Luke 10:1-37:  “Jesus Sends The Seventy Out On A Mission Trip / Tells The Story About The Good Samaritan”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.     INTRO:

 

1.1.                     In our last study, we looked at verses 51-62 of chapter 9.

 

1.1.1.  Jesus began to head with His disciples to Jerusalem.

 

1.1.2.  The Samaritans would not receive Him on this trip and James and John came to Jesus asking His permission to command fire to come down out of heaven and consume the Samaritans.

 

1.1.3.  Jesus commanded three different men to leave all and follow Him, however because of each man’s response Jesus explained to them that they were not fit for His kingdom and for following Him.

 

1.2.                     In our study today, we are going to look at the first 37 verses of chapter 10.

 

1.2.1.  We will see that Jesus sends seventy of His disciples out on a mission’s trip much similar to the previous one He sent out the twelve on.

 

1.2.2.  A man comes to Jesus asking Him what good thing that he might do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus ends up telling the story about the Good Samaritan to this man.

 

2.     VS 10:1-2  - “1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” -  Jesus sends out 70 of His disciples to go on a mission’s trip

 

2.1.                     We saw in our last study that Jesus and His disciples were now on their journey from their home base in Capernaum in upper Galilee down to Jerusalem.  We saw that the rest of the book of Luke covered just the last two weeks of Jesus’ life before He was crucified upon Calvary’s Cross on the Passover.  (Jesus was the One whom the Passover Lamb symbolized.)

 

2.2.                     This story evidently occurs after Jesus and His disciples had left the area of Samaria and were now either in Judea or close to it.

 

2.3.                     Previous to this we saw that Jesus had sent out the twelve disciples, who are sometimes referred to as “apostles,” on a mission’s trip.  Here we see that ‘seventy others’ were sent out on a similar trip.  This indicates that the twelve were not part of this group.

 

2.4.                     There is some discrepancy in the various Bible texts that have been discovered whether or not there were seventy or seventy-two who were sent out on this trip.  This fact takes nothing away from the story.

 

2.5.                     Some have speculated as to what the significance of the number seventy might be and there are really no speculations that are worthy of much consideration.  For instance, some have speculated that the number might coincide with the list of the seventy nations in Genesis which initially evolved after Adam.  Also, Moses appointed seventy elders to assist him in the book of Genesis. 

 

2.6.                     In Matt. 10:5-6, in Matthew’s account of the sending out of the twelve on their previous mission trip, we found that Jesus sent them out to go only to the house of Israel.  It appears that it is the case with these seventy as well.  It is also the case we presume that they were sent out to travel around and preach in the area of Judea.

 

2.7.                     Interestingly, we see that as Jesus is sending out these seventy men on their mission trip that He tells them that ‘the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few’ and that they are to pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send out laborers into His harvest.  It is always the case that people are more receptive to the gospel than there are laborers who are willing and able to go and to reach them with the gospel.  The church should always be praying for the Lord to raise up laborers for the harvest.  It is good to pray for converts but more than converts the church needs those who have been prepared by the Lord and are desirous to be used to minister to people.

 

3.     VS 10:3-11  - “3 “Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 “Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5 “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 “Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8 “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 “But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’” -  Jesus gives the seventy some counsel about how they are to proceed before He sends them out on this mission trip

 

3.1.                     Jesus warns the seventy that He is sending them out ‘as lambs in the midst of wolves.’  New believers tend to believe when they first come to salvation that people are going to be receptive to them as they share their testimony about how the Lord has worked mightily in their life.  However, what they instead discover is that after coming to salvation that they face tremendous persecution because of their faith, and many times family and friends separate from them because of their faith.  They tend to underestimate the fact that there are demonic forces who are bent upon diverting them and how God desires to use their life and testimony.

 

3.2.                     Now, there are many similarities between this sending out of the seventy and Jesus’ previous sending out of the twelve on a mission trip.  To both groups He gives similar instructions.

 

3.2.1.  The seventy are sent out in pairs and the gospel accounts of Jesus sending out the twelve indicates that they too went out in pairs.

