The Law Of Mercy In The Good Samaritan

Well, good morning Church, I didn't get to say this to you last week, but Merry Christmas, I Just got one back

Merry Christmas guys. All right, and a Happy New Year well church

And I'm so glad to have you here this morning that worship with us to hear the preaching of God's Word And if you're so able and inclined, please do turn to Luke chapter 10 is this will be our main text this morning

We'll be working a little bit backwards You know, sometimes it's easy to forget what the preacher preached.

Sometimes I forget as well what I preached so I gotta go look at my notes and last time

I preached I preached in Luke chapter 10 verses 17 or actually from like 13 to 20

And so I should be preaching from verses 21 to 24, but I'm actually gonna be preaching that in the afternoon

So I'm gonna do the order a little bit in reverse. So this afternoon, I'll be preaching from Luke chapter 10 verse 21

The 24 so please do stay this afternoon to not only hear the preaching of God's Word again

But also to be edified in our spirit and inner man and praying with us this afternoon

But today's message is going to be from Luke chapter 10 Starting in verse 25 to 37 when you have that please do stand for the reading of God's Word Again the text is

Luke chapter 10 starting in verse 25. Hear ye this morning the word of the Lord and Behold a lawyer stood up to put him to the test

Saying teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him what is written in the law?

How do you read it? He answered you shall love the Lord your God of all your heart of all your soul of all your strength

With all your mind and your neighbor as yourself He said to him you have answered correctly

Do this and you will live Verse 29, but he desiring to justify himself said to Jesus and who is my neighbor?

Jesus replied a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho He fell among robbers who stripped him beat him and departed leaving him half -dead

Now by chance a priest was going down the road. We saw him he passed by on the other side

So likewise a Levite when he came to the place and saw him pass by on the other side

But a Samaritan as he journeyed came to where he was and when he saw him he had compassion

He went to him and bound up his wounds pouring on oil and wine

Then he set him on his own animal brought him to an inn and took care of him

The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper saying take care of him

And whatever more you spend I will repay you when I come back Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?

He said the one who showed him mercy and Jesus said to him you go and do likewise

This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated Father God we do approach you with great joy and anticipation

Lord that you would open our hearts and our minds To the lesson that is taught here in the story of the

Good Samaritan that we may indeed receive Insight by your spirits into this law this law of mercy

Which you set before us in which you have invited us to participate in Lord may you bless your people now with the hearing and the proclamation of your word

May you anoint the lips of your servant the preacher? To bring forth your word in a way that would be edifying to your people and bring glory to your name in your name

We do pray. Amen Well beloved you've heard the story many times whether from scripture or from Retelling by a preacher or someone else the story the parable of the

Good Samaritan There's a lot of lessons to be learned in this parable A lot of lessons to be learned not just in the story itself of the

Good Samaritan But also in the interaction that led to this storytelling from Jesus let me set the stage for us and what we see in the first several verses of the scripture reading is that a

Person comes up to Jesus. He's not just any ordinary person. He's a lawyer He comes to Jesus and he begins to ask him pretty important questions life defining questions world defining questions

And he begins to ask these important questions such as this teacher What shall

I do to inherit eternal life? You're following in today's lesson in the answer.

I want you to write this a lawyer Was an expert at the law now know this about first century lawyers

First century lawyers were adept in the in Judea to deal with mosaic law

They're not a lawyer for the Romans. They're a lawyer examining

God's Word and examining the laws the precepts and all that it entails and how to then

Adjudicate someone who either follows or does not follow this law And so this lawyer who is an expert at the law?

