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Introduction:
Everyone is familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke
10:30-36). This 2000-year-old story has made it into our
popular culture to describe any good deeds. We must take care not
to lose the power of this parable through common usage. I am not
sure we always make the connection that this story was ultimately
in answer to the question of Luke
10:25, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (ESV).
Jesus’ statement was, “Only Good Samaritans inherit eternal
life!” At the end of the story (vss.
37), Jesus told the lawyer, “Go and do the same.” This
story promotes action, the action of love. Therefore we ask,
“What did the Good Samaritan do?” Discussion: I.
The Good Samaritan acted from
compassion not prejudice. A.
Most of us are aware Jews and Samaritans hated each other.
This hatred was so much a part of Jewish practice you will
remember the Samaritan woman at the well in John
4:9 was surprised Jesus spoke to her. The Samaritan did
not love this man because of his race or religion, he just loved
him. He saw his need and was merciful to him. B.
In our culture, race has always posed problems. Thankfully,
our society seems to be working through these problems, slowly but
surely. Race, however, is not the only prejudice. There are
numerous reasons we may be prejudiced. It is easy to devalue those
who are poorer or dirtier than us; those whose clothes are not as
nice. We may know about their sins and believe they do not deserve
compassion, perhaps they are drunks, liars, homosexuals, child
abusers, fornicators, etc. Perhaps they are not as educated as we
are and don’t speak as correctly as we do, hanging participles
and splitting infinitives. Or, heaven forbid, they may even sound
like a Yankee. We can be prejudiced for any number of reasons. C.
We are all in the same boat—sinners in need of saving. In
the grand scheme of things we are not better or worse than anyone
in this world because of our race, religion, socio-economic class,
gender or morality. We are to love others when we can, where we
can and to the greatest extent we can. Then try to love a little
more. Remember Jesus’ statement to the Pharisees given in
response to their prejudice against sinners and tax-gatherers in Matthew
9:12-13, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire
mercy and not sacrifice’” (ESV). Without unprejudiced love and
mercy, sacrifice in worship is pointless. II.
The Good Samaritan sacrificed of himself and his resources. A.
The Samaritan was not out for a walk; he was on a journey (Luke
10:33). He had places to go and most probably a timetable
to keep. Nearly every man knows journeys have timetables, even
when the children have to use the restroom. Assumedly, this
Samaritan was no different. But, when he saw the need of the Jew,
he sacrificed his own timetable to bestow mercy and love. B.
The Good Samaritan also sacrificed his resources. Where did
the bandaging, oil and wine come from? They were not on the side
of the road in a box that said, “In case of robbery.” These
items came from the luggage of the travelling Samaritan. C.
The Samaritan sacrificed his own comfort and ease. For this
journey, the Samaritan had been riding on a beast. After he
treated and bandaged the man, he placed the injured man on his own
beast and was relegated to walking. D.
The Samaritan sacrificed some of his money. He gave the
innkeeper two denarii, that is two day’s wages, and promised to
reimburse him for any other costs in this man’s care. E.
We know the greatest love, that a man lay down his life for
his friends (John
15:13). It is easy in a Bible class to declare we might
lay down our lives for some of our friends. But if we won’t even
give up our time, comfort, resources or finances, we will never
give up our lives. III.
The Good Samaritan kept his own needs in perspective. A.
This Samaritan was going somewhere and had things to do. He
had goals to reach, plans to accomplish and responsibilities to
keep. This Samaritan had wants and needs he was striving to
accomplish even at the moment he came across this injured man. We
don’t know them, but rest assured, to the Samaritan they were
important, else he would not have been involved in it. B.
The Good Samaritan, despite how important his needs and
goals were, was able to keep things in perspective. The imminent
death of this beaten Jew was far more important than whatever the
Samaritan’s plans were. Love keeps things in perspective and
does not seek its own (I
Corinthians 13:5). It is so easy to believe my plans,
goals, needs and desires are more important than anyone else’s.
After all, they are mine. I have to step outside myself and try to
understand you to see how important your needs are. That is not
easy. C.
I want to explain some of the difficulty I had in
developing this point. At first, I labeled it, “The Good
Samaritan put the needs of others first.” Then I considered, I
had a friend who in high school was at home alone, cutting the
yard and through cut off his thumb. He had to drive himself to the
emergency room. What if on the way he saw an elderly woman with a
flat tire sitting on the roadside? Does love demand he put his own
concerns aside to help her? Of course not. Thus I changed the
point to “The Good Samaritan kept his own needs in
perspective.” D.
Understanding this is probably the most difficult aspect of
being a Good Samaritan. This does not mandate we impoverish
ourselves through unwise benevolence. Love keeps things in
perspective and balances the real needs of all involved. That
takes wisdom, experience and probably a lot of mistakes. It is an
area of growth. Notice, the Samaritan did not stay with the man
until he was fully recovered. Rather, he did what he could and
when the situation was rectified to the point his need to journey
on was greater than the Jew’s need for medical help, he left. E.
I wish I could draw lines for you and say which situations
demand personal sacrifice and which do not. You, through prayer
and study, have to determine your own course of action regarding
love and mercy. I bring this point up, not to resolve all the
conflicts in your mind regarding when and where, but rather to
bring that conflict up in the minds of those who haven’t dealt
with it. Because typically, those who struggle will keep things in
perspective and will not seek their own. IV.
The Good Samaritan made himself vulnerable and took a risk.
A.
I am not sure we realize the great risk the Samaritan took.
First, that this man was here in this state at all demonstrated
robbers were on the road. The man could have been there as a trap
or the robbers might still have been close by and attacked the
Samaritan as he helped the injured Jew. Yet, despite the risks,
the Samaritan stopped, got down off his beast and stooped to
examine the man, making himself vulnerable to any attack that
might have been waiting. B.
But the risk did not stop there. The Samaritan made himself
vulnerable when he told the innkeeper he would pay for any of the
expenses the Jew incurred while staying at the inn. He did not
know what caring for this man would cost. He didn’t know if the
injured man was honest or if he might take advantage of his
generosity. He opened himself up to be used. C.
Love is not truly possible without making ourselves
vulnerable. Every time we offer love and mercy we are opening the
door to be hurt. We are opening the door to be used. We are
opening the door to get burned. We often think about this in the
realm of romantic love, but it is true regarding any relationship
and act of love. We must be willing to accept this risk. V.
The Good Samaritan did all this when no one else could see
him. A.
If the road had been populated, this robbery would never
have happened. The Samaritan had the same option to pass by
without helping as the Levite and the priest and no one would ever
have known. Instead he stopped to help. B.
If we are acting just to be seen of men, our action is not
love or mercy. It is love when we do it whether or not we ever get
noticed. Interestingly, the Samaritan didn’t even wait around
until the man was well enough to give a reward or even say thank
you. He wasn’t interested in being noticed or rewarded. He was
interested in helping a man in need. The Samaritan loved. Conclusion: At the end of this story, Jesus told the lawyer, “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37). Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say, “Go and think about the same.” “Go and teach about the same.” “Go and talk about the same.” He did not say, “Go and feel the same.” “Go and point fingers at others who do not do the same.” “Go and talk about how you would do the same if the opportunity arose.” He said, “Go and do the same.” Are you a Good Samaritan?
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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