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Our Good Samaritan and Unclean Man
Luke 10:25-37
Have you ever been between a rock and a hard place? For example, you must either tell your boss your colleague’s mistake and get him into trouble, or not tell and possibly being blamed. For some people, the decision isn’t hard. Of course tell the truth! But what about mercy? But there are harder decisions. Do you rescue your drowning wife or child? If you rescue your child, you may be faced with breaking the one flesh principle. But if you rescue your wife, she’ll blame you for not rescuing the child. Some are every day dilemmas - jaywalk in front of a cop or be late for the bus. How can you do both?
But some people’s dilemmas are their own doing. Some invent their own laws and are straitjacketed by them. The American fundamentalist disapproves of jeans - calling them worldly and rebellious. But such laws change for farm work - jeans can then be worn for certain jobs. So exceptions and more rules are invented. And this was the Pharisees’ problem. They made up their own laws and interpretations, and then had to make exceptions to solve dilemmas. What an exhausting way to live! But that’s why Jesus came - to redeem us from our sins and our damning principles. He’s the Christ - who teaches God’s doctrine. Who are we to make up our own rules? But the Pharisees hated that he dismissed their righteousness. So they broke God’s laws by setting up an adulterous situation to get Christ. But he knew what they were up to. He’s the Light of the World. He makes the blind to see. As Good Shepherd, he sends shepherds to gather the lost. They hear the gospel, when others won’t. To those who hear, he saves from their sins and damnable righteousness. In this passage we firstly, the dilemma of the legalist; secondly, the description of the dilemma; and thirdly, the solution to the dilemma.
Firstly, the dilemma of the legalist. Verse 25 - “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” We learn first he was a lawyer, meaning, he belonged to the party of the Pharisees. They were a religious group who protected Jewish identity from pagan Greek influence, by a strict interpretation and application of Moses’ law. But the lawyers were the professional Pharisees; in charge of interpreting the law and teaching the Jews how to apply it. But their addition to and interpretations of God’s laws were extensive - affecting all areas of life like prayer, agriculture, rest, festivals, marriage, law, courts, rituals, diet, and purity. These laws were written down - so they were also called scribes; and by Jesus’ time, had become as legally binding as Moses’ law. These lawyers were responsible for continual study to revise and further interpret. That’s why they made meticulous copies of Scripture and judged court cases. And here, this scribe came to test Jesus. Why?
Remember what just happened not long ago in John 8? The scribes and Pharisees tried to trick him by bringing to him a woman caught in adultery. Jewish law required she be stoned. But where was the man? It takes two to commit adultery. And if they caught her, they’d have caught him. But they didn’t bring him. So likely, they set it up in the first place - with some Bible scholars even suggesting the man was one of them. Why? To get Jesus. If he had condemned her to death according to Moses’ law, they’d accuse him of subverting Roman law. If he didn’t condemn her, they’d accuse him of subverting Moses’ law. But they weren’t able to catch him at either. But why did they want to catch him? Because they hated him. He had healed on the Sabbath day, by showing mercy. And they saw it as work and breaking God’s fourth commandment. They had added that interpretation and made it a law. And in their zeal for God’s commandments in the first table of the law; they accused Jesus and tried to get him. By so doing, they broke God’s seventh commandment, in the second table. Their dilemma led to hypocrisy. And this is something we’re all too familiar with? Doctrinal controversies are fought for the honor of God - for his truth - but are often done without honoring God and degenerate into hating your neighbor. So for these Pharisees, Jesus always called out their hypocrisy - not just their wrong interpretation.
So now, to assert themselves and accuse him, this scribe tried again to test him by asking - “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And how did Jesus answer? Masterfully. He knew the hearts of all men. So he knew that the lawyer wanted to trap him. And he declined to answer. But as a master - a teacher and rabbi - as he was called, what he does instead was to ask him a question in return - “What does the law say? How do you interpret it?” What does the law say - you’re the expert. And how do you interpret it - you’re the expert. As the expert, tell me! So we see another dilemma. He came to trick, but was tricked to answer. Out of his pride he had to respond. His expertise was challenged. He couldn’t not answer it. But by answering it, it would get him into another dilemma. You see, by asking him this question, Jesus was giving him enough rope to hang himself. How would he answer? Of course he had to answer it from the position of the legalist. It was what he was. So he did. He simply said in verse 27 - “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” To have eternal life, you must obey all the law; God’s and their laws, which led to more dilemmas.
