The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37
We’ll read the passage a little later but turn to Luke 10:25-27.
Do you like rules? For the most part I think rules are good for keeping other people in line but most of us only like them when they work to our advantage. Douglas Bader said, “Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men." And Douglas MacArthur said, “Rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind.” The problem is, sometimes rules and the people who make them can get out of control.
Here are some rules that were posted in a drive-in restaurant. “Do not back in. Restrooms are for customer use only. On a trash can there was a note that said, “Not for diaper disposal or auto trash.” Inside there was one that said, “Local checks for amount of purchase only.” And another said, “Vanilla frosties dipped one size only.” And another was, “Please order by number.” And another said, “Observe all signs.” These guys had rules for their rules.
It seems that the worst offenders with rules aren’t restaurants but churches. Here’s a list of laws that are still on the books that relate to churches in the United States. “Young girls are never allowed to walk a tightrope in Wheeler, Mississippi, unless it’s in a church. In Blackwater, Kentucky, tickling a woman under her chin with a feather duster while she’s in a church service carries a penalty of $10.00 and one day in jail. No one is allowed to eat unshelled, roasted peanuts while attending church in Idanha, Oregon. In Honey Creek, Iowa, no one is permitted to carry a slingshot to church except a policeman. No citizen in Leecreek, Arkansas, is allowed to attend church in any red-colored garment. (I guess that leaves Santa Claus out.) Swinging a yo-yo in church or anywhere in public on the Sabbath is prohibited in Studley, Virginia. And turtle races are not permitted within 100 yards of a local church at any time in Slaughter, Louisiana.” I read that and thought, maybe they we’re afraid the turtle will move faster than their service.
The whole thing about rules is that some of them might sound pretty good when they were made, but later on, the same rule won’t seem to make any sense to those come after them. The problem is, conditions change and so do people and rules that were good at one time might not be applicable later on or even in a different place.
And what we have here in the story of the good Samaritan is a man who asked Jesus a question and he’s the type of person who thinks the Bible is a book of rules and all he has to do is keep a few and God will think he’s alright. And when he compares himself to all the heathen in the world he thinks he’s doing a pretty good job. So, in this passage he stands up in a crowd and acts like he’s going to put Jesus on the spot and show everybody how smart he is and how dumb Jesus is.
This parable of the Good Samaritan is so well known that it’s actually become a phrase we use to describe an unusual act of kindness. Today we call people good Samaritans who find people in need and help them. And not only Christians are familiar with this idea but so are many non-Christians. And there are many ‘good Samaritans’ who spend their time helping those who are the less fortunate in society. And the problem we have is, the way the term is used today obscures the message of the scripture. There are those who think they know what this story is really all about, but the truth is, they miss the point all together. You see, people think it’s a story about helping other people who are in need but it’s really a story that pushes people up against the shallow nature of their religion.
O.K. so here’s the passage in Luke 10:25-37. “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, what is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answering said, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And He said unto him, thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
‘But’ he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, and who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering said, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, 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 on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, he that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, go, and do thou likewise.”
Now, here we see a lawyer and what you have to keep in mind is, this lawyer wasn’t a lawyer like we have today who would be an expert in criminal, real estate or wills but this guy was an expert in Jewish law and specifically in the Law of Moses. And this lawyer was trying to expose Jesus as some kind of a false teacher and he does this by asking Him a simple question and that’s how is he supposed to get eternal life.
And the problem here is, he really doesn’t want what he’s asking for because he assumes that if anybody is going to get eternal life then he’s already got it. I mean, this is one of the men who teach the Pharisees and interpret the scriptures for the rest of Israel. And as far as he’s concerned, if there’s any kind of pecking order in the line-up for heaven then he and the rest of the scribes or lawyers will be at the head of the line.
And so, what he’s doing here is trying to show Jesus up and to demonstrate to everyone who is listening how smart he really is. We know this because it says, ‘a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him.’ Now, the word tempted or tested are the same word in Greek and so what he’s doing is giving Jesus a test with the idea of failing Him in front of the people.
So, Jesus responds by saying, what does it say in the Bible he says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” And Jesus says, “That’s great, go and do that and you’ll be alright.” And that’s really a funny thing to say because both Jesus and the man who is asking the question know that he’s already failed and that he’ll fail again. I mean, it doesn’t take a genius to understand that none of us can love God with all we are and have and then love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves because everyone everywhere is a sinner. Isn’t that right?
