The Kindness of Christ

Luke 10:30. And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

Jesus was the best storyteller. His use of illustrations drove home His teachings and captured the attention and imaginations of His listeners. Along with the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), this parable of the good Samaritan stands out as the most prominent of His parables.

In Jesus' approach to telling parables the real meaning was not always clear. The central point of the good Samaritan is kind of obvious- the hated Samaritan proved to be the good neighbor, while those that should have shown kindness and goodness passed by the wounded man. In other words, we cannot judge people by nationality, race, religion or occupation.

31. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

This part of the parable could be understood by all who heard. It is obvious for sure. There was plenty of hypocrisy in the priesthood of the temple. The lawyer who asked Jesus the question that led to this parable wasn't interested in finding truth as he was in debating Jesus, (Luke 10: 25. And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?26. He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?27. And he answering said, 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 neighbour as thyself.28. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.29. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?). His question revealed ignorance about issues of the faith that, according to his title, he was supposed to know. He was a lawyer, (a student of the law). His job is to know the law and not only the words but the meaning.

The priest and the Levite were both careful in the observance of every part of the law, but had little common decency about them. It seems they thought that their "religion" has brought them to righteousness.

33. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34. And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Jesus listeners knew the two earlier men should have stopped to help, but they weren't prepared for the next part of this parable. In the Jews mind they, (Jews), were the lawful descendants of Abraham, while Samaritans were a mixed breed of Jews and foreigners whose religion was a mixture of worship both Jehovah and pagan gods. In other words the Samaritans were unclean and not to be touched. I can imagine how the ears of Jesus listeners may have "perked up" when He told of the "Good Samaritan" stopping to help this wounded man. The good Samaritan not only bound up this mans wounds, but also set him upon his own beast, (and walked himself) to the next town and put him in an inn, paying the keeper of the inn two pence and promising more upon his return if necessary. He went above and beyond that which was necessary.

36. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37. And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Finishing the parable Jesus asked the lawyer which of the three was the good neighbor to the wounded man. The Levite and the priest were obligated, by occupation, to helping people, but their lack of genuine spirituality and compassion allowed them to violate Leviticus 19:18. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. The Samaritan showed more love than those of the lawyers own religion. Jesus was not belittling Judaism nor saying that good deeds can bring righteousness. Jesus parable was a prelude to the truth that salvation would be only in His name, as Peter preached to the Sanhedrin, Acts 4:12. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Romans 12:10. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

The highest form of love is self sacrificial love. This is the love that Jesus has shown toward us all. This is the love that we should show toward one another.

Ephesians 4:25. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

Jesus said, " Satan is a liar." Since this is true we as believers should always speak truth to all people. We belong to Jesus, so we belong to truth. John 14: 6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Ephesians 4:26. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

27. Neither give place to the devil.

28. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Anger is not necessarily sinful. There are times when anger is justified. Still we are not to let it continue on for very long, lest our anger consume us and our joy be taken away. The longer we hold to our anger and let things brew within ourselves the more chance the devil has to invade our thinking.

Ephesians 4:29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

We as believers should maintain a high standard of speech. We should avoid gossip, slander, and profanities. Because we belong to Christ, the Holy Ghost is living in us. Anything we might do to that would embarrass of hurt Jesus grieves the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost empowers us to live for Christ. We either yield to Him or our old sinful nature.

Ephesians 4:31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

32. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

As long as we have contact with people there will be disagreements and conflicts. No two people will agree on everything. We can still maintain brotherly love and kindness to one another even in disagreements and conflicts. All the sins listed in verse 31 are part of our old fleshly nature, the nature we are to put away. None of them have place in the heart of the believer who has the Holy Ghost dwelling inside of them.

1John 3:16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

17. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

18. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Prayer

Father God in heaven, we know that we have failed to show compassion and kindness as we should have. Help us to be more compassionate and kind to one another. Let us show our love toward all people as you have shown your love to us. Let us also Lord put away the old ways of the flesh and heed the guidance of the Holy Ghost within us. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.