The Good Samaritan

TEXT: Luke 10:25-37
25And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Samaritan. It’s a word of honor and glory. If you are someone who is known as a Good Samaritan it says that you have given of yourself to help someone in need. A Good Samaritan is a lifeguard who jumps in to save a drowning child or a complete stranger who pulls a baby out of a busy street. Hospitals and nursing homes are named “Good Samaritan.” And many states have passed “Good Samaritan Laws” to protect citizens, doctors, and nurses from malpractice suits when they voluntarily help those in life or death circumstances. For us in America, “Samaritan” is a word of honor.

In first Century Jewish culture, the word “Samaritan” was like dirty, 4-letter word. Samaritans had some baggage in their history that goes back to at least when Solomon’s kingdom was divided into two kingdoms. Samaria was the larger kingdom with ten 10 tribes. To keep the ten tribes from going to the Jerusalem temple, the worship of golden calves was instituted as a national religion. The great prophets Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha, and Hosea urged the people to return to the worship of the God of Abraham. They would not listen. For their idolatry they were exiled and replaced by a mixed race of Israelites and pagans. They were called Samaritans. Their descendants still live in Samaria, and like their ancestors, they only accept the 5 Books of Moses and practice pagan rituals. What irony then, that a hated Samaritan would be the One that Jesus would extol as an example of how you are to inherit eternal life.

American culture was not the first to give accolades to one who is a “Samaritan,” but rather Jesus. The fact that Americans extol the title “Samaritan” is a tribute to the influence of Christianity in the United States. It is a compliment unmatched… to be a Samaritan means putting all that you are and have at the disposal of an injured person, even if that person is intent on your destruction. Perhaps in the story of the Good Samaritan Jesus is asking the impossible of us. Forgiving your enemies is one thing. Helping them is another.

While it is all too easy for preachers to pick on the ineptitude of Pharisees, in one sense this Pharisee must be commended. “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” At least this Pharisee had the right question. While this Pharisee was concerned about life after death, too many today are obsessed with avoiding it. The overt preoccupation with eating the right foods and with exercise might be considered a pseudo-religion. The most important question isn’t, “If I die will I live again?” but rather “Is my cholesterol under 200? Are my triglycerides under control?” Healthy living is not a sin. But when it becomes your own path to immortality… and a religious desire to live life to the fullest now…. Thoughts of God, death, life after death, salvation and mortality are made to be silly, useless things.

Death is not a disease to be caught, but a birth defect in every man, woman and child since the day of Adam. Unless we ask the question the Pharisee asked, we may never hear God’s answer of how to obtain eternal life. Jesus gives this answer - Love the Lord your God with everything you are. This simply means to have faith (believe) in the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Any other god won’t do you any good. Secondly, you must love the neighbor more than you love yourself.

Jesus preaches to you the parable of the Good Samaritan not so much to tell you how to live, but to tell you about eternal life. In Jesus vocabulary, “Samaritan” becomes a one-word summary describing all you need to know about Christianity.

Christianity is all about the ONLY true Good Samaritan. Christianity is all about who a Jew called Jesus who allowed Himself be known as a despised Samaritan… or even about a Jew who allowed Himself to assume the nationality of every man, woman, and child… red or yellow, black or white.

Samaritans may have been hated, but none of them were as hated as Jesus was and still is. Jesus, the Good Samaritan, came to His own, but His own would not receive Him. The enemy of God was sinful mankind… it was each of you. And while the sinful flesh in each of you hates the Good Samaritan and desires only the worst for Him, Jesus loved you who act as Pharisees and unfaithful priests and Levites… you who were His enemies. He loved you all the way to the cross. He loved you as He suffered for you on Holy Thursday through Good Friday. He was beaten, scourged, crowned with thorns, and pinned to a cross while priests, and Levites and even His own disciples passed Him by and would not help Him. But they couldn’t help Him, nor did He want them too. In hanging on the cross Jesus was actually helping them. On the cross He died for those who have been beaten and robbed by the Devil and His demonic thieves. The Good Samaritan’s holy precious blood became the divine currency with which He says to His Father, “I have covered all their iniquity in full.”

Today, that blood of the Good Samaritan purifies you from all sin. Drink deeply from the chalice of the Good Samaritan. In eating His Body and drinking His Blood Jesus does not pass you by, but He comes to you who are beaten down in sin and problems, and sadness. In His Holy Meal, He nurses you back to health… and He restores your soul.

What shall you do to inherit eternal life? Absolutely nothing. Jesus the Good Samaritan has done everything for you.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.