 

3.2.2.  Jesus tells them to ‘Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.’  Just as with the twelve, these disciples will need to depend upon the Lord and His provision for everything relative to this trip.  They must not look to their own resources in the flesh if they want to have God’s power work through them and reach people. 

 

3.2.2.1.      Likewise, we Christians must realize that it is only God’s power working through our lives that has the ability to change people’s lives.  There is nothing that we can do of our own efforts that will produce the fruit that the Holy Spirit can produce in the life of a Christian who is yielded to God and dependent upon His leading and provision in everything.  There is no eloquence of speech that can open blinded ears, there is no human persuasion that can bring about genuine saving faith in people, there is no reasoning that we might employ in the power of our flesh that will convince those who are slaves of corruption and for whom the scriptures say that they can not understand spiritual things, there are no acts of charity that we might perform in the power of our flesh that will cause people to see the Lord’s hand at work, etc., etc.  Only God can open people’s eyes and change peoples’ lives and therefore we need Him to work mightily through our yielded and dependent lives.

 

3.2.3.  Jesus tells the seventy that they are to pronounce ‘peace’ on a house when they enter it, and that if a man of peace resides there his ‘peace’ will remain on that man, otherwise it will return to him.  In Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount He equated Christians to being ‘peace-makers,’ and there is an illusion to that also here.

 

3.2.4.  Jesus tells the seventy that when they go to a house that they are to ‘stay there’ which indicates that flitting around from house to house will not allow them to have a successful ministry to the people that they are being sent to.

 

3.2.5.  Jesus tells the seventy that they are to eat and drink what they are given.  When people extend hospitality to us as God’s people we need to be careful not to be picky and thus act in an ungrateful manner for the things that people provide for us.  Eating and drinking what people provide for us causes them to be blessed because they were able to serve us in this way.  It also promotes fellowship and friendship between us.

 

3.2.6.  They are to ‘heal the sick’ and proclaim that the kingdom of God is near to them.

 

3.2.7.  Instead of knocking the dust off of their shoes when rejected by a city, as the twelve were told to do, the seventy are told to go out in the streets and shout, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’

 

3.3.                     Before we proceed it would be good to consider why it was that Jesus sent out the seventy for this mission’s trip and how His sending them out relates to our lives as Christians today.

 

3.3.1.  This mission trip event was a prelude to Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem on the last week of His life.  During the first part of that week Jesus will make His prophesied “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem on a donkey with the people lining the streets raising their hands and shouting, “Hossana, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.”  This ministry of the twelve will be advertising that Jesus, the One of whom they have all heard such incredible stories about His healing and teaching ministry, will be coming to Jerusalem for this Passover.  Therefore, many people will seek out Jesus during this Passover and thus end up fulfilling scripture when they cheer at His “Triumphal Entry.”

 

3.3.2.  I believe that some in the church today read more into this story than was intended.  This trip was a one time mission for the seventy and not meant to represent the normal Christian experience for us as believers.  Many of the Pentecostal persuasion believe that this sending out of the seventy is meant to be the norm for the Christian.  Therefore, they teach that we as Christians have the authority to heal “everyone” through Christ, etc.  Those who believe this way however are not also roaming around as itinerant preachers necessarily as the seventy were commanded to do, proclaiming the kingdom of heaven is near.  Though we as Christians have authority from Jesus that we have been given, we have not been promised as these men were that everyone whom we lay hands on in the Name of Jesus will be healed.  However, it is the case that many whom we lay hands on are radically and miraculously healed by Jesus.  The church has been given a somewhat different commission than the seventy, the “Great Commission,” which is found in three of the gospels.  Matthew 28:19-20 includes this “Great Commission” of Jesus to us, “19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

 

4.     VS 10:12-16  - “  12 “I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. 13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 “But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! 16 “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”” -  Jesus tells the seventy that the Lord will bring judgment upon those who reject them and their ministry as they go out on this mission trip

 