Asked Jesus this very important question How to receive eternal life once you put that in the bulletin as well

How to receive eternal life Now lawyers have a way of words

In order to be an effective lawyer One must learn and be proficient in the art of language and basic psychology

Lawyers are trained to ask the right question in order to elicit the response that they're looking for a good lawyer often make good psychologists because they're able to look at the human mind the human condition and they know how to Elicit the right responses that they're looking for Oftentimes when you're studying law

There's an element of psychology that goes along with the study of law Why because they must learn the ins and outs of how people think and how people react emotionally to information and So here you have a lawyer asking a question in this case

We have a legal expert in the mosaic law Asking the Son of Man what seems to be a simple and sincere question, but it's actually a loaded question and It is a question with malicious intent

You see this lawyer was not humbly seeking the way to eternal life But was asking this as a test to see if he could get

Jesus to admit or say something unorthodox So that he could get he could then use the law to punish him

There's a term for this in the legal world. It's called entrapment Here is some sound biblical advice

I want to give you today, okay church Listen up, you can write this down if you want. Here's some good. Here's some good sound biblical advice

Don't talk to a lawyer unless he's your lawyer. Amen Don't talk to a lawyer unless he's your lawyer

Why because again what a lawyer does is he's trying to elicit a response from you to then use the law

Against you similarly to what is happening here in this place here in Scripture You have a lawyer a scholar of the law who's coming.

He's asking Jesus what seems to be sincere question But it's actually a loaded question because his intent is not to learn or to receive from Jesus But it's to entrap

Jesus in order to use the law against the Son of Man And so notice again the line of questioning that happens here in verse 25 teacher what shall

I do to inherit eternal life What is the intent again sound sincere sounds like a good question

Later on we see what his intent actually is. So if you didn't get the last part to this, he's attempting to entrap

Jesus Motive is what differentiates between malicious and sincere intent

This is why we must we must be as Christians discerning about the motives of others not necessarily in here distrusting but also being

Patient being wise being discerning Often people can people that we think can be trusted or friends are actually intending bad or harm for us

You see Jesus had the benefit of being able to read the thoughts and the intentions of the heart a luxury that you and I do not have

Therefore we must be as wise as serpents as Jesus says in Matthew chapter 10 verse 16 must be wise as serpents, but innocent as does

Wise cunning a serpent is wise as cunning. It's is able to to sneak and to detect danger

But also as innocent as doves meaning that we have no harm no intent to to bring harm upon Others so we must be discerning wise but innocent as does

Now what does Jesus do in response to this question? He says in verse 26

What is written in the law? How do you read it? you see what

Jesus is doing here Jesus brilliantly turns the question on the questioner a

Fantastic method and tactic to unveil the true intent of the questioner

Therefore we see the lawyer has the correct answer in his possession notice what he goes on to say

He answered verse 27 You shall love the Lord your God of all your heart with all your soul of all your strength with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself so the question

Get turned around on the questioner and the lawyer knew the right response

So then it begs the question if he knew the right answer. Why did he ask it?

Let me tell you as a pastor. I feel that all the time You know how many times you guys ask me questions that you already know the answer to I'm looking at some of you right now

You know the answer what's the motive What are you trying to get at?

Sometimes as as sheep. We just want to have some things reaffirmed. That's perfectly fine

But there's other times in which I'm dealing if as a pastor with people who are not so sincere

Who maybe have more malicious intent? Just this past week I get to celebrate Christmas with my family

It's a very weird one as I told some of you ready Had I grew up Jehovah Witnesses and grew up celebrating

Christmas the first time I got to celebrate Christmas The same household as my sister who's now believer but then also her ex -husband was there and some comments made because he's still believes in Jehovah Witnesses and Some comments were made as I'm doing family worship and talking about the reason for the season being

Jesus And questions are being brought up that are very insincere

And so I understand the motive here isn't to get at truth But rather it is to try to indict.

Don't you know that Christmas is pagan? Don't you know that Christmas is a commercial holiday?

the intent is not to find common ground or understanding but rather to contradict and to harm and So Jesus has to deal with someone with a similar motive he's looking at the circumstances hearing the question

He knows the heart of the questioner. He turns it around on the questioner.

He says Really brilliantly. He says He says this what is written in the law?

