The Parable Of The Good Samaritan

^{Luke 10:25-37:
25} On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” ²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]”²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself
 so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii^[c] 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.’ ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

In Jesus' version, the Samaritan is the one who notices -- who actually sees -- this beaten man and by seeing him is moved to pity. The Samaritan, that is, is the one who recognizes that when it comes to the question of who is our neighbor, there are no rules. Our neighbor, it turns out, is anyone in need. Where does such vision come from? It apparently doesn't come from one's ethnicity, one's religion, one's training, or one's station in life. How else can we explain that a Samaritan saw this when the priest and Levite did not? Having the eyes of faith to see all people are children of God and anyone in need is your neighbor must be a gift of God, it must be a matter of faith, it must start with seeing, and only then move to doing.

You see, my problem generally isn't knowing what I should or shouldn't do. It's having the vision to see the person in need not as a burden, but as my neighbor, to recognize in the face of another their needs not a hassle, but as an opportunity, an opportunity to show the mercy I myself have experienced in Christ. My problem isn't a lack of information; it's a lack of faith. What I need from a sermon, finally, is not an instruction manual or life-coaching session but a cornea transplant. I need new eyes. I need the eyes of faith to see others as my neighbor, other children of God loved by God just as I am loved.

Clearly some people are looking for clean answers and clear instructions about what to do and not to do. And so maybe the church down the road is just the place for them. But there are others -- and I think there are more of us than you might imagine -- that desperately need to hear of a God whose love is so broad and deep that anyone in need is welcome; a God who refuses to parse, or specify, or qualify; a God who is eager to justify each and everyone one of us.

 

 

Parable Of The Unmerciful Servant

Matthew 18:23-34:
²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold^[a] was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.^[b] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

1. God is represented by the king in this parable.
2. All men are servants of the king.
3. The servant with the enormous debt stands for every unredeemed sinner on earth whose debt is so large that it is impossible for him to pay it.
4. The king's forgiveness, without any merit on the part of the unmerciful servant, indicates God's grace.
5. The unfeeling conduct of the unmerciful servant shows how God looks upon the refusal of his children to forgive others.
6. The king's forgiveness "because thou soughtest me" shows that sinners need only to apply (in the proper way) in order to be forgiven. They need not "pay" anything.
7. The ultimate punishment of the unmerciful servant shows that all forgiveness is contingent upon the continuing faithfulness of the redeemed. Jesus certainly taught in this that one may fall from grace.
8. Those who have received mercy must give mercy, or else have the mercy they have already received revoked.

The Parable Of The Master And The Servant

Luke 17:7-10:

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

In Jesus' day, a servant did not have the rights of an owner, an heir, or a citizen. A servant had to do what pleased his or her master regardless of thanks or praise. A servant had no right to expect approval or commendation. When a servant worked hard and completed a long list of demands, there was no expectation of praise; that servant only did what was expected. Jesus is Lord, Master, and Savior. He has called us to follow and serve him. Of course the incredible blessing is that when we come to him as a servant, he welcomes us as a sister or brother and friend.

In the parable the slave put his master before himself even when most likely he didn't feel like it. He served the master. He obeyed the master. That is the nature of the master/slave relationship. And that's the nature of a disciple's relationship with God, because God is the master and we are the slave.

 In the context, all the things which are commanded would include the instructions from the first part of chapter 17, but it would also include all of the instructions that we have been commanded as followers of Christ. And when we do all that we have been commanded our attitude is simply to be that we have done only what we ought to have done.

When we have done all that is commanded, we should not think, "I've done something exceptional and now God is obligated to bless me." Or, "God is going to answer my prayer in the way I want Him to because of all that I've done for him." We should not think like this, but rather, as Jesus says, we need to say, "we need to say, " We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done."

 

By our obedience we have no special claim upon God. We have simply done what we

should have done. We have given God what He deserves - our complete obedience.