Ep. 187 - Exploring the Parable of the Good Samaritan

side . It's as though the unsaved don't even exist because they're too busy doing God's work .

You guys remember that I talked about a website novelty dogs and breeding dogs like a great Dane and a Chihuahua .

This is one of the best comments we've ever gotten . Seriously , thank you so much . Best Use of Time , and I loved it . You used your time very wisely . This was very piffy , piffy , piffy , but straight to the point and we get it . If you've ever sinned which is everyone you have to listen to this Both because , oscar , you haven't sinned .

That word likewise in the Greek means continue to do this . It's not just a one-time thing and that leaves us all with our face and the dirt . None of us love our neighbors ourselves . If you think you love your neighbors yourself , drive the freeway .

That's why we need to save you , ray you mentioned face and dirt .

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 . Now , by chance , a certain priest came down that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side .

Likewise , a Levite , when he arrived at the place , came and looked and passed by on the other side . But a certain Samaritan , as he journeyed , came where he was and when he saw him he had compassion . 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 .

On the next day , when he departed , he took out two Denari , 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 . So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves ? And he said he who showed mercy on him .

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 . And he said to him you have answered rightly , do this and you will live . And then we jump in .

Like we just talked about , 25 to 30 is very important in context and , oh you know , anytime we approach areas of the scriptures , it's really important that we do it in context of what's going on , especially with the parables , because often what happens is we just read the parables as though they're just like this separate TV episode sitcom that you can watch as

a one off , not in the context of everything that's going on around it . All of chapter 10 is actually important At the beginning of chapter 10 .

The 72 go out and they eat and they drink and they spend time with unbelievers and sinners , and you also see in verse nine that they heal the sick , they preach the gospel and they continue to discuss the kingdom of God . That is also a very important aspect . In verse nine , jesus gives them authority .

Then we get to the parable of the Good Samaritan and , as you alluded to , a lawyer stood up . Now , what is a lawyer ? You mentioned it A lawyer . This isn't a lawyer like we think of a lawyer today . This is a Sanhedrin .

There are 72 of them at that time , and so essentially what's going on here is that God Jesus is showing how his kingdom , the kingdom of God , is usurping the religious kingdom authority . At that time , he has a new 72 , and one of the 72 is now coming up and approaching him . This is not by accident , it's with intentionality . What is this lawyer ?

As you mentioned , this is the theologian of the day . This one was a master of , especially the books written by Moses . They were the ones that you went to to certainly solve civil issues , but , more importantly , to understand how to live your life in light of what God had said . This is the religious authority . This is a lawyer .

One commentary that I was reading in preparation for this called them the lawyer theologian . This is the guy that knew the Bible , the authority of the day . He is a moralist , he is a religious or religious type , and the Sanhedrin had an accusation against Jesus because he kept talking about the kingdom of God .

What we would call this accusation today is easy believism . They were looking at Jesus as like well , what about the moral law ? Well , what about the moral law ? You're not talking about the moral law . And Jesus shows this guy and we're going to get into the details here . He shows this guy how he thinks as a moralist .

He thinks he has a high view of the law , but Jesus shows him how , actually , he has a low view of the law . He says , essentially , I take the law more serious than you because you think you can keep it and I know you can't . That's the essence of why Jesus is using this parable .

He talks about how really this is an evangelistic encounter and it's , it's the opening the eyes of this religious hypocrite to , to , to what , what it really means to truly know God right and right . It's related to the first two commandments , which are really what summarize the law .

You shall love the Lord , your God , with your heart , mind , soul and strength , and your neighbor as yourself and the the . The reason the law is so important is because it shows us that we haven't kept it . When we see it in truth , the Living Bible brought brings out more clearly the effect of the law on that man .

This is straight from Hell's Best Kept Secret , Word for Word . The man willing to , to wanting to justify his lack of love for some kinds of people , said which neighbors he was trying to say I've kept it . But yeah , I only like Jews , I don't like , I don't like Samaritan . So that's when Jesus , it seems , gave him the story of the good Samaritan .

Is it a parable ? Is it parableic ?

He didn't want to defile himself . Others said , no , well , he was on his way to Jericho , not Jerusalem . If he was going to Jerusalem I would have all these things . He's like uh , it doesn't matter , the guy didn't exist . You know , jesus was , was was trying to , to make a broader point there .

And , mark , really , there is that self justification in people always . I think that's a good point to camp on . Come out on for a minute . Man will always try to justify himself . He was pricked , obviously , in what Christ was trying to convey here , pricked by , uh , love your neighbors yourself . Well , who's my neighbor , mark ?