So he's asking. Okay. What do you know the scripture? What is written in it? And how do you read it or rather?

How do you interpret it? How do you interpret it? You see good pastors and good theologians know to use a similar tactic as Jesus Maybe if you're out there in the world and you're talking to a

Jehovah Witness a Mormon an atheist Don't have questions for you. And maybe you should use the same tactic and say well

What is it that it says in Scripture and maybe they'll have the answer. Well, doesn't it say this?

And then you can say well, how do you understand? How do you read that? What's your interpretation?

And then all and then from there you you build on that notice what it goes on to say He that the man rightly quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 1 to 5

Pointing and so the lawyer has the correct answer pointing to Deuteronomy 6 1 to 5 And he points out that the whole of the law can be summed up in two things love for God and love for neighbor

So if you're following on the notes, I want you to turn right this Jesus turns the question to the lawyer

He answers to love God and neighbor And so again the man understood

What the scripture said and he rightly applies it or maybe not rightly applies it yet But he certainly knows what it says

He goes on to say in that in the interaction quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 6

It can it sums up the whole law in the prophets that Jesus says elsewhere the first four of the

Ten Commandments Dealing with the relationship between us and God having any other gods before Yahweh reverence for his name reverence for his name worship reverence for his holiness then the other six

Commandments of the Ten Commandments deal primarily with our relationship with man, but both are dealing

Intrinsically with God and with man all ten of them have overlapping

Values in relation to our interaction with God and with humanity image bearers of the

Most High God Jesus gets the Lord to answer his own question here. You know what else what

Jesus just accomplished here he exposes the intent of the lawyer as He demonstrated that he already knew the answer and was looking to entrap

Jesus Jesus said that he was correct and that if he lived by it he would live

But that wasn't enough for the lawyer. Notice what he goes on to say again verse

Verse 28 and he said to him Jesus has him you have answered correctly Do this and you will live verse 29

But he the lawyer deserted justify himself there his motives is is is now brought to bear

His motive is to justify himself and he said to Jesus who is my neighbor

So he hears Jesus he answers the question correctly as Jesus brings the question to the questioner

And then he asked almost this more Alec response Well, who is my neighbor?

And this is something that comes up even today in modern readings of this text

When examining this teaching this parable from Jesus on the Good Samaritan Who is then my neighbor and what is what law is?

At play in the story of the Good Samaritan You're following your notes write this as well the lawyer asked who is my neighbor

And notice what Jesus goes on to say in response to that question in verse 30

Jesus says a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers

Who stripped him and beat him and departed leaving him half -dead

So Jesus starts to set the stage for this scenario for this great parable for this great teaching

There's a man who was traveling And travel in the ancient world was a dangerous affair

It was not safe to travel especially alone What marked the ancient roadways of the ancient world were robbers?

People who are ready to exploit you human traffickers very similar to other places in the world that are far more dangerous than here

In the United States, but even so even here There are parts of town that you probably don't want to walk alone in in the middle of the night

Travel back then took time. It wasn't so simple to get to from point A to point B You couldn't just order an uber you had to travel on foot or on a donkey

Or another burst another beast of burden however, because it was so dangerous people would often only travel when it was they and They would try to find an inn or a place off the road so they can be secure at night

Here what you see in the stories? It doesn't tell us whether it was day or night But this man who was traveling from Jerusalem the

Jericho fell among robbers and these robbers stripped him They beat him and the part departed leaving him half -dead

They had no care for his person. They had no care for his well -being

And so again what we see is Jesus deciding to cut through the noise and The man's wicked intent and instead he gets to the intent or the heart of the law by teaching this parable on the truth between God and Neighbors and it starts with the story of the

Good Samaritan this man who's on a journey And he is left Beaten to death

So you're following the notes who is my neighbor Jesus begins the parable of the Good Samaritan to reveal the intent of the law

Earlier, we examined how Jesus is now how Jesus Cuts through the intent of the lawyer by asking the right questions

