It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 1 The Good Samaritan Program No. 1265 SPEAKER: JOHN BRADSHAW Wesley Autrey was standing on the platform of a subway station in New York. With him were his two little daughters, aged four and six. Suddenly another man on that platform had a seizure. He stumbled and fell off the platform onto the subway tracks. And at that moment, the lights of an oncoming train appeared in the tunnel. What was going to happen would be horrific. Without hesitation, Wesley jumped down on to the subway tracks with the train approaching and tried to drag the man out of harms way. Then he realized the train was approaching too fast and there would be no time to get the man off the tracks. But realizing there was a drainage trench between the tracks, Wesley pushed the man into that gap and threw himself on top of him. Just seconds later, the train rushed right over the top of them, barely missing Wesley. It was so close that the train left grease marks on Wesley s knitted cap. When the train came to a halt, Wesley called up to the frightened onlookers on the platform. There are two little girls up there. Let them know their daddy is OK. Instantly, Wesley Autrey became a national hero. Everyone was moved by his bravery and by the compassion he showed a total stranger. There was no logical reason for him to risk his life. He had two small daughters up there to think about. But a human being was in desperate need, and Wesley moved with compassion did what he could to save the man. The press called him The Subway Superman the Harlem Hero. But the headline in one newspaper described Wesley Autrey in biblical terms. It read, Good Samaritan Saves Man on Subway Tracks. You know, a couple thousand years ago, Jesus related an incident that was somewhat similar. It s the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is well known. It s likely the basis of this story was a real incident. It could be that it was headline news, and possibly some of the people in the crowd listening to Jesus may have personally known the characters in the story. Today we re going to look at that story. And we re going to take a close-up look. As a matter of fact, we are going to go together to Israel. The parable of the Good Samaritan is set on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. Today, part of that road is known as the Wadi Qelt, and I visited that road to
It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 2 see what it was like not just today, but to get an idea of what it must have been like 2,000 years ago when Jesus related that parable. Being in that location caused me to reflect upon the story of the Good Samaritan. One thing you notice about the area is that it s a harsh environment. Rocky and arid and dry and hot. Really hot. And it wasn t nearly the hottest time of year when I visited. While I was walking in the area, I met a young man riding his bicycle along the road. He told me he had been attacked by a pack of dogs and had to fight them off. And I thought about that when I was there. What if a pack of dogs were to attack you right there where would you run? You know, running from a dog around here is one thing. Don t think I haven t thought about this either, but what would you do if you were set upon here by a gang of thieves or robbers? Not much you could do. Jesus, in Luke 10, told a parable regarding a man who d had that very experience, and he set the parable on this road, track, path, trail whatever word you d like to use. He talked about a man who was walking to Jericho, and this was the way to Jericho. Of course, there is no way at all to know just where this happened, but it happened somewhere along this road and you can imagine what it was like. Here is what Jesus said in Luke 10:30: Then Jesus answered and said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. I can imagine that. And if you get left for dead around here, it is not going to be a pretty sight. You wouldn t have a whole lot of hope. And then we read this very interesting passage where Jesus pretty well skewers the religious establishment because he says (Luke 10:31): Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Now, as you look at this road, there are wider bits and narrower bits, but it s not a freeway. I remember hearing the story for the first time, and thinking, Well, he crossed the street. There s not a street. It s a trail. It s a pathway. The priest who got out of the way virtually had to step over him or step around him. Most likely, it wasn t a matter of crossing a wide place, and maybe his robes his flowing robes even dragged over the poor fellow s half-dead body as he went by, so it s not like the priest could say he never saw him. The priest couldn t miss him and actually had to go to some effort to avoid the man, and then Jesus talks on in verse 32:
It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 3 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. So, he saw something. He said, Ah, what s that? I think I ll go and check it out. And he came and he saw this fella and he realized, Nah, not the sort of thing I want to bother getting my hands dirty with. And he too went around the guy. Then Jesus says in verse 33: But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. He was one of these lower-caste, lower-class guys the kind of people the Israelites looked at like they were dogs, treated like they were less than human. And he s the one who came by. I want to think with you now that we are in this environment about what the story really means. We read in Luke 10:33-34: But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The animal was most likely a donkey, and these are just donkey trails. You just walk at walking speed. If I were in a hurry to get to Jericho from here, I d be out of luck. If you went too fast, you d likely tip yourself over and hurt yourself. So this man found the wounded fella, the wounded man he refers to him as a man; we don t know what stripe he was. He put him on his animal. I mean, look at this environment. He went to some trouble to do this. It wasn t easy. He went out of his way, and then he said something like, You know, instead of just going to Jericho where I was going, I think I ll go and find an inn. He may have taken him to Jericho for all we know, but going to an inn wasn t a matter of driving to the next freeway exit and pulling off at the Motel 6 or the Hampton Inn, or whatever the case might be. He went out of his way, found a place, and said, Look after this man for me. I ll even come back and make sure that I ve given you enough money, because if it takes more money than I ve left for you to look after this man, then I will come back here and I will settle it. Being in this place where the story actually happened shines a whole new light on the story of the Good Samaritan. Here on the Jericho Road, the road where Jesus walked, Jesus told the story to make us stop and think about what it is to be