And then I want you to notice the next word because it says, “but” and that tells us this guy couldn’t let it go. It says, “But he, willing to justify himself said unto Jesus.” You see, he started off trying to look good in front of everybody else and then he found himself trying to justify himself in the sight of God.
Now, let me just go back again and pick it up in verse 25 where it says, ‘on one occasion’ and we don’t know if Jesus was teaching somewhere or if He just appeared in public and this lawyer decided to make a scene in front of everyone but he asks Jesus a question and that was, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This was the greatest question that was ever asked or answered and it a question that was on the minds of the Jewish people all the time. As I said last day there were certain statements given in the Old Testament that taught them there was such thing as eternal life but they didn’t seem to have a clue as to how they were to get it. And for the most part they felt like everyone had to wait for the last day and see how they made out.
And so, many of these people were depending on their religious beliefs with their circumcision, their ceremonies, their traditions and everything that went with them to qualify them for heaven, but there was still a nagging awareness of their sin that told them that they weren’t good enough to be a part of the Kingdom and so they really wanted to know, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Its like, how can I know for sure that I’m saved in time so I’ll be safe for all of eternity.
And Jesus answered his question with a question in verse 26 by asking him, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” Which is the same as saying, what does God have to say? And when He asks, “How readest thou?” He’s referring to the two most important verses in the Old Testament that the Jews quoted every day and they’re called the shema. They’re found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18 and we see here that the lawyer quotes these verses, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” and then he adds the Leviticus verse which says and your neighbor as yourself.
And if you look at these two verses you’ll see that all of God’s Law is summed up in two categories. The first half has to do with our relation to God and then the second with our relationship to others and the basic understanding was, if you kept both of these rules you wouldn’t need anything else. And so, when the man quoted these verses Jesus just said, “Do this and live.”
The problem was, this guy knew he couldn’t do what these verses said, because he was a sinner like the rest of us. But, at the same time, he wouldn’t admit it. So, rather than being honest about his inability to keep God’s word he asked Jesus to clarify what He meant when he said, “And who is my neighbor?”
Now listen carefully, I want you to see this, by focusing on his neighbor he was jumping over the issue of loving God with everything you have and everything you are.
And it was like he was saying, I’m alright with God but who is this neighbor you’re talking about? And Jesus rather than ignoring, what I’m sure He saw was a very weak argument tells him a story and it was more than just a story for him because it puts the whole world under the microscope of God.
And this is a story we call all relate to, because we’ve all been ripped off in our lives and there have also been times when we know we could have done something to help someone else but we made some stupid excuse not to.
We also notice that Jesus refuses to define who a neighbor is, but instead He shows that being a neighbor to someone isn’t limited to the guy next door but it’s showing the love of God to anyone in need, no matter who they are.
And so Jesus tells this story and it’s a story about a man who goes from Jerusalem to Jericho and this was a common business trip. It was something people did every day. It’s like going from Sackville to Moncton and back again. So, this man was minding his own business when some thieves who were very common on that road jumped him, robbed him, beat him and left him for dead.
A Sunday school teacher was telling her class this story and she described the situation in such vivid detail hoping her students would catch the drama. And then she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?" A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence by saying, "I think I’d throw up!" And listen, she was right because this guy was really in rough shape.
And then we see three men coming down the same road and they’re on their way to Jericho from Jerusalem and they notice this man and each of them responds. And it’s interesting to know that the road spoken of here is a very long one. It’s like the four mile stretch coming into Sackville where you can see what’s happening way up the road. And it’s very likely, according to those who have walked this road, that a person traveling along could see ahead of him for quite a while and he would have time to think about what he could or should do.
So, the three people traveling here are the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan. And for the most part he’s called him the good Samaritan and yet this term would be extremely obnoxious to a Jewish person. It would be what’s known as an oxymoron. An oxymoron is a word combination that kind of contradicts itself. It’s like the terms jumbo-shrimp, (That’s like saying big-little) or original copy or a work party. And to the Jewish mind ‘a good Samaritan’ would be like saying a good Nazi or a hard working bum.
I was traveling back to London from Guelph one night and it was really, really pouring. I got about ten miles from London and I noticed a middle aged man sitting in a late model car by the side of the road. I thought, I wonder if I can help and pulled over. He was out of gas. So, I said, “Jump in and I’ll drive you to the gas station.” He had a can and he got in and was very grateful that I stopped. When we got to the gas station he said thanks and that he’d call a cab but I insisted that he get his gas and I would drive him back to his car. So, he got the gas and got back in the car and as we were heading back he kept thanking me over and over and I said, “Don’t worry about it, maybe some day someone will do the same for me.”
