Message of the Word
Luke 10.23-37

23 Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what
you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, but
did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
The Good Samaritan
25 At that moment, a lawyer stood up and tested Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I
do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? What do you
read there?” 27 The lawyer replied, “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.” 28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus
answered him, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among
robbers, who robbed him of everything he had and wounded him so that he was almost
dead. 31 A priest was going down as he was, and when he saw him, he passed by on the
other side. 32 A Levite also was passing near the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the
other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to the man and saw him, and felt
compassion for him. 34 He treated his wounds with oil and wine and bandaged them.
Then he put him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35
The next day, before leaving, he took out two coins, gave them to the innkeeper, and
said, “Take care of him. When I return, I will pay you back all the extra you spent.” 36 Of
these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He
answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do
likewise.”

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with each of you today and
always. Amen.
Once again, the Lord wants us to listen to and focus on the parable of the Good
Samaritan. We need to hear it. Yes, everyone needs to hear it, but today we need to
hear it, especially Jesus' command: "Go and do likewise."
We get it, right? We know the story. This is Bible School-level material. The
meaning is clear. The Samaritans and the Jews hated each other, and yet the
Samaritan showed merciful love to the poor man dying by the side of the road, even

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though the two men were bitter enemies by nature. The Jews themselves, their
countrymen, both the Levite and the priest, failed to even show mercy at the lowest,
most basic level when this man needed it most. Wounded animals on the side of the
road are treated better than these guys treated one of their own! They ignored him.
They crossed to the other side of the road. Not the Samaritan, though. He showed
merciful love to the very man who called out to him and surely treated him like a vile
enemy. Now go and do the same.
But such compassionate and merciful behavior doesn't come naturally to us
children of Adam, does it? We may, by nature, have compassion for some people,
especially those we care about and with whom we share common interests, although
this parable clearly shows otherwise. But even less so for those we consider "enemies,"
those we don't like. On the contrary, what arises so naturally is our inner response of
thinking, "Good! They're getting what they deserve!" We may say we're sorry, that we're
concerned, but beneath that, there's often that "joy" at the pain of someone we don't like
or who has harmed us. A good example is that feeling you get when a car breaks your
door on the highway, and then you see a mile away that the police have stopped it for
speeding. And that feeling arises in virtually all matters related to those with whom we
don't get along; those we consider our enemies. "Well! He's getting what he deserves!"
Very few will have the courage to admit this ugly truth, although we are all guilty of it.
Jesus teaches the exact opposite of what our hearts, our culture, and the devil
himself teach us. The Good Samaritan showed compassion to his enemy. He didn't
rejoice. He didn't use the bad situation as an opportunity to rub salt in the wounds. On
the contrary, he abandoned all his own pride and, with all humility and love, knelt down
and showed mercy to the very one who hated him and who surely didn't deserve it. Now
go and do the same.
Okay… so how do we do this? It's very easy in theory, but every person here
knows how difficult, if not impossible, it is to actually show mercy to someone who
despises you; someone who would love to see you suffer. No one wants to find
themselves in such a situation. We do our best to avoid such situations. We know we
wouldn't pass the test. How do you show mercy to someone you know wouldn't show
you mercy and would probably even rejoice and unload more of the burden on you if
things were reversed? And yet… this is exactly what our Lord commands us to do:
without caveats or terms, or special conditions. “Go and do likewise.”
So again I ask: How do we do this? Perhaps we are struggling with the question
because it is the wrong question. Why did the Samaritan stop and show so much love?
Why was he such a loving neighbor? It certainly wasn't because the guy in the ditch
deserved it. He didn't. No one would have blamed the Samaritan for walking… or even
kicking him or checking his pockets as he passed by. No one would have blamed him.
But… that wasn't who the Samaritan was. It had nothing to do with the guy in the ditch
and whether he was worthy or not. The Samaritan showed love because that's what the
Samaritan was. He was love.

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Well, in this parable, you're the guy in the ditch! Jesus, the true Good Samaritan, who
came down from heaven… for you. As children of Adam, we are by nature at enmity
with God. We are by nature enemies of God—sinful and unclean. But Jesus gave up all
the majesty and glory of heaven to be hated, humiliated, and despised by the children of
Adam… for you. That's who He is. Jesus came to freely and completely pour out His
gifts of sacrifice and life upon you; all out of an incomprehensible, unconditional love for
you; all so that you might have life and have it abundantly in Him.
What have you done to deserve or earn forgiveness for even one sin? What have you
done to inherit eternal life?
NOTHING! Jesus did it all! By virtue of God's grace; by virtue of the work of God's Holy
Spirit in His means of grace, His Word, and His sacrament of Holy Baptism, you were
called and chosen, adopted and "born again" as a child of God; an heir to the heavenly
King and His kingdom. As Jesus says in John 3 (in Greek), you were born, not "again,"
but "from above." God gave birth to you, through water and the Word. It is through Him
that you are an heir of salvation.
Now, this free, undeserved reality of salvation should mean something to you. This is
where the whole “go and do likewise” properly enters the conversation, although it will
only be properly understood when understood in the context of the cross of Jesus
Christ. Are there people who are difficult to love? Are there people who deserve to
suffer? Absolutely! There is so much evil in our world right now, and I confess it would
be good to see the wicked get a taste of their own medicine. But then I remember (and
confess): I deserve the same present and eternal punishment that all those people
deserve. Jesus Christ died and rose again for them… no different than what he did for
me. This is what John is getting at in his first epistle. “We love because he first loved
us.” This [the crucifix] is WHY we love! This is how we love. In fact, we can only show
Christ-like love and selfless mercy to others because Christ showed us everything
first… in spite of us. This [the cross] is why Christians show compassion, forgiveness,
and mercy to each and every person. ALL are our neighbors… even those we cannot
stand. They are ALL the people for whom God the Father sent His only begotten Son to
die. They are ALL the people for whom Christ died and rose again. ALL are just like
you, and they need the grace, compassion, mercy, love, forgiveness, and peace that
can ONLY come from and through Christ Jesus.
That 's why I'm going to end, not by commanding you what you now need to do, but by
reminding you of who you are and whose you are: you are a baptized and redeemed
heir. This is the present-tense truth. This is the eternal truth, all for your true Good
Samaritan; all for Jesus Christ and who He is and what He has done for you and for all
people… even those you don't care about. "God so loved the world…" Raised from
death to life by Christ and in Christ, the heir cannot help but respond to such
undeserved mercy and grace in kind. Showing mercy and grace to others is not a
prescription for the Christian. Rather, it is a description of the Christian who truly
understands and is grateful for the mercy and grace so freely and unconditionally shown

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by Christ Himself, the true Good Samaritan. Compassion, mercy, grace—these are the
fruits of repentance, born not of a desire to be saved, but of the joy of being saved. This
was the reality of the Good Samaritan. Now, go and do the same.
In the name of Jesus… AMEN.