DATE
HOW DO WE MINISTER TO THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE?
Luke 10:29-37
(Luke 10:29) "But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?"
(Luke 10:30 KJV) "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."
(Luke 10:31 KJV) "And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side."
(Luke 10:32 KJV) "And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side."
(Luke 10:33 KJV) "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,"
(Luke 10:34 KJV) "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."
(Luke 10:35 KJV) "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."
(Luke 10:36 KJV) "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?"
(Luke 10:37 KJV) "And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."
This is a picture of a man going from the city of God, Jerusalem, down to the city of condemnation, Jericho, but is rescued by a Good Samaritan, The Lord Jesus Christ.
This is also a very clear example of a missionary endeavor – a person of a different nationality, going into another country, ministering to another person of another nationality.
There are three different people that had the opportunity to minister to this man.
A priest.
A Levite.
A Samaritan.
Who were these three people?
A priest - Religious leader.
A Levite - Religious person.
The Samaritan – No religion – wasn’t anything.
(Luke 10:36 KJV) "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?"
(Luke 10:37 KJV) "And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."
That truly speaks well for organized religion – doesn’t it?
We don’t know any of the background events. We don’t know it these were just common thieves, or if this man may have owed a debt and this was a way of collecting it. Maybe it would be what we would consider today as gang, or drug related. But we do know that the injured man needed help.
We do know that a priest, a religious leader, saw him in his injured condition and decided to pass on by and not lend a helping hand.
So it was with the Levite. He was a religious person and saw the man was injured and decided also to pass on by.
There was a certain Samaritan that passed by and seeing the man in need offered to help him. Jesus was very impressed with the action of the Samaritan to the point that He recorded it in the eternal Word of God. He tells the man He is talking to to “Go and do likewise.” This tells me that anyone seeking to serve the Lord must do what? “GO AND DO LIKEWISE.”
This was given to us as an example by the Lord Jesus for us to determine who our neighbors are.
Let’s look at this Samaritan and what he did then we can learn from him how to minister to the needy of our community.
I. HE HAD COMPASSION FOR THE INJURED MAN
Compassion will cause us to see the need of others. Remember the Samaritan had no religious background at all. His compassion was of a social nature and not spiritual, but it didn’t matter to the Lord. He still commended the man anyway.
A. He Came To Where The Injured Man Was.
1. He didn’t pass by on the other side of the roadway as did the other religious men.
2. He didn’t tell the man that he would send help.
Nor did he say, He’s a Jew, who would have had no dealings with me, and why should I with him?
The priest didn’t even stop and look. He passed by on the other side.
The Levite even came and looked at the injured man and then went on by. What an insult that must have been. To have had a man stop and look, and he had to see the injuries, but then to ignore him and go on. Reminds me of modern culture today.
It’s strange to me how some heathen people can have more compassion for those who need help or need the Lord than do the professing believers.
B. He Saw Him In Need Of Help.
1. He made himself available.
2. He gave of himself to help.
C. His Compassion Leads To Action.
1. To Self-denial.
2. To Inconvenience.
He dresses the man’s wounds, sets him on his own beast, carries him to the inn, and when he left, he left money for his care.
Jesus said that the Samaritan, who was a stranger to the injured man, was a real neighbor. We must remember what transpired earlier and Jesus is instructing a young lawyer concerning who should be considered a neighbor.
Is not this a perfect picture of our “Good Samaritan – The Lord Jesus Christ?” We had been beaten up by our enemy the devil and the Lord came and took us in His loving arms and saved us and then planted our feet on solid ground.
The Samaritan people and Jews were bitter enemies and had no dealings together of any type.
You will remember:
D. Jesus’ Compassion For The Jews Drove Him To Tears.
(Luke 13:34 KJV) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!"
You will also remember:
E. Jesus’ Compassion For The World Drove Him To The Cross.
(John 12:24 KJV) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
(John 12:27 KJV) "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour."
(Luke 22:42 KJV) "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
(Luke 23:33 KJV) "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left."
(Luke 23:34 KJV) "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."
F. Where Is The Compassion Of Most Christians Today.
A very small percentage of our church or any other Baptist church really has compassion for the lost.
Have you ever stopped to think that someone had compassion for your soul? Someone interceded to God for your salvation. Someone contended with Satan and the demons forces of hell to keep you from going there. Someone gave of themselves that you might be saved.
Where is that same agonizing spirit among Christians today? Why aren’t we latterly weeping our eyes out over the lost people going to hell.
I heard a preacher say once that if we Baptists really had compassion we should have for the lost that we would crawl on our knees across the United States on broken glass just to tell one person about the Lord Jesus Christ. I don’t know if that is a proper analogy or not, but it sure says a lot about compassion.