That was my , that was a question . Who is my neighbor ? Do you know my neighbor ?

And this is why we need to approach the Bible with our guard down and saying Lord , whatever you want to do , you know there was a Princeton seminary experiment where the students are put inside of this preparatory room to prepare for a message on the good Samaritan , but the actual oral discourse was supposed to happen on the other side of the campus .

So what happened was you'd have somebody inside of that preparatory room and saying hey , you're on , I'm sorry , you're late , you need to go right now and go across the campus and get there . But all the while , there was a test that was to take place . They were going to come across somebody down the pathway where somebody was inside of need and they were .

They needed help . Well , they had to hurry up and get to their class in order to give their oral discourse , and so the majority of the students passed by the person that was in need , and they all failed , but one who stopped to help them and threw their assignment to the side to help the person that was in need .

So the test was not giving the oral dissertation on the good Samaritan , but rather helping the person on the side of the road Right . So there's a spirit of the law and there's a letter of the law and we need to be careful on how we just handle the things that we come across .

We pride ourselves in wanting to be a doer of the word and not just a hear only , but in reality , every step we take , every decision we make , it balances on a razor's edge . We need to be careful on how we take in the word and how we implement the word . On my way today to work , I was praying To a winter snitzel . I wanted to go to winter snitzel .

I actually was going back and forth in my prayer between winter snitzel . Why are they not open at 6.30 AM ?

All right , because God's not on our same timetable . So we just need to be careful , we need to slow down and we need to be quick to allow rabbit trails to happen inside of our lives .

However , it is really valuable , as readers of God's word , that we understand the significance of titles used , especially by Jesus when he uses them , because it gives us a context which increases the gravity of where conviction lies in a moment like this , and so I don't think it's for nothing that he uses a priest , a Levi and a Samaritan in this story .

It's actually very significant because it

points us to who are the ones that should actually be convicted in this . You mentioned the idea of moving back and forth with the priest . The reason why Jesus used the priest one might say commentaries would say the reason why Jesus uses a priest in this context is because the priest had an excuse .

He could have said you know , I have been cleansed and I am clean . If I touched this wounded , destroyed body , and this body would have been left naked , they would have taken his clothes , it would have been essentially a bleeding flesh and meat on the ground .

And so for the priest to go in to help , they could have said well , I would be unclean , I wouldn't be able to serve in my duties at the temple . I just got myself cleansed , and so they would walk around , the priest would talk about how busy is , and so they have every religious excuse not to help the person that has been robbed .

And the reason why also one of the important aspects for us to understand is what is a Samaritan and how were they viewed in cultural context at that time ? A Samaritan was essentially a downcast half-breed . What I mean by that is the Babylonians came and when they sacked and took tribute from Israel .

What they would do is they would take all of the religious elites , all of the political figures , all of the wealthy , and they would leave behind the poor and the beggars .

And the reason why they would do that in the Old Testament is because it was kind of the idea of cutting off the head of the snake in order to make sure that there wasn't an uprising in Israel .

Once you took over the land , whether you were Babylon or Rome , you would take the head of the snake away and what was left is the poor and the beggars there to make do with what's at the land During that season . Those poor that were left behind end up intermarrying with Samaritans .

So the Samaritan people that were there were looked down upon politically , socially and religiously because they were half-breeds , and in that process the Samaritans grew disdain for the Israelites as well . They created their own temples , they denied most of the Old Testament , and so the Samaritan is viewed as the most outcast at that time .

In other words and it's so interesting that the lawyer can't even bring himself to use the name Samaritan at the end of these verses right , because it's essentially to our day it's like this .

It's like Jesus saying there is a pastor , a theologian and a transgendered left-wing person who worked for the Clinton Foundation walking down the street , which one of them did the right thing and he can't even bring himself to say the Samaritan because he is so disgusted by that thought and so he just says , almost begrudgingly , the one who showed him mercy .

He couldn't bring himself to say Samaritan . And so I do think there's value here in understanding the context of these people .

And I love what Christ demonstrates when he talked to the Samaritan woman . I mean that was massive . He didn't just do something , he didn't just give a parable like this and speak of someone showing kindness to a Samaritan . He did it .

And in connection with the gospel Mark , you sent me a quote the other day in light of what you were talking about earlier , and it was by Nate St . He said if God would grant us the vision , the word sacrifice would disappear from our lips and thoughts . We would hate the things that seem now to so dear to us . Our lives would suddenly be too short .