Now he is going to bring out the intent of God's law from Deuteronomy chapter 6

And in the parable the man is going from Jerusalem to Jericho write this in the notes as well

And he was robbed and left for dead Now know this a trip from Jericho to Jerusalem was only about 10 mile journey

But within that distance the terrain was incredibly harsh There's altitude dropped about 3 ,500 feet in sections between Jericho and Jerusalem, so it wouldn't be just a straight easy pathway to Jerusalem or to Jericho there'd be tough terrain that you'd have to navigate

High altitudes going down to lower altitudes in this parable The man is robbed and he's left for dead as you lay there robbed beaten bruised hanging on a dear life

What happens next? Verse 31 Now by chance a priest was going down the road when he saw him.

He passed by on the other side. I Don't know about you But if I'm if I'm beaten to death and I open my eyes and I see a priest walking down I'll be like yes, finally someone here to help me

But what if that priest? Seeing you in your state of beatingness. He sees you and then he goes the other way

How would you feel probably had no good priest He's supposed to help me and Instead he turns a blind eye to me

Okay. Well surely someone else Should come and help We see that in verse 32

So likewise a Levite when he came to the place that saw him pass by on the other side a

Levite These are the ones who were set aside for temple worship Certainly they're not only are they're well versed in Scripture They're well versed in mercy because these are the ones who are to administer

God's mercy to God's people and yet What happens when the Levite sees the man being half to death on the road?

What does he do? He also passed by on the other side Now I have a kin meant to the store of the

Good Samaritan. I grew up in a rough place Hartford, Connecticut, you might not think to yourself.

How rough could that be? There's no rap songs about Hartford, Connecticut It's so bad that there's no rap songs about Hartford, Connecticut That's how bad it is and I grew up in the north side north end of Hartford this predominantly like 98 %

African American I was a little white Hispanic boy that went to Martin Luther King jr.

School. Okay, and They used to have a couple names for me. I It was a tough neighborhood and I somehow miraculously

Never got to beat up at school or in my neighborhood until I was around 14 years old

Decided one day that I would I would go walk in the middle of November to you know a shopping place with no friends with no one to back me up and I decided to walk in the dark seedy part of town underneath the the bridge where the highway meets and As I'm walking

I see these two gentlemen not very gentle and they're a lot bigger to me

They look a lot stronger than me and they're on the same side. And so I remember just getting that pit in my stomach.

Oh boy This doesn't seem good. So I crossed the street They crossed the street too

And I was all right. Well here it comes and sure enough they came and they assaulted me They took whatever little money

I had and And then they left ministry and I remember cars passing by and I'm a 14 year old kid

I'm like hoping surely someone's gonna stop this surely Someone's gonna see this injustice and do something about it and to my dismay

No one stopped No one cared And I got beat up and left there on the ground

I didn't have to run all the way a couple blocks to my cousin's house so we can call the police and surely there was nothing they could did either because that you know,

Nothing that you could do And here you have a story. We're a good

Samaritan or where this person Traveling is being left for dead.

No one cared. No one batted an eye mercy Was not at play and the priest nor in the

Levite those who were entrusted to be ministers of mercy failed to administer

Mercy when it was due time And so again

When we see here's the priest saw him he passed from the other side Well, maybe the priest had somewhere to go

Maybe the priest had a service to attend to Next the Levite saw him pass the other side

Well, maybe the Levite thought that the man was so wicked and deserved what came to him

You know a lot of times religious folks think that way don't we? We look at someone who is suffering you say surely maybe

They're cursed. Maybe they did something wrong. Maybe they deserved what they got But we certainly don't know that to be true

What a desperate situation this poor man who is being must have been in And again,

I can relate with just a story that I shared with you But something changes in the story here is verse 33

It goes on to say but a Samaritan as He journeyed came to where he was and when he saw him he had compassion

Now we have this scenario. We have the man traveling beaten then we have the priest

Then we have the Levite and then we have another person in the story a

Samaritan now Why are these identifications important? One because there's a victim and two those other two individuals that came were the ones who by all accounts should be the ones

Who would administer help and mercy? And then you have the unlikely one of the bunch the

Samaritan now if you know anything about ancient contentions in the first century

The Samaritans had a bad rap in the first century as they were a mixed group between Jews and Syrians so there existed a certain racial strife and tension between the two races and these two people groups were widely suspicious of one another and So much show that they had a different culture and worship styles and beliefs the idea of a good

Samaritan was a Contradiction for many of the Jews in that day.

