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Leviticus (18:1–5) 19:9–18
Colossians 1:1–14
Luke 10:25–37
Jesus Is Our Good Samaritan
Lord Jesus Christ, in Your deep compassion You rescue us from whatever may hurt us. Teach us to love You above all things and to love our neighbors as ourselves; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The Law commands that “you shall love the Lord your God” with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27), and that you shall “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Love fulfills the Law because love does no harm to the neighbor. Christ Jesus is the Good Samaritan, who with divine compassion saves you from all evil. He takes your sin and death upon Himself and bears these in His body to the cross. He binds up your wounds with the healing balm of His Gospel, and He brings you into His Church, where He takes care of you at His own expense (Luke 10:34–35). By such mercy, He proves “to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers” (Luke 10:36). Therefore, “you go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). By “your faith in Christ Jesus” and “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:4–5), you have the same love for others as the Lord Jesus has for you.
The popular phrase "Be a Good Samaritan" is meant to motivate you to help someone you don't want to. It sounds clever, but spiritually speaking, it is a burden. Most times you help the person you don't want to, their lack of appreciation and demand for more can be defeating and exhausting. It can leave you feeling you were right, that you shouldn't have. More than exhausting, it leads many to give up. So it is with any motivation from the Law: it reveals our sin.
Jesus, though, did not come teaching lessons like the Good Samaritan to inspire you how to live a good life but to reveal that we can't. But once you realize that, your Savior then desires to show your repentant heart what He has done to free you and forgive you.
Jesus truly helped all, only He was the "Good Samaritan" we should be. As the Son of God, He was the only One who could be. His greatest act of love proves it to be the case. Jesus offered His life in exchange for yours, took all your sins away as His own, and paid their full price on His cross. In exchange, He gives you everything, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
- Pr. Tim Daub
In telling the parable of The Good Samaritan Jesus appears to have made a tactical blunder. Speaking to Jews, and particularly to a Jewish “lawyer”—who by definition was an authority on Jewish law—Jesus makes the merciful hero of his parable a Samaritan. The “good guy” in the parable is neither the noble Jewish priest nor the official temple working Levite; the “good guy” is the despised Samaritan!
Though the Samaritans in Jesus’ day appeared to live as Jews in an area of the former “northern kingdom” of Israel—the area between the Jewish regions of Judea and Galilee—yet no Jew considered a Samaritan to be at all Jewish. In fact there was a deep rift between Jews and Samaritans—and we are not speaking of a geographic rift. Because of this rift the Samaritans had established their own temple on Mt. Gerazim while the Jews worshiped at God’s Temple in Jerusalem.
The rift began in Old Testament times when God sent judgment upon the hypocritical Jews and allowed their temple—His Temple—to be destroyed and most of the Jews deported to Babylon. After 70 years of captivity in Babylon the now-repentant Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild God’s Temple. Jews who had not been deported and remained behind in the region of Samaria had intermarried with pagans, thus diluting, compromising or even destroying Jewish beliefs. When the Jews returned to rebuild God’s Temple, the Samaritans asked to join them in the task. When the Jews refused their proposed assistance, the Samaritans actually petitioned the king of Assyria to have the building of God’s Temple halted (Ezra 4)! For over 400 years there was such bad blood between Jews and Samaritans that for a Jew to call someone a “Samaritan” was tantamount to cursing him.
When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well, the Apostle John interjected the explanation, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” (Jn. 4:9b). And when the truth spoken by Jesus rubbed the Jewish leaders the wrong way they cursed Him by saying, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (Jn. 8:48). Interestingly Jesus would deny having a demon but he would not deny the appellation of Samaritan.
Though fully Jewish, fully obeying all of God’s laws, yet Jesus is the Samaritan. He would take the position of the hated and cursed man. He would thus be despised and rejected of men, the man of sorrows who journeys to the cross for mankind’s salvation. The crucified Jesus—who thus associated with the broken, forsaken and dying people of this world—now reaches out to just such people. Jesus, not the Jewish priest or Levite, would be the one to show mercy to beaten, robbed and left-for-dead humanity. Only Jesus could apply the sin-healing balm of His Word, including the oil of Baptism and the wine of the Lord’s Supper. Only Jesus would carry His enemy to the “inn” of the church, and there He would provide for continued sustenance and healing. Only Jesus is truly the Good Samaritan.
After Jesus had accomplished mankind’s salvation the Gospel would spread from Jerusalem to Samaria, and the forensically justified people of God would come to realize that the gospel of Jesus heals the rift between Jew and Samaritan—and in fact all feuds and racial rifts are healed as people are united in the crucified and risen “Samaritan”. He showed mercy and now in Him we do likewise, finding in the downtrodden Jesus Himself.
- Pr. Daniel J Brege
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:25-37
:25 Καὶ ἰδοὺ νομικός τις ἀνέστη ἐκπειράζων αὐτὸν λέγων· Διδάσκαλε, τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω;
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἐν τῷ νόμῳ τί γέγραπται; πῶς ἀναγινώσκεις;
He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
27 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης]τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ἰσχύϊ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.
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 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ· Ὀρθῶς ἀπεκρίθης· τοῦτο ποίει καὶ ζήσῃ.
And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
Ø The righteous requirements of the Law still remain a mandate. Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. See Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus is not an antinomian. “Do this and you will live.”
29 Ὁ δὲ θέλων δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτὸν εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν· Καὶ τίς ἐστίν μου πλησίον;
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Ø θέλων δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτὸν The path into hell is always paved with good intentions. The Old Adam in us is still trying self-justification.