We would despise time robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies . In the name of Christ , may God help us to judge ourselves by the entreaties that separate the Aukas from the comprehension of Christmas and him who , though he was rich , yet for our sakes became poor so that we might , through his poverty , be made rich .

Lord , god , speak to my own heart and give me to know thy holy will and the joy of walking in it .

In a sense , this is the kind of sacrifice that was being displayed by this Samaritan , and that's where our hearts need to be as we look at the lost , to be willing to bring in the gospel , to be like Jesus and touch the leper and go among the sinners .

We're pouring the oil and the wine , the oil of the Holy Spirit and the wine of the of new life in Christ , and yet so much of the contemporary church walks across on the other side . It's as though the unsaved don't even exist because they're too busy doing God's work .

Well , what are you busy with ? Or I mean , just pause and take inventory on what fills your time with . There was a guy who said it's easy to have 13 months in a year . Everybody can have 13 months in a year . All you need to do is get up one hour earlier than you normally do , and that equates to an extra month by the end of the year .

If you could ask yourself hey , I want to give you an extra month back when you were this age , what would you do with it ?

And one of the principles and if you guys remember I did the whole alphabet literated thing one of them is a W and that's witness willingly to whosoever , because everyone needs the gospel . That's really good .

So a theological reason for caring for the poor is not so that we can preach the gospel to them . Okay , what I mean by that is that God calls us to care for the poor because they are image bearers of God , because there is something in them that reflects the glory of God , and so when you love them , you love God .

Matthew 25 , verse 40 , for I was hungry and you gave me food . I was thirsty and you gave me drink . I was a stranger and you welcomed me . I was naked and you clothed me . I was sick and you visited me . I was in prison and you came to me .

Then the righteous will answer him saying Lord , when did we see you hungry and feed you , or thirsty and give you drink ? When did we see you , a stranger , and welcome you , or naked and clothed you ? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you , and the king will answer them Truly .

I say to you , as you did to one of the least of these , my brothers , you did it to me . He is not saying I'm going to secretly show up and clothe myself as a poor person because you never know when I'm going to surprise you . That'd be bad theology if you thought that's what he was saying .

What he's saying is that every single one of these people out here are image-bearers , and when you clothe and sick and care for their needs , you care for me , because I was the one that came in human form and so this is important for because this is ultimately what happens there are some people who diminish the value of caring for the sick and emphasize only

preaching the gospel , and then there are those who de-emphasize preaching the gospel and all they care about is caring for the sick . But God's command to us to go into the world .

He gives us two feet and one of those feet is the preaching of the gospel and the other of those feet is caring for the sick , and those two things are two sides of the same coin that we have to be doing at all times .

I mean , you remember when Paul was Paul and Barnabas were commissioned and Galatians , he said the only thing they asked us is that we remember the poor , the very thing which I also was eager to do . So there is that element , unquestionably .

I mean , when Jesus had compassion on the multitude in Mark 6 , he began to teach them , but then he told the disciples to feed them . He had compassion on them because they were weary , they'd been following them , listening to them . So , yeah , both sides of that coin .

But there are movements today that just no , no , no , let's just love them and hopefully they'll realize that we were Christians and then they fail to share the gospel , you're saying yeah , yeah .

When talking to the unbeliever and you get into an apologetical certified , you never get to the gospel , you're cruel and you're proud . We have to get to the gospel , because the gospel is what sets people free . It's that word you on Gileon . It means good news .

It creates a joy inexpressible and full of glory inside of someone once they realize that their sins are forgiven . So , make no mistake about it . I want to be rich in good works . We are rich in good works towards friends and family and our neighbors , but when I'm in a conversation with someone or when I'm rich in a good work , I'm leading to something .

Yeah , there's a reason , honestly , why I'm talking to you , and that is because I want to get to the gospel . I don't want to just fill your mouth with food . I don't want to just do that

, though . I want you to be satisfied to some degree . I want you to be set free from a life of sin that will ultimately lead to death , and if I don't want to get there , if something is lacking because of that , then there's something lacking in me .

I used to think , when I'd borrow my parents' car when they weren't a Christian , that if I set their preset radio stations to Christian stations , that's kind of the way of me sharing the gospel . Or when I would tell somebody God bless you , that was my way of sharing the gospel , but that's so false .

You know that the gospel is the life , death , burial , resurrection of Jesus Christ , and if you don't get to that , well then you're holding back that which they need the most . And the food is actually to be despised for the sake and the cost of what the gospel is actually worth .

