Jesus never called this the parable of the Good Samaritan, but it has stuck. Jesus asked a question: Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10: 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
That’s a good neighbor. I couldn’t help but think of the insurance commercial jingle “like a good neighbor.” We got some better insurance than State Farm or Blue Cross. We have ASSURANCE in Jesus Christ the son of God. He became the son of man when he came down to us. He’ll come for us now. If you’ve fallen among thieves, God will be there.
Jericho was down from Jerusalem about as far as from here to Seven Mile Ford. People tune Christians out and put us on the downward road. I don’t care which road we’re on. Because Jesus came down 2,000 years ago we know a good neighbor. The world will strip us down and break us. He’ll pit brother against brother. Family can be the enemy as the devil busts family, churches, and people apart. Send up an SOS. Call 911 to heaven—better yet call 316: John 3:16. The rescue squad will be on the way. Stan won’t be driving it. Angels will. We have a GPS with our Bible. The Lord will be on the way.
The priest passed the injured man by. The Levite passed him by. One part of the devil’s crowd will beat you up. Another part will take what you have. They all want to beat you down, down, down. All the devil wants to do is knock you over. Let the world pass you by. Jesus won’t. We’re not of this world. We belong to another kingdom. Where the President or Congress fails, Jesus won’t. Doctors fail? Jesus won’t. Our riches are not in the bank; they are in heaven.
No matter how wicked you are the Savior can help. Wherever you are Jesus has come to you. He has compassion. Instead of putting the man out of his misery he took the man out of his misery. If we’ll call on Jesus, our Savior will take care of us. The man’s wounds were bandaged. The oil and wine was put in to cleanse them and kill the germs. Jesus was wounded for our wounds. He took our pain so we could have gain. He took our curse so we could be free indeed. When we got saved our lost soul got its identity and we’re on our way to heaven.
The man was patched up and went on his way after a while. He made it back home. We get down. We get beat up. Jesus will put in the antiseptic so we can complete the journey. Jesus is reaching down. Let’s reach up. The good neighbor took him to the inn, a place of safety and rest so he could recover promising to settle up next time if it cost more. Our debt has been paid. Whatever you need, call on the Lord and let him help. He’s not a good neighbor; he’s the good neighbor. Because of his help to us we know how to be a better neighbor to others.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 