Do the Same

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

July 10, 2022

Luke 10:25-37

 “Do the Same”

In time of need, we find out what people are really made of and who our neighbors really are. Stories of selflessness and courage are being told after the horrific shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, last week. Doctors who happened to be in the crowd on the parade route that day moved quickly to help those in need. Others jumped in to help where help was needed. People did what they could to shield loved ones, and in some cases, died doing so. What has become painfully real in our national life is that there is no safe place where such things do not happen. Schools, houses of worship, grocery stores, even a parade – all of these can be altered in the blink of an eye to be places of terror and bloodshed. In time of need, we rely on the kindness of strangers who give hope and help with compassion and care. In time of need, we don’t care what they look like, where they’re from, or who they are. To this day, we call these people “good Samaritans,” and so they are. They are so named after the man who rendered help to another person in today’s Gospel lesson, the parable of the Good Samaritan. For each one of us, it all comes down to Jesus’ closing words in that parable, spoken not just to the lawyer who asked Jesus the question that started this whole conversation. Jesus words are spoken to us today as well: “You go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37b). This becomes the theme for preaching today, entitled “Do the Same.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

We are told that the lawyer, that is, an expert in the Law of Moses, “stood up to put Jesus to the test” (Luke 10:25a). That word “test” (έκπειράζων) is an interesting word. It’s the same root word that is used when the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), and this word here is a present participle, meaning that this denoted ongoing action. The motivation of the lawyer, like that of the devil, was to trip up Jesus; cause him to stumble; throw him off-course from his appointed mission. The lawyer’s question was just one in a long series of tests and temptations from the evil one that Jesus had to endure in his earthly life and ministry. The lawyer’s question seems odd to us: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). Huh? We know and believe that there’s nothing we can do to inherit eternal life. It is grace-based; eternal life comes as a free gift from God that is received by faith in Jesus. But that’s not the world this guy is operating in. It’s all about what I can do. As Dr. Phil on TV would say, “How’s that workin’ for you?” In good Jewish fashion, Jesus answers his question with a question, and turns it back on him. The lawyer correctly answers by quoting two passages from the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18), one of which is part of today’s Old Testament lesson (Leviticus 19:9-18), that make clear love for God cannot be separated from love for neighbor. The one must lead to the other. And then comes the kicker, the follow-up question (or more like a challenge) from the lawyer: “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29).

Human nature wants to know what are the boundaries, the limitations, for what I have to do. How far does all of this go? That’s what the lawyer was really asking, and in truth, we ask the same thing ourselves. In Jesus’ day, neighbor meant someone from within the house of Israel; a fellow believer descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Neighbor did not mean someone from the outside; an unclean Gentile. That’s where the boundary, the limitation, lay. So what are our boundaries and limitations? We would do well to examine this in our own hearts. In response to the lawyer’s question, Jesus tells the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan.

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho winds down a twisting and turning route for about seventeen miles, and it’s all downhill. Jerusalem is about 2500 feet above sea level while Jericho is more than 800 feel below sea level. The road between the two cities was notorious for crime. The man in the parable, very unwisely, is traveling alone – not a good idea. He is robbed, beaten up, and left for dead. And then two church workers come along – the priest and the Levite. You’d expect them to help, but they don’t. Why not? Maybe they were on their way to serve in the temple and would be late if they stopped. Maybe they weren’t sure if the injured man was an Israelite or a Gentile, and so they risked becoming ritually unclean. Maybe they weren’t sure if the man was dead or alive. Whatever the reason, they walked on by. But here’s the twist: a Samaritan comes along and he renders help. We’re told that he had compassion (έσπλαγχνίσθη). This is also a significant word and is used frequently in the Gospels to describe Jesus’ reaction to seeing people in need (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; Mark 6:34; 8:2; Luke 7:13). The word means to be deeply moved; to have a gut reaction to what is before you. This turn-around would have been a shocker to the people who first heard Jesus tell this parable. Because of longstanding Jewish-Samaritan hostility, they could not have imagined a Samaritan rendering aid to a Jew, or vice versa. But that’s what the Samaritan does. He stops what he is doing, gets down off his donkey, and binds up the wounds of the injured man. He takes him to an inn and cares for him. He pays the innkeeper to take care of him after he leaves, asking that whatever extra charges there may be to be added to his bill. He’ll take care of it when he comes back again.

What the Good Samaritan did for that injured man, Jesus has done for us. With a heart overflowing with great compassion because of our need, Jesus came to us. He did not pass by on the other side, but entered fully into the ugliness of our need. Robbed of our God-given identity and life, beaten and injured by the effects of our own sin and rebellion, we also were lying dead by the side of the road. Jesus poured out not just oil and wine, but his own life blood, to heal our wounds; to rescue and redeem us. He has paid for us, not just with gold and silver, but with his innocent suffering and death upon the cross. As Paul writes in today’s Epistle lesson: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). And having given himself for us, the Lord Jesus now calls us to give ourselves to our neighbor. And who is my neighbor? A neighbor is anyone who needs my help. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we are moved to do this for others. Not passing by on the other side, but getting down off our donkey, interrupting our schedule, getting our hands dirty in serving, seeing Christ in our neighbor and being Christ to our neighbor.

We don’t know what happened to the lawyer after Jesus told him: “You go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37b). Did he follow Jesus’ command? The question is really will we follow Jesus’ command? The close of this parable remains open-ended; it remains to be lived out in each of our lives. As we have been loved and served by Christ our Good Samaritan, let us go to love and serve as Good Samaritans. In Jesus’ Name, let us go and do the same. Amen.