Christmas usually they'll show on television a Good Samaritan giving $100 bills away to people and they say what a Good Samaritan , because he's kind of rich and that's why he's doing it . But I like the fact that you mentioned was to Denario . He gave to the innkeeper . That's two days wages .

Leviticus 1934 , the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you , and you shall love him as yourself for your strangers in the land of Egypt . Good work , mark . That's what Mark's doing , vindication . But you know what I'm saying . Like there was an understanding of that , calling to love , like that . You know Psalm 137 , 21, .

The wicked borrows and does not pay back , but the righteous is gracious and gives . Micah 6 , 8 , he has told you , oh man , what is good and what does the Lord require of you ? But to do justice , to love , kindness and to walk humbly with your God .

So so you know , in the parable crisis conveying that this man should have understood this of anyone who you know , who's a lawyer , and he's driving home that point to him of hey , you profess to be a lover of God , you're not . It's evidenced by the fact you don't love your neighbor .

You know , when Jesus talked about we have see other accounts of this in the other gospels , but when he talked about this , he said to love your neighbor as yourself . He said the second like it . Like it is this he interrelates love of God with love of people and it should be manifested and demonstrated in that way . We love like this .

None of us love God with heart , mind , soul and strength , and that should bring us to a point of self . Oh God , I've been a wretch . I've been an unthankful , unloving wretch and I need your mercy . I need a new heart . You know the love of Christ will dwell on me .

Like it was like one Friday a month we would go and hand out sandwiches and we'd get in conversations with them , we'd share the gospel with them . We were doing it the right way , praying for them . One thing that I noticed personal observation is is that the homeless were incredibly manipulative .

I remember one time this guy walks up , I hand him a sandwich and he's like thank you so much , thank you . And I was like hey , man , can I just tell you why we're out here ? And I share the gospel with him and he starts weeping and he's just like thank you so much . He's giving me a hug and he's like , man , this changed my life forever

. Like , hey , but man , could I get one more sandwich for my friend ? I'm like , yeah , sure , here you go . And he leaves and I was like Cloud nine , you know , like this guy just got saved .

Like I gave him a sandwich and share the gospel with them and he said he's going to transform his life and the next Friday that we were out there , I'm in , I'm like I got a line in front of me and there's another line and I see him in that line and I'm like all excited for him .

I'm hoping that I get to have a conversation to see how his month has been . You know now that he's a believer and he gets to the front and he , he like , asked the person hey , what are you guys out here for ? And my buddy shares the gospel with him and he starts crying . He's like man I never heard it before .

This changed my life he gives him a big old hug and he's like , could I get one more sandwich from you ? And he gives him the extra sandwich .

And I was just like so defeated , you know , just so discouraged and , to be honest with you , that affected the way I viewed giving to the homeless for a really long time , or caring for those who are sick , not to mention .

It's in our capitalistic nature to look at those who are poor and think man , you got to pick yourselves up by your bootstraps , you put yourself in that situation and you got to get yourself out of it . There's plenty of help around you . You got to help yourself . And I came across this quote by this Scottish preacher and it hit me like a ton of bricks .

He says now , dear Christians , some of you pray night and day to be branches of the true vine . You pray to be made all over in the image of Christ . If so , you must be like him in giving . Though he was rich , yet for our sakes , he became poor . Objection my money is my own .

Answer Hmm , well , christ might have said my blood is my own , my life is my own . Then , where should you have been ? Objection the poor are undeserving . Answer Well , christ might have said they were wicked rebels . Shall I lay down my life for these ? I will give to the good angels and the deserving poor .

But no , he left the ninety-nine and came after the lost . He gave his blood for the undeserving . Objection If I give my charity to the poor , they may abuse it . Answer Christ might have said the same thing with far greater truth .

Christ knew that thousands would trample his blood under their feet , that most would despise it , that many would make an excuse for sinning more , and yet he gave his own blood . He goes on to say my dear Christians , if you would be like Christ , give much , give often , give freely To the vile and the poor , the thankless and the undeserving .

Christ is glorious and happy , and so will you be . It is not your money he wants , but your happiness . Remember his own words it is more happy , it is more blessed to give than to receive .

Or , you know , we can look at the homosexual or the transgender so they're just so immoral , that's just so depraved . Or even at the rich person oh , they're just . You know , they're arrogant and they think they're better than everyone else . But none of that changes the fact . No matter who we're talking about , doesn't change the fact that they're lost .

