(I cannot claim this whole message as my own. The basics came from a book of sermons for pastors which I bought many years ago but cannot remember the name of it.)
The Good Samaritan
Wed. Eve. Service - April 5, 2006
I. 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?" 26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" 27 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." 29 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. 31 "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 "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.' 36 "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."
(An overview)
A. This story is called the story of the Good Samaritan.
B. It begins with a man testing Jesus with a question. The man is a lawyer, an expert in Jewish law.
a. The lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit or have, eternal life?
b. Jesus gives an answer that is deeper than the one expected by the lawyer.
c. Jesus first answers by asking a question: "What does the law in the Torah or Bible, say you must do?"
d. This was easy to answer for the lawyer because be knew the law well.
e. He answered, "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"
f. Jesus tells him, "You have said it right. Do it and you'll have eternal life".
C. But the lawyer isn't satisfied. He really didn't want to know the answer; he was trying to trick Jesus into giving an answer that would sound foolish to everyone standing by.
a. So the lawyer asks Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" In other words, he was saying, If I want to inherit eternal life by loving my neighbor, tell me who I should consider as my neighbor?"
b. Anyone could have answered that question. A neighbor is someone who lives close to you.
c. But the lawyer and Jesus both knew that being kind to people living close to you would not give you eternal life.
d. So Jesus gives him an answer that is much deeper than just loving the people living next door to you.
D. The story that Jesus tells answers the lawyer’s question, but it also gives us a picture of God's plan of salvation starting with Adam and ending with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
E. Let's study this closer but let's use our spiritual eyes and see if we can find out what Jesus is saying.
II. There is one word that Jesus used to describe each man who came by the man lying in the road.
A. The word is "certain".
a. "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho"
b. "a certain priest came down that road."
c. "a certain Samaritan"
d. Jesus is saying that if we can identify the men in the story, we can understand what the story is saying.
B. There must be something special about these men that's important to know in order to understand the story.
C. The first "certain" man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
a. Jerusalem is known to be God's favorite spot on earth. It's His dwelling place on earth.
b. So Jerusalem is the City of God.
D. The certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. LLI
a. Jews always say they are going "up" to Jerusalem. They never go down to Jerusalem, even if they are coming from a high mountain and are actually walking down, they will tell you they are going "up" to Jerusalem.
b. Why? Because they know it's the dwelling place of God on earth.
E. Why did Jesus use the city of Jericho in His story? There is a meaning to that too.
a. Jericho was the first city the Children of Israel had to conqueror when they came into the Promised Land.
b. The Promised Land was named Canaan and Jericho represented all of Canaan.
c. Jericho also represented all of the sins of Canaan, which were many.
F. So if Jerusalem is the dwelling place of God on Earth, let's say it represents Heaven in the story.
G. And if Jericho represents all the sins, all the evil of the pagan land of Canaan, let's say it represents the world's system of sin and evil.
III. The story Jesus told the lawyer has a deeper and richer story behind it.
A. We've said the two cities, Jerusalem & Jericho represent Heaven & the world's system in the story.
B. (ADAM)
a. Let's identify the certain man.
b. First of all we have to find a man who was in the dwelling place of God but went down to the world's system, right where the Devil lives.
c. The first man that comes to mind is the first man that God created, Adam.
d. Adam once lived in the dwelling place of God which was called the "Garden of Eden". It was there in the Garden that Adam walked and fellowshipped with God.
e. Adam left the Garden and vent down to the world's system when he disobeyed God and ate fruit of the forbidden tree.
(ADAM HALF DEAD)
f. Adam died spiritually but lived physically.
g. He was half dead. His body lived but his spirit died.
h. The "certain" man in our story was half dead too. (PARABLE SAID A THIEF STRIPPED THE MAN OF HIS CLOTHING)
j. In the story about the certain man, Jesus said a thief "stripped him of his clothing," (ADAM WAS CLOTHED IN SHEKINAH GLORY)
k. Before Adam sinned he was clothed in the Shekinah glory of God. (ADAM WAS STRIPPED OF SHEKINAH GLORY)
l. But when Adam sinned he was stripped of the glory and was naked.
m. Adam represents the "certain man" who was wounded, robbed and stripped.
