*Jacopo
Bassano, The Good Samaritan (1563)
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:15-16, “The Holy Scriptures are able to give you the wisdom you need for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training us to live God’s way.” In other words, every story, every theme, every book in the Bible ultimately points to Jesus. When we read the story of the Good Samaritan through that lens, it becomes more than a moral lesson. It becomes a window into the gospel. This story helps to answer three questions: “Who am I?” “Who is Jesus?” “So what should we do?”
Who Is My Neighbor?
One day a law expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” It’s the biggest question in any religion. It reveals what we believe about salvation. Jesus didn’t say, “Believe in me, and you will be saved.” Instead, he asked, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” Jesus does this because he wanted to expose the true nature of faith – what it really means to trust him. The man answered correctly, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s perfect love. “Right!” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live!” And the man replied, “Who is my neighbor?”
Who Am I?
In today’s scripture, verse 29 is the key to the whole story. It reveals the heart of the lawyer and sets the stage for Jesus’ parable. Verse 29 goes like this: “But he (the lawyer) wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (NIV) Here, what does “justify” (δικαιῶσαι: dikaiōsai) mean? It means to make himself look right. It means to prove he was already doing enough. It means to avoid confronting his own heart.
Jesus said to him: “Do this and you will live.” The lawyer knew the command: Love God, Love Neighbor. But he also knew, deep in his heart, he couldn’t meet this standard faithfully. Instead of admitting weakness or humbly asking for help, the lawyer tried to shrink the command. So he asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Meaning, “Surely not everyone.” “Surely there are limits.” “Give me a small circle so I can say, ‘I’m doing fine. I’m doing enough.’” This is human nature. The law expert is you and me.
The very first step toward eternal life is realizing we cannot save ourselves. There is a Gallup study showing that 90% of people believe they love others more than the average person. Everyone thinks they’re above average—especially in love. The lawyer thought the same: “I’m a good person. I love well.” But Jesus asks, “Do you love God with your whole being? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Do you love your enemy like the Samaritan did?” We cannot.
Perhaps you remember the story of the young ruler. He came and asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “You know the commandments. Keep them and you will live.” The man replied confidently, “I have kept all since my youth.” He thought he was doing enough. Jesus replied, “Then sell all your possessions, give to the poor, and follow me.” Jesus wasn’t being harsh. He was showing how inadequate he was and inviting him to grace.
In 1741, in Middlebury, Connecticut, there was a man named Nathan Cole. He was a farmer, and he thought he was a Christian, because he was a descent, moral man. And one day, in 1741, George Whitfield, a great gospel preacher, came to his town to preach the gospel. Nathan Cole heard him preach, he was struck to the core. His testimony ends like this: "Whitefield’s preaching gave me a heart wound, and by God's grace, my old foundation was broken up, and I saw that my righteousness could not save me."[1] The Bible says, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Knowing who I am is the first step.
Who Is Jesus?
The second step is knowing who Jesus is. Luke 10 shows us Jesus is the true and better Samaritan. In the parable, the wounded man is “half-dead.” But the Bible says we were spiritually dead because of our sins (Ephesians 2:1). The Samaritan risks his own safety to help the wounded. Jesus empties himself, enters our world, and comes for us. That’s incarnation. The Samaritan treats the man’s wounds with oil and wine. Jesus binds our wounds with his own wounds. By his wounds, we are healed. He bears our sins. That’s atonement. The Samaritan finds a temporary place for recovery. Jesus brings us to his Father’s house – eternal home, eternal life. That’s salvation.
The parable ends with “Go and do likewise.” The conclusion of this story is not about trying harder to be more like the Good Samaritan. The point of the parable is without new hearts, we cannot. We cannot become true Samaritans until we first receive the True Samaritan. Loved by Him, we love others. Jesus is the true and better Samaritan.
In Philippians 2:5-11[2] the Apostle Paul paints who Jesus is so beautifully:
He was in the form of God,So What?
yet He did not cling to His glory.
He emptied Himself and became human. (Incarnation)
He humbled Himself even to death on a cross. (Atonement)
Therefore God exalted Him above every name. (Exaltation)
Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
1. I am the lawyer (self-righteous, self-sufficient). I am also the wounded man (helpless, powerless, unable to save myself)
2. Jesus is the true and better Samaritan. He came for me. He took my place. He healed me and gave me new life.
3. So what should I do? What should we do?
Earlier this month, while attending a conference in St. Louis, I visited the Gateway Arch. It rises 630 feet into the air, with a foundation 60 feet deep. It’s built to withstand strong winds, able to sway almost 18 inches. From a distance, it was impressive. I walked around it, front and back, left and right, trying to capture the perfect picture. But none of the angles were quite right. Not until I stood right beneath one of the legs. Not until I looked up. Not until I knelt. That was the moment the Arch took my breath away.
There is an old story about a sculptor who carved a statue of Christ. People came from far and wide to admire it. They circled it again and again, trying to find the best angle—this way, then that way—but something was always missing. Finally, they asked the sculptor, “How do we see the statue as you intended?” The sculptor said, “There is only one angle where you can truly see him. You must kneel.”[3]
[1]
Tim Keller, “The Good Samaritan On Love,” (August 2, 2008)
[2]
Some scholars suggest that Paul may be drawing from an early church doctrinal
hymn.
[3]
John Stott, The Incomparable Christ
(p. 236). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
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