So often, people hear only what they want to hear. Take my father, for instance. He is actually deaf in one ear and hearing impaired in the other. However, he still hears only what he wants to hear. We call it “Selective Hearing Loss.” For instance, if you call for him, he often won’t hear you the first, second or third time. However, if you merely whisper that you are going to have some ice cream, he says, “Would you scoop me a bowl, too?” Sometimes, he hears what he wants to hear.
People often hear what they want to hear when it comes to God. When he points out their faults and threatens them with hell, they don’t often hear that. When he talks about his great love in Jesus they don’t often hear that, either. They hear what they want to hear. That is also true when it comes to the story of the Good Samaritan. Ask people on the street what the Good Samaritan is about. Most often, they will tell you that it’s all about the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Be a nice person and God will be happy.
But they only hear what they want to hear. They don’t listen to the real message in this story, the message of sin and forgiveness. So, today, let’s open our ears and study what Jesus is really teaching us about loving our neighbor in this story of the Good Samaritan. Listen carefully as I read this account to you and see if you can spot it.
Luke 10:25-37 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: "`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, `Love your neighbor as yourself.’" 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 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.’ 36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (NIV)
We’ve done a crummy job
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The Bible expert thought that he had earned God’s favor, yes, heaven itself, because he was such a good person. He thought that he had always loved God and his neighbor more than anything else. If anyone deserved to go to heaven it was him. But he just wanted to make sure that he was right about this. So verse 29 says, “He wanted to justify himself (in other words, he wanted to be sure that he had loved his neighbor enough), so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’”
Now, Jesus knew that only perfect people are allowed into heaven. Sinners are thrown into hell. And Jesus also knew that this man was nowhere near as perfect as he thought. So, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, not to convince this guy that he on the right track but that he was sorely mistaken about his perfection.
The story was a shocking one. Neither the priest, nor the Levite (both Jewish religious leaders) helped their own, half-dead countryman. Then along came a Samaritan. Now, the Jews of that day hated the Samaritans with a passion. They were considered half-bred ignoramuses who were a nuisance. They avoided Samaritans at all costs. They would go dozens of miles out of their way just to avoid a Samaritan town. But it was this unloved Samaritan who lovingly helped an enemy on the side of the road. He was the real neighbor, the one who even loved those who hated him.
The expert wanted to hear that his neighbor was that nice fellow. It was easy to love him. But Jesus snapped him back to reality by reminding him that “neighbor” includes everyone, even those who mistreat us. Jesus shattered the bubble of this arrogant man and reminded him that he wasn’t so good as he thought. He heard what he didn’t want to hear, that he was damnable sinner, not a perfect saint.
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We also need to hear what we don’t want to hear sometimes. After all, we also try to justify ourselves before God occasionally. “I have a few faults, but nothing God can’t overlook. Besides, I put a little money in the offering plate; I show up for worship once in a while; I do my bit. I don’t sell drugs or get drunk every night. That’s when Jesus says, “Oh, yeah? But have you loved your neighbor as yourself?”
Well, if my neighbor is that kindly old lady next door, then it really isn’t so hard. Loving her isn’t so tough. But, loving my neighbor means more than that. Loving my neighbor means loving those who mistreat us. That’s where we get hung up—turn the other cheek and all that stuff.
Now, have we always loved our neighbors as ourselves? Not a chance. The Good Samaritan loved his enemy as himself; we can’t even love our loved ones as ourselves. We are often too busy fighting. Phyllis Diller once said, “Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight.” And all too often we agree with her. When a loved one wrongs us, we don’t just grin and bear it. We plan our revenge.
When he was an attorney, Abraham Lincoln was once approached by a man who insisted on bringing a suit for $2.50 against poor debtor who couldn’t pay. Lincoln tried talk him out of it, but this man wanted his revenge. Finally, Lincoln took the case and charged the man legal fee of $10. Lincoln then gave half the money to the poor debtor, who in turn paid the $2.50! Believe it or not, the vengeful man was satisfied.
