Sermon for Trinity 13
Galatians 3:15-22 + Luke 10:23-37
During His short three-to-four-year ministry, Jesus told many stories, also known as parables—stories from everyday life in first-century Israel that compared some aspect of earthy life with a heavenly truth, a spiritual teaching. He was famous both for His miracles and for His parables. And, while the stories themselves may not resonate with 21st century Americans in the exact same way they did with first-century Israelites (since our experiences aren’t quite the same), the masterclass storytelling of Jesus, the Son of God, still conveys the exact same heavenly truth and spiritual teaching to today’s world, and to today’s Christians. And the parable of Good Samaritan may be at the top of the list when it comes to masterclass storytelling. Because the same story is meant to be understood from three different perspectives. Or, we might say, it teaches three distinct lessons. The Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable is supposed to represent everyone, but he doesn’t. He’s supposed to represent Christ Himself, and he does. And, thirdly, he’s supposed to represent forgiven Christians, so let’s see to it that he does!
As always, we start with the context of the parable. We start with Jesus’ words to His own disciples, telling them how fortunate, how blessed they were to be hearing His teaching and seeing His miracles, because, as He says, Many prophets and kings desired to see the things you are seeing and did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing, and did not hear them. The Old Testament saints, including prophets and kings, yearned to have the Christ there with them, teaching them openly and directly, but they couldn’t. The time wasn’t yet right. Consider how blessed the people of Israel were at the time of Jesus, to hear God explaining to them the truth they needed to know in order to be saved. Remember how blessed you are to have His words recorded for you in the inspired Scriptures of the New Testament. And be careful not to squander or minimize that blessing!
Then, on to the conversation that led to the parable. A certain expert in the Law stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” First, notice, this is not an honest question. It’s a test, so that will affect how Jesus answers. It’s a test to see whether or not Jesus agrees with the Old Testament Law. If not, then no one in Israel should be listening to Him. But if so, then what’s the point of this “Gospel” He’s been teaching?
Jesus shows that He does agree with the Law. He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and [you shall love] your neighbor as yourself.” Those are direct quotes from the Law of Moses, the first five books of the Bible, specifically, from the book of Deuteronomy, and from the book of Leviticus. Some might be surprised that Jesus didn’t quote from the Ten Commandments directly, but remember, the Ten Commandments are just specific examples of the overarching principles of the Law, namely, wholehearted love for God, and love for your neighbor that equals, that’s no less than, the love you have for yourself, so that, however you would want someone to treat you, that’s how you treat them. As Jesus summarized it elsewhere, Do for your neighbor what you would have your neighbor do for you.
Good answer!, Jesus says. Do this, and you will live. That’s “all” you have to do in order to inherit eternal life. Perfection. Sinlessness. Perfect devotion, to God and to your neighbor, that begins in your heart, and that plays out in your life. That’s what the Law says. That’s what the Law demands.
The lawyer was beginning to understand his predicament. He was an expert in the Law, but he hadn’t taken his own law very seriously. When he actually thought about how much it requires, he began to realize, that’s much harder than I thought! The Law demands a degree of devotion, to God and to one’s neighbor, that goes beyond anything anyone has ever been able to accomplish. So he felt the need to justify himself, to justify his reliance on the Law. And the only way he could think of to do that, was to maybe narrow down who his neighbor is, so that he doesn’t have to love too many people as he loves himself. Wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The lawyer was hoping to narrow down the list of people he was required to love, but, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus expands the list exponentially.
A man, presumably a Jew, goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and, as he walks along the road, he’s ambushed by thieves who strip him, rob him, and beat him to within an inch of his life, leaving him dying on the side of the road. A Jewish priest comes along, sees the wounded man, and passes by. A Jewish Levite, a helper of the priests, comes along, sees the wounded man, and passes by. Then a Samaritan, hated by the Jews, comes by, sees the wounded man, and goes right to his side to help him and tend to his wounds. He puts him up on his animal, takes him to an inn, takes care of him all night, and then, the next day, leaves money for the innkeeper to care for the man until the Samaritan returns from his journey, even promising to pay more when he returns if the money he leaves isn’t enough. How kind the Good Samaritan is!
