Dear Christian friends:

Today my text is the Gospel Lesson, which I signed before, about the Good Samaritan.

When you hear this story about the Good Samaritan you perhaps think that Jesus is trying to teach us to be good neighbor like the Good Samaritan. But this is not the chief purpose of Jesus' story. If we look at the verses carefully in this story we can see that Jesus had another purpose. Jesus told this story to a self-righteous law-teacher. This law-teacher thought that he was good enough to get eternal life himself, without faith in Jesus. (verse 25) and (verse 29)

Many people today, also many church members, make the same mistake as this Jewish law teacher. We, also, can make that big mistake, and try to make ourselves right by the law, instead of by faith in Jesus.

Therefore, we need to give careful attention to this story and learn:


No person can justify himself by the law, because the law demands perfect obedience. This we see from the story of the Good Samaritan.

The Good Samaritan truly loved his neighbor. He loved everyone, also his enemy. The man whom the thieves robbed and beat-up was a Jew. Samaritans and Jews hated each other. They never spoke to one another. But this Samaritan in Jesus' story stopped to speak to the Jew who lay dying on the road. He did much more than talk to him. He felt sorry for him. (verse 33) Then he cleaned the Jew's wounds with wine and oil and wrapped the bandages around his wounds. And he risked his own life to do this, because the robbers perhaps were still nearby and might attack him. When the Samaritan had dressed the Jew's wounds he lifted him on his donkey and brought him into the next town.

There he rented a room for the Jew and himself and took care of him during the night. In the morning the Samaritan made arrangements with the innkeeper to care for the Jew until he became well. The Samaritan gave the innkeeper money to pay for the Jew's room, food and care until he became well. (verses 33-35) The law-teacher did not love like the Good Samaritan. (Explain)

This is the love and concern God's law demands of each one of us. But you know and I know that none of us has love and mercy the same as this Good Samaritan. We are the same as the priest and the Levite in the story. When they came to the Jew and saw him dying on the road they passed by. (verses 31-32) They were brother Jews and brother church members, but they showed no love or mercy for their dying brother. They left him there to die and hurried on. I am sure that they had their reasons and their "beautiful" excuses for not helping, the same as you and I have reasons and excuses for not loving and helping our neighbor. We think and say, "Let the hearing people do it. The government will help them. Its really not my business. Its their own fault that they are now in trouble."

But, the Bible says: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of love." (Galatians 6:2) "We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." (1 John 3:15) "Love never ceases." (1 Corinthians 13) "There is no fear in love, perfect love casts out fear." ( 1 John 4:18)

Therefore, we can't justify ourselves, excuse ourselves. We are guilty sinners before God and men. Only God can justify us, excuse us, and He has done that through His dear Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Good Samaritan. There never has been and there is not now and there will never be another man on earth the same as this Good Samaritan except Jesus. Thank God that He does not justify us on the basis of our own works. If He did, we would all be condemned to hell. Praise God because He justifies us on the basis of Jesus' perfect obedience of the law! God also justifies us because Jesus suffered our punishment on the Cross! Our daily confession should be the same as that of Augustus M. Toplady, who wrote the hymn "Rock of Ages," He confesses in verse 2 and 3:

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
Hymn - Rock of Ages

When God through the Gospel justifies us for Jesus' sake, then Christ begins to live in our hearts. Our conscience will be awakened, and it will not be so easy for us to make excuses or to pass by those who are sick, hungry and dying. As we let God's love in Jesus justify us we will more and more love our neighbor and become like Jesus and the same as the Good Samaritan. God loves us in Jesus so that we can receive His love and go and love others in the same way that God has loved us and has shown mercy to us. We maybe will even get enough love and courage to risk our life and money to help someone else who is in trouble and need.

If we are really honest when we come to church and to the Lord's Supper, this should be happening to us. When we confess our sins and let God justify us for Jesus' sake, then we are renewed and can begin to love our neighbor the same as we love ourself.

Amen.

Additional sermon notes:

From a segment on CBS, 60 Minutes television shown on Feb. 29, 2000. Amy Beal, a young girl had gone to South Africa from the USA to help the poor black young people. One day four young black men caught her and stabbed her many times and killed her during a riot. Amy's parents came to South Africa to get her body and to learn more about the four men who killed her. They found out that it was a political killing.

They decided to establish there a foundation to train young black men for a trade. They forgave the four killers who killed their daughter and helped two of the killers to learn welding. Now they call the Beals "Mom and Dad." The Amy Beal Foundation has helped many young black men learn a trade and get good jobs. The Beals loved and helped their enemy.

Romans 3:21-24
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.