Many robbers attack, strip people naked, beat them and leave them half dead (Luke 10:25-37). Some attacks come from the corporate world of corruption and unjust wages. Some come from the government world of unrighteous laws and overregulation. Some come from natural disasters. War, famine, disease, declining union influence, lack of education, fathers leaving the family, divorce, teenage pregnancy, domestic abuse, employment abuse, immigrant status, minority status, prejudice, disability, loss of job, low wage rates, high medical bills, fraud, oppression, theft, disasters, fire, flood, inadequate health insurance, industrial change, foreign invasion, apathy, greed, laziness, overpopulation, inequality, abuse of power, indifference and many more things attack, strip and beat people, leaving them half dead. Are we the super-righteous who step over the hurting and ignore them, or are we the despised Samaritan that cares enough to do something to help?
How can a Samaritan be good?
Instead of the words Good Samaritan, perhaps we could think of the good Muslim or the good illegal alien or the good person of another race to name just a few hated groups of people. The point of the parable is that we who think that we are so good are often worse than others we disdain. Why are the super-religious priest and Levite the failures in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)? Why do some Christians look for personal miracles, or focus on physical experiences like tongues and healing, or material wealth, or an ego-boosting word from the Lord but ignore this word from God? Why are we in the church so reluctant to help the man on the street who has been attacked by corporate and government robbers, and been beaten and left half dead?
Who defines our neighbor
If we listen to politicians they will tell us that the illegal alien, the Moslem or the unborn baby are not our neighbors. But we let Jesus define our neighbor not politicians. We are willing to love our neighbor as long as it is not an enemy. We put boundaries on who is our neighbor. Jesus puts no boundaries on neighborliness. We want to do missionary work within our own towns, but not in another state or another country. Yet, the Gospel must go in word and deed to the whole world. We want to limit our responsibility to others but our responsibility has no bounds. The Greek word plésion means someone near but as Jesus explains (Luke 10:25-37) it also means any person “irrespective of race or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet”.
Christians do
As we read Luke 10:25-37 we may notice the emphasis on the second of the two great commandments, loving our neighbor by doing. Some Christians claim we just need to believe and not do, but that contradicts Jesus. James put it succinctly when he said that faith without works is dead, useless (James 2:18-26). It’s similar to saying that love of God is useless without love for neighbor. That love is visible in action. We don’t do good works to gain favor with God, but because we love him and our neighbor. The works that we do in love of our neighbor are like a bright light in a prominent place in our communities that gives glory to God (Matthew 5:16). When concluding the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus’ teaching is to go and do likewise.
Whoever listens to you
It’s very pleasant to be listened to, instead of being interrupted or someone only pretending to listen or worse, rejecting us and turning their backs. My father was a very successful salesman who loved the word no, because he knew it meant he did not have to waste any more time and could move on to the next potential customer. He taught me that sales was just a numbers game, and that the more people he met the more sales he made. Jesus Christ was despised and rejected and so will we be, but the more people we talk to the more we win. In Luke 10:1-20 he said that, “Whoever listens to you listens to me.” People don't reject or accept us but Jesus. What a privilege and blessing to be listened to when we talk about Jesus.
The 70 apostles
What! Who’s the crazy guy claiming there were 70 apostles? Actually that is how the eastern church refers to them and with good reason. Eastern Christians do not use the word apostle as exclusively as does western tradition. It became fashionable in the west, which was further removed from the original Greek of the New Testament, to refer almost exclusively to the original twelve as apostles. However, the Greek term simply means someone sent away, in this case, on a mission. The opening words of Luke 10:1-20 could easily be translated as “the Lord appointed seventy-two others and apostled them two by two ahead of him” that is, if we made a verb out of the noun apostle as does Greek. We simply translate it that Jesus “sent” them, and that is just what apostle means, a person sent.
Joy principles
In Luke 10:1-20 we may notice that the disciples had joy in doing the work of God. This is how it is meant to be. When we have joy in doing church work such as board meetings, performing church service, choir practice, Bible studies, letting our light shine in the community, then we are on the right track. When we are no longer enjoying our service to God, it is often an indicator that we are doing something we ought not to be doing. It could be that we are not taking a Sabbath day’s rest. It could be that we are doing something on our own strength for which God has not gifted us. It could be any number of things. What truly gives us joy is being one of the people whose names are written in heaven.
Mission principles
In Luke 10:1-20 are important principles of mission. Go “two by two”, not alone. “The harvest is plentiful” and “the workers are few”, so we will need helpers. “Ask the Lord of the harvest”, prayer is important. We are “lambs among wolves”, open to attack. “Do not take a purse”, rely on God and “do not greet anyone on the road”, no loitering. Speak “peace” everywhere. Look for someone who “promotes peace” as fertile soil for the Gospel. Allow them to set the agenda and menu, don’t impose your culture. Graciously accept “wages” for your efforts. Stay put, so people know where to find you. Be a healing not a hurting presence. Tell people about the “kingdom of God.” Sometimes you are “not welcomed”, so just warn them and leave. Don’t put your mission work ahead of your salvation.
Advisors vs workers
Every church has a great treasure trove of advice, some in the form of helpful analysis and some in the form of not so helpful criticism. Evangelism is the positive side of gossip. One brings good news; the other brings negative commentary. We have people who work in many different fields and have an incredible variety of training. Helpful advice is abundant, needed and welcomed. What most churches lack is harvest workers (Luke 10:1-20). We cannot do the work of Christ as loners who only go to church and ignore our communities. We must go out of our homes and be involved in neighborhood activities. There are many opportunities to get to know our neighbors and we need to take advantage of them. There are two kinds of people: spectators and players. Spectators analyse, players do. Let’s be doers.
Eat, Heal and Tell
Jesus makes spreading the Gospel simple. We just eat, heal and tell (Luke 10:1-20). Eating is a natural part of life and a good way to mix. Not everyone will invite you to eat with them, but we can often invite others to eat with us. Let us do the inviting and be known as hospitable people. We may not all be able to heal miraculously as Jesus did, but we can all help heal other people's hearts with kind words and encouragement. Let's look behind the outward show and see the need for healing. Along with eating and healing is the natural telling of each other's stories. That doesn't mean that we shove Jesus down people’s throat, but it does mean that we tell something. How much is up to us and the wisdom that God gives us.
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