Like that man, we often want to get revenge even if it costs us a loving relationship or peace in our homes. Oh, we love to have the last word in a fight. “You always have to have the last word.” “I do not.” “Yes, you do!” “I do not, and that settles it.” We are awfully good at giving the icy stare and the silent treatment, at blowing up and launching barbed words back in their face. And even if we don’t always carry out our revenge, we plot and scheme. Oh, the things that we would like to say to that spouse who hurt our feelings. Oh, the punches we would like to land on our brother’s arms. We want to hurt them like they’ve hurt us. And we go directly contrary to what the Bible says about loving our neighbor. As Peter put it, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing…” (1 Peter 3:9a)
You see my friends, Jesus tells us what we don’t really want to hear in the Good Samaritan. He tells us that we are sinners who haven’t loved our neighbors as we should. He tells us that none us deserves heaven. Jesus jars us awake with reality. No more self-justification!
Jesus did it right
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The story of the Good Samaritan was not meant to build us up. It was meant to wake us up. However, there is some comfort that we can still take from this story. Let’s take a closer look at this Samaritan man. What did you notice about him? Certainly, it was his complete dedication to an enemy, to a man who would probably mistreat him under normal circumstances. He adopts this enemy as his own child, bandaging him, putting him on the donkey and then paying whatever price it takes to make sure his enemy is cared for. What awesome, indescribable love.
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It’s a love which reminds us of Jesus. Jesus has always loved you with an awesome, indescribable love. Jesus is your Good Samaritan. Just think about it. We are nowhere near perfect. We can’t even love our loved ones like God wants. We don’t deserve heaven. But Jesus couldn’t just leave you like that. Instead, He willing paid whatever price it took to make sure that you were taken care of. In other words, he literally let God beat the hell out of him as punishment for your sins against God and your neighbor so that God would never throw you into hell. He adopted you as his own child when he anointed you in baptism. And every time you fall into another foolish sin, he doesn’t turn you away, but he bandages you up with the soothing oil of his forgiveness. To top it all off, someday he is going to carry you to that eternal bed and breakfast, called heaven, where he will entrust God to care for you forever. Jesus treats you as his own child, because he adopted you as his own. That’s why he says this in Isaiah, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you (paid for you); I have summoned you by name; you are mine…I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior!”
We live in a world without a point; without direction; without truth; and, finally, without hope. People are wandering around lost, not really sure what life is all about, not sure where they belong, not sure if they are loved or not. But Jesus tells you, “You belong to me; I found you; I paid for you; I care for you; and I am taking you to heaven. I am your Good Samaritan!”
Before we adopted my first sister, Amy, I think we were all a little nervous. I think we all wondered if we could love her as much as a natural sister/daughter. It just didn’t seem possible. But, I will always remember an adoption poem someone gave us. It was written from a mother to her adopted child. One line that stood out, read: “You didn’t grow under my heart, but in it.” And that was true. When we saw Amy we never noticed the copper hair and the different eyes. We saw a sister and a daughter. Jesus feels the same about us. We are really nothing like him. He is perfect; we are sinful; he is God; we are nothing. But, he overlooked those things and adopted us as his own. He did everything to make sure that we were taken care of now and forever. He is our Good Samaritan.
One more thing before we close. How does this whole story change my view of my neighbor? Like the Good Samaritan, we realize that we are to love our neighbors, even our enemies, as Christ loves us. That gives us a different perspective. We exist to love people as Christ loves us, even those we don’t like or know. And we can start loving them right here at church. Everyone who comes through those doors, everyone—member or non-member, stranger or friend—is our neighbor. He/she is a soul loved by Christ and bought by his blood. That person deserves a hello; that person deserves a pat on the back; that person deserves genuine concern about their wants and needs. That person deserves our love. That person deserves to be treated just as we would want to be treated! That person is our neighbor!
My friends, you are Christ’s child, and He loves you forever. Put his love into action for your neighbor. Love as Christ, the Good Samaritan, loves you.