II. HE BEGAN IMMEDIATELY TO MINISTER
(Luke 10:34 KJV) "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."
A. He Didn’t Call 911 – or didn’t call for some emergency source to come to the spot. He didn’t send word to the proper officials that there had been an accident out on the road and send help. He did what was needed himself.
B. He Didn’t Know The Injured Person.
It is easy to minister to a church family – but how about strangers? What do we do then?
When one our own church families is ill and in the hospital – sometimes we will have 15-20 people there at one time offering support and help. After they go home from the hospital our ladies will take food into the home for several days after. I remember when Chuck Miller first got sick – that first night at the hospital there was many of our people there showing love and support to his family.
How many would we have at the hospital if it was a family member of a bus rider? Do we take food into the home of a bus family?
III. HE CONTINUED TO MINISTER EVEN AFTER HE LEFT
(Luke 10:35 KJV) "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."
Let’s examine this a moment – how much is One Pence? One day’s wage. How much is Two Pence? Two day’s wages. How much is that?
A. Two Pence – 40% Of A Weeks Salary. That’s nearly half of a week’s wage. Do you get what I am saying? This man didn’t contribute a dollar. He gave substantially.
1. Money was not an object with the Samaritan.
2. His objective was to help no matter the cost or effort required.
3. He gave out of his own pocket. No reimbursement expected or received.
B. He Was Committed To Do More Than Two Pence If Necessary. (…and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.") He told the inn keeper that he would be passing by that way again in a few days and if there was any additional charge he would take care of it then.
That is above and beyond the tithe. We are not even talking about the tithe in a situation like is given here. The Samaritan wasn’t giving to have it recorded on his income tax return. He wasn’t giving to give himself a name on the elite and society page.
I believe this man was giving out of a true compassionate heart. One who has a burden of this nature makes no comparison of what he gives to what he has already given. Most will not give in some need because they have already given in another manner.
Are we willing to give, not just money, but whatever the need may be, even if we don’t get any kind of credit or recognition for it? If all tax benefits were to be removed from our giving would we still give? Would we still minister if we knew that no one would ever know about it? Would we minister to the needs of others if it meant the we would have to give 40% - 50% of their weekly income to meet those needs?
This Samaritan had no other purpose in ministering except he saw the need and was willing to give of his own resources to meet those needs.
The lesson Jesus is teaching here is that we are to be willing to do the same thing even though we know that no one will ever know that we ministered. Even though no one will record it for us and then turn it in on our income tax record. Ministering because someone needs ministering to. That is the lesson being taught here.
IV. JESUS GAVE HIS APPROVAL OF THE WAY HE MINISTERED
(Luke 10:36 KJV) "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?"
(Luke 10:37 KJV) "And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."
The Lord Jesus doesn’t give much recognition to the priest or the Levite, but He is very impressed with the Samaritan and the way in which he ministered. Why? Because that is the same way in which the Lord Jesus gives.
What should we do – who should we minister to?
A. Our Neighbor Is Anyone Who Has A Need.
1. We may not know them.
2. They may not live across the street from us, but half way around the world.
It is evident that the Samaritan did not live close to the man that had been injured. The Jews and Samaritans did not live beside each other. They didn’t even live in the same area. The were completely separated from each other.
Jesus chose a very unlikely situation to explain to the young lawyer who his neighbor was.
B. What Is He Saying To You And I Today?
He is saying that our ministry should be to any and all people. Race, creed, ethnic, or culture should have no difference if we help them or not.
Most Baptists have a tendency to look on the dress, or make up of a person and determine whether we should minister to them. That is not what Jesus is teaching in this parable.
Let’s bring this thing right home to BHBC. Suppose for a moment that a man, a woman, and two children were present tonight. All four of them were very ragged, dirty, and smelly. Would you welcome them as well as a family of the opposite culture? Would you go to them during handshaking and say, “We are so glad you are here”, and really mean it? Would you be willing to invite them into your home so you could get better acquainted with them?
If we are going to stand for the Lord as many indicated they were going to do last Sunday morning then we must begin ministering to those who are not easily ministered to.
Someone needs to go to the down and out. Someone needs to take the Gospel message to the dirty – the sloppy – the drug cultured people. Someone needs to get the spirit of compassion that the Samaritan had.
Who will it be? Will anyone step up and begin ministering to all classes?
Maybe I should put it more plain – will you be the one to minister to those who have been wounded by the devil and his demons from hell? Will you be the one to pour that healing balm into the wounds?
INVITATION
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