As we got to his car he offered me some money and I said no thanks and then he said, “Let me give you my card. I own a couple of stores that sell candy and nuts and I’ll tell one of my girls to make you up a little gift just to say ‘thank you.’ I said, it wasn’t necessary but he insisted and said, “Look, I’m Jewish and we have a saying that if you don’t return a favor with a favor your useless, besides, you’re a good Samaritan and I want to express my appreciation.”
A couple of days later I dropped into his store and told them my name and the lady said, “Oh, you’re the good Samaritan that helped the boss by the side of the road. Wait right here, I have a package for you.” And it was a beautiful package made up of candy and various kinds of nuts.
And as I thought about it later on it occurred to me that both of these people had called me a good Samaritan. And although we see this as a compliment today, it certainly wasn’t something you’d call someone in Jesus’ day unless you didn’t like them. I mean, the words good and Samaritan didn’t exactly go together.
So, the story begins by saying “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.” And this is a very dangerous road but listen, you don’t have to be in the Middle East to relate to that because there are times when all roads are dangerous. And yet, here you’ll find that Jerusalem is about three-thousand feet above sea level but Jericho is about nine hundred to a thousand feet below sea level. It’s a 4,000 foot drop in 17 miles, so it’s quite a plunge. You could easily fall into one of the crevices beside the road if you weren’t careful and these crevices were also a great place for thieves to hide out.
So, Jesus is describing a familiar place which was also very dangerous and He said that as this man was going down the road he ‘fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.’ Now, get the picture, these guys didn’t just knock him out but the Greek word for ‘beat’ has the idea of repeated blows. It was like, he was in critical condition or halfway dead and if no one helped him then he would have died. And not only did they take all of his money but they also took all of his clothes. And needless to say, if someone didn’t do something then he was a goner.
Now, here’s the important part of the story because there are people going by and there’s always the chance that someone will do something to help.
And in verse 31 we see the priest. It says, “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.” A priest was a servant of God. He was the one who offered sacrifices on behalf of the people. It was his job to bring the people before God. And as far as everyone was concerned the priest was the picture of virtue because he knew the law and the law taught everyone to not just be concerned about others but also to do something to help whenever they saw someone in need.
I’m sure the man by the side of the road thought, I’m safe now because here’s someone who really cares about his fellow man. But, it says and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And here Jesus uses a Greek verb for ‘passed by’ which means he literally went in the opposite direction or as far away as possible. In other words, he went out of his way to make sure he didn’t come in contact with him. So, if this is a story about loving your neighbor than we’d have to conclude that the priest didn’t love him, as a matter of fact he didn’t even like him.
Have you ever saw someone in need and turned away because you didn’t have time or didn’t want to get involved or you weren’t sure what kind of person it was? I think we’ve all been there. We’ve all been the priest. And yet, the Bible tells us to love God with all of our faculties, heart-soul-mind and strength and we’re to love our neighbor as ourselves. And it’s not who your neighbor is, it’s who you are that determines your love.
Of course, we can always think of a reason why we can’t or won’t help. Take this priest for instance, priests were supposed to be ritually clean and if the person lying there wasn’t a Jew then the priest could say I’d be risking defilement and especially if that person was actually dead. And if he defiled himself then he wouldn’t be allowed to collect the tithes and his family and servants will all have to suffer with him. And then there was shame and embarrassment for being defiled. And having just completed his two weeks of service, he’d have to return and stand at the Eastern Gate along with the rest of the unclean. And in addition to the humiliation involved, the process of restoring ritual purity was time consuming and costly. So, the priest was in a fix because helping people can actually be an inconvenience. But, then again, so can dying.
Many commentators say he didn’t go over there because he was afraid the robbers were still hanging around and there were others who said, “He didn’t go over because he didn’t want to help someone who might have been punished by the wrath of God.”
You want to know something? He had no excuse because this is just a story and the point of the story is, you would expect a priest who knew the Law to help this man. You would expect the man who made sure that everyone recited twice every day that you’re to love your neighbor as yourself, would do what he taught everyone else to do.
