Latest / Journey Elgin / Sunday Message 6/14/26- Parable of the Good Samaritan
Transcript
- Phillip Thomas: All right. Well, the the next couple of weeks we're gonna be wrapping up kind of our series on the parables ⁓ of of Jesus. ⁓ the most of the time I've combined about usually it's three parables because they they kind of work together. ⁓ but today we're just gonna look at one parable, the parable of the Good Samaritan. ⁓ it's ⁓ this is gonna be in Luke chapter ten. And ⁓ this is ⁓ obviously a very ⁓ famous ⁓ parable. ⁓ you know, people that that's now become a term that people use. ⁓ that person, they're they're a good Samaritan, right? You wonder how many people even know that they're ref referencing a biblical teaching whenever they use that that phrase. But that that's how how how much it has impacted our our culture. And and it's it's interesting because G the the disciples, Jesus had just just sent them out ⁓ and they were to go out to the different towns and to to say to tell people that the Messiah is coming, right? The the kingdom of God is at hand. ⁓ very interesting on that is ⁓ one of those passages that we don't talk about a whole lot where Jesus says, if people don't welcome you, then dust, you know, d shake the dust off of your sandals and move on. Right. ⁓ you know, sometimes I wonder how often how how how much energy we put in trying to reach people who have already made a decision that they're not going to be reached. Now, that doesn't mean that that they're done because someone else is going to come by and remember the parable of the sower is going to continue to sow the seeds. But we need to seek wisdom sometimes to recognize, you know, sometimes. And ⁓ and that it's and so we we have that going on. ⁓ Jesus ⁓ has also ⁓ their they're ⁓ sharing with Jesus about what they've experienced and how how wonderful it was. They say, you know, even the even the demons responded to us in ⁓ whenever we use your name. ⁓ and then Jesus talks about the religious leaders and he he actually says the religious leaders, they they they wish that they could experience what y'all have now experienced. And that leads to this parable when a religious leader, it's a lawyer, don't think of lawyer like we have today. This was a Mosaic law ⁓ scholar. Okay, so he knew the Mosaic Law. ⁓ that would have been the Torah. That's the first five books ⁓ of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. That was called the Torah. ⁓ he the a a person like this ⁓ would have memorized the Torah. ⁓ you know and Course, remember y not everyone had a phone with the Bible on it back then. I know that's hard to imagine. ⁓ they didn't even have paper with the Bible on it. They actually had scrolls that was papyrus, right, that not very many people had. ⁓ side note we had at ⁓ our seminary, ⁓ the library, they got a scroll from like s fifteen hundred, sixteen hundred, something like that. And it it it was only of the Torah. And I think it was like this tall by that thick, right? Because you know, and and it's just incredible. And you realize, yeah, I don't I don't think they carried those around with them ⁓ all the time. that was pretty, pretty fascinating. ⁓ and so Jesus gets to ⁓ to the point where he's having a conversation with this ⁓ Mosaic law scholar, ⁓ and this is how it goes. Luke chapter ten, starting verse twenty five. And behold, a lawyer stood up and 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, with all your soul, with all your strength, 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 Talking about the lawyer, 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, bound up his wounds, pouring out 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 deneri and gave to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him, and whatever 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 robbers? He said, The one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, Yes, go and do likewise. All right. So what what is Jesus getting at with this parable? What is the main point? It's this parable it it has been used to justify things that kind of go beyond what it says. ⁓ got you you your social justice movement that ⁓ will will put so much focus on helping ⁓ those less fortunate, which that is in the Bible, right? But but that that becomes the core of the gospel message, ⁓ we'll use this passage. But that's not it's not really what this is about. There's there's two main things. The first one is salvation, because you can't read this parable apart from the conversation with the lawyer. So what does the lawyer ask? What is the question that the lawyer asks? What do I need to do to inherit inherit inherit? There we go. Eternal life. What must I do? All right. So right there, the premise of that question is false. There is nothing you can do to inherit eternal life. Right? And so so Jesus is going to address that in a in a very clever way. It's kind of the Socratic method, right? Where you I mean Man, don't you know the religious leaders? Well, we do know that they hated Jesus. They crucified him. But the because they would ask these questions trying to trap him, and Jesus would just respond back with questions of his own, right? To get them to get them thinking. And Jesus was never able to be trapped. And so so Jesus