The Good Samaritan

There are four ages of man: 1) when you believe in Santa Claus, 2) when you don’t believe in Santa Claus, 3) when you are Santa Claus, and then 4) when you look like Santa Claus. Ho, ho, ho!

The good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37

A man died and went to Heaven. Peter asked him, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” The guy said, “Well, I tried to help other people.” “Can you give me an example?” “Sure. Once I was in a roadside diner and a group of Hell’s Angels were bothering a little old lady. They had knives and guns and were scaring everyone in the place. So I stepped up the leader and spun him around and said, ‘Hey! Why don’t you pick on somebody your own size? Leave her alone. And while you’re at it, you and your filthy friends clear out of here and get on your bikes and ride away.” Peter said, “Wow, that was pretty brave, when did that happen?” The man said, “About five minutes ago!”

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, what is written in the law? How readest thou? 27 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 neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, and who is my neighbour? 30 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.

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 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.

35 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.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, he that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, go, and do thou likewise.”

So, this parable of the good Samaritan begins with a person the scripture describes as a lawyer asking Jesus a question but this lawyer wasn’t the kind of lawyer who dealt with secular legal things like criminal matters, contracts or wills but the proper title for this man would be a scribe and a scribe was someone who was an expert in the Old Testament law. He would have been very similar to a Bible College or a Seminary professor who spent his life teaching the preachers.

And when this man stood up to ask his question he really wasn’t looking for an answer; but he was simply trying to put Jesus in His place and make himself look good in front of the crowd. You see, as far as he was concerned, if anybody was going to get eternal life then he already had it.

And we know this, because it says, “a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him.” And what he was doing by tempting Him was giving Jesus a test about the matter of salvation and he was expecting Jesus to say He didn’t know or even say something bizarre, and then he would say, “No, you’re wrong.” Because the fact was; that no one had any assurance of salvation prior to Jesus death, burial and resurrection and everyone was waiting for judgement day to reveal where they stood.

And so, rather than answer his question Jesus asked him a question and it was, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” And the lawyer 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 neighbour as thyself.” And then Jesus says verse 28, “Thou hast answered right: this do and thou shalt live.”

Did you get that? Jesus said, you’re absolutely right, if you want to be saved then all you have to do is love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind and then to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself and when you’ve done all this; then you’ve got nothing to worry about.