Alex Townsend
Parables of Jesus
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:25 - 37
18 December 2022
What does compassion have to do with eternal life? Jesus tells a story about the good Samaritan in order to show us how far we are from fulfilling the Law.
A member of the religious elite approached Jesus to test Him on the Law. He asked Jesus how one could earn eternal life, feeling confident that he was righteous before God. It is a great question - and the answer is perfect obedience to the Law.
Jesus tells a story of an injured man who was ignored by all except a Samaritan. A priest and a Levite, the most likely rescuers, passed him by, and instead he was helped by a Samaritan - an enemy of the Jews. The Samaritan took care of his enemy lavishly and overabundantly, at great expense to himself. Jesus is talking about a love that has no limits, which is so foreign to us. The question Jesus is asking, is do we love all men at all times with a perfect and limitless love?
Because we have all sinned and fall short of God's standard, He gave His Son as a ransom. The Law demands perfect obedience, and the only one who has ever shown such perfect and limitless love is Jesus Christ.