But Jesus’ answer in verse 28 seems strange - yes, you’re right; do it and live. But why did he say this? Was Jesus trying to teach salvation by works? Yes and no. Let me explain. It’s true that if you keep all of God’s laws without sinning - you’ll be saved. Our Lord was just quoting the Old Testament. But only Adam and Eve could’ve done this - but they didn’t. They sinned. And since the fall, no one apart from Christ can keep the law. The Moses’ law taught this as a way to frustrate the people. “We can’t do it! We must seek mercy!” But herein was the problem. The Pharisees thought they could solve this dilemma by making up more requirements. Don’t work on the Sabbath. But what’s working? Healing is also working. So in giving this answer to the scribe, the Lord highlighted the dilemma. Because the Pharisees added to the law, they created more problems for themselves. And it drove them to look for the key to solve these exceptions and dilemmas. In fact, they frequently asked what’s the greatest commandment. They thought if they knew what it was, their dilemmas would be solved. Why? Because they knew they couldn’t keep all the law.
The lawyer knew it! Even though Jesus affirmed his answer, the lawyer wanted to create an exception, to justify why he can’t love all; to point out why he had a right not to love everyone because not everyone was a neighbor to the Pharisees. So he asked “who is my neighbor?” to justify himself. You see, to honor God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, the Pharisees justified their ill-treatment of others. Which is why they could do what they did to the woman caught in adultery. Which is why they could plot and lie against Jesus. In their warped sense, their attempt to trap Jesus for breaking their Sabbath laws, and using the woman sinfully against him were all done to honor God. So they narrowly defined neighbor to suit themselves. Because of their dilemma, they justified disobedience as obedience. The dilemma of the legalist leads them to hypocrisy, pride, and more sin. So the Lord Jesus took the opportunity to point the scribe to the gospel.
He did this by using a parable to illustrate or describe the dilemma of the legalist. That’s the second point. Here, after the scribe asked “who is my neighbor,” the Lord didn’t reply him with a question…at least not immediately. Now, he answered by using a parable. In verses 30-36, he described a man journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho attacked by thieves, who stripped him of his clothes, wounded him, and left him half-dead. A priest saw him but went around him, giving him a wide berth. Then a Levite also did the same thing. But a Samaritan - a half Jew and half Gentile - saw him and had compassion. He bound up his wounds, applied antiseptic wine and healing ointment, transported him on his own transport animal, and took care of him at an inn, using his own money, securing more medical care with his own money and promising to spend more on him. Then in verse 36, after answering and leading him with the parable, the Lord cross examined the lawyer with this million dollar question - “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” To which the scribe had no choice but to say, in verse 37 - “He that shewed mercy on him.”
Now, our Lord was not merely instructing the lawyer. He was deconstructing the lawyer’s attitude and worldview. As we look at this parable, we see the terrible attitudes of the priest and Levite. The man was hurt, half dead, but they ignored him. You see, this was the attitude of the legalist. What the priest and Levite did would’ve been considered by the lawyer as the gold standard of righteousness. And to us, while it may seem unloving, they weren’t trying to be unloving. They were actually trying to love God. Yes, I know, it seems bizarre. But that’s the dilemma. You see, their religion was based on keeping strict rules and laws - and these laws prevented them from touching the half dead man. You see, if he was in the ditch, half dead, the priest and the Levite would’ve become ceremonially unclean if they touched him. Numbers 19:13 says, “Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel.” But the man wasn’t dead was he? But he appeared so. And therefore, in honor of God, they didn’t want to risk it. You see, they were legalists. Rabbinic interpretation required them to keep a four-cubit distance away from the corpse. That’s about 1.8 meters. If you stepped into that radius, even if you didn’t touch the corpse, you’d be automatically unclean. So that’s why you can understand they went around him on the other side of the road. They couldn’t afford to be defiled. After all, they were heading to Jericho from Jerusalem - same as the man. They’d just come from worshipping God - how could they risk becoming unclean? And while there was the provision of purification, it was very complicated. Most legalists would’ve approved the decision of the priest and Levite to avoid the man and to leave him in the ditch.