(WHO WAS THE THIEF THAT ROBBED ADAM?)
n. Who was the thief that robbed Adam of his clothes?
o. It was the Devil.
p. You could say the Devil stripped him of all his clothes just like the certain man in the parable was stripped of his clothes.
D. Now that we've identified some of the people and places, let's read verse 30 again but this time we'll add the names.
a. Then Jesus answered and said: A certain man (Adam) went down from Jerusalem (Garden of Eden) to Jericho (the world and its sinful life), and fell among thieves, (The Devil and his demons) who stripped him of his clothing, (Adam knew he was naked when he sinned) wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. (physically alive but spiritually dead)"
IV. The Certain Priest
A. Now that we know that much, let's continue and see what else we can find.
a. In verse 31 it says a "certain priest came down the road.
b. All we know about the certain priest in the story is that he came down the road.
c. What is a "priest"?
d. A priest is a person who officiates in religious services.
(IDENTIFY THE PRIEST)
B. If we're going to identify the priest in the story let's start at the beginning of the priesthood.
(MELCHIZEDEK - 1ST PRIEST - NO BEGINNING/END - DOESN'T QUALIFY)
a. The first priest mentioned in the Bible is Melchizedek.
b. The Bible says Melchizedek had no beginning or end, so he doesn't fit.
(MOSES QUALIFIES)
c. The next priest in the Bible is Moses.
d. Moses was chosen by God to establish the (Leviticai, Priesthood through Aaron and his four sons.
(MOSES REPRESENTED THE PEOPLE BEFORE GOD)
e. But Moses always represented the people when he went before God. Not Aaron.
f. Moses also brought the Law of God down from Mt. Sinai and gave them to the people.
g. Moses led the people out of Egypt, led them through the parted Red Sea, through the desert while God worked miracles through him.
h. Moses also appeared with Elijah on the Mt. of Transfiguration. 1. The two of them represented the offices of priest and prophet.
j. So Moses was the first priest.
k. Let's say Moses represents the priest in the story of the Good Samaritan.
(WHY DID PRIEST PASS BY?)
1. But why did the priest pass by the wounded man and walk on the other side?
(HE COULDN'T HEAL SPIRITUAL WOUND
E. Adam's wound was a spiritual wound.
a. When Adam sinned, he became separated from God so he was spiritually dead.
b. The only thing that could help him was to become spiritually alive again.
(THE LAW TAUGHT RIGHT FROM WRONG BUT GAVE NO PRACTICAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM)
c. Moses was given the Law by God so men would know what sin was all about.
d. The Law helped men recognize sin but it couldn't remove the sin from them.
e. So when the priest walked down the road and saw the wounded man, he had to walk around him because he couldn't help him.
f. All he could do was to point to the man's wounds and tell him what was wrong with him. That's all the Law can do.
IV. Next, a Certain Levite came down the road.
A. Aaron was the first High Priest to the Jews.
a. He sacrificed animals on the altar to cover the sins of the people.
b. God accepted the blood and death of the animals as a substitute for judgment on them.
c. The blood covered the sin but it was only good until the next time a person sinned.
d. Then another animal had to be sacrificed.
e. The blood of animals couldn't cover all the sins of all the people for all time.
f. It was just a temporary solution to a big problem, the problem of man's sin nature.
g. Aaron represents the Levi priesthood and the system of animal sacrifices.
B. So the Levite may have been able to help the man with his sin, he couldn't help the man to become spiritually alive.
C. Let's read verses 31 & 32 again and insert some of the people we have identified:
a. "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. (let's say it was Moses)
b. “And when he saw him” (who is "him"? Well, who was dead in their trespasses?
See: Eph. 2:1, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,” NKJV)
"he passed by on the other side. (Moses and the Law couldn't remove sin)
c. "Likewise a Levite, (representing Aaron and the system of animal sacrifice) when he arrived at the place, (the sacrifices could not permanently remove sin)
d. “came and looked and passed by on the other side.” (or tried to remove sin but could not)"
V. Then a Certain Samaritan came down the road.
A. Next, we have to identify the Certain Samaritan.
a. This calls for an understanding of what a Samaritan was in those days.
b. At one point in time the 12 tribes of Israel had a disagreement so they split up.
c. 10 Tribes went to the north and the land became known as Israel.
d. Samaria was the capitol of Israel.
e. 2 Tribes stayed in the south.
f. It was known as Judah with Jerusalem as its capitol.