4.1.                     Judgment from the Lord will always be based upon how much light a person has been given.  Not all who perish for eternity for having rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the only sin that will send a person to hell, will suffer the same degree of eternal punishment from the Lord.  The people of Sodom and Gomorrah perished in fire and brimstone that fell from heaven because of their great sin and rebellion against the Lord.  However, the greatest sin that a person can commit is to reject Jesus Christ, especially after having had the opportunity to hear the gospel message preached by Christ’s people.  The people in ‘Chorazin’ and ‘Bethsaida’ in upper Galilee saw and heard over a long period of time incredible stories about the miraculous works that Jesus was performing and His incredible words of teaching.  Those people in those cities in that day who rejected Jesus Christ will suffer the gravest of degrees of punishment in the Lake of Fire that burns for eternity (see Rev. chapter 20 & 21).   

 

4.2.                     Jesus tells the seventy that if He had done the things that He did in the cities of Tyre and Sidon that He did in Chorazin and Bethsaida that the people in Tyre and Sidon would have repented in sackcloth and ashes long ago.  Therefore Chorazin and Bethsaida will suffer to a much greater degree for eternity than the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

 

4.3.                     Jesus encourages the seventy in verse 26 telling them in essence that if people reject them and their ministry that really they have rejected Him, and that the one who rejects Jesus rejects the One who sent Him (the heavenly Father). 

 

5.     VS 10:17-20  - “17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”” -  The seventy return and are very excited about how the Lord used them mightily on this mission trip, however Jesus warns them to rejoice instead that their names are recorded in heaven

 

5.1.                     Just as had happened with the twelve, the Lord had worked in an incredible and miraculous way through the seventy on their mission trip.  They had experienced the Lord doing miraculous healing through them.  They had cast out demons in the Name of Jesus.  This was such a new and wondrous experience for the seventy that they were filled with joy and rejoicing in how they had been used.

 

5.2.                     Jesus response to the seventy indicates that it is both wrong and a danger to get too carried away in how the Lord is using your life. 

 

5.2.1.  It is wrong to get carried away in how the Lord is using your life because subtly you can begin to take credit for the things that the Lord has done.  We as God’s people must always glorify the Lord for any ways in which the Lord has used our life.  The seventy were rejoicing because of how they had been used rather than because of the great things that the Lord had done.

 

5.2.2.  It is a danger to get carried away in how the Lord is using your life because you can become puffed up in pride, plus doing so you will alienate others around you and end up pushing them away from the Lord. 

 

5.2.2.1.      I remember one time when I was a new believer and I was sharing with a non-believing friend about how I had led another friend to Christ, and this friend said sarcastically to me, “Well, I guess you added another notch to your belt then.”  The last thing that this friend wanted to become was another notch on my belt.  I believe that its best to either not discuss the ways that the Lord has used your life or if you do discuss them leave yourself out of the picture and just mention what a great God you have who has done such a great thing.

 

5.3.                     Jesus tells the seventy that they ought to rejoice in the fact that they are headed for heaven, and that this ought to be the reason for their rejoicing.  We Christians need to be reminded often of the wondrous love, grace, and mercy of the Lord that is the reason that we have our hope for eternity in heaven with the Lord. 

 

6.     VS 10:21-24  - “21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” 23 Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, 24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”” -  Jesus rejoices that the Lord has revealed such great things to His disciples

 

6.1.                     We see in these verses that Jesus rejoices not because the truth is often hidden from so many people in this world, especially those whom the world considers ‘wise and intelligent.’  Rather, He rejoices that such great truths as He has been teaching have now been revealed to His disciples, men of who were of no great reputation to the people of this world.  Jesus rejoices whenever people on this earth come to the knowledge of the truth.  In fact, He taught that all of the angels in heaven rejoice whenever a soul is saved.

 

6.2.                     Imagine how the disciples might have responded to Jesus when He stated that He was glad that the Lord had not revealed such great truths to the intelligent but rather to His disciples?!  We can imagine them saying, “Thank you Lord?” 

 

6.3.                     In Mark 10:15, Jesus taught, “15 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”  Therefore, He refers to His disciples here as being ‘infants.’    

 

6.4.                     Jesus rejoiced also because His disciples had been able to see the fulfillment of many Bible promises and prophecies that the people of God, including the great prophets and patriarchs of Old Testament times, had only a dim glimpse of.

