The Good Samaritan and the Meaning of Parables - Luke 10:25-37

See the Meaning of This Parable

1. By looking at your needs, because of sin

2. By looking at Jesus, with a healing faith

Luke 10:25-37 Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?” 27 He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.” 28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 33 A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

This is one of the most well-known parables in the entire Bible. Unfortunately, because of that it's also one of the most misused parts of the Bible. Sadly, when you Google the parable of the Good Samaritan, you're likely to find upwards of 10 different interpretations of these words. God is quite clear that in the Bible He delivers His Word with one purpose and that each account has one primary meaning. This is not to say that there can't be many lessons learned from one section of Scripture. But when we're talking about interpretation, we should refer to the way that the Holy Spirit intended the words to be read.

All the parables of Jesus ultimately get down to a meaning. The point of the parables is not to dissect the story per se but to get to the effect of the story. Most of us grew up learning the familiar definition of a parable as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” You can have all those things right in your mind but if you don't have the correct meaning, the correct purpose, the parable doesn't help you.

So, what is the meaning of the parable of the Good Samaritan? What is the effect that this section of Scripture should have in our lives? Like I said, there's a lot of ideas out there. One Bible scholar says this in a magazine article about the parable the Good Samaritan: “The story has proven a popular one for sermons over the years, and it has been interpreted in many different ways—ranging from a tale about ritual purity to lessons about personal safety and even freedom fighters or universal healthcare.”

Most people say that we should read this parable as a call to action to be better to people – whether that’s in the realms of fighting for freedom or striving for healthcare. While that lesson may be there, and it's certainly something that God wants us to be doing, it is not the meaning of the parable of the Good Samaritan. And more importantly, it’s extremely foolish of us to take something that Jesus spoke with the broader purpose of helping others .and push our own, modern, cultural interpretation on it.

This parable is all about focusing on what Jesus does for us that we couldn’t do for ourselves – whether that be healing alongside life’s road, or learning how to help others. This story is all about bringing people closer to God. Sometimes we approach that topic by looking at what we do or what others do; in essence, by looking at each other; but not because we see God in ourselves. It's helpful to look at ourselves and to look at others because it reminds us of our need for God. It sheds light on the awesome contrast between His works and ours. Looking intently at our actions, whether good or bad, is a constant reminder of why we need God in our lives.

So, although God points at our lives in this lesson let us see Him most in the meaning.

Most interpretations of this parable will have you believe that you are the Good Samaritan, at least that you ought to be. In fact, Jesus himself says “Go and do likewise” at the conclusion when considering the Good Samaritan’s actions. But in the meaning of the parable you are not the Good Samaritan - Jesus is. It's true that we are to show mercy as Jesus has shown mercy, but we know that we don't. It's a valuable lesson for us to see that this is the right way to treat people, but we know we can't. Only Jesus can show the type of mercy that God is describing in this story. If we want to see ourselves, we should see it in the wounded one. It's also true that at times in our lives we could be the priest and we can be the Levite. Those individuals in the parable stood for the religious elite who used the Word of God to make their own commands about righteousness and eternal life, and in that way turned their backs on true charity for others.

In fact, it was a scribe of the law who asked Jesus the initial question that led to this parable. In the very first verse of our text a lawyer, meaning one of the scribes, stood up and asked Jesus: “Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This man was someone who had been raised to think that he had to accomplish his own salvation. His religious leaders, his spiritual mentors, had drilled into him an insistence that he had to achieve righteousness before God. And so, it seemed like a completely natural question to ask, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Sometimes we forget that the overarching context of this parable is about eternal life. So many people turn it into a basic lesson about doing good here on earth; and true it is enough that it is, but it is even more. And to get to the meaning behind the parable you have to remember that it’s about eternal life. You cannot broach the topic of eternal life without considering what God has done. That wasn't the philosophy of this lawyer who asked Jesus the question, but it is the truth of the matter. And at the end of the parable it's what the man would have went away with having learned from Jesus that day. Getting to the bottom of eternal life, and answering our questions about it, can only come through the mercy of Jesus.