asked, Well, what you're the lawyer, you're the Mosaic lawyer. What does it say that you need to do? And he answers correctly, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus says, That's exactly right. Now, what is that lawyer thinking? He knows, as anyone who is honest knows, that none of us can live up to that. None of us can truly love the Lord enough with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and we know that we're not going to love our neighbors the way that we should. Right. And so the the lawyer is like, Well, wait, if that's what I have to do to inherit eternal life, that's not good because I can't live up to that standard. Right? And Jesus is clearly making this this point in a in a in an interesting way. And so the the lawyer then says, Okay, wait, I I need to make it where I can do this. So that's why he asks, Well, who is my neighbor? It's kind of it's it's it's a little snide remark, right? But but he's trying to narrow that down. Okay, maybe let's let's make sure our neighbor is someone that I can love. Well then I can earn eternal life. Right. And that that word neighbor meant people that were like you, that were close to you. It it it means what you think it means, right? W what and especially back then, you know, those communities were very, very close. And so who your neighbor was, okay, yeah, I can I can like those people because guess what? They're like me. They think like me, they kind of look like me. And of course I can I can love my neighbor. So that's what he's thinking. Again, because he wants to know what do I have to do to inherit eternal life? So then Jesus pulls out this parable. And and it's a very simple parable. It talks about going from Jericho to Jerusalem. I think that was about a seventeen mile ⁓ walk. ⁓ it was known to be a very difficult ⁓ walk, and there was you y at any time you could be robbed or beaten, and that's what happens to to this to this random guy, right? And and the what would happen is the the priest and the Levites, they were part of the the group, you know, if you remember the twelve tribes of Israel. The Levites, they were the ones responsible for taking care of all the religious stuff. So the priest and the Levites came from there. They would they would have turns that they would have to take care of all of the sacrifices, ⁓ you know, turning on the lights at the synagogue, turning on the or at the temple, all of that kind of stuff, right? So they but they lived all throughout the land. So the image here is that the priest and the Levite They are coming from Jericho to Jerusalem to take care of their priestly duties in the in the temple. And so what what do they see? They see this guy beaten and they're like, can't do anything, so they just walk on walk on past. Now, this is not the point of this is not to say that ⁓ the the priestly way of doing things, that that religion wasn't wasn't valid anymore. Or that they that it wasn't important that they continue the sacrificial ⁓ things and and all of that. That's not that's not the point. It's just that it had become so important that they they actually weren't living that out. It wasn't impacting their life. Right? If you if you're to the point that you're so so pious that you can say, well, I'm following all the rules, and then whenever you see someone who just needs help, That you can't go help them because you're following the rules of your faith. Well, guess what? You're missing the point of what your faith is all about. Right? And that and that that's what Jesus is is is getting at. And so then, though, he uses a third person to come by. And that person is a Samaritan. Now, the Samaritans in that day, it it's have to kind of understand context. ⁓ Color of skin was not that big of a deal. The the idea of race that we think about today is it's kind of developed over time. That was they were not broken out by by color of skin. it really was more Jews and Gentiles. Those were the two big groups from a Jewish perspective, right? And ⁓ and and but the Samaritans actually had a a little bit elevated place of hatred. among the Jewish mindset. Why was that? Well, because they were the offspring, if you will, of when ⁓ Syria overtook the northern kingdom, kind of wiped out the northern kingdom. And they began, they would marry with Syrians. So they were Jewish and then they married Syrians and then that that that process has now been going. So they were not pure Jews, if you will. Right. On top of that, they also kind of worshipped in their own way. It was still a Jewish, biblical, they they worship God, but they did it differently. They didn't come to the temple, mainly probably because they knew everyone hated them there. So yeah, you know, I don't think I'm gonna go there. Right. But but it was more than that. They they had kind of separated. It was like one of those denominational splits, if you will. Right? So they were not doing it right. You know, and and so the the Jewish people, the especially the priest and the Levites, they had a disdain for the Samaritans, ⁓ because they thought they were inferior, ⁓ and and not only that, they were not even worshiping God correctly. So when you have the Samaritan that comes along and does what is right, actually lives out his faith, that his faith is not