Parable The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:29-37

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”  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. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 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. 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.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

• Three groups of people are represented in this parable: those in need of mercy and compassion, those who withhold compassion, and those who demonstrate mercy and compassion.
• We will look into why it is such an important part of our faith to put our love into action by caring for those most in need.

A MAN IN NEED 

He is Hurt

They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

·         Now, it is not everyday that we see a man on the side of the street who has been beaten, mugged, and left for dead, but hurting people come in all sorts of manners.

·         People have many kinds of needs: emotional, social, spiritual, physical, etc. Sometimes people’s needs are not as obvious as the man’s in this parable, but as we keep ourselves in tune with God’s Holy Spirit, then we will have wisdom, insight, and discernment to know what those around us need.

He Has Nothing to Offer

… he fell into the hands of robbers.

·         The world is full of hurting people, all of whom have had something taken from them, just as the man in this story had all of his clothing and goods stolen from him. The devil has come to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus came to bring life abundantly.·         As we recognize how much people have had stolen from them by the devil, we can learn to have compassion on even the hardest of people. We do not need to condone any sin that they are in, but simply love them even when they have nothing to offer.·         The Bible says that God loved us even when we did not know Him; we could only love because He first loved us. We had nothing to offer God, yet He still showed us mercy and compassion.

·         In the same way, we are to love and give mercy to those who have nothing to give back.

IGNORED BY RELIGIOUS PEOPLE 

The Priest

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

• The priests in Jesus’ day were among the most highly honoured and respected people in Jewish society. They were the ones who prepared the sacrifices and ministered before the Lord. They had descended from Aaron, the first high priest among the Israelites.
• In Jesus’ day the priests prided themselves on being separate from the world, touching no unclean thing, and not defiling themselves in any way—at least externally.
• But Jesus called many of the priests and religious people of His day, whitewashed tombs, people who appeared clean on the outside but were full of all kinds of impurity and death on the inside.
• The priest in this story distanced himself from the one in need because he did not want to “defile” himself in any way by touching one who was bleeding and naked and poor. He maintained an external appearance of being clean, but had a heart full of pride and lacking in love.

The Levite     

So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

·         Levites were also those who ministered in the temple. They were set apart by God to work in the temple, though all of them were not priests, only those descended from Aaron.

·         Levites were also honoured and respected because of their work for the Lord, but Jesus was showing how simply doing work for God meant nothing unless one had love for their neighbors.

·         God spoke to the prophet Hosea, saying He desired mercy and not sacrifice. God would rather have us show mercy and love to our neighbors in need than fill up our time with church activity and church programs. He would rather us be a nobody who loves others as himself than be a famous minister who is full of sin on the inside.

·         God looks at our hearts, and we also must learn to not judge by external appearances.

THE SAMARITAN NEIGHBOUR

He Took Pity

… when he saw him, he took pity on him.

• Samaritans were a people group despised by the Jews. They were considered half-breeds—part Jewish and part heathen—who were unfit and unclean and unable to worship the one true God.
• Although this Samaritan man knew the Jewish man who was robbed and injured would probably not even speak to him if he were in his right mind, he took compassion and loved the one who would hate him under normal circumstances.
• The Samaritan man valued love above his own personal feelings and business; he not only pitied him, he demonstrated his love in action.

He Took Care of Him

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.

·         The Samaritan man used his own oil and wine to care for the one who was hurt, let him ride his own donkey, and paid for him with his own money to stay at an inn until he recovered.

·         Not only did he just address the hurting man’s immediate needs, he also followed through to make sure he would fully recover and be made well again. He sacrificed his own time and money and comfort for this man, not expecting anything in return.

·         One thing to notice is that the Samaritan man did not even know the man who had been beaten and robbed, yet he treated him as his friend and neighbor. Jesus was illustrating the idea that we are to love everyone: enemies, friends, strangers, etc.

WALK IN MERCY

Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?

To Act Justly

To act justly…

• The first good thing God requires of us is to act justly. Being just means showing no partiality, acting in righteousness, and hating every form of evil in our hearts.
• The religious guys did not act justly; they showed partiality by not caring for a poor, hurting man who could not repay them for taking care of him. They cared more for external appearances than for doing what was right in God’s eyes.

To Love Mercy

…and to love mercy…

·         Mercy is extending favor, grace, and love to those who do not deserve it and who can give nothing in return.

·         We must love mercy, meaning we enjoy and delight to show mercy to other people, including our enemies, those we fear, and those we don’t really like.

·         The Samaritan neighbor in this parable seemed pleased to extend mercy to his Jewish neighbor, and did not withhold his own possessions and time from the one who needed them.

To Walk Humbly

…and to walk humbly with your God.

·         To walk in mercy, grace, kindness, and love, we must walk with God. We must know God intimately to understand His ways, and to do this we must spend plenty of time in His presence.

·         As we walk with God, we also need to learn humility, honoring others above our own selves and considering others’ needs before our own.

·         When we are humble, we keep ourselves from becoming prideful, arrogant, judgmental, hypocritical, competitive, and selfishly ambitious.