The Good Samaritan
Having Compassion
Dr. Marty Baker / March 2, 2003 / Luke 10:30-35
"What do I owe you for that?" I often heard my Dad say those words whenever someone helped us along the way. He said that one night to a stranger that helped us change a flat tire on Interstate 26; he said to individuals who rescued us when we ran out of gas in the middle of the lake; and countless other times when we found ourselves needing a helping hand.
"What do I owe you for that?" Our culture is driven by the idea that everything that happens around us must be paid for. If someone does something for us, we seek ways to pay them back. We don’t want to be indebted to anybody for anything. Instead, we’re always looking for ways to pay people back for everything from the simple acts of service like recharging a dead car battery to greater sacrifices like we saw in the video clip giving a car away.
There are people in this community that give cars away. I received a phone call one Saturday from a neighbor that said, "We have a car that we would like to give away. Is there anyone in your church that needs one." A few days later God met a need for a family here through a stranger.
In the movie "Pay It Forward," a twelve year old, seventh grader takes the assignment to come up with a way in which to improve the world. His concept was simple. Instead of living life trying to pay people back, he would begin to pay people forward. He would begin to do random acts of service for people and when they attempted to pay him back, he would tell them to return the favor to three more people. He figured that if every day he did three acts of service and those three individuals did three acts of service the next day, that over the short time of two weeks, over 4.5 million people would have been impacted. Of course this concept is not new, Amway has been selling soap like this for years.
After this movie came out, our nation became entranced with the idea. Newspapers ran cover stories about the concept. In fact, the Augusta Chronicle ran a story about a friend of ours, Michael Carr and Central Church of Hilton Head Island. Michael gave fifty members of his church an envelop containing fifty dollars. He then asked them to "pay if forward" and help someone out along the way.
Helping someone along the way the core of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Today, we are beginning a new series called A Jesus Story. Jesus was a master storyteller. Many of the stories Jesus told are based on real-life historical events that occurred while he was on the earth. On occasion, however, he ventured into the world of fictional story telling. He used fiction to uncover the heart of his audience. These fictional stories were called parables.
The parables feature real-world characters that people in his audience could relate to. He often talked about farmers, landlords, lawyers, mid-level managers, religious leaders, widows and so forth. These stories often asked questions and made people think about how they lived their personal lives. Many of you are familiar with A Personal Story, TLC’s trilogy of A Dating Story, A Wedding Story and A Baby Story . Over the next five weeks, you will be introduced to A Jesus Story as we examine several parables from the New Testament.
Today, I want to focus on the original "pay it forward" story. It is found in Luke 10 and is commonly known as The Good Samaritan.
Luke 10:30-35
30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ’Look after him,’ he said, ’and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Jesus originally told this story to challenge the cultural thinking about the value of different groups of people. In those days, the religious thinkers had a limited view of who mattered. Most of the people only sought relationships with people of "their own kind." It was common for people to ignore individuals of different social classes and ethnic backgrounds. Jesus used this story to broaden their view of their neighborhood.
Over the last thirty years, Mr. Rogers has attempted to broaden our view of our neighborhood. This past week his purpose was completed and we have to continue what he has started.
When Jesus told the story of The Good Samaritan, he was in a conversation with a lawyer. You know that a lawyer is an individual whose principal role is to protect his clients from others of his profession. He is someone that can write a 10,000 word document and call it a brief. It doesn’t matter what font he uses, it always comes out in the fine print. Have you ever thought about the difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer? A good lawyer knows the law. A great lawyer knows the judge.
Well, anyway, this dialogue started when the lawyer asked Jesus, "What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." We’ve just completed a six week series that featured a message on loving God with your mind.
Jesus then added, "Love your neighbor as yourself." This statement caused the lawyer to ask the question: "Who is my neighbor?" This guy already knew the answer. It was very well documented in the literature of Judaism and in their tradition that a neighbor was another Jew or a convert to Judaism. They did not consider people outside the faith of Judaism to be neighbors. In fact, people outside their group were viewed as total enemies. Jesus comes on the scene and challenges their thinking with the story of The Good Samaritan.
As the story goes, a man is traveling down the fifteen mile road from Jerusalem to Jericho. This was considered a dangerous road because thieves would often hide in the caves along the path and attack travelers. The man in Jesus’ story was attacked by robbers, stripped naked, beaten, and left by the side of the road, half dead. When the Bible uses the phrase "half dead", it is saying that the man was unconscious or in danger of dying.
