A story of a traveler who encountered trouble.
We each have a story. Jesus tells a story in Luke 10 of a certain man who was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, a distance of about 17 miles. We don't know why he was traveling. We don't have any details.
The path he traveled to Jericho was a dangerous one. The path descended sharply toward the Jordan River, just north of the Dead Sea. The terrain was rugged, and was filled with jagged rocks and hidden caves where robbers could easily ambush an unsuspecting traveler. Encounters with wild animals were also frequent. It's still a dangerous road-- not just in Jesus' day, but in our day as well.
I was reading about an Englishman who got separated from his companions and tried to take a shortcut through the same area. He was beaten unconscious. Some robbers stole his watch, stripped off all his clothes, and left his nude body lying flat along the roadside.
Similarly, in Luke 10:30 (NIV) Jesus describes how, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead."
We all have a story.
We all have a story. Some of our stories are filled with pain and violence. When I was in junior high, a young boy named Arturo showed up in my neighborhood. Arturo was an awkward teenager, with a freckled face and scraggly appearance. The Department of Children and Family Services had removed him from his home, along with several other brothers and sisters, and placed him in foster care. We gave him the nickname "Rockhead" because he would play football without a helmet. He was practically fearless and as tough as nails, at least on the surface. Arturo didn't have many friends. He lacked an ability to relate to others and fit into social situations.
Arturo lived next door to me. One night we were sitting in his backyard on the swings, talking. I don't know what prompted it. Arturo began sharing his story-- how he grew up in a large family, how his parents hated him, how they would beat him when they were high on drugs or intoxicated. He told me how they would extinguish cigarettes on his skin. How one night he was taking a bath and his dad came in and tried to drown him. The abuse wasn't just physical. And it wasn't just limited to Arturo.
I think that was the first time the blinders came off for me. Our stories can be filled with shocking twists and turns, both real and imagined danger. We can have encounters with very good, but with also very evil people. Arturo was physically and emotionally abandoned. The two people in his life who were to protect him and love him and cherish him became perpetrators of violence against him. He was continually blamed, criticized, cursed upon, and threatened.
Some fall into the hands of robbers. Others fall into the hands of wicked fathers, abusive spouses, or emotionally absent parents. Some are stripped naked. Others are stripped of dignity and of any sense of normalcy. Some are left half dead. Others are left filled with shame, guilt, and personal devastation.
The expert in the law missed the point of Jesus' story.
In Luke 10 Jesus is telling this story to an expert in the law who is concerned with a theological matter. In Luke 10:25 (NIV) Jesus is asked, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" We'd all agree that this is an important question. But this is a religious question being asked by an expert in the law. He's not a lawyer. He is an expert in the Torah, an expert in the scriptures. Rabbis believed that studying the Torah was better and more important than any other activity in life. This man craved Bible content. He was a sponge.
When he asks this question, Jesus answers with a question of his own! In Luke 10:26 (NIV) Jesus asks, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?"
And in Luke 10:27 (NIV) the expert in the Bible rightly answers, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " He's proud. He's boastful. He believes that he has mastered his knowledge of the scriptures. He's patting himself on the back.
But Luke 10:29 (NIV) says that this expert in the Bible wanted to justify himself so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" And so there Jesus goes, telling the story of how a certain man goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho, falls into the hands of robbers, is stripped and beaten, and left for dead.
Sometimes, "churched" people miss the point of Jesus' story.
Let me tell you part of my story. I grew up in the church. I grew up going to church camp, going to Sunday school, and memorizing Bible verses. My parents made us kids pray before bedtime. They had us take turns giving a scripture meditation before dinner. If I had one concern, it would have been this-- how could I inherit eternal life? Was I saved? It was all about me.
How quickly we churched folk forget that God's story is bigger than any one of us. We are obsessed with our personal salvation. We are obsessed with Bible study and theology, and rightly so. But who is our neighbor, and what is our obligation to our neighbor? We cherish the thought of personally inheriting eternal life, of being the chosen ones. But where is the concern for our neighbor? Does their story not matter to God? Is their story not also part of God's redemptive plan?
In Luke 10:31-32 (NIV) Jesus describes how, "A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side."
The key word in Luke 10:31 is "down." The priest was going down the same road. Remember that Jerusalem sits at an elevation 3600 feet higher than Jericho. Both the priest and the Levite had fulfilled their religious responsibilities, and were traveling away from Jerusalem. The Sabbath was over. After celebrating the Sabbath, they should have been filled with God's teaching and his Holy Spirit, more than at any other time of the week.
Let's not concern ourselves with the justification the priest and the Levite may have had for avoiding the man on the side of the road. That isn't Jesus' concern here! Jesus' concern is that the very men who should've been most acquainted with God's story of redemption, the priest, the Levite, and the expert in the law, were acting as if they were completely oblivious to it! They kept on going. They didn't stop. They didn't respond.
How many people feel that God has passed them by?
Here is a sad reality. Think of how many people we pass by every day, who lay dying in ditches, who when they see us pass by, feel as though God himself has passed them by. My neighbor was Arturo. How many Arturos do we drive by everyday on our way home from church? From Sunday school? From a Bible Study? God doesn't want to just rescue me, he wants to rescue the world.
John 3:16 (NIV) says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." 1 Timothy 2:4 (NIV) says, "(God) wants all men to be saved..." 1 John 2:2 (NIV) says, "He (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." Matthew 9:12-13 (NIV) says, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
The Samaritan lives out God's story of redemption.
The hero in Jesus' story is a Samaritan. He lives out God's story of redemption. He acts according to God's mercy, compassion, and eternal plan. Pay attention to all the verbs in this passage.
In Luke 10:33-35 (NIV) Jesus says, "But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was (that's proximity); and when he saw him, he took pity on him (that's compassion). He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine (The oil would have softened the wound, the wine would have disinfected/cleansed the wound, and the bandages made from strips of his own clothing would have protected the wound). Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins (that's about $150) and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "
Buried in the midst of this story is the self-interested innkeeper, who is unwittingly used as part of God's redemptive plan. The innkeeper acts according to expectation. He is a businessman. He has a profit interest. He agrees to look after the man, but only so far as his economic interests are covered. But love goes still further. It sacrifices. It gives freely. It's merciful.
In Luke 10:36-37 Jesus asks, " 'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?' The expert in the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.' "
Rescue: Christ's power to redeem.
This morning marks the beginning of a new series called Rescue: Christ's Power to Redeem. Some of us are like the man lying in the ditch, or like my friend Arturo. You may be wondering if anyone will ever stop for you, see you, have compassion on you, care for your wounds, help you through your pain, protect you, or be generous toward you.
In Romans 7:24 (NIV) the apostle Paul raises the same question. He exclaims, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Do you ever feel like Paul? Too far gone and too damaged to be rescued? Half dead? In Romans 7:25 (NIV) Paul simply exclaims, "Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord!" In Galatians 1:3-4 (NIV) Paul says, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
If you're hurting, God hasn't passed you by. When Christ died on that cross, he was taunted by the religious leaders as detailed in Luke 23:35 (NIV). "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." But look at what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:18 (NIV). "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen." It's important to trust God even when those around us are giving us no reason to. God sees you. His story matters. He wants to redeem your story for his glory.
But then Christ has something to say to the rest of us. Let's not lose sight of the big picture. Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV) says, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Let's not forget to always avail ourselves to God's work. Let us not pass by those in need.