But here’s the dilemma. The law of God also said to love their neighbor. In their mind, to love their neighbor would put them at risk of not loving God. To touch this man would make them unclean. And being unclean would be to reject God. But on the other hand, if they didn’t touch that man, they’d be unclean to God, because they didn’t their neighbor. Despite all his expertise in his laws and exceptions, the lawyer truthfully admitted that the one who was neighbor to the half dead man was the one who showed mercy. In verses 36-37, when Jesus asked him - “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?” The man answered - “He that shewed mercy on him.” Not the priest, neither the Levite, but the half-breed unclean Samaritan. Therefore, he was really the clean one. The priest and Levite were not clean. By his admission!
And this is surprising in the parable if you consider what the lawyer asked. When he first came to Jesus, he asked “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Our Lord asked him back - you’re the expert, you tell me. And he said to love God and neighbor. But who did he admit was the person who was a loving neighbor? The Samaritan. Now, if loving your neighbor is what you must do to inherit eternal life, then the priest and Levite would’ve perished, because they didn’t love their neighbor.
You see, the dilemma here could not be solved by the law of God. Not because the law was bad - but because they were bad. We are bad. They needed something that would remove their uncleanness. We too need something to remove our uncleanness. We need purification - because we can’t obey our laws. We need cleansing from our sins and from our damnable righteousness.
That’s the solution to the dilemma. That’s the third point. And this was the lesson from this parable. After the lawyer answered that the real neighbor who would have eternal life was the Samaritan, the Lord Jesus told him to do likewise. Again, this is not salvation by works. We can’t earn our salvation by good works. But it was to consider the Samaritan - the one who was unclean. It was to consider the gospel - the one that Jesus had sent the 70 out to preach. It was to consider Christ - who taught the gospel. It was to consider the light of the world. It was to see Christ for who he was and have their eyes washed. It was to see themselves as the dead man, needing cleansing from a good neighbor.
If they did, they’d have seen Christ for who he was and to see who they were. They were dead and dying men, trying to live their lives righteously without any success. But Christ was the unclean one - the Samaritan in their eyes - who broke their commandments. If they came to him, he’d cleanse them. He’d anoint them with the oil of the Spirit. He’d purchase their salvation not with money but with his precious blood. Our Lord Jesus had no dilemma - he didn’t have their extra legalistic rules and exceptions. He acted in perfect freedom. And because he was clean, as the purifier, he doesn’t have to worry about touching lepers and dead people. He comes to touch all who call on him. But at the same time, who is the Lord Jesus? He’s not only the Good Samaritan. He’s that traveler who has come from Jerusalem to Jericho, set upon by thieves, wounded, and stripped of his clothes at the cross. These thieves and robbers - who kill the sheep with their laws - would also kill him. But the Lord is the broken man in the ditch. The only way to be cleansed is to go to him - not to remain in our damnable righteousness. It’s to shed our own wrong man-made principles, to repent of our inability to keep God’s laws - to recognize we can’t be like the Good Samaritan. But only when we come to him, and keep coming to him in repentance, can we remotely hope to do as Christ did. Which is why when he died, two other religious leaders didn’t hesitate to touch him and bind him. Nicodemus - that Pharisee; and Joseph of Arimathea - also a member of the Sanhedrin - could come and request his body, to take it and prepare it for burial. Why? Because they had been healed of their sins and horrible righteousness. If your eternal life depends on you bending down and helping your neighbor, you’re lost. But your eternal life depends on you bending down, to seek Christ who’s dead for you, and letting him, the Good Samaritan, heal you. If this is your continual attitude, as we declare in the supper, you will never be lost. What must you do to inherit eternal life? Come to Christ. He will help you repent. He will give you eternal life. There’s nothing you can do to inherit, all you have to do is come and keep coming, knowing your sins - that Christ will forgive them.
1. The Dilemma of the Legalist
2. The Description of the Dilemma
3. The Solution to the Dilemma
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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