Take a few minutes and read Luke 10:25-37.
The passage begins with an expert in religious law asking Jesus two important questions: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” and “… who is my neighbor?”
From the context we see that the questioner thinks he already knows the answers. He’s testing Jesus to see if He comes up with the right answers. Jesus responds with a story. One so profound that it has endured for thousands of years. It’s a story that has transcended its religious origin and become so widely known that even those who have never set foot in a church are likely to have heard it in some form.
The story is known as “The Good Samaritan,” and today we’re going to look at three important lessons it has to teach us.
Lesson 1: Don’t be a hypocrite.
By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.
A Levite walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
~Luke 10:31-32
A Jewish traveler lies naked and severely wounded on the side of the road. Lucky for him, a devout man of God happens by. This man is a priest—a direct descendant of Aaron. He regularly communes with God and offers sacrifices for the Jewish people at the Temple. He is a shepherd of God’s people, responsible for teaching and upholding the Law of Moses. Surely, such a man would rush to the aid of a wounded countryman.
Nope! Instead, he crosses to the other side of the road and goes about his business.
Another religious figure happens by, this man a Levite. The Levites, like the priests, live their lives in service to God. They are responsible for a variety of important tasks, including guarding the temple, leading worship, and preparing animal sacrifices. Here again, we would expect such a man to offer aid to a brother in desperate need. And yet, like the priest, the Levite crosses to the other side of the road and continues on his way.
We may be tempted to judge the priest and Levite harshly, but we should look carefully at our own lives before doing so. How many times have we been in a position to help someone in need, only to decide that it was too inconvenient? How often do we see hurting people and think, “Not my problem“? The truth is, we are more like the priest and Levite than we want to admit.
God commands His people to love others—even our enemies. When we claim to love God but fail to show love toward our fellow man, we are guilty of the same hypocrisy.
Don’t be like that priest and Levite. Don’t ignore the suffering of those around you. Ask God to show you how you can step in and meet their needs.
Lesson 2: Do be like the Good Samaritan.
Then a despised Samaritan came along…
~Luke 10:33a
As the story continues, another character enters the scene. Perhaps the dying Jew hears the approaching stranger and his donkey coming down the road. He struggles to lift his head, praying that this man will be different from the two that came before—praying someone will help him before it’s too late. His hopeful expression changes to a mixture of disappointment and disdain. A Samaritan!? He drops his weary head to the ground in despair, certain that no help is coming from this cultural enemy.
And yet…
This Samaritan looks at the dying man on the side of the road and is filled with compassion. He immediately soothes and binds the man’s wounds. Gently, he lifts the man onto his own donkey and takes him to a nearby inn. He stays with the man through the night, leaves him in the care of the innkeeper the next morning, and promises to pay whatever it takes to see the man fully recover.
This is a perfect example of selfless love. The Samaritan has every reason to leave this man to his fate. They are historic enemies! It will cost time, money, and resources to help him, and he knows he might not get so much as a thank you in return. But his compassion motivates him to do what is right, regardless of the cost.
When He finishes telling the story, Jesus asks the religious expert, “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?”
The religious expert knows the answer: “The one who showed him mercy.”
Jesus replies, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
This lesson applies to us today. To obey the commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” we must act as the Good Samaritan did. We must be filled with compassion and use our God-given resources to help those in need—even those we might consider our enemies.
Lesson 3: You are the dying Jew.
This one might be new to you. It was to me. I’ve heard many different sermons over the years preached on “The Good Samaritan,” and they all focused on the first two lessons we looked at today. But as I was reading this story recently and meditating on it, I saw something I had never seen before: the gospel, hiding in plain sight!
Turns out I’m not the first one to spot this. As I was doing research for this post, I discovered that many of the early church fathers saw this too. In fact, the gospel interpretation of this story was the dominant interpretation for the first 1,500 years or so of church history. That said, it was new to me, and I think it’s worth sharing. Perhaps, like me, you will see it for the first time.
A major clue that this parable contains the gospel is that Jesus told it in response to the question: what should I do to inherit eternal life? With that in mind, let’s look at the story from the point of view of the dying man.
Dead in our sins.
There are several passages in the Bible warning us that without Jesus Christ we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Romans 5, Ephesians 2, and Colossians 2).
The Jewish man bleeding and dying on the side of the road represents us in our natural, fallen state. We are beaten and helpless (Romans 5:6). We cannot save ourselves. If nothing changes, we will certainly perish. The wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23).
Religion can’t save us.
The Bible tells us that the law can’t save us; it can only condemn us because we are unable to keep it (Romans 3:20). Scripture also tells us that our good works can’t save us (Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9).
The priest is a representation of the law. The Levite is a representation of good works. We can’t keep the law because of our sin nature, and we can never do enough good works to atone for our sin. Neither the law nor works will save us (Romans 8:3). They walk right on by, leaving us in our broken condition.
Things are looking grim! What hope do we have?
Saved while we were enemies.
In our natural, fallen state, we are enemies of God (Romans 8:7, Romans 5:10). We are rebels who have turned from God to go our own way (Isaiah 53:6). But while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)!
The Good Samaritan is Christ Himself. He looks on us, His enemies, with love and compassion. We can do nothing more than accept His kindness. Jesus binds our wounds and carries us to a place of rest. He saves us.
As the Good Samaritan pays for the dying man’s recovery from his own pocket, so Christ pays the price for our sins, that we might be reconciled to God and made whole.
There it is… The Gospel! We are as good as dead in our sins, and there’s nothing we can do about it. But Christ lovingly and mercifully comes along and rescues us. He pays the price so that we can be saved.
Hopefully this post helped you see this parable in new ways. May it challenge you to avoid hypocrisy, may it encourage you to show love to those in need, and may it remind you of the Good News that there is salvation in Jesus Christ!