And then Jesus puts the question to the lawyer, Now which of these three, do you think—the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan—was a neighbor to the man who fell among the thieves? And he said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Go and show mercy—that depth of mercy—to your neighbor, that is, to everyone whom God places next to you in your path who needs the help that you can provide. Do this, and you will live. This is what the Law requires. Meanwhile, we’re also led to the opposite conclusion: Don’t do this, and you will die. This is what the Law threatens.
As I said earlier, there are three lessons that are being taught here, by the actions of the Good Samaritan. Jesus may have spelled them out to the lawyer, if the lawyer had asked the question honestly, without malice, seeking a helpful reply. As it is, Jesus leaves the lessons unexplained here, but both He and His apostles, including the apostle Paul in today’s Epistle, reveal the lessons throughout the New Testament.
The first lesson is this, that the Good Samaritan is supposed to represent everyone, all men, all the time. When God created Adam and Eve, this is what He expected of them, and of their future children, the same level of kindness and goodness and mercy to be shown to anyone in their path that the Good Samaritan showed to the needy man in his path, in his vicinity. This is what “love your neighbor as yourself” looks like in practice. This is what the timeless and eternal Law of God commands all men, and requires of all men, if we are to inherit eternal life by doing things.
But, in reality, the Good Samaritan doesn’t represent all men. Far from it. In fact, he doesn’t represent any man. No one is that good to his neighbor. No one is that loving toward a random stranger in his path, especially one who is his natural enemy. And that’s because, sin has corrupted the soul of everyone descended from Adam and Eve. Human beings are not outward-focused, by nature, looking for ways to serve our neighbor. We’re inward-focused, by nature, looking for ways to serve ourselves. So, for the lawyer in the Gospel, Jesus’ words, “Go and do likewise” must have come as a hammer blow to the soul. Because there was only one reasonable conclusion he could come to: If that’s what the Law requires, then I’m doomed.
That’s what makes the second lesson of the Good Samaritan so important. The second lesson is this, that the Good Samaritan is supposed to represent the Savior of mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he does! The Lord Jesus truly is that kind and good, the only Man who has ever kept the Law perfectly. The Lord Jesus saw us all as wounded, half-dead creatures, injured by our own sins and by the devil, unable to save ourselves. And He took pity. He came to our side, taking on human flesh to become the Savior of mankind. He took up our sorrows. He took up our suffering. He paid for our salvation with His own death on the cross, and then came to us in Word and Sacrament, brought us to faith by His Spirit, and applied to us the healing of the forgiveness of sins. At the same time, He brought us into His Church, like the inn in Jesus’ parable, and left behind more Word and Sacrament in the hands of His chosen ministers, to keep tending the wounded throughout this life, until He returns at the end of the age. The Law was not given in the Old Testament to give men a path to inherit eternal life. The Law was given to cause all men to see themselves as the sinners we are, so that we might despair of ourselves and look instead to the coming Christ as our merciful Savior, as the truly Good Samaritan.
And then, for those forgiven sinners who have been brought into Christ’s Church, through Baptism and through faith, as we are being tended throughout this life by the ongoing ministry of the Word, there is a third lesson for us in the Good Samaritan. He’s supposed to represent the kindness, goodness, and mercy of those who have received the kindness, goodness, and mercy of Jesus. In other words, He’s supposed to be a model for Christians to follow. The Christian has been set free from trying to do things to inherit eternal life. We know that Christ has obtained eternal life for us, and that we who believe in Christ inherit everything that Christ Himself inherits. We’ve been baptized into Him, which makes us coheirs together with Him. But that means we are also being remade in His kind and merciful image throughout this life. So when Jesus says, “Go and do likewise”—do like the Samaritan did—He is shaping us into people who have the heart of the Samaritan, urging each Christian to look around and see what opportunities God places in his or her path, to show mercy and kindness to the one who needs help. Maybe that path lies far away, in another state or in another country, as the Lord has given us opportunities to know and to help Christians there. But, usually, you don’t have to look on the far side of the globe. Keep your eyes open for opportunities that lie right in front of you, to show mercy, without asking what’s in it for you, but simply asking, What help does my neighbor need that I can provide?
Then you will have learned all three lessons of the Good Samaritan: that you, a sinner, can never do anything to inherit eternal life; that the merciful Lord Jesus has come to the sinner’s aid, to give you the gift of eternal life; and that those who have received the gift of mercy are now instructed to show that mercy to others. May God the Holy Spirit drive these lessons into your heart, and may they bear much fruit, as you love God and your neighbor. Amen.