The fact that he is stripped and unconscious are important details of the story. The normal way people in that culture identified different ethnic groups was twofold: by dress and by accent or language. Since this man was stripped and unconscious, the people who passed by did not know who this man was. This man had been reduced to simply: a human being in need.
The first person to come by the crime scene was a Priest. He faced an enormous moral dilemma. His office required him to remain ritually pure. Priests would come to Jerusalem and minister in the temple, usually for two weeks, and then they would be off the rotation for awhile. More than likely, he had just finished his rotation in the temple service and was headed back home.
If a priest came in contact with a Samaritan, a Gentile, or a dead person, he would be considered ritually defiled. As a result, he would have to go through an extensive purification ritual for him to be restored so that he could perform priestly duties again. Since he is not sure that this injured person is his neighbor, he has a loophole that allows him to ride on by and leave the person there. At times we do the same thing. It’s easier not to get involved in some cases.
The next person on the scene is a Levite. The Levite was probably walking because Levites had less money and prestige. He arrived at the place where the hurt man is lying. More than likely, he went a little closer than the Priest because the consequences for defilement are not as strict for Levites. He looked at the man lying there and walks on by. Now why is that?
There are at least two possibilities. He may be afraid of thieves hiding out near by. If he stops to help this person, he may be robbed himself. But more than likely, the Levite knows the priest is on the road ahead of him. It was customary before starting out on a barren road like this to ask who else was on the road. In fact, your life might depend on that information.
The Levite could be thinking, "If the priest thought it was okay to go by, who am I to contradict him? In fact, if I help this person, I’ll be showing up the priest and bringing disfavor on him, and perhaps eventually on myself." So he had a loophole, a way out. We do the same thing. We use the behavior of others and say, "Well, if they did not do this, why should I?"
Well, if you were in Jesus’ audience listening to this story, you would be anticipating the next character. Obviously Jesus is walking right down the hierarchy. He started with the Priest, and now he’s to the Levite, and next will be the Jewish layman. But surprise!
Jesus introduced a radical twist to the story. The next character was not a Jewish layman coming down the road but a dreaded, hated Samaritan! The Jews considered the Samaritans as half-breeds, dogs, and the lowest of the low.
The Samaritan came upon this injured man and offered a helping hand. He demonstrated radical love that went beyond what anyone in that society could imagine. He knelt and took wine and oil and applied it to his wounds. He then placed the man on his own donkey and personally took him to an inn to recover.
The inns of that day were pretty rough places, and if a person could not pay, the innkeeper would probably throw him in debtor’s prison until he could pay the debt. The Samaritan decided to "pay it forward" and he used his own resources to help someone who did not have the ability to pay it back.
As Jesus comes to the end of this story, he asks the lawyer, "Which person proved himself to be a neighbor?" The lawyer has to conclude, "The one who showed mercy." Jesus says, "Go and do the same."
This is a story that was told two thousand years ago, but it is retold every day in situations that you and I find ourselves in. See if you can see it in this morning’s drama.
Drama: Flying Lessons (www.willowcreek.com)
How Can We Be More Compassionate
1. Ask God to give you a heart of compassion.
There are times in my life that have to pray for a compassionate and sensitive heart. Over the years, our hearts have a tendency to become calloused. Pain and disappointment have a way of stealing tenderness from us. We need a new heart, a heart of compassion.
2. Open your eyes to the needs of other people.
Be aware of what’s going on around you. I believe that God provides us with opportunities to make a difference in someone’s life and we ignore them because we are so wrapped up in ourselves. We are so self-focused that we cannot see the needs of others.
Most of the people that you meet carry a measure of stress and pressure with them. Be aware of their plight and encourage them by extending a helping hand.
3. Encourage someone by extending a helping hand.
Many of you may be saying, "What can I do?" Look around you. Some of you have the ability to help single moms or widows with yard work or some type of maintenance. Take the initiative. Visit someone in the hospital, send a card, buy groceries for a family in need; be willing to baby-sit for people who have doctors’ visits. The list could go on and on.
You can make a difference this week by helping people. You can be a good Samaritan.
4. Pray for people in need.
The most powerful tool that you have is the power of prayer. When you connect with God, you are tapping into the great resource that is available on this earth. We often say that we will pray for people, but this week do it. Spend time in prayer. You will be amazed at what God can do through your prayers.
Closing Prayer
