Luke 10:25-37 (ESV)
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.” Jesus tells this story in response to the lawyer’s question, “who is my neighbor?” But if we look a bit deeper, Jesus is describing the type of person who inherits eternal life; the person who loves God and cares about the things God cares about. Undoubtedly, In the lawyer’s mind, this is surely people like himself and the other Jewish leaders. After all, they have committed their lives to the things of God. So, Jesus uses a story of a Jewish man desperately in need of assistance to answer the lawyer’s question. The first man, a priest, sees the man in his path and steps around him and continues on his way without offering any assistance. The second man, a Levite does the same. Both Jewish leaders continue on their way refusing to lend assistance to the injured and abused man who had fallen in their paths. Then, a Samaritan comes along and seeing the desperate man in his path, has compassion on him. Wait, a minute . . . a Samaritan had no reason to care about a Jewish person. Samaritans were despised by Jews with whom they were cultural and religious enemies. Yet, here is a man who feels compassion for a man who most likely despises him. The Samaritan then, at great expense to himself, shows the Jewish man mercy by providing for his needs. The leaders of God’s people who claimed to care about the things of God had deceived themselves. They were so distant from the heart of God, that a Samaritan man with a compromised faith mixed with idolatry and paganism was closer to the heart of God than they were. So, what can God teach me through this story?
Lord help me “go and do likewise”. Comments are closed.
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Tony HoffmanCampus Pastor at First Baptist Church in Leesburg, FL where his passion is to help people discover and live out their calling in Christ. Tony regularly consults, speaks, and teaches about discipleship and Christian education. Archives
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