The Parables of Jesus - The Good Samaritan

if we say that we love God with our mouth, then our actions must also follow, in order to confirm it.

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Pastor Karim

Transcript

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Welcome to this new episode of the Gospel for the Nations podcast. This podcast has been brought to you by Pastor Kareem. Our desire is to open the Word of God with you and to speak in a way that is clear, simple, and full of grace. Wherever you are listening from, we pray that the Holy Spirit will touch your heart through his word, strengthen your faith, and draw you closer to Jesus.

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So this parable will be a question of seeing how this man, wounded and laying on the ground, will be helped by a stranger with a good heart, full of compassion and mercy, becoming for him a providential person. Not because this man will be good in himself, but because what he shows reveals a heart touched by God. And that he expresses it by loving this man through concrete and intentional acts. So this story describes what a child of God with a regenerated heart and transformed by the action of God through the Spirit accomplishes. Not in the name of the law, as good and perfect as it may be, spoken and written, but indeed through its practices, through its real manifestation. A life that no longer becomes a temporary sacrifice, but a living sacrifice to the glory of the living God for all eternity. Let us see all this together and grow in this divine discipline that our Lord calls us to leave. So if we say that we love God with our mouth, then our actions must also follow in order to confirm it. Amen. So let's read first of all the context of this parable. And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And he said to him, What is written in the law? How do you read it? And he said answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, You answered correctly. So do this, and you will leave. So verse 25, and behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? So I'm gonna break down everything verse by verse. We can see that a lawyer or an expert of the law, which is certainly a scribe or a Pharisee, stands up and wants to put Jesus Christ to the test, seeking to test his knowledge of the law, or even to understand what his knowledge of the scriptures in general was. So, why this? To try to discredit Jesus, to make him weak in the eyes of the people, and thus to trap him. We can also discern a certain tone when he addresses Jesus by saying, teacher. This was probably not a sincere mark of respect, but rather a way to position himself above, seeking to test the one with questioning, the one with capital O, the one. Eternal life is a divine concept known among the Jews. However, it is once again misinterpreted. Because for a religious person, it is only a matter of following and accomplishing the law in a strict way. So this passage also shows us another moment where Jesus speaks to the rich young man who asked exactly the same question concerning the way to inherit eternal life. And he said, and behold, a man came up to him and saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? Matthew 19, verse 16. You see, different situation, but the same question. His answer is also given with the same objective: to bring the man to understand that no one can be justified by the works of the law, and that salvation does not come from works, but from grace through faith. And he said to him, What is written in the law? How do you read it? Jesus does not answer him with a statement, but rather with two questions. So he asks a question and he is replying with two questions. What does the law say? And what is your interpretation of it? So by doing this, Jesus Christ does not rely simply on a personal answer, but he points back to what comes from the Father, to the Word of God, in order to make clear that God has already revealed everything in his word, and in this way to confront the expert of the law on his own ground, what he considers to know best. So Jesus shows us that the supreme authority over all creation is indeed the word of God. However, knowledge and not only reading, that is to say, the interpretation we give to it makes all the difference. The depth of this word are immense. Certainly, but they are also beautiful to explore and so beneficial for our souls. So to know the word of God with intellectual skill is a good thing. However, this skill must also be accompany it by the application of what is written. Jesus Himself came to manifest the scripture in his own person. Which means that if we truly know Christ, and Christ lives within us, the will of God is also manifested in us and pushes us and gives us the desire to manifest it around us. But it's not coming from us, it is coming from God. So he answered them, You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. So the expert of the law answered here with two greatest commandments of God, which fully summarize the perfect law of God. First, love God, and secondly, to love our neighbor as ourselves. But God tells us in the law that if even one of the commandments is not fulfilled, the whole law is broken, leading to the condemnation of a person who has not obeyed. So, two questions. Who today can boast of loving his God with all his strength, with his soul, with his mind. And the second one, who can claim to be even good in the eyes of God? And he said to him, You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live. Jesus showed by his answer that they are both in appearance in agreement on the level of the scriptures. Good answer. But there is a deep difference. One speaks in a theoretical way, and the other speaks in a living way. For it is not only a matter of knowing, but of doing and of living. He says to him, Do this and you will live. Love God and love your neighbor. Doing is a direct consequence of the love that we say we have for God. Doing, I repeat, is a direct consequence of the love that we say we have for God. The opposite will be to say that if we do not do, we do not leave. One does not go without the other. There is also here a question of belonging. That which comes from the heart of man, where life is found. If the spiritual works of God are manifested in our lives, this confirms that his law is written in our hearts. That Christ lives within us. But if we say that we are children of God, this must be manifested in our lives. The Bible tells us in the first epistles of John chapter 4, 12, no one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God abides in us. No one has ever seen God, but God makes Himself visible through the lives of those who belong to Him. And it is by their fruits, by their works, that we recognize those who are truly children of God. As the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 16 tells us, you will recognize them by their fruits. In the world, one who makes bread is called a baker. The one who repairs a car is a mechanic. And the one who shows love for his neighbor is called a child of God. What shows in the world our belonging to Christ is what we do as his living witnesses? Amen. So now let's read the parable. We have the context. Verse 29 to 37. But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? And Jesus replied, and now he tells the parable. A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who striked him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place, he saw him pass by on the other side. But the Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him, bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? He said, The one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, You go and do likewise. Let's break it down. This is the parable. But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? This question comes from the fact that the expert of the law wants to go further in his confrontation with Jesus Christ, based on the scriptures. But what he cannot understand is that Jesus is God incarnated. The one who is the