 

7.     VS 10:25-26  - “25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”” -  A lawyer asks Jesus what great thing that he might be able to do to inherit eternal life and Jesus ends up telling him the story about the “Good Samaritan”

 

7.1.                     In Jesus’ day, the Scribes and Pharisees would often get in theological discussions similar to the one enjoined by this man as he asks Jesus what he would have to do to inherit eternal life.

 

7.2.                     This is a great question for a person to ask, don’t you think?  I wish more people today would come and inquire of God’s people about what they would have to do to inherit eternal life.   

 

7.3.                     We see here that Jesus points this man towards the Law of Moses.  As a lawyer, this man was a religious professional, a Pharisee, whose job involved interpreting the law for the people of Israel. 

 

7.4.                     This lawyer was actually trying to trip Jesus up by asking Him a question so that He might be able to find fault and condemn him for His answer.  However, as the Lord did throughout His ministry when people tried to trap Him, He ends up trapping this lawyer.  In trapping this lawyer Jesus demonstrates that He truly is a master evangelist and that He has infinite wisdom.

 

7.5.                     This lawyer tries to get Jesus to enter into a religious or philosophical debate and thus deflect responsibility from himself for doing what is right.  However, Jesus knew the folly of debate for debate’s sake therefore He points the lawyer in such a way as to have to apply the truth of His reply in his life.

 

7.6.                     As was mentioned, Jesus points this lawyer who is an expert in the Law of Moses towards this law to answer his question.  Further, in Jesus’ infinite wisdom we see that at every point in their dialogue Jesus asks the lawyer to answer the question himself rather than preach at him about what the answer is.  Jesus asks the lawyer what the Law tells him the answer to his question is.

 

7.7.                     By pointing the lawyer towards obeying and following the Law in order to be able to inherit eternal life, Jesus is not suggesting that salvation can come as a result of works, but rather leading him to the realization of his own ability and failure to keep the Law.  By pointing him to the Law the man might come to the place of realizing that he needs to look to the grace and mercy of the Lord in order to be saved.

 

7.8.                     Jesus gave the Law to the defiant and rebellious, but to the broken and repentant He spoke words of grace (for instance, see how Jesus spoke to the woman caught in adultery). 

 

7.9.                     Really, there are two ways that a person might come to have eternal life. 

 

7.9.1.  First of all, they can rely upon their good works to be good enough to get them to heaven. 

 

7.9.1.1.      They can in this way get to heaven.  However, the problem with that approach is that a person has to keep the Law 100% of the time his/her entire life to qualify.  Just one breach of keeping the Law (one sin) will disqualify a person from being able to inherit eternal life (Rom. 3:23).

 

7.9.2.  Secondly, they can trust in the finished work of Christ upon the cross of Calvary to get them to heaven. 

 

7.9.2.1.      Salvation in this way is by grace through faith and not as a result of works (Eph. 2:8-9).

 

7.9.2.2.      Since no one besides Jesus Himself has or ever will keep the Law 100% of the time grace is the only way that any person will ever be able to inherit eternal life.

 

7.10.                This lawyer promptly responds to Jesus question about what the Law states about how that a person can inherit eternal life, and his quick response indicates that he was trying to catch Jesus in a trap and find a way to discredit Jesus and His ministry. 

 

7.11.                The lawyer very correctly summarizes the Law’s requirements upon any person who attempts to live under the Law.  He tells Jesus that there are two commandments which summarize the Law.  The first commandment is that a person must love the Lord with all of His heart, mind, soul, and strength (Deut. 6:5).  Second, he must love his neighbor as he loves himself (Lev. 19:18).  After this lawyer stated this we can just imagine that he was pretty proud of himself and maybe even gloating over his answer while also waiting to see if and how Jesus might trap Himself by retorting with an answer that didn’t match up with his.

