"God’s Mighty Mercy"
Luke 10:25-37
A sermon for 5/29/22
Last Sunday of Easter
Pastor John Bright
Luke 10 “25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
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. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 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. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You have to choose.
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We all know this parable – that’s the problem! It was in your children’s Bible and you were taught this parable in Sunday School and VBS – that’s the problem.
One Sunday School teacher was sharing this with the children in her class. She tried to share all the vivid details so that the children would enter into the drama. Then she asked them, “If you saw a person lying beside the road, wounded and bleeding, what would you do?”
One little girl broke the silence and answered, “I think… I would throw up.”😊
As I was saying, the problem we have is that we know this parable from our 21st century point of view. If we are unable to enter into the story Jesus is telling, as one of those who are standing there in the 1st century, we won’t get the point. Much of what I will share with you today is taken from the writings of Harry N. Wendt who helped me to understand the Middle Eastern culture around the parables in Luke’s Gospel. (The Parables of Jesus, 1997)
The set-up for this parable involves a lawyer who seeks to enter into a theological debate with Jesus. His focus is “doing something to inherit eternal life.” The lawyer stands up – this is an action that shows respect to the teacher, but the commentary shows his real purpose – to test Jesus. Any reader in the early church would immediately see his action as hypocritical. Actually, his question is pretty standard for a Jewish teacher and would elicit a list of “do’s and don’ts.” Everyone gave a pretty standard list – much like we give today when we are asked about how the Believer is supposed to live.
Jesus did what He usually did – answered a question with a question. Does this bother you like it bothers me? The lawyer’s answer is a standard creed in that day. It quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. This seems to be the right answer and Jesus tells him to keep doing those things. The lawyer is us – the Believers in this day – who may know it, but are we doing it? Now, the lawyers does exactly what we do – he asks Jesus about the limits. Sort of like us asking – what’s the least I can do and ok with God?
Right here, the lawyer get’s drawn in. He started off to test Jesus, but get’s drawn in – like what happens to me when I am working on a sermon.
Who is my neighbor?
In that day, like in our day, there were many different ideas about neighbors:
• People like us – Jews for sure!
• People converting – not so sure
• People not like us – Gentiles – but in certain circumstances, like war, these could be a neighbor
This is the context into which Jesus gives his answer to the lawyer by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan. We will NEVER understand how odd that would sound to the 1st century Jewish folks!
The first thing Jesus does is establish a pattern – robbers, priest, and levite all come, do something bad and leave. The pattern is only broken by the Samaritan who does not leave the man. All this takes place on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, a very dangerous 17-mile journey. This is where a man is robbed, stripped and left unconscious. The lack of clothing and his inability to speak is central to the parable. In that day, just like in ours, people are judged by their clothing and speech. Back then, it was categories like Jew or Samaritan or Gentile. Today – it’s poor or uneducated or like us. In John 4, Jesus and His disciples are in Samaria. Jesus is sitting by a well. “7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
How did she know? She saw Jewish clothes and she heard a Jewish accent. The man on the road – assumed to be a Jew had no clothes to let folks know and could not speak to let anyone know.
The Priest
He is the “upper class” character in our parable. He would most likely be riding a donkey. This priest would be coming from Jerusalem after spending two weeks serving in the Temple and would be heading home. For a minute, let’s think like this priest. He sees a man on the road that he is unable to put into safe categories: Is he alive? Is he a Jew? If he touches a dead Jew or a live Gentile, the priest becomes ritually unclean. That means he must return to Jerusalem to be made clean again. It was a one-week ceremony that was very expensive because of the animal sacrifices. SOOOO – if you think like this guy – this is the right decision and it would most likely be praised by his family and the other priests.
Along Comes a Levite
Still today, most people in the world do not have cars. If you travel by foot, you need to be aware of who is ahead of you on the road. You may have spoken to them before you got on the road or you can speak to the folks walking in the opposite direction or be able to see ahead in open areas. A Middle Eastern listener to this parable naturally assumes the levite knows a priest is ahead of him on road.
This levite could justify his actions knowing a priest had also passed by the place where the naked, half-dead man is lying in the road. The issue for him is not about being made ritually unclean. No, this could be a trap set by the robbers so he must protect himself.
The priest and levite live in a world where folks looked out for their own interests. They live in a world of “do’s and don’ts”. Do we live in a world like this?
The Good Samaritan
This man is facing the same risks and he knows who is ahead of him on the road. So it would natural for this man to think, “They didn’t help, so why should I?” Everyone of us would understand this question!
