I don’t know how they do it. The first responders, I mean. Hours of boredom interspersed with heart-pounding intensity. Screaming sirens. Twisted metal. Blood everywhere. Lives changed forever. Then silence again.
Often the press dubs one a “Good Samaritan,” especially if they’ve stepped into help while off-duty. How grateful we are when a stranger comes to our aid or of someone we love.
But it was Jesus who told us about the original Good Samaritan. He was teaching a crowd one day when interrupted by a lawyer. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:25)
It seems an honest question, a good one to ask. After all, we can get so wrapped up in this world that we forget about the next. But it was a trick!
The lawyer, a religious fellow, had heard that Jesus was offering a shortcut to heaven. No good works required; believe in Jesus and Voila! you were sure of heaven. There was something unfair about that, the lawyer felt.
Right away, Jesus saw the trap—but it was the lawyer who got caught! Jesus replied, “What does the law say?”
“‘Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Correct! Do this and you will live.”
Note: He was answering the question the man asked. How could one INHERIT eternal life? That means you have a right to it by law. If you want to demand a place in heaven, all you have to do is be perfect and you’re guaranteed entrance.
But now the lawyer was trapped. Some neighbors were there, and they’d be glad to offer him opportunities to prove his love for them! So like any lawyer, he tried to redefine his way out. “Who is my neighbor?”
In reply, Jesus tells the story. A man heading from Jerusalem to Jericho falls into the hands of robbers, who empty his pockets, strip him of his fine threads, and beat him half to death. It’s not looking good.
Some time later, a priest comes by. Why did the priest cross the road? To get to the other side! But it’s no joke. If a priest touched a man in his condition, he’d be disqualified from working at the temple. A Levite (a priests’ helper) does the same.
But then the Good Samaritan shows up, bandages his wounds, transports him to a safe location, and pays for his care.
So what is Jesus’ point? He wasn’t making fun of priests and Levites. If He was indeed Emmanuel, “God with us,” then priests and Levites were His idea. He was merely pointing out the hard fact: if you’re in the condition of this man, you don’t need a rule book, a religion, or a priest. You need a Savior!
Salvation is not earned, deserved, worked for. “The GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23). Jesus was painting the well-heeled lawyer into the picture as the poor fellow in the ditch. That’s how He saw him. That’s how He sees all of us.
Don’t fool yourself by looking in the mirror. Jesus sees your heart. The original good neighbor, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim 1:15). Sinners like you and me.
Article by Jabe Nicholson first published in the Commercial Dispatch, Sunday, April 10, 2022.