The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And 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 your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped 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 and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 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. And 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.”
Put yourself in the lawyer’s shoes. The lawyer was (1) putting Christ to the test and (2) desiring to justify himself; a picture of our state before salvation. We (1) questioned God’s greatness and (2) asserted our goodness.
Before, during, and after the giving of the Law, the people of Israel were hard hearted in saying: ‘All that You say, we will do’ (Exodus 19:8, Exodus 24:3).
Over the course of generations after Mount Sinai, the people of Israel presumed to ‘pull’ the Law down, within reach. With that said I believe one of Christ’s ministries was to put the Law back in its impossible, holy place. He did it in the Sermon of the Mount, and He certainly did it here. He told the lawyer, ‘do this, and you shall live.‘
Moving on, Christ addressed the lawyer, ‘seeking to justify himself‘: He tells him a Parable, essentially one of mercy – step out of your comfort to help your sworn enemy. Treat his immediate wounds. Carry him to rest. Pay for all the expenses. And if you do leave him, come back, and pay for everything spent on him all that time.
Christ responded to the lawyer’s immediate questions, ultimately by telling him: Do, and go. Do the Law, and Go show Mercy. Yes, I am great, and no, you aren’t good.
The Law came through Moses. Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. This is the Truth: That Christ came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. At the cross, He loved God with all His heart and with all His soul and with all His strength and with all His mind, by loving US with all His heart and with all His soul and with all His strength and with all His mind.
Through sin the thieves stole from us, destroyed us, and left us for dead. This is Grace: While we were His enemies, Christ had Mercy on us. He stepped out of His comfort to help us. Christ healed the wounds of our past. Christ carries us in the present. Christ paid for our future, and when He returns, He shall pay even more.
At the cross Christ demonstrated His greatness, and at the resurrection Christ showed His goodness.
We do not know how the lawyer responded, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we in the Body of Christ have recognized: Behold, NOW is the time of salvation. Christ IS the Son of God who lay down His life for us, and rose again from the dead, and ascended into heaven.
Christ is the perfect and everlasting Love that casts out all fear.
Christ is the Love of God for us, the power and peace that moves us to Love one another in Church, to Love our spouses in Marriage, to Love our Families.
Beyond the money we have and the skills we show and the knowledge we share, it is the Love of God through Christ and His finished work that is the primary power that explodes in us, and the primary peace that holds us together!
Before anything else, this is what the world sees, and this is what the world draws closer to… and when they do come, and when they do ask, let us be Neighbors, always being prepared to give an answer to give an account of the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15).
There’s just so much more to this that I want to talk about, but hey – if you want to talk about it, send me or any of the Aces a message, and we’ll celebrate this life together.
God IS great. God IS good. I know this, because of Christ and His finished work.
Let’s celebrate that love. Let’s create. Let’s collaborate. Let’s curate. Let’s connect. And when anyone asks, be a good neighbor to them.
God IS great. God IS good. I know this, because of Christ and His finished work.
Let’s pray.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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