 

7.12.                A comment about the Law of Moses is in order here.  It is important to realize that when we think about the Law that this Law really defines what love requires.  If a person truly loves others he will keep the Law for the Law defines what love looks and acts like.  God is love and the person who keeps His Law walks in love.  Even though we as sinful people are not able in our own strength to keep God’s law, the problem that exists is a problem not with the Law itself but with our ability to keep the Law, therefore it is with us.

 

7.12.1.                     As Christians, it is important to realize that walking with God involves loving people.  There are many verses in the book of 1 John that teach that a walk with God will result in loving others.  For instance, 1 John 4:6-8 teaches this truth, “6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

 

7.12.2.                     In fact, how we love God is reflected directly in how we love other people and how we love other people is a direct reflection upon how we love God.  Jesus even stated that whatever we do even unto one of the least of these we have done unto Him.

 

7.12.3.                     For the Christian, there is to be no compartmentalizing our lives.  Our faith as Christians must always be directly reflected in how we act and the things that we do, for we know that faith produces good works in our lives (see James chapter 2, or read Eph. 2:10 after reading verses 8 and 9 of the chapter.

 

7.13.                The lawyer is surprised when Jesus agrees with him.  Jesus tells the man to go and to do this and that he will then live.  In saying this to the man however, Jesus caused the man to become convicted of his sin for he recognized that in fact he was a violator of the very Law that he prided himself in being an expert in interpretation of.  Thus, the man seeks to justify himself by asking Jesus who his neighbor is.

 

7.14.                When we as people are confronted with our own sinfulness in light of the truth of God’s word there are only a few things that we normally do:

 

7.14.1.                     We can repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness from the Lord.

 

7.14.2.                     We can try to ignore this truth however in doing so our consciences wreak havoc upon us.

 

7.14.3.                     We can try to justify our actions taking the position that there were various unfortunate circumstances that occurred causing us to not be able to keep the Law.

 

7.14.4.                     We can try to accuse or blame someone else to take the focus off of ourselves and our own failure.

 

7.14.5.                     We can try to redefine the Law in terms that we can then try to convince ourselves that we can keep.

 

7.14.5.1. This is what this lawyer does here when Jesus replies to him to go and do as he suggested in keeping the law.  The lawyer wants to make this into a philosophical debate, you see, he doesn’t want to come to concrete terms with his own failure to keep God’s law.  He asks Jesus, ‘Who is my neighbor?’  To answer this question, Jesus tells the story of the “Good Samaritan.”  This man knew that in his heart he did not love all men but in fact that he was filled with hate and prejudice.

 

7.15.                For many reasons, it is interesting that Jesus would choose this story, especially considering the fact that Jews hated Samaritans and had no dealings with them (John 4:9).  There is a good chance that the lawyer was familiar with this story and that the story was not a fiction or parable but in fact had really occurred just as was told.  The fact that the Samaritan ended up being the good guy and hero of the story indicates most likely that the story was true, otherwise the lawyer might have objected to Jesus’ answer saying that such a thing would never occur. 

 

7.16.                In this story, a Jewish man was heading from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers and was beaten and left for dead.  By the way, this road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notorious for centuries for being a dangerous road to travel upon.

 

7.17.                The first man that happened along and saw the man lying there was a ‘priest,’ and being a priest he of all men should have been sensitive to the needs of people, especially those of a fellow countryman.  However, this ‘priest’ instead walked right on past the man instead of helping him.

 

7.17.1.                     We can come up with all kinds of reasons to excuse the behavior of this priest.  For instance, we might speculate that he was afraid that the robbers might still be around and that his life could also now be in danger if he stopped to help the man. He might also have been very busy and on the way to go and minister to someone else in need or preside over a sacrifice.  He might have thought that someone else would surely come along soon and help the man out therefore he himself didn’t need to help the man.  However, he failed to be a ‘neighbor’ to this man.

 

7.17.1.1. This story brings out the point that we as Christians need to simply respond to the needs that are around us all of the time.  We don’t need to worry about making a big plan of who we might minister to and how, rather we just need to respond to the needs of people as the Lord brings them into our life.

 

7.18.                The second man that came along was a Levite.

 

7.18.1.                     When the Law was given to Moses, the Lord established that the priests who officiated at the altar were to be descendants of Aaron, Moses’ brother.  The Levites were then commissioned to be the helpers of the priests in Israel.