They still need compassion in the gospel , no matter even if they are being deceptive , even if they are arrogant , even if they are in grotesques . And they need compassion and we need to bring them the gospel .

I cannot give my money when I tie them , give it to the church , or I give money towards different other nonprofit organizations and then tell them how exactly they are to spend that money . Right , when I give it , I give it as on to the Lord . So if they choose to do good with it or to do bad with it , whatever , that's none of my business .

The motive is everything . Why are you doing what you're doing ? Now , easy , you used to live off of a street called Liverpool , which I then moved into the same apartment that you live in when you moved out . But I remember it was just an apartment .

You did not own this apartment and you had some really terrible linoleum inside of this apartment and I remember you spending your own money to put in some really nice tile inside of this apartment and I remember looking at that and I remember going to you and saying easy , what are you thinking ? This is not your apartment , why would you do this ?

This is a transitionary place where you're going to move on to a different place . Why are you doing this ? And I remember you responding I don't know if you remember this whole encounter , but I remember you responding and saying listen , the money that is in my possession , the stuff that I have , it's not mine . I pass it on .

Who's to say this isn't going to be a witness for the next person that's going to live here ? And to Alice , who was the one who was in charge of that place . And I remember just walking away , just kind of going this poor guy doesn't know what he's doing . Who's going to be the beneficiary ?

And even know that you did this Not knowing that I was the person who moved into that apartment and was now enjoying the tile that you had paid for to be put inside of an apartment that somebody else owned . So when we give , we give not to a landlady or to a poor person or to somebody else .

We're giving as on the Lord , and what the Lord does with it is completely up to him , and it's okay with us whatever he wants to do , Is it not his anyways ? So amen , Amen .

You know he said we oftentimes justify not loving individuals by loving humanity with a capital H . Loving people in general rather than specifically , like I love them over there .

Those are people I love , they are individuals I care about versus I love him , I love her , and really what that ends up translating into is the sacrifice of our time and our comfort and our energy . And we don't end money and our money , yeah , and we don't naturally gravitate toward that .

We gravitate toward self gratification and my prayer is that we'll come to a place where we recognize what we need to do . You know , I just watched a movie last night with Rachel , my daughter that is . It's probably the most haunting movie I've ever seen . It's called the Sound of Freedom and it's about the sex trade that's going on .

And I'm aware of the sex trade but , to my shame , I'm not as aware of it as I should be , and that's why we went to see the movie . It's one of the . I mean , it's one of the times we made an exception . We almost never do when there's profanity in a movie and things like that . There's maybe three or four .

A couple of them are in Spanish but subtitled . But we made that exception because we wanted it to really grasp us and understand it . And I started crying for probably the first 30 seconds of the movie and it broke me . What's going on out there ? But the , but the . It's a true story .

But the main character in there , when his boss was telling him they had to end the mission because he worked for the you know , for the government , he said why , why are you doing this .

And he looked at him with tears in his eyes and he said because I care , because I care , he sacrificed his career , he quit his job , did it as a private citizen , sacrificed you know , almost sacrificed his life to go into these crazy territories to save these kids .

And it just , it touched me , it convicted me and I think we , as Christians , need to stop and think . What are we doing for the sake of the gospel ? What are we doing in our love for the lost ? We have the perfect example , and that was Jesus . He paid the highest price ever paid to redeem us . What are we going to do ?

The truth about the gospel and the truth about the gospel and the good Samaritan is also about what has been done .

And I think verse 35 is a light into where Christ is in this gospel and that is it says in the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper , saying take care of him and whatever more you spin , I will repay you when I come back .

That's the part , because the thing is , back then , if he , if this person , had cured a debt , he would end up a slave . He would end up a slave to the innkeeper until he had to pay off that debt .

And what this person is doing in that moment is stopping at no ends to make sure this person is not only healed , cleansed , cleaned , but saved from slavery . And it is Jesus that is our good Samaritan . It is Jesus that we are a helpless flesh of meat because of our sins , with no gain of his own .

He comes alongside and he pours out his grace and love on us . He cleans us up widest snow and he saves us from the enslaving , reigning power of sin by paying a debt that we could not pay . And so why do we go out and love others ?

It's not to prove our salvation , it's not to earn it , it's not to gain it or keep it , it's not because we feel guilty . It's because so much has been poured out on us that , essentially , it's just an overflow of love and grace and compassion that we receive from God . Amen .

Thank you for joining us . We'll see you here next time on the Living Waters podcast , where we have no idea what we're doing .