There was no good Samaritan But only a good dead Samaritan in the in the eyes of many ancient

Jewish people Good Samaritan that there was an oxymoron to them yet. It was the

Samaritan who stops and Sees this person who is most likely a

Jew as he's traveling to Jericho to Jerusalem Or from Jerusalem to Jericho, so he's most likely a

Jew and he stops Despite the racial strife and division despite the difference in culture customs and beliefs this

Samaritan stops and sees this man who is beating he has great Compassion for him in verse 34

He went to him bound up his wounds pouring on oil and wine Then he sent him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him not only does he stop and Sees the plight of this man who's just been beaten his compassion leads him to action

It is one thing to have pity on someone It's another thing to have compassion the difference between pity and compassion

There's a fine line between it and that line is action when we pity someone We merely feel bad for them and we look at their state and we say we'll pour you pour them

But to have compassion means that not only do we see their state but we're going to do something about it and That is the compassion that Jesus calls us not only to one another but also to our neighbors.

Amen Not enough. Amen's not one You need to know This is what

God has called you to this is the action the life of Mercy and compassion that the

Lord Jesus calls us all to See the Samaritan who is considered inferior once you write this in the notes

Then the Samaritan who is considered inferior again because of the racial strife and the differences in and Culture and beliefs due to being a mixed race saw him and had compassion

See Jesus is making a spiritual and a cultural statement He's making a spiritual and a cultural statement with his with this parable

It wasn't the Jewish priests who stopped it wasn't the Levite who stopped It was a

Samaritan who saw beyond the race and the differences of the person in need

It was able to see his common humanity in the man and had a great compassion.

I think what? Is Failing us today even as Americans despite all of our cultural differences political difference religious differences racial differences is having a plight of common humanity

That regardless of your skin color Regardless of your background regardless of who your parents were what your religion was or may be

That we have a common humanity because we are all image bearers of the one eternal

God And this good Samaritan saw that stamp Saw that image saw that common humanity and had a great compassion

Jesus is highlighting that the law is to be viewed and accomplished through the lens of compassion and not tyranny

The law is to be accomplished through compassion and not tyranny We see this even today in our

Culture the culture wars that's being fought one side and the other side fervently opposed to one another because of our cultural differences and Sometimes Christians we get caught up in the muck of it

We get caught up in all the the nonsense all the noise in the culture Friends our job is not to get in the muck of it, but the sand above it

We're called to be Outsiders were called to be a conscience to this culture

Not merely to win it but also to speak life to those who are fighting in the midst of it

Here again we feet we see That compassion is God's rule and heart for his law

It was on to say I get in verse 34. He went to him bound up his wounds

Not only does this man have compassion for the one who is beaten. He now he bounds up his wounds He anoints him with oil

He sent him on his own animal and then he brings him to the inn and he doesn't just leave him there

He begins to take care of him He also makes a financial investment it says that he took out two denarii and these are a day's worth of wages and gave them to the

Innkeeper saying take care of him. Whatever you spend. I will repay you when I come back So he makes an investment in this man in his well -being

Imagine that I mean think of it today in terms of of insurance if you're being half to death

You don't have insurance. You know how expensive that hospital bill is. Sometimes I feel that way and sometimes it's

I Understand why some people rather just die then go to the hospital Because we have such an unjust system in this country

In which people are left to die because of profit and so again

This man makes a financial investment into this into his neighbor and it says

That he's also willing to pay back what is spent truly demonstrating

Mercy truly demonstrating goodness truly demonstrating compassion verse 36

Jesus concludes of this which of these three do you think speaking to the lawyer?