It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 4 compassionate. The story was preceded by a question: Who is my neighbor? Well, now we know. And if a Samaritan can treat a perfect stranger with that kind of compassion and that kind of care, it makes me stop and think while I am in this harsh, stark environment, walking the road Jesus walked that perhaps, just perhaps, I might want to think about treating people in the same way. But is there more to the story of the Good Samaritan? Let s look further in just a moment. Today, the story of the Good Samaritan. Now, to get from Jerusalem to Jericho today would take you no more than an hour by car less than an hour. It s a distance of not quite 30 miles, and what s interesting about that trip is that along the way, you descend about 3,250 feet 1,000 meters or so. That s how far down you go. Now, why did Jesus tell the story of the Good Samaritan do you think? Was it just because He wanted to share the lesson of compassion? No doubt that was part of it, but Jesus shared this story in answer to a question. And the answer the story provided spoke directly to the needs of the hearts of His hearers and it speaks to us today. A theologian had asked Jesus this question. He said, What shall I do to inherit eternal life? (Luke 10:25) So what Jesus said in response which includes the story of the Good Samaritan is to be understood in the context of the subject of salvation. What is the process of salvation? A serious question. A wrong answer could have eternal consequences! Jesus responded by saying this. You read it in Luke 10:26: He said to him, What is written in the law? What is your reading of it? When Jesus preached to the multitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, He said, You have heard that it was said Most of those in His audience that day couldn t read. They had to rely on what they had heard, which is why Jesus said, You have heard. But this man was learned; he could read. Jesus asked him What is your reading of the law? Now, this man knew his Bible. He summarized the first four commandments by quoting Moses in Deuteronomy 11:13. Let s look at that. I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. For a summary of the last six commandments, he referred to Leviticus 19:18:
It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 5 You shall love your neighbor as yourself His answer came easily. This was something the lawyers, the theologians, discussed among themselves. Jesus said, You have answered rightly; do this and you will live. But there was another question also hotly discussed among the lawyers: How should one s neighbor be defined? So this man snapped back, Who is my neighbor? To answer this question, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan. Looking at everything in context, we see that this parable isn t simply an appeal from Jesus to be more compassionate, as important as that is and it is important. The issue, however, is much bigger. What is at stake here is the question of how to be saved. The parable of the Good Samaritan is part of Jesus answer on how God saves us. Now, let s make sure we don t miss something important. The question asked was, Lord, what must I do to be saved? On the answer to this question hinges our eternal destiny. And no one can give us a better answer to this question than the Savior Himself. Therefore, we need to listen carefully. The answer our Lord gave is a radical answer. Essentially, He said this: Obeying the law is a vital part of the salvation experience. Now, we know that salvation is a gift that can t be earned. Paul said this in Romans 3:20: Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. That s clear. Let s read Galatians 3:11: But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Again and again, the New Testament proclaims that salvation is by God s grace through faith. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9) The Bible says this in Romans 10:9:
It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 6 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So what was Jesus saying when He told his hearers the story of the Good Samaritan? Well for one thing, it s much the same as what He told the Rich Young Ruler. If you want to be saved, if you want to live in the right relationship with God, it s important that you keep God s commandments. Now, does saying that make a person a legalist? Only if you want to call Jesus a legalist! Salvation is definitely a gift from God. And Jesus is certainly not suggesting that we begin trying to earn salvation with our obedience and good deeds. So how do you reconcile this? How do you bring these two points together: Jesus telling people to obey the commandments if they re serious about salvation, and Paul saying that salvation comes freely, by grace through faith? We want to remember that salvation is a love affair. It was initiated by God, because, as the Bible says (John 3:16): For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Salvation is the gift of God s love. Sin estranged us from God. To find His lost sheep, Jesus left His Father s house and condescended to be clothed with humanity. He endured the brambles and thorns of Calvary. He shed His blood. He endured the agony of the crucifixion. In the darkest hour on the hill of Golgotha he cried out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? The pain caused by this separation broke His heart and caused His death. But He found His lost sheep and all Heaven rejoiced with Him. And now there is nothing He wants more than to have us with Him forever. In His High Priestly prayer, He had one passionate request (John 17:24): Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. There is nothing Jesus wants more than to have you and me with Him forever. But God s offer isn t meaningful in any practical way until the sinner responds to it. What good will eternal life be to those who don t love God? People who haven t learned to love God wouldn t even be happy in Heaven! They d be miserable.