just a bunch of talking points, but he actually actually puts it to to use, that is a huge ⁓ example that Jesus is using. And if do you notice that the lawyer, so Jesus asks, Who do you think has been the best neighbor? And the lawyer says, the one who stopped and helped him. He couldn't even say the Samaritan, right? It's just that's just kind of a subtle thing. Whether it's important or not, I don't know. I just think it it even his response shows his disdain for the Samaritans. He he doesn't say, well, the Samaritan guy. He says, ⁓ well, that guy who who helped. Right? And and so so Jesus is is using that ⁓ as an illustration of, you know what, no one is good enough to inherit eternal life. You can't do it on your own, because guess what? All of us are sinful. And and all of us, we can't even get over our stupid little differences ⁓ among among us as people. How are you ever gonna do enough to inherit eternal life? Right? But he also I do think so the first part of this ⁓ parable is that there's nothing that you can do. It's only through Jesus Christ. It's only through the blood of Christ, right? The next is Jesus was breaking down those categories that in our sinfulness we apply to society around us. And it it's important to to wrestle with this. Because right now in our society, we are being encouraged to see everything according to groups. And when you do that, You are just constantly, constantly at odds with everyone. Right? The more you do it, the more you lean in to viewing people as groups and not as individuals, right? Not as an individual person, but as a group. ⁓ that's the Samaritan. That's the Samaritans. They can't be any good. Well, wait, this guy just went above and beyond to make sure someone was was helped. So that's a good Samaritan. Are there were there bad Samaritans? Yes. Just because everyone is an individual. And in our society, we live in a time, and we're going to be talking more about this, but one thing that I have ⁓ emphasized is we are in a spiritual battle that is heightened. ⁓ and and things are changing and we are being attacked from multiple different directions. And the the worst thing as Christians that we can do is not recognize we're in the battle because it is so easy to get deceived. And one of the thing ways that we have been ⁓ really over the past hundred years, if you look at and you kind of do a deep dive if you want to on liberation theology. ⁓ it it started back in the early nineteen hundreds and it has kind of continued to grow. And what it did is it started to look at people with by groups and specifically focus on those who were being oppressed. They actually deliberation you read deliberation theology, it actually took some principles and thoughts from Karl Marx. The Marxist ideology, I've talked about this a lot, it's and it's important to understand the basics of it. The one of the core principles there is that you view people by groups, specifically the oppressed and the oppressor. So whenever you're trying to figure out the your frame of ⁓ of looking at it problems in the world, you you first say, okay, what are the groups that are involved here? All right. Well, which which one of those groups is the oppressed? And which one is the oppressor, right? And you do that in in everything. That is an ideology that literally I believe is from the pit of hell. Because it divides us so much. And Jesus is specifically pointing out and saying, that is not how we view the world. ⁓ It's interesting. Just just this week, ⁓ There's there's three specific examples that w that we're seeing the how dangerous viewing people just according to their group is. Right? All right. The easiest one that we we've dealt with forever is race, right? Black white. So you're either part of the black group or you're part of the white group. Right? And you can take that to the extremes, right? If and and ⁓ just just this past week There was a trial, if you remember the ⁓ from over a year ago, the ⁓ the kid ⁓ Anthony Medcalf, right, was stabbed by Austin Medcalf. ⁓ Carmelo Anthony stabbed him. It was at a track meet. ⁓ the horrible situation. Two lives completely ruined. One snuffed out, the other Is now going to be in prison. Their life is is over. It is a tragedy. Right? And and and we can talk about all kinds of different things, but there's no indication that race played any part in that, except that one was white and one was black. So th there's a trial and and this is really frustrating to me because. There are people that are trying to to make this more than it is on both sides and both groups. Right? There are there were people out there protesting. There are people that are saying vile things that no, we we should have gone ahead and killed the other brother as well. ⁓ there's pictures going around of people urinating on the grave of the kid. I it it warps your mind when you start. thinking about things as only in groups. It is terrible. Right. And so now you have ⁓ you have people that are paid to stir up that kind of hate, right? That that lean into the to the the black group, right? Well we're the oppressed group, right? And so this is just another example of oppression. And just trying to whip that up, it's actually not working. Most in the black community are like, ⁓ no, if you stab someone, you