Instead, this man – hated by the Jews – breaks the pattern by doing the right things:
• Applies oil – cleans and softens wounds
• Applies wine – used as a disinfectant
• Binds up the wounds – applies bandages
These actions all have deeper meanings in the Jewish religion. Oil and wine are used in temple worship and the verb, “to pour”, is an action of the priests and levites in worship. A Middle Eastern listener knows these words and quickly realized this Samaritan knows more of worship than the priest and levite. God in the Old Testament is described as binding up the wounds of His people in Psalm 147:3. If the folks listening to Jesus were Jewish, this is an odd way to look at the people they had hated for centuries. Samaritans were publicly cursed in the synagogues and Jews prayed daily for their hated enemies not to share in eternal life. Samaritans felt the same for the Jews.
Despite all this, in the parable a Samaritan helps the man assumed all along to be a Jew. He puts the man on his donkey – what the priest should have done. We assume this man is a merchant, but here he acts like a servant leading the donkey while another rides. If helping in all these ways is not enough – at the inn he prevents the man on the road from incurring debt by paying the bill in advance and agreeing to pay more later.
If we step outside the story - a listener in Jesus’ day may have expected the man to wake up at any point and declare, “Get away from me! I’ll have none of your oil and wine!” So the safest course of action for this Samaritan would be to dump the man at the door of the inn and flee quickly. Instead, he lays out his own money and in this final action he undoes the work of even the robbers.
Back to the Lawyer (that’s us)
The parable Jesus told him has turned the question of the lawyer around. He asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Now, it is turned around – “To whom must I be a neighbor?” He wanted to KNOW and Jesus told him to DO. Now all the limits and all the boundaries are gone! How did Jesus do this? He told the lawyer a story that would have shocked anyone listening that day.
What kind of God is Jesus describing to the lawyer/us? You might have trouble hearing about God’s Mighty Mercy if:
1 – You only know a God of “do’s and don’ts.” God is sooooo much more!
2 – You are doing ok – absolutely doing ok – no problems. Even if there is a problem, you handle it yourself and even follow all the rules in the process. God really, really wants to help!
3 – You feel like there are people below you – morally, spiritually, socially, or economically. God sees each and every person exactly the same!
The lawyer could not see Jesus (the Good Samaritan) was there to help him. Nor would he admit his need for help. You see, what he really needed was eternal life.
Where are you today?
I never want you to miss the message to help others in need, but there is more here. It is the picture of a merciful God who wants to bind up and heal all your hurts. Can you see this? You on the road – injured by the world and God as the one that picks you up. You can never truly help others in need until you admit your own needs. This God who acts as a stranger on the road will never judge you or your needs. This God pours His Mighty Mercy like oil and wine. If you will let Him do this, I believe that, most likely, you will become the hands and feet of Christ to show someone else the awesome healing power in God’s Mighty Mercy. Amen.
TEACHING SHEET
"God’s Mighty Mercy"
Luke 10:25-37
May 29, 2022
Background for the parable is from “The Parables of Jesus”, 1997, by Harry N. Wendt.
Who is my neighbor?
• People like us – Jews for sure!
• People converting – not so sure
• People not like us – Gentiles – but in certain circumstances, like war, these could be a neighbor
We will NEVER understand how odd the name “Good Samaritan” would sound to the 1st century Jewish folks!
The Priest
• The “upper class” character in our parable.
• Most likely be riding a donkey.
If he touches a dead Jew or a live Gentile, the priest becomes ritually unclean. That means he must return to Jerusalem to be made clean again. It was a one-week ceremony that was very expensive because of the animal sacrifices.
Along Comes a Levite
A Middle Eastern listener to this parable naturally assumes
• The levite is walking
• The levite knows a priest is ahead of him on road
• The levite has justification to do what he does
This could be a trap set by the robbers so he must protect himself.
The Good Samaritan
This man – hated by the Jews – breaks the pattern by doing the right things:
• Applies oil – cleans and softens wounds
• Applies wine – used as a disinfectant
• Binds up the wounds – applies bandages
In the parable a Samaritan helps the man assumed all along to be a Jew. He puts the man on his donkey - the action of a servant leading the donkey while another rides. At the inn he prevents the man on the road from incurring debt by paying the bill in advance and agreeing to pay more later.
Back to the Lawyer (that’s us)
What kind of God is Jesus describing to the lawyer/us? You might have trouble hearing about God’s Mighty Mercy if:
1 – You only know a God of “do’s and don’ts.” God is sooooo much more!
2 – You are doing ok – absolutely doing ok – no problems. Even if there is a problem, you handle it yourself and even follow all the rules in the process. God really, really wants to help!
3 – You feel like there are people below you – morally, spiritually, socially, or economically. God sees each and every person exactly the same!
The lawyer could not see Jesus (the Good Samaritan) was there to help him. Nor would he admit his need for help. You see, what he really needed was eternal life.
Where are you today? You are the man on the road! Amen