Provide approved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers

Man answers in verse 37 the one who showed him mercy and Jesus said to him you go and do likewise

You do and go likewise Jesus is demonstrating here in this parable the universality of being good of being a good and loving neighbor and that it extends to All those we come in contact with not simply those who literally live beside you and so there's a way in which this can be, you know, if you're

Examining this question on its face value merit. Well, who is my neighbor? Well, the person lives to the left or the right of me, that's my neighbor

But what does Jesus do? Jesus and just look at your geological location or to your geographical location

He doesn't just look at those who live to your right or to your left he looks to all those to whom you come in contact with because the at the heart of God's law is

Not just a treatment of those to your left or your right But of those who are your fellow humans your fellow

Humanity those who have that common image of God all Those who you come in contact with in that sense who bear that common humanity in that common image.

That's your neighbor That's your neighbor The guy who is really testing your patience at the self -checkout line

That's your neighbor The person who just cuts you off in the highway That's your neighbor the person who just Hurled slurs at you

That's your neighbor your neighbor is all those to whom you come in contact with who share in that common humanity and have that image of the invisible

God What Jesus is now demonstrating is he's elevating us to a higher calling if you were just taken literally

Of course your neighbors those who live closest to you But Jesus is saying the one who true who proves to be a true neighbor is

The one who lives out the mercy of God and who lives out the compassion of Christ Wherever he goes

Everywhere you go is an opportunity for you to show love and fidelity to your maker

To your God and to those who share in his image all those whom he has created you and I at the heart of this question

And at the heart of that law in Deuteronomy chapter 6 Where we are called to love the

Lord your God of all your heart of all your soul of all your mind of all your strength

This is a love which motivates us to higher degrees of compassion higher degrees of mercy

Not just a religious or civil obligation to do that, which is right

But a spiritual call an obligation to do that which is right why because what is at stake here?

again The lawyer understanding rightly what the Word of God says and teaches from Deuteronomy chapter 6

He says you shall love the Lord your God of all your heart of all your soul of all your strength of all your mind

What would that look like? What would it look like if I loved God with all my strength with all my mind of all my heart?

Of all my soul of all my being what would that look like? What it looked like the priest

Would it look like the Levites or would it look like the Good Samaritan? It's the

Good Samaritan That's what it looks like Not that anyone even on this side of eternity can truly perfectly love

God in that way No one truly can You know in the Old Testament you see

Whether it's in Chronicles or in the book of Kings you have the statements as as the the writer brings up these

Kings in succession and usually starts by saying King so -and -so and it gives us a quick summation of his life and it says and he reigned for 40 years and Then what was right in the eyes of the

Lord? until such -and -such time There's only one King in Scripture of which it is said that he loved the

Lord is God of all his heart With all his soul. Okay, but all the other

Kings fell short and truly There was only ever one King whoever truly did love

God in that way and it was Jesus Christ Jesus Demonstrates for us what it looks like to love

God with all our heart our soul Our mind of all of our being he lays before us his teaching his example for us to walk in now

We're gonna walk in it imperfectly We won't always get it Sometimes we'll we'll we'll talk back to that neighbor who threw a slur at us.

Maybe we'll try to cut The guy who cut us maybe we'll try to do harm to those who harmed us but this is where God causes to a higher degree to a higher calling and a call of mercy a call of compassion a law of mercy and a law of compassion

This is God's law for us It's one of mercy So the last part of the teaching this morning the true neighbor is to one who lives out the law of mercy with those around him

Here In the story Jesus is also Demonstrating the depths of mercy that should be extended to all people regardless of race regardless of differences

So why did the others pass by and only the Samaritans help? Because of the heart

Because the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart When law is without mercy when law is without compassion it is insufficient

But the sufficiency of God's law is that it must be operate from a place of compassion and mercy as Jesus has demonstrated through his parable when someone is a neighbor.