It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 7 Because God loves us, we respond to His love by loving Him in return. The Apostle John said, We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) The primary reason why we should desire to be saved is because we love Jesus so much, and we appreciate so greatly the love of God that we want to spend eternity with Him. And Jesus makes it very clear that our love for Him must be supreme. Remember what He said? Let s read this together. Here is what Jesus said (Matthew 10:37, 38): He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Such a love for Jesus leads to eternal life and this is what Jesus told the lawyer. If you love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, then He will save you. And what is it that demonstrates this love? This is in 1 John 5:3: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And Jesus said in John 14:15: If you love Me, keep My commandments. Now notice He was not saying, If you love me then go ahead and prove it by keeping my commandments. Jesus was saying, If you love me, something is going to happen in your life. It s an inevitability that you will keep My commandments. Those who are saved won t have worked their way to Heaven. But their obedience will have shown that they loved God they loved Jesus with all their hearts. Jesus wasn t telling the lawyer that salvation is by works. He said, You confess that you must love the Lord with all your heart if you want to be saved. That is the right answer. And your love for God will be revealed by your obedience to God s commandments. But then Jesus takes it a step further The concept of loving God is pretty easy to get your arms around, isn t it? That is, it s obvious God is good. He gives us life; He pours out His blessings. We know He is good. Our problem is more often with those who are closest to us. You ll notice in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the lawyer who was actually a theologian, a doctor of the law asks Jesus a really interesting question. Jesus
It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 8 affirmed him when he told Jesus that people ought to love God and love their neighbor. He got that from the writings of Moses. But he said to Jesus, Who is my neighbor? And you ll notice the passage in Luke 10 says that he asked Jesus this because he was wanting to justify himself. (Luke 10:29) The parable of the Good Samaritan challenged the people listening to Jesus because in the eyes of the Jews, there were no good Samaritans. They were all bad. The worst insult a Jew could sling at the one he despised was to call him a Samaritan. Listen to how they maligned Jesus in John 8:48: Then the Jews answered and said to Him, Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon? In their eyes, no one could be lower than a demon-possessed Samaritan. The woman at the well told Jesus this (John 4:9): for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. The shortest route between Jerusalem and Galilee went through Samaria, but many Jews were willing to almost double the distance by crossing the Jordan and traveling up the West Bank up to the Sea of Galilee just to avoid going through Samaria. If just the shadow of a Samaritan fell on a Jew, he d feel morally unclean. Yet here s Jesus telling these people that a Samaritan was their neighbor. In this parable, Jesus drives home a powerful lesson. You can talk all you want about loving God, but the truth is that your love for God is no stronger than your love for your fellow man. Your confession that you love God may be impressive, but it s meaningless unless you love your neighbor as yourself. The Bible says this, in 1 John 4:20, 21: If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. Jesus said in Luke 6:32: But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. This is what makes this parable so powerful. The priest and the Levite, by their offices, confessed to love God. They did service for Him. Their lives were committed to Him. They were recognized by the people as spiritual. But Jesus says their profession was meaningless. It was only a show.
It Is Written Script: 1265 The Good Samaritan Page 9 Those who truly love God will reveal their love for Him by how they treat others. The Samaritan might have been despised, but he showed more genuine love for God than did the priest or the Levite. Through this parable, Jesus is speaking to us. He asked Peter, Do you love Me? He is still addressing this question to you and me. We can claim to be Christians, or a good person, and show up in church, and keep a Bible on our bookshelf, but the truth is revealed when we find a neighbor next to us on the road. Whatever we do to one of the least, we do it to Jesus. Too many people are priests and Levites in the way they treat others. They confess to be saved, but their confession is hollow. There is no salvation for anybody as long as there is a neighbor who needs help while we pass by on the other side, unmoved. And let s turn that over. We shouldn t claim that our neighborly actions give evidence that we are truly Christians if our lack of obedience to God shows otherwise. These are two sides of the same coin. Salvation will reveal that you love God because obedience to God is being shown demonstrated in your life through obedience to God s Commandments. But on the other side, if all you have is obedience and no love for your fellow human being, that obedience isn t really worth two cents. They go hand in hand. Jesus shared the parable of the Good Samaritan to show us this. I d like to pray with you now. Let s pray together. PRAYER Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for this wonderful parable Jesus shared of the Good Samaritan, and how through this simple story, Jesus shows us that our profession of faith in you is revealed in how we treat others. Give us grace to be Good Samaritans, and at the same time, as Jesus spoke to that theologian, He made it very clear that He calls us to be obedient and faithful and to follow the Word of God and the precepts of Heaven. Lord, I think we can confess we re incapable of that. We need you to come into our lives and do in us what we cannot do ourselves. Thank you that there is a Savior one who transforms and enables us to do what we couldn t do otherwise. We thank you today and we pray in Jesus name, Amen. It Is Written Box O Thousand Oaks, CA 91359 USA
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