The Good Samaritan

This Sunday we are going to focus on a famous passage from Luke’s Gospel. The passage is about the Good Samaritan and it is found in Like 10:30-37. As we approach this text I want you to prepare yourself for hearing a fresh message from this famous parable. In fact I want you to intentionally set aside most of the information that you have gathered from this text and I want you to listen from a new perspective. We have all heard sermons from Luke 10:30-37 that promote social justice, kindness to the poor, and even an emphasis on racial reconciliation. Those are good reminders but honestly they fall short of the intended purpose behind this story.

Remember this is a parable so this is not a real life example. Our best understanding of this text is that there was not a specific priest or robber or even Samaritan that Jesus had in mind. The story was delivered because of the question that came from a religious leader identified as a keeper of the law in verse 25. This is the same question that we dealt with this past Sunday. “Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This time however the religious leader gives the same answer that Jesus gave in Mark 12:29-30. The plot thickens however when the lawyer in Luke 10:29 ask Jesus, “who then is my
neighbor?”

My goal on Sunday is to reexamine this passage with a new set of eyes and recognize that this parable has more to do with a correct understanding of salvation than service. Before we can serve our city with the gospel we have to have a correct understanding of the power of the gospel in our own lives. The reality is that God uses broken people to serve the gospel to other broken people. Take these few examples into consideration:

• Elijah – Was suicidal
• Joseph – Was abused
• Job – Went bankrupt
• Moses – Had a speech problem
• Gideon – Was afraid
• Rahab – Was a prostitute
• Samaritan Woman – Divorced
• David – Was a murderer
• Jonah – Ran from God
• Peter – Denied Christ three times
• Martha – Worried about everything
• Zacchaeus – money hungry
• The Disciples – Fell asleep while praying

As we prepare for Sunday I want you to think about the difference between the religious leader (a man that knows the law and has all the right answers) in Luke 10 and the people identified in this list. What was it for those in this list that made the difference? Understanding the answer to that question provides the key to unlocking the main point behind the parable of the Good Samaritan. By God’s grace it is also the same key that will produce healthy people serving the gospel at New Life!

Pastor Billy