30 ὑπολαβὼν]δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· Ἄνθρωπός τις κατέβαινεν ἀπὸ Ἰερουσαλὴμ εἰς Ἰεριχὼ καὶ λῃσταῖς περιέπεσεν, οἳ καὶ ἐκδύσαντες αὐτὸν καὶ πληγὰς ἐπιθέντες ἀπῆλθον ἀφέντες ἡμιθανῆ.
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 κατὰ συγκυρίαν δὲ ἱερεύς τις κατέβαινεν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν·
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
32 ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Λευίτης κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 Σαμαρίτης δέ τις ὁδεύων ἦλθεν κατ’ αὐτὸν καὶ ἰδὼν ἐσπλαγχνίσθη,
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
ἐσπλαγχνίσθη from the” inward parts” or “guts.” The verb suggests being moved from the innermost core of one’s being. A gut-wrenching stomach churning form of mercy. This is Jesus, who sees sheep without a shepherd Matthew 9:36; who cares for the sick - Mark 14:14; and the widow - Luke 7:14.
In the parables Jesus is the forgiving king - Matthew 18:27, the father of the prodigal - Luke 15:20; the Samaritan :33. He’s moved in his very bowels with compassion, the giver of gut-wrenching compassion.
34 καὶ προσελθὼν κατέδησεν τὰ τραύματα αὐτοῦ ἐπιχέων ἔλαιον καὶ οἶνον, ἐπιβιβάσας δὲ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον κτῆνος ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς πανδοχεῖον καὶ ἐπεμελήθη αὐτοῦ.
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 καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν αὔριον ἐκβαλὼν [l]δύο δηνάρια ἔδωκεν τῷ πανδοχεῖ καὶ εἶπεν· Ἐπιμελήθητι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὅ τι ἂν προσδαπανήσῃς ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ ἐπανέρχεσθαί με ἀποδώσω σοι.
And the next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Ø A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
36 τίς τούτων τῶν τριῶν πλησίον δοκεῖ σοι γεγονέναι τοῦ ἐμπεσόντος εἰς τοὺς λῃστάς;
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
37 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετ’ αὐτοῦ. εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Πορεύου καὶ σὺ ποίει ὁμοίως.
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Ø The Christian life is not mere theory. It is faith always active in love toward the neighbor. God does not need your good works. Your neighbor, however always will.
Footnotes:
LCMS Lectionary notes and summaries © 2019
Collect for Proper 10 Lutheran Service Book © 20006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software
ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Reflection for Lutheran Senior Care
The Good Samaritan is a story that many people have probably heard before. But it never hurts to explore it again.
Unconditional love and action-based faith are important. This message reminds us that loving God is the best thing we can do with our lives.
We demonstrate love for God by loving one another. No matter who it is that needs love.
Law/Gospel Theme: We can get caught up in details or following commandments. But what we will see in our story for today like the Priest or the Levite its easy to get distracted from noticing people who need our help.
But with the good news of the Gospel. We celebrate the importance of seeing others as God sees them. And showing them our love as a reflection of Jesus.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, in Your deep compassion You rescue us from whatever may hurt us. Teach us to love You above all things and to love our neighbors as ourselves; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The whole Bible
could be summed up in just one word? And what is that word?
It’s LOVE. The most important thing we are to do is to
love. Jesus described this and said that the most essential priority in
our lives should be loving God with all of our heart, our mind, and our
strength.
And He said we
are to love our neighbor. What does this mean? Who is our neighbor? Is it
someone living next door or next to you?
We know that
God loved everyone. And wants us to do the same. This does not always mean
saying that things they do are okay. But it means we show them we care and
demonstrate that God does, too.
As Jesus was
describing this, He told a story of the Good Samaritan.
There was a man
traveling on a not-so-safe road. He was caught by some mean robbers. Who beat
him up. Robbed him. And left him to die!
The poor man
was lying there. And he heard someone approach. The first person to see him was
a priest, someone who worked for the church. Do you think the priest should
have stopped to help the man? Wouldn’t that show his faith was real?
Well, he didn’t
stop! He kept right on going. So another man walked by. This was a Levite. Someone
else important in the temple.
And guess what?
He didn’t stop, either!! He kept right on going.
Finally, a
third man came along. And by this time maybe the poor man was ready to give up.
The man who came was a Samaritan.
Now, Samaritans
in Jesus’ time were not well-liked. They were not respected at all.
This Samaritan
was walking along. And the man on the roadside must have thought he was done
for. BUT the Samaritan man stopped!
Not only did he
stop. He helped the man. He put bandages on his wounds. Put the man on his
donkey. And took him to an inn. Then he gave the innkeeper money and told him
to take care of whatever he needed!
So Jesus told
this story to show us that love is not just about what we say, but what we do.
Sometimes we
might get caught up in following the law or looking good or saying all of the
right things. But if we are not demonstrating love, we miss all.
God wants us to
love people by caring for them. We pray for them. We do things for them. And we
treat them with kindness, as Jesus would do. Look around. Do you see people
that do that very thing? Do you see people who care for you. Who pray for you.
Who do things for you? Who treat you with kindness as Jesus would do?
As they have
served us. So we serve others.
When we can do
that, we show the love of God and fulfill His greatest commandment!
Let’s pray to
thank God for His love, and to ask for help in sharing that with one another:[1]
Prayer: Thank you, LORD for your love and care. Thank you for the words of the Bible. Thank you for those around us. Help us love you with our whole selves. Help us share your love with everyone around us.
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