If this is a message about eternal life, we ask ourselves why so much focus on our lives? Why is the parable talking about helping somebody out with their earthly needs? Why do we so naturally see ourselves in this parable? And perhaps most clear of all why does Jesus himself command go and do likewise? The purpose behind all of these close connections with our lives is to show us why we need God. Each of these lessons from God is like looking into the law. When we hear the law of God, we may think that we've kept it well enough; we may think that it's a positive message for our lives; we may think that it can produce the right kind of living in our lives. But the entire purpose of God's commands in the law is to show us where we've fallen short – and more importantly, why we need God.

The law of God never gives us a positive message about our lives because we can't keep that law as God demands. If we come away with a positive message from the law, it means we’ve changed the meaning of what God demands – we’ve lightened the load to make it more bearable in our lives. The harsh truths from this parable are that we haven't measured up as good people. We haven't loved our neighbors as ourselves. We haven't put God above all else. We haven't shown unconditional mercy and kindness to everyone in need, regardless of who they are. In each of those points we learn valuable lessons for our lives things that we should be doing things that are moral and right and good, and things that we often think have a positive effect in our spiritual lives.

But when it comes to our faith, and our standing with God, the singular effect of all of those things is failure on our part. Whenever we honestly look at God’s laws we see and feel that effect. In this sense we might say that the story of the Good Samaritan is somewhat discouraging one; it's a constant reminder of what we're not. [We assume we can read this parable as the Good Samaritan because we’re Christians, and not as the priest or Levite]. But it’s only discouraging if we don't see Jesus as well.

One of the reasons people like this parable is because it brings a little humanity to the Bible. It expresses themes that we all struggle with and that we all think about. It describes emotions that we all desire and that we all seek to perform. In that sense many people today see this parable as an ecumenical bridge to all different religions. To them it doesn't really matter so much who your god is, or what he has done, but whether you're doing what is you should.

That may sound good in our culture and in our society but what a depressing picture it is. What a deliberate attempt to purposely leave Jesus out. Only through Jesus do we get an answer to the question that this story is all about. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Obviously before we can get to eternal life we have to talk about the life that we have now. That's where we see all of the examples of this parable. The selfishness to overlook someone in need. The love and compassion to care for somebody who is vulnerable. Kindness to extend mercy to anyone regardless of who they are. These are all things that deal with the here and now, not eternity. But to really grasp our need to, really recognize the longing that we have to be with God in heaven, we must first come to grips with the reality that we are in.

And so, thank God that this parable has much more meaning then just a story about humanity. Ultimately, it's a story about exactly what Jesus did for us. It’s a beautiful picture of the gospel itself. What He did when you are beaten up by the world and distressed because of the perils around you. What He did when you act selfishly and condescending to others. What He did when you were a foolish example of what it means to be a follower of Christ. What Jesus did for us in our greatest needs, and what Jesus does for us when we fall so deeply away from His Holiness.

Jesus gently stoops to your life, binds up your wounds and extends perfect healing, and covers you in the safety of His grace and mercy – until you can stand again and walk the path of your faith; and He sticks with you. Just as the Good Samaritan told the innkeeper to charge everything to his account, so also Jesus continues to pay your spiritual expenses until you reach heaven.

That's the answer to the question of eternal life; to see and trust in Jesus as your only source of hope; that He is the way the truth and the life as he promised. Why do we try to take Him out of this story? Why would we fall for the temptation to make this parable only about ourselves? Only Jesus can take away the sins that haunt you from day to day. Only Jesus can grant the type of forgiveness and renewal that we need to stand before God and fulfill his will. The type of love that we so desperately seek from God and that we can bring to others when they’re broken up and hurt. No matter who the individual is or what they've gone through only Jesus can grant the balm and healing that can truly bring the peace of God to lift us out of the gutter of our sins and justly deserved condemnation.

This story is about eternity more than it is today. We may have lessons for both, but God’s meaning – His singular interpretation - points to our Savior.

It's sadly ironic that the very purpose of this parable, dispelling the notion that you can gain eternal life by what you do and how you treat others, is the very meaning that so many believe and teach today. This well-known story is not a victory march for human morality. It's a lens through which we more accurately see ourselves, and then more accurately see our God. There's enough lessons here to be learned for an entire sermon series but let it suffice to understand that eternal life is yours in Jesus Christ. Equipped with that simple and singular truth delivered to you through the unadulterated word of God you can be the kind of neighbor that God demands and more importantly – you have a home in heaven with God. Amen.