full manifestation of the scriptures. So the neighbor is already clearly indicated in the book of Leviticus, which says, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19, verse 18. He knew that passage. The expert knew that passage, but he was keeping confronting Jesus. In the Bible, the word neighbor does not speak only of someone who's close to us, it speaks of a broader responsibility to love, to help, and to act with compassion. This is this idea is present throughout the whole Bible and emphasizes love, compassion, and justice. So now Jesus will answer not simply with a definition, but with an illustration. An illustration that will reveal who truly is the neighbor, and above all, who behaves as such. Jesus replied, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who strifted him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now, by chance a priest was going down the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise the Levites, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But the Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. Jesus begins this parable with a tragic event that of a man without mentioning his identity. This is very important. He said a man, nor his ethnic or religious belonging. He said a man who is brutally attacked by robbers in a dangerous region due to his rocky and mountainous nature. He will describe here three types of people. All three are believers, two Jewish who serve God in their functions, and one is a Samaritan. The first is a priest serving in the temple, a high religious figure at the service of the people of God, who performs animal sacrifices for the atonement of the sins of the people. This is a very important position in the temple. And that is why Jesus places him first in the parable to show the expert of the law that the fact of ignoring the Suffering of others, of one's neighbor, reveals a deep contradiction despite his religious status. You are a priest, and what about the poor? How you manifest God's love. Secondly, the Levite, who also has an important religious function, but one that is inferior of that was the priest. Since he's at service of a priest, carrying practical task in the temple. This was his servant of God in the same situation as the first. And thirdly, the Samaritan, who is also a religious man, by the way, but with different convictions, different from the Jews of Jerusalem, and who is also considered impure by the Jews, because they had mixed with other nations. Jesus also uses this example to show the Jews that the one who is rejected can nevertheless manifest what the law truly requires. And that those who consider themselves righteous according to the law must also accomplish what the law calls them to practice and to manifest. So the priests and the Levites had the law, but no compassion. And the Samaritan, considered as not having the law, nevertheless shows compassion and mercy. When he sees this man suffering and dying, and he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The Samaritan did not make prayers nor speak words to this man. At least this is not mentioned. However, he did not only have compassion, but also kindness, self-sacrifice, goodwill, while accompanying him until the end for his full recovery. Out of love toward the other, toward his neighbor, a complete stranger, in physical and certainly emotional distress. He went to him, means that he was not afraid of his condition. He bound his wounds. He was not afraid to take care of him. He set him on his own animal. He was not afraid to take responsibility for him and to carry him. He placed him in a safe place, despite also the cost. And the next day he took out two denari and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back. Even the next day, he provides for his needs. By paying two denarii for him from himself for a stranger in order to ensure his lodging. So two denarii represents two days of work for laborer, which also shows his generosity and integrity of his heart. He even goes to speak to the innkeeper to tell him what that he will return and that he will pay the expenses incurred by the man upon his return. What a blessing! What an example this Samaritan gives us. While for the religious Jews, the Samaritan were only heretics and impure. So Jesus asked a question. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? Jesus ends this parable with a question directed to the expert of the law and to all those who call themselves children of God, which could also be expressed this way. Which of these three persons loved his neighbor? You see, this question is essential to understand the condition of our hearts toward God and toward others. Because it challenges the depth of our faith. It's really challenging. For true faith does not remain theoretical, it is manifested. The scripture has to live in the world. And this manifestation is not produced by our strength, but by the action of the Spirit of God who lives in us. He said, the one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, You go and do likewise. The answer of this expert of the law is good and satisfying in theory. It is exactly what is written in the Word of God. But is it about knowing what the Word of God says, or also about manifesting it? Jesus was manifesting scripture. Compassion and mercy are two attributes of God, of his character, which are a direct consequence of our heavenly identity. If we say that we are a child of God, we have to reflect God's character in our life. So Jesus gives a final direct word like a prophet, speaking before a disobedient people, before the eternal God, saying to him, You go and do likewise, which could be expressed this way. If you love your God and love your neighbor as God has loved you. Amen. So to conclude this message, what the Samaritan reminds us of is of this is the image of the ministry of Jesus Christ. In what he was in the eyes of man, and above all, in what he came to accomplish. By extension of his teaching to his disciples, we are come to carry on this legacy, always desiring to give honor and glory to our Lord and Savior, and to glorify God for what he has done for us. And this grace of salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ. We have to remember our previous condition, separated from the presence of God, seeking our own desires and glorifying ourselves through temporary and deceptive worldly things. But we have been freely set free from our sins. So let us bring God's message to the world through our words, our thoughts, and our deeds. What a beautiful mission we have. Serving the creator of the universe, bringing hope to the lust, and light into the darkness. Amen. So what can we learn and apply from this passage? Jesus came near. Let us come near to others. Jesus healed our wounds, physical and spiritual wounds. Let us bring Jesus to the sick. Sick of what? Sick of sin. And be freed. Jesus carries us. Let us bring Jesus to the captives. Captives of what? Captives of sin. Jesus paid the price. Let us bring Jesus to sinners. Jesus promises to come back for us. Let us bring the hope of Jesus to the hopeless. Amen. Hallelujah. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, Almighty and Sovereign God, we just want to thank you for your word, for your grace that allows us to know you and worship you in the spirit and the truth. We thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and the head of this church. To God be the glory and the praise. For he loved us first and he gave his beloved son for us. We are sinners in our transgressions. We ask that you open our hearts and work in us by the power of your Holy Spirit, that we may love your word, work in your truth, and live for your glory. Keep us on the narrow path and continue sanctifying and transform us. We pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Thank you for listening today. If the Lord used this message to bless you, feel free to share it so others can also be encouraged and strengthened for the coming days. Keep seeking Him, keep reading His Word, and keep trusting His grace every single day.