 

7.18.2.                     In this story, the Levite reacts similarly to the priest, he passed right by the man who had been robbed, stripped, and beaten up and left for dead.  Though he had the opportunity to demonstrate that he was acting like a true neighbor to his unfortunate countryman he did not do so.

 

7.18.3.                     Again, we could come up with lots of excuses for why this man did not help out his countryman but the bottom line is that he had opportunity to help him but chose not to do so.

 

7.19.                The third man that came along was a Samaritan.

 

7.19.1.                     The inference was unmistakable, Jesus had indicated to the lawyer that the religious leaders in Israel had failed the test to be a true neighbor to this unfortunate Israelite who had been beaten, stripped, and robbed.  When Jesus mentions a Samaritan man and then indicates that he was the hero in the story we can imagine the tension that existed in the air at that moment because of how Jews felt about Samaritans.

 

7.19.2.                     Everything that the Samaritan man does here in caring for this wounded Israeli man is without any thought of any type of repayment.  Thus the love that this Samaritan shows towards this Israeli is truly like the unconditional love of the Lord.

 

7.19.3.                     Plus, the Samaritan man demonstrates that he is sensitive enough towards people that whenever he simply sees a need he seeks to fill it.

 

7.19.4.                     Lets look at all of the things that the Samaritan did in order to show that he was a true neighbor to this unfortunate Israelite in our story:

 

7.19.4.1. ‘He felt compassion’ for the man.

 

7.19.4.1.1.      There were two different cultures that were clashing here in this story.  The Jews hated Samaritans because they were half-breed Jews who worshipped a half-breed religion, and the Samaritans hated Jews.  However, this Samaritan was not consumed by hate and prejudice and when he realized the genuine need of this unfortunate Israelite he had compassion on him and sought to help him.

 

7.19.4.2. ‘Bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them.’

 

7.19.4.2.1.      The Samaritan ministered to this wounded Israelite with a personal touch.  He personally ‘bandaged up his wounds.’  The Samaritan might have ripped strips off of his own clothes to make bandages for the man.

 

7.19.4.2.2.      ‘Oil’ was used as a southing ointment on wounds.

 

7.19.4.2.3.      ‘Wine’ was used as a disinfectant to cleanse wounds.

 

7.19.4.3. ‘He put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.’

 

7.19.4.3.1.      Since the wounded Israeli was unable to walk and take care of himself, the Samaritan man lifted him up on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him there.

 

7.19.4.4. ‘On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’

 

7.19.4.4.1.      The Samaritan man also paid the innkeeper the equivalent of two day’s wages and then promises that when he returns that he will pay the innkeeper even more money if necessary for proper care for the man.

 

7.20.                After telling the lawyer the story of the “Good Samaritan” Jesus leaves the proper conclusion to the lawyer himself.  Jesus asks this man which of the three men proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers.  The man acknowledges that it was the Samaritan man who demonstrated what being a true neighbor involves.

 

7.21.                Jesus concludes His answer of the lawyer’s question by telling him to go and do likewise.  The lawyer realizes his own failure in keeping the Law of Moses and hopefully in time he will come to the place where he realizes that he must reach out to the grace and mercy of God in order to be found righteous in the sight of God and thus inherit eternal life through accepting the work of Jesus on the cross on his behalf.

 

8.     CONCLUSIONS:

 

 

8.1.                     Lets pray for the Lord of the harvest to send laborers for the harvest to us.

 

8.2.                     As we consider this study and the story of the “Good Samaritan,” we need to keep in our minds the fact that how we treat people is a direct reflection of how we love the Lord.

 

8.3.                     For the Christian, there is to be no compartmentalizing our lives.  Our faith as Christians must always be directly reflected in how we act and the things that we do. 

 

8.4.                     Lets be committed to walking a life of love for all of God’s commandments are summed up in loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

 

8.5.                     We need to be committed to praying that the Lord will make us see needs that people have right before us and then simply meet those needs as we rely upon the Lord and His strength and power to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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