B. The Jewish men to the north in Samaria took pagan women as wives. That was against the Law of God.
a. To the Jews in the south, the Samaritans were considered "half-breeds" and outcasts to the rest of the Jewish people.
b. The fact that the parable is called, "The Good Samaritan" suggests they were few and far between, at least in the eyes of the Jews of that day.
c. So a person from Samaria was someone who had one Jewish parent and one parent of a different bloodline.
d. In order to identify the Certain Samaritan in the story we have to find a Person who has a Jewish parent and a parent of another bloodline.
C. The only Person that could fit that description is Jesus Christ.
a. Remember we're talking in the spiritual sense.
b. The Father of Jesus was the Holy Spirit and His mother was a Jewish virgin named Mary.
c. Jesus was all God and all Man but symbolically He was half Jewish because of Mary.
d. The other Half was spiritually alive because it was of the lob Spirit.
e. It was the one thing that Adam and all who came down the line of Adam, needed.
f. A Spirit that was alive.
g. Jesus was the only One who could revive Adam and restore him back to God.
D. In our story it says the Certain Samaritan, "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;
a. The Certain Samaritan came walking down the road.
b. Then it says, "came where he was". Jesus came down from Heaven to earth to redeem mankind. He came where we were, dead in our sin.
c. "And when he saw him, he had compassion". John 3:16 tells about the compassion of the Lord towards sinners.
d. The Certain Samaritan poured oil and wine into the wounds of the man.
e. This is the only place in the Bible pouring oil & wine in a wound is mentioned.
f. It doesn't make sense in the natural. There must be a deeper meaning.
VI. Oil
A. In the Bible oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
a. They used oil in the O.T. to anoint the priests.
b. They would pour oil on stones to anoint and sacrifice a building.
c. They poured oil on the ground to sanctify it.
d. Oil is a fuel for lamps. It burns and gives light.
e. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts & makes us lights in a dark and sinful world.
f. Also, oil is used as a lubricant to make things work better and smoother.
g. Life is a lot smoother when the Holy Spirit leads and guides us.
h. It's when we are out of His will that things get a little bumpy, like the roads in Ghana.
VII. Wine.
A. Jesus, on the night before He was crucified, took a cup of wine, lifted it up and said, "This is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me". (1 Cor. 11:25)
a. The wine is identified as the Blood of Jesus.
(OIL & WINE REPRESENTS ALL THE MAN NEEDED FOR HEALING)
B. When you put the two together, the oil and the wine, we see the Samaritan was pouring in the Holy Spirit and the Blood of the Lamb of God.
a. This was all that was needed to restore the man's spirit.
b. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit renewed his spirit.
c. And the Blood of Jesus removed his sins.
VIII. The Animal.
A. The Samaritan picked the man up and put him on his animal.
a. It doesn't say what kind of animal it was, and it isn't important.
b. But what is important is what the animal represented.
c. It represented the millions of animals that were sacrificed under the O.T. Law.
d. All those animals that were sacrificed were pointing to the One Sacrifice that would come.
e. Jesus Christ.
f. Just as the animal carried the wounded man, the animal
g. It was there that every drop of the Blood of Jesus was shed for you, me and every person every born.
IX. The Inn and Innkeeper.
A. The next thing the Certain Samaritan did was to take the man to an inn so he could heal up from his wounds.
a. The inn represents the church.
b. The innkeeper represents the ministers & pastors of the church.
c. Just as the Samaritan placed the wounded man into the hands of the innkeeper, in the same way, Jesus has placed the church into the hands of the pastors to care for it.
d. The wounded man was put in the inn while he recovered from his injuries.
e. Every Born-Again Christian has had a spiritual heart surgery and needs the care of the church, the teaching & preaching to renew his mind, or soul.
(THE GREAT COMMISSION)
B. Jesus gives us a job to do.
C. He wants us to go into the world with oil and wine and preach the Good News.
a. The Oil representing the anointing of the Holy Spirit to empower the church to preach & teach the Word.
b. The Wine representing the Blood of Jesus, to wash away sin.