And then second, it says, “And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.” At the top of the sort of religious ladder is the priest and at the bottom is the Levite. The Levites were the descendants of Levi but not of Aaron, and they assisted the priests in the temple or in the services of the temple. They often served in such roles as the temple police but they had to know the Law, so, they should have known what responsibilities they had before God for their fellow man as much as the priest.
It seems like he walked over and took a look at the man and then went back to the far side of the road. And again you have an illustration of someone whose heart is as hard as stone. He took a look and then he left him there to die.
Of course, they could always justify themselves by saying, what if someone saw them with this naked and wounded person and reported to the officials that the priest or Levite had committed a crime against this person? So, as far as they were concerned, they were leaving this guy to die and when they did they felt like they were doing the right thing.
They might have been religious but it was obvious that they didn’t love God because if they did they’d keep His commandments. And we also see that they didn’t love their neighbor because here was one suffering by the side of the road and they ignored him. We could say that the robbers hurt the man by violence but the priest and Levite did it by neglect. And they were just as guilty as the thieves. As James 4:17 says, "To the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin."
And then Jesus said, “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”
The injured man, we assume was a Jew because this is Israel and along comes a Samaritan. And the first thing that comes to my mind is, if the first two Jews ignored this guy then the Samaritan is libel to finish him off. After all, the Samaritans and the Jews absolutely despised each other.
The Samaritans were relatives of the Jews in the sense that they were the offspring who had married Gentiles and they were hated because the Jews figured these guys had polluted the heritage of God’s chosen people. As a matter of fact, the book of Nehemiah is all about the Samaritans offering to help to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem but Nehemiah told them he wanted nothing to do with them and in the end they became his greatest enemies and they did everything they could to stop him.
Eventually the Samaritans built their own temple in a place called Mount Gerizim.” And in the end the Jews destroyed it in 128 BC and they also killed some of them. The hatred between these two groups was so bad that whenever a Jew traveled from north to south, or south to north, the easy way was to go through Samaria but they wouldn’t go there but they actually went all around it.
So this Samaritan as far as this lawyer is concerned would be the natural enemy of the Jew who was lying by the side of the road dying. But, rather than going on his merry way like the other two did he goes to great lengths to meet his needs.
And what he does is not what we expect. But, then again we don’t always get what we expect in life. Did you know that some of the best tuna for sushi is found just off the coast of Massachusetts? I don’t know about you but the very idea of eating raw fish is like going fishing and eating the bait. It doesn’t do anything for me at all. But anyways, Sushi tuna is very distinct in terms of what they want, so they get the best where ever they can and the best is found just off the coast.
Now, when the fishermen catch this tuna they place it in refrigerated compartments on their boats. Then the boat goes into the harbor where there’s a refrigerated truck waiting for the fish. The fish is then placed on the truck and that truck takes the fish to J.F.K. airport where it’s loaded on a refrigerated plane which then flies the tuna to Tokyo where it’s taken by refrigerated truck to the largest fish market in the world in a place called Suigica. Then there are brokers from all over the world who bid on two or three million pounds of fish a day. And these brokers are people who buy on behalf of restaurants. They go through the tuna and look for the best possible fish they can find for the restaurants they represent.
Then after these brokers pick the tuna and buy it, it’s put on a refrigerated truck and that truck drives it back to the airport where it’s loaded on a plane and it’s flown to J.F.K. in New York City where it is loaded onto a refrigerated truck and then driven it into the city of Manhattan where it’s delivered to a restaurant and served as the finest sushi restaurant with the word “fresh” attached to it for thirty-five dollars a plate. And considering how far and long this tuna has traveled the word fresh doesn’t seem to be the word to describe it.
And the word compassion doesn’t seem to be the word that would fit this Samaritan either but verse 33 it says when he saw him, he had compassion on him. There was something in his heart that went out to this man and he couldn’t walk away and leave him.
And then verse 34 says, “And went to him.” In other words, he didn’t cross the road to get away like the other two but he went over to see what he could do and the scripture says he saw his wounds, which also tells us he was bleeding. Since no one carried a first aid kit back then he probably had to tear up either what he was wearing or some other clothes and it also says he also poured on oil and wine. The oil was used to soften the tissue and since wine contained alcohol it was used to sanitize or cleanse the wounds to avoid infection.
So, what we see here is the Samaritan using his clothes, his oil and his wine. And the word “pouring” here literally means he is generously washing this guy with wine and oil. He’s not just dabbing it on but he’s giving him more than he needs. It’s interesting to see that he used oil and wine to treat the man because oil and wine were poured out on the high altar as an offering before God which is something the priest would do.
