Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
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’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
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 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.”
When I think about some of the characteristics of Jesus, I think of LOVE, forgiveness, mercy, and Him dying for our sins to become our Savior...I think and associate Him with love, joy, kindness, faithfulness, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, and self control -the fruits of the Holy Spirit...I also think how He seeks out those in need and am reminded of this in His Parable of the Good Samaritan...The story of the the Good Samaritan is a beautiful example of many of Jesus' characteristics...The Samaritans, despised by the Jews, learn that this Good Samaritan is good, gentile, kind, loving, patient, forgiving, and merciful to an injured Hebrew man...We see value in all men in His Parable...And we read words and questions of eternal life...So let us love the LORD our God with all of our heart and with all of our soul and with all of our strength and with all of our mind and too love our neighbor as ourself...If we do this, we will live and have eternal life...
Jesus is forgiving as He is LOVING...He went around teaching others, and as a regular part of His Teachings, He would just commonly and routinely forgive others...We make mistakes daily and regularly and He forgives us...We probably get tired of asking Him for forgiveness daily and regularly, but He never grows tired of forgiving us...When His Disciple Peter generously ask Jesus if he should forgive others seven times, Jesus told Him not seven times, but seven times seven times...We should always be ready to forgive others more, just as He forgives us more and more...The more we forgive, the better our community, and the better harmony and love is in our communities...So forgiveness helps our bitterness and resentment of others...
Jesus is Truth...No deceit came from His lips...Jesus tells us that He came to earth to testify to the Truth...And when we follow His teachings of Truth, His Truths will set us free...He told His Disciples that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life...Some people try to use their half-truths to their own advantage...And that makes their truth confusing...So while others often speak in half truths, and try to be politically correct with their truths, and be out of context when it comes to speaking the truth, Jesus always speaks the Truth and is the Absolute Truth...Jesus probably lost some followers because He spoke the Truth and would not and does not use the Truth to His advantage...
Jesus offers us eternity...He says now this is eternal life: that they know You, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent...God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but He sent His Son into our world to save the world through Him...Because God so LOVES the world that He would give His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish and die but they will have eternal life...Getting to eternal life is not easy...We are told that the road to Him is narrow, while the road to destruction is broad and wide...Whoever wants to be one of His disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him and His Ways...So the reward is Everything, but the journey is rough...So He wants our Spiritual Commitment to be stronger and more of a priority than our earthly ties and commitments, even when we do not understand and the going and journey gets tough and difficult...
Jesus values us more in His mercy, His LOVE, His forgiveness, and His Grace...He sees no man worthless...Jesus sees the poor, the unwanted, the sick, the weak, the homeless, the seedy, the ones others call not worthy to be around as the ones He wants to help and seek with great zeal...He is generous in the giving of Himself to help others in need...In the Good Samaritan, He says our neighbors are the ones who need mercy...All men were created in the Image of God, and all are equal...He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him, because He is a Savior for Above and from God...Jesus had paid our sin debt in full and through His Grace our sins are forgiven, by believing in Him...He seeks us and we can find Him, when we follow our hearts...
And Jesus is all these things and still is a Servant, humble, with a Great Desire to do the Will of God, One who is constantly praying, a Man of Righteousness -who is Holy and Sacred, One we must emulate to have an abundant life...