X. The Two Denarii = 2000 years
A. The Samaritan paid two denarii to the Innkeeper for a room.
B. In those days one denarii was a day's wage.
C. The innkeeper was given enough to take care of the wounded man for two days.
a. 2 Peter 3:8, NKJV: He's talking about the second coming of the Lord and says, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
b. It's been about 2000 years since Jesus was on earth.
c. The Church has believed there is a total of 7000 years for man to be on earth until the
new Heaven & Earth.
d. From Adam to Jesus it was 4000 years.
Likewise, Aaron, of the Levitical priesthood, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side because the animal sacrifices could not permanently remove sin and restore Adam's race back to God.
Then Jesus came! He came where he was, because sinful man could not come to Him. And when He saw him, He had compassion. So, He went to him and bandaged his spiritual wounds, and poured in the Holy Spirit and His own blood to heal and revive his dead spirit.
He placed man's sins on the cross and established the church to care for him.
On the next day, when He departed, He paid the ministers for 2,000 years of labor. He commissioned the ministers by saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'
So your neighbor is any sinner who is in need of salvation. Now go and get them saved!"
A certain man = Adam
A certain priest = Moses
A certain Levite = Aaron and the sacrificial system
A certain Samaritan = Jesus
came where he was" = Jesus came where we were in our sins.
". . . . . .bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil & wine" Oil = Holy Spirit . . . Wine = Blood of
Christ
. . . set him on his own animal" = The Cross. The animal represents all the animal
sacrifices of the past.
. . . . brought him to an inn & took care of him" The church / Innkeeper = ministry of the
pastors
“ . . on the next day, when he departed" = The ascension of Jesus Christ
. . . he took out two denarii" Two denarii = Two day's wages. 2000 years since Jesus was on earth.
"Take care of him" = The Great Commission of the Church
“. . . and whatever more you spend, when I come again” = Prophecy of His return
"I will repay YOU = The Judgment Seat of Christ where we will receive our rewards.
e. From the time of Jesus until now it has been about 2000 years.
f. Since the time of the early Church it was believed the Lord would return in 200() years.
XI. When the Samaritan gave the innkeeper payment for the room he told him to take care of the wounded man, to let him rest and heal. Then he added, "Whatever you spend, I will come again and will repay you".
A. This story is a perfect picture of the church waiting for the return of Jesus.
a. In Rev. 22:12-13 Jesus said, NKJV: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
b. Jesus will come hack to take away His Bride, the Church, to Heaven.
c. 1 (or. 3:9-15 tells us He will sit at the Judgment (Bema) Seat where each one of us will pass before Him as He reviews our lives from the time of our salvation until the day we are raptured.
d. It won't be a time of judging us for our sins because they were taken care of at the Cross.
e. This Judgment Seat will be to reward us for our good works. Or, in the cases where we have failed to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will lose those rewards.
E He has given the Church to go in His Name to minister oil & wine to the half-dead people in the entire world and care for them until He conies hack.
XII. Here is the story of the Good Samaritan as it would read when we read it with spiritual eyes.
"And behold, a religious man stood up and asked Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
He said to him, "What is written in the Bible, and how well do you understand it?"
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?"
Jesus answered and said: "Adam went down from the Paradise of God to Satan's domain. There Satan stripped Him of his clothing, caused him to sin, and departed, leaving Adam spiritually dead and separated from God.
Moses came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side because the Law revealed sin but could not remove it.
Likewise, Aaron, of the Levitical priesthood, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side because the animal sacrifices could not permanently remove sin and restore Adam's descendants back to God.
Then Jesus came! He came where he (you and I) was, because sinful man could not come to Him. And when He saw him (you and I), He had compassion. So, He went to him and bandaged his spiritual wounds, and poured in the Holy Spirit and His own blood to heal and revive his dead spirit.
He placed man's sins on the cross and established the church to care for him.
On the next day, when He departed, He paid the ministers for 2,000 years of labor. He commissioned the ministers by saying, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you."
Here is the lesson to the story: Your neighbor is any sinner who needs salvation. Have compassion on him/her. Pour in the wine (Blood of Christ), the oil (conviction of the Holy Spirit) to get them saved and prepare him/her for the return of our Good Samaritan, Jesus Christ!"