And then it says, “He put him on his own beast” and we don’t know if it was a donkey, a horse or whatever. It’s an animal and he gets him on so he can take him where he can get him some water and rest. And he’s not doing the least he can to help but he’s doing whatever he needs to and then some. And he takes the man to an inn and inns were like cheap motels. And it says “And took care of him.” And we know he took care of him all night long because it says, “And on the morrow he departed.” Listen this guy gave up his clothes, his wine, his oil, his time and then it says he paid two denarii and told the innkeeper to take care of him and when he came back he’d pay him whatever else he owed. By the way, two denarii would have been enough for the man to stay at this inn for the next two months.
Now, what he does is more than generous. Think about this. Did you ever see someone you couldn’t stand and gave him everything he needed? Have you ever done that for anybody? Most of us would say, “Well, I gave a bum a quarter, does that count?” And the answer is, no.
But there is one person we’ve done all this for and that’s ourselves. Listen, I give me whatever I need. I take me to the best doctor and I get me the best care I can get. And I take care of me as long as I need it. And what we have to see here is, what this guy did he did for his enemy. He loved him as he would love himself. This is a story about limitless love.
And then in verse 36 Jesus said to the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor?” And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” Now, he was right, but he couldn’t even say the word Samaritan. “And then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’”
Go and do the same. But, how could he? Well, he couldn’t and that was the point. He was trying to show him how desperately he needed the grace of God. You see, this story is an indictment of the whole human race. Jesus is telling us we have to love others the way we love ourselves and this is not a one time thing but it’s what we are supposed to do all the time. And when we realize how far we all fall short of God’s demands we’ll come to Him with an attitude of repentance.
As Jesus ends this conversation with, “Go and do likewise” it’s a great way to end the story because He tells us to do something but He doesn’t tell us what. In other words, He’s not specific as to what we’re supposed to do. And that leaves it open for discussion or open for us to think about. But when He says, “Go and do likewise” do you think He actually wants us to go anywhere and do anything or do we do enough by just going to church and giving our money? Or is that just the beginning?
Some years ago an experiment was conducted with seminary students. Researchers gathered a group of ministry students in a classroom and told them that each of them had an assignment. Their assignment was to record the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The only problem was, the recordings were going to be done in a building on the far side of the campus, and because of a tight schedule, they’d need to hurry to get to that building. And the students didn’t know it but on the path to the other building the researchers had planted an actor to play the part of a man in distress, slumped in an alley, coughing and suffering.
These students were on their way to make a presentation about the Good Samaritan but the researchers wondered, what would happen when they actually ran into someone in need? Would they be Good Samaritans? Well, no, as a matter of fact, they weren’t. Almost all of them rushed past the man in distress. One student even stepped over his body as he hurried to teach about the Parable of the Good Samaritan! You see, no one tries to be like the priest and the Levite, it’s something we all do naturally.
So, in the end Jesus said, “Go and do the same.” And we know he didn’t do it because he couldn’t do it, he was a sinner and until he faced his sinfulness and turned to God he’d be wasting his life trying to be religious.
If we go back to the original command which was to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself we’d realize that even though he ignored the first part and focused on his neighbor thinking he could redefine who his neighbor was and then justify himself. But, Jesus focused on his neighbor, who this guy couldn’t even stand no matter how good he was or what he did for anyone else.
And Jesus seems to be telling him, if you can’t stand your neighbor who is as sinful as you are, then you better not even think about God because He’s perfect and about all you can hope for is to receive his grace as you fall on your knees in repentance. You see, God meant for the requirements of the Law to seem overwhelming and in this way He was preparing people, even the self-righteous, to receive the gospel of grace.
And yet, this man had a problem and his problem was, he was too proud to humble himself and confess that he wasn’t as good as the Samaritan because the fact was, he couldn’t stand the sight of him.
Listen, we are called to reach out to those who have been messed up by the people of this world and we have to ask ourselves, are we walking on the other side of the street? Are we in too much of a hurry to get to church to hear what the scripture teaches?
You see, it all comes down to this, we are either reaching the lost or we are the lost. Did you get that? We are either reaching the lost or we are the lost. Jesus told these parables to challenge all of us so we would see the world the way He sees it, as lost and in need of someone, like you and me to do something other, than just go to church.