It's important that you at least be cordial, isn't it? It's important that you at least share

Some cordiality why because you share a property line You're likely to see each other often and again and to have to deal with mutual

Interests and mutual problems and mutual challenges you both got skin in the game when you're dealing with a neighbor and with neighborhood issues

Likewise as Christians we must choose to look at those around us as image bearers of God and Live out the mercy and compassion of Christ in such a way that we win them over To faith in Jesus Christ.

Why because that's our skin in the game is that we want to proclaim Christ we want to be

Light on to this dark and dying world and we want to be heralders proclaimers of God's kingdom

That's our skin the game Therefore when we meet people we want to treat them with such dignity with such respect

That we win them over to the one who won us Even Jesus Christ our

Lord and Savior Here in this story we see principally this Christ's love his mercy his compassion for the others for the others one

For the one who was beaten and left dead the Good Samaritan is a picture of Christ himself tending to the wounds of those who've been hurt and forgotten and How ironic then that Christ would use the picture of a

Samaritan an other an outcast To picture his own mercy his own kindness and his own love towards his people

You see Jesus is in the business of saving the outsiders You're a fellow tonight's outsider before I Felt like it and Jesus makes a place for us outsiders to Come in to be accepted to be loved and to be made up of this community of neighbors

Who know and love God and love their neighbors and that's what the

Lord Jesus calls all of us here today This morning and this afternoon to do likewise To love

God of all of our heart of all our soul of all of our being and to also allow that love to Motivate us to push us to challenge us to love our fellow image bearers to love our fellow neighbors as ourselves

Therefore fulfilling the law and the prophets and loving God and loving our neighbors

You can know this love you can receive this love even today

The Bible says this and it recognizes this about our following condition in state all

Have sinned and fallen short you and I we've all failed to be that good Samaritan in one point or in one place or another

No lies. We've all failed to be that good Samaritan but what Christ Acknowledges is that we're all sinners

Then we've all fallen short of that call. We've all Fallen short of that mark yet He beckons and invites us to repent of our sins to trust in him to trust in his ransom sacrifice

Which was for all so that by means of faith in his name We may be forgiven and be endowed with the love the power and the spirit of Almighty God So that we can now live in such a way in which looking and living like the good

Samaritan isn't so strange after all You can have that love you can have that assurance even today

If you would so repent of your sins and trust in the Savior My hope and prayer is that for those of you who have not yet done so that you would do so today

And I hope for all of us who are believers that we will recommit ourselves To this law of mercy to this law of the good

Samaritan to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves Let us pray

Lord Jesus we come in agreement This afternoon that you are good

That your law is good That your mercy is good and it endures forever

Lord, may you now shower us with the presence of your spirit?

So that we may live out that which we have just heard with our ears That we may be able to put it into practice of our hands

There our eyes may see its fulfillment in the way that we treat one another

For you have said Oh Great Shepherd of the sheep but by this

You will know my disciples If there is love Oh Lord Jesus may there be love in this place

There may there be love in this house. May there be love in our hearts. May there be love in the brotherhood

May there be love in our marriages may there be love in our families Let there be love here

Lord Jesus Move in our hearts in such a way that we live out this love love for you love for our maker and Love also for our fellow man for our fellow neighbor

Lord Jesus may these things be true May the ring true not only in our hearts, but may they become true in our action

That we not be like those who in times past have overlooked those in need overlooked those who are in harm's way

But Lord God that by the power of your spirit by the conviction that you give through your spirit you would motivate us to action

Lord God forgive us for where we fall short May we walk in your way of love mercy and compassion

So that your name may be made great even among the Gentiles even among those who do not know you

So that Lord Jesus you may win for yourself a peculiar distinct people of all tribes nation and tongues