The Lord’s heart of mercy!
Luke 10:37- “The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (EHV)
There are a few parables that most people can recall whether they believe in Jesus or not. The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of those parables. But most people miss the point Jesus is trying to make. If you think the point of this parable is to teach us how to justify ourselves by being merciful to the hurting, then you missed the point.
An expert in the Law wanted to test Jesus in matters of the Law and eternal life. The expert in the Law stated that if you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself, you will have eternal life. Jesus agreed and reaffirmed this answer. The expert of the Law had no doubt who the Lord was, but he did wonder who exactly his neighbor was. Jesus spoke this parable to describe the neighbor he was supposed to love as if it was himself. But notice that Jesus did not describe a family member or a friend. He did not even use a literal neighbor. Who did he point to as the neighbor one is to treat like yourself? AN ENEMY! A Samaritan and Jew would see each other as enemies and yet in this parable we see the Samaritan actively showing mercy to a Jew. And even more shocking, the others that should have helped, the priest and Levite, passed by without showing mercy! The expert in the Law learned that the Samaritan was the one who treated the Jew as himself. Then Jesus told the expert in the Law to go and do likewise.
Why would Jesus tell him to go and do likewise? He was teaching this expert that to fulfill the Law, he had to love and show mercy to everyone including people who were considered enemies, to people who had no way of paying him back, to the least of society. Could you do it? Could you show love and mercy to the drug addict, to the alcoholic, to the people living in the trailer park, to the homosexual or transgender, to the person who hurt you or a family member? The point of this parable is to show that we cannot be the Good Samaritan. We are not able to love our neighbor as ourselves. Since we cannot justify ourselves, we cannot have eternal life by following the Law.
But there is hope. There is a Good Samaritan. When we were broken and left for dead by our sin, Jesus came and bandaged us and took care of us. He loved us even when we were his enemies. He was willing to die in our place to give us his righteousness so God his Father could justify us and declare us not guilty. Jesus spared no expenses to give us life forever in heaven. Even when we failed to be a Good Samaritan, Jesus was perfect for us. Our sin is not counted against us. This is why we must return to him everyday for healing. He is always ready and willing to be our Good Samaritan and show us the Lord’s heart of mercy!
Dear Savior, thank you for being our Good Samaritan and helping us in our greatest need. You took our sin and was condemned in our place. You were willing to give us your righteousness so we can be justified. Help us honor you by sharing your love with our neighbors, no matter who they are. In your name we pray. Amen!