go to jail. Now, on the other side, people respond to that. There are white influencers that are taking clips of people who are clearly are not critically thinking at all. And they are elevating that and sharing that in a way that makes it seem like this is how all black people think. No, that's ridiculous. Ridiculous. But that's what happens when you start seeing only in groups and not as individuals. Another thing that happened is a I guess a couple of days ago, Elon Musk became became a trillionaire. That became the ⁓ you know what what's all over social media. Right? Well, he technically didn't. All of that is in stock. He hasn't cashed out yet. But we're we're too dumb to know that. So we just we we just, you know, say these, throw these things out. So people are very angry. How? How can someone be allowed to have a trillion dollars? And because what are they doing? They're looking at people at groups rich and poor. Oppressed, oppressor. So they're really upset. And they don't you know, you can step back and go, wait, how many people, how many millionaires has Elon Musk made? Just on Friday, he made like four thousand. People that are now millionaires. Okay, we could get into capitalism, we can get into all of that stuff, but the amount of vitriol that people had towards this guy who has a lot of money is very dangerous. Why do you want to get that angry about what someone else has? Because you're only viewing things from a group perspective. And so you're the oppressed in this situation. All of us would be the oppressed compared to Elon Musk, right? And so, ⁓ well, we're oppressed. So that's not fair that those rich people have that. So now we need to fix that. Okay? That has led to some really bad things. Again, it's this group mindset. Another thing that we are seeing a lot of, and we can ⁓ go through this, is not ⁓ is looking at Jewish people as the problem. Okay. Are there issues with the nation of Israel? Yes. Can we have lots of conversations on how we should have our geopolitical relationships with other countries? Yes. But if you start going down to that road that every time something bad happens, it's like, ⁓ it's the Jews' fault. That is very, very dangerous. This This type of thinking, no matter what area it's applied to in your life, will start destroying you if that's how you're viewing the world. If you view the world based on groups, based on oppressed versus oppressor, you will start advocating for ungodly things very quickly. And it starts destroying your soul. Be careful with that. Jesus, I believe, is speaking directly about that in this parable. Do not fall into the trap of focusing on groups. Each one of us as individuals have been created in the image of God. It doesn't matter how much money you have, it doesn't matter what citizenship you have, it doesn't matter what the color of your skin is. We can have conversations about problems in different cultures. Are there problems in the black community culture? Of course. Are there problems in the white Community? Of course. Are there problems with the billionaire class of people? Yes. Are there lots of problems with the poor? Yes. Because we're all individually fallen and need a savior. It is vital. And you may think, well, why are we talking about this oppressed, oppressed? This sounds kind of like what's going on in the political world. Yes, we are under assault. With this type of thinking, and it is trying to d tear us apart, and it's trying to tear the church apart. Because if the church starts do going down this road and looking at things as ⁓ from groups, you're just going to start splitting congregations. That is what Satan wants. We need to rely on the truth found in the Word of God that everyone is created in his image. Everyone is fallen. Every group of people has problems. That's why we can't look lump everyone together because everyone has their own individual problems. And yes, if you're part of a group, which all of us are part of a group, and there are problems within that group, you have to guard yourself against those things. But you do that as an individual. Jesus Christ died to save you. His blood, yes, covers all of us, but as an individual, we have to accept that. Make sure you are viewing the world through that lens. Be careful on social media whenever you see things, and what it is trying to do, what Satan is trying to do is you'll see an image of someone. That's saying ridiculous things say about this trial. It is wanting you to go, man, that black culture is just horrible. That's what it's trying to do. It's trying to make you see everyone as what that one person is doing. That is so, so dangerous. Fight against that. Make sure. That you hold on to what is true, that you were created in the image of God. So is the person sitting next to you. And Jesus Christ died for each one of us. There's nothing you can do to earn it. And now start living out your faith just like the good Samaritan did. He didn't just believe in a list of rules, he lived his faith out. And it didn't matter that that person beaten and bloody was of a different tribe and a different group. Because he didn't see people as a group. He saw an individual who needed help. Live your life that way. That is what Christ has called us to do. Let's go to him in prayer.