly. That he would say something contrary to the law of Moses. But instead, Jesus asks the expert in the law about the law, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” To this the lawyer responds by citing Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19. And maybe surprisingly, Jesus replies, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” If you love God perfectly and your neighbor as yourself, you will be saved. The lawyer, wanting to make sure he had done his part asks, “And who is my neighbor?” The lawyer knew the law, but now he was trying to limit what God required. He wanted to know exactly who he was supposed to love as himself in order to keep God’s law.
Recently, I played pickleball with a group who had never played before (a game similar to tennis). I explained the rules to the group and where the ball could be hit. But it didn’t take long before on one of the return serves the ball went outside of the line, and it was the other teams point. But one person said, “Close enough! It was outside the line, but at least it was close to it.” It doesn’t take long for us to want to change the rules. We naturally want to bend the rules in our favor. We want to win, and we want to make it manageable. In a similar way, that is what the lawyer was trying to do with his question: “Who is my neighbor?” He wanted to limit who his neighbor was so that he could keep God’s law. And that’s when Jesus shares the story of the Good Samaritan.
A man, likely a Jew, was going from Jerusalem to Jericho. On his way, he was attacked by robbers who stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead. Yet, by chance, a priest happened to pass by, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Then came a Levite, who also passed by to the other side. Jesus names two men who you would expect to do good—they were leaders among the people supposed to be teaching and practicing mercy and kindness. But they ignore their duty. The robbers sinned against the man by robbing and beating him half to death. Yet, the priest and Levite committed the same sin but by omission. Sins of commission are when you do something against God’s law like the robbers. Sins of omission are failing to do what God demands of us. Both are sins in the sight of God.
After Jesus uses the example of the Priest and Levite, he tells of a Samaritan. The fact that Jesus uses a Samaritan as an example would have been absolutely shocking to this lawyer. Samaritans were hated by the Jews. They were Jews who had intermarried with pagan foreigners after the fall of Israel. They established their own place of worship and rejected many of the teachings of the Jews. Later, when the Jews tried to rebuild Jerusalem after its fall, the Samaritans tried to stop them. Suffice it to say, there was deep-seated hate between the Jews and Samaritans. They were enemies. To the Jews, Samaritans were even more revolting than the Gentiles.
So then comes a Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews. He sees the man and has compassion. He is unconcerned about the potential danger of nearby robbers and goes to help him. He bandaged the man and put him on his beast of burden, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Not wanting to put this burden on anyone else, he even paid the inn keeper two denarii to care for him and promised to repay him whatever more he might spend.
Those who had a responsibility to help the injured man didn’t, but the one who would have been considered his enemy, did. A truly remarkable story of compassion—one that goes beyond what anyone would expect of a stranger, let alone, an enemy. The lawyer knew which one of these three was a neighbor to the man. The one who showed mercy. And Jesus says, “Go, and do likewise.”
Why does Jesus say this? It’s almost shocking that he does—we would expect Jesus to tell him about the Gospel and his need for a Savior. Yet, Jesus preaches the law because the man was self-righteous and unrepentant. He didn’t come to praise Jesus or receive his forgiveness—he wanted to justify himself. So, Jesus tells him this wonderful story of compassion to prick the man’s conscience. If he tried to live out Jesus’ words, he would soon realize his own selfish lack of love and his absolute inability to earn his way to heaven through the law.
Look at your own heart. Have you shown the compassion that Jesus requires to others, even your enemies? You and I often are slow to even show compassion to those around us—to our spouse, child, church member or neighbor, let alone our enemies. We’d much prefer to help ourselves, then inconvenience ourselves helping someone in need. Even when we perform acts of kindness, we often do it begrudgingly or we pat ourselves on the back for doing a good job, instead of giving thanks to God for the opportunity to serve our neighbor.
If you come away from this lesson thinking that you are or must be that Good Samaritan, then you have missed the point. However, if you see through this lesson that you have not been the neighbor you should be nor kept the law as God demands, then you are blessed. You are not the Good Samaritan. You are the one who have been attacked and left for dead in your trespasses and sins by Satan, but God wants us to see in Jesus, the true Good Samaritan, who passes no one in the hour of need.
Jesus saw us in our desperate need of saving, and he had compassion on us. Despite the cost, Jesus became man coming over to our side. Since we could never pay our debt of sin, Jesus placed the burden of our sins on his own back and carried them to the cross. Jesus took the punishment we deserved, being beaten, stripped, and robbed, which ended with his death on the cross where he offered to God his perfect obedience and love of God and neighbor, to pay for the sins of the whole world. “By his stripes our wounds are healed.” Jesus’ love for us knows no limits.
The story of the Good Samaritan points us to Jesus, who has come to our side, bandaged our wounds, and lifted us up. Jesus went beyond the expectations of love. We had sinned against God and were his enemies. But he loved us none the less. He came to help us. He came to save us. Jesus is the one whom the prophets and kings longed to see—their Savior from sin and their helper and friend.
God shines the mirror of the law before our eyes so that we might see our sin, repent, and seek God’s mercy. When you hear God’s law, the Holy Spirit is working on your heart to show you your sin and this is troubling! You know your sins, your faults, that you would want no one else to know. But the Holy Spirit shows you how undeserving you are, so that you might learn to love Jesus. He knew you had sinned against him, but he came to your help anyway. He truly loves you. He is your real Savior who saves you from your very real sins. Jesus says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:31–32). Jesus fulfilled the law for us so that he could forgive our sins and heal the wounded.
Because Christ loved us, Christians also seek to reflect this love to others. Our lesson teaches us there is nothing so great or small that should prevent us from helping others. However, as Christians who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we don’t do this out of compulsion nor is it a burden. Jesus has already done the work. The Christian doesn’t ask, “What must I do,” but rather, “How can I show love to my neighbor because of what Christ has done for me?” Good works are a fruit of faith. As we sing. “Faith to the cross of Christ doth cling And rests in Him securely; And forth from it good works must spring As fruits and tokens surely; Still faith doth justify alone, Works serve they neighbor and make known The faith that lives within thee.”
As Christians we desire to show compassion, but we often fall short and struggle to show mercy as we ought. Yet, when we fall and lie helpless, Jesus doesn’t scold us for getting beaten but has compassion on us. When we sin, he invites us to confess our sins and lay our sins on him. Jesus is the Good Samaritan who binds our wounds, picks us up, and provides for our stay at the inn, which is his church on earth where we hear his word and receive the sacraments for the forgiveness of our sins. It’s here at church where we receive true rest and healing, and forgiveness and strength to continue on our journey here on earth. The story of the Good Samaritan points us to Jesus, our Savior and friend, who helps us in our need. Amen.