There Must Be Some Misunderstanding [8-24-25]

August 24, 2025

Luke 10:25-37

“There Must Be Some Misunderstanding”

As we saw last week, if you were going to talk about the parable of “The Good Samaritan,” the best title for it would be, “Who is God?” Jesus didn’t give titles to his parables. As one authority attests:

The original manuscripts of the Bible, both the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Greek New Testament, did not contain chapter or verse divisions. They were written as continuous texts, often without punctuation or spaces between words.

Things like defined chapters and verses and subject headings were added later for ease of reading and studying.

Someone once said that the parable of “The Good Samaritan” is largely misunderstood. The misunderstanding generally goes something like this:

Calling someone a Good Samaritan generally means they show kindness, mercy, compassion, care to someone in need, and that’s all good. Nothing wrong with that. God honors such behavior. But that’s not what the parable is about.

Let’s look at Luke 10:25-37 again:

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?” And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You 

have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

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, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed 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 and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And 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 the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Remember how the parable begins:

Jesus replied, “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.

The pertinent information is that the road to Jericho was fraught with terror. It descends 3,600 feet over the seventeen miles from Jerusalem to Jericho. Things were so bad that a Roman General, Pompey, had to wipe out strongholds of thieves and other ne’er-do-wells.

Next verse:

Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

As the parable takes shape, the audience immediately recognizes it as a sort of hero tale. Somebody’s going to save the day.

The first person on the scene is a priest. The priest is a kind of nobility. He represents the upper crust of Jewish society. Listeners to the parable will think of high-end piety from high-end society. As we read in Hosea 6:8-9:

Gilead is a city of evildoers,tracked with blood.As robbers lie in wait for a man,so the priests band together;they murder on the way to Shechem;they commit villainy.

As the first passerby is a priest, the audience has their suspicions raised. He is the archetype of a conniving, self-interested, self-serving guy.

It would be one thing if the priest knew the man was definitely alive. Then he wouldn’t be made unclean by a dead body. Also, if the priest knew the man was someone from his class, equal in standing and position, he could risk helping. A common teaching of the day says:

If you do good, know to whom you do it, and you will be thanked for your good deeds.

Do good to the devout, and you will be repaid – if not by them, certainly by the Most High.

No good comes to one who persists in evil or to one who does not give alms.

Give to the devout, but do not help the sinner.

Do good to the humble, but do not give to the ungodly; hold back their bread, and do not give it to them, for by means of it they might subdue you; then you will receive twice as much evil for all the good you have done to them.

For the Most high also hates sinners and will inflict punishment on the ungodly.

Give to the one who is good, but do not help the sinner.

• Sirach 12:1-7

As you’re listening to Jesus describe the first encounter, you are thinking, “Of course. Typical snobby priest. He’s not going to do anything.” Here’s the point:

THE PRIEST CALLOUSLY LEAVES THE MAN TO DIE RATHER THAN SHOWING LOVE AND MERCY.

Those two actions…love and mercy…are important to remember moving forward. Love and mercy.

Next up, verse thirty-two:

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

Both priest and Levite are mentioned because they are the ultimate insiders. They are the influencers. They are the movers and shakers. And if you’re an average Joe or Josephine, you don’t care much for them. You know what Jesus is building toward. The hero is going to be someone like you.

Surprise. Here are verses thirty-three through thirty-five:

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 and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And 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.’

Wait…who helps? The audience is expecting a person like one of them to help. That’s who the hero is supposed to be. That’s who the one who is right with God is supposed be. As we’ll see later, it spells trouble for Jesus when a “supposed to be” is instead a “who actually was.”

Remember the adversarial history between Israelites and Samaritans. Jesus’ audience think Samaritans are evil. They are not good people. They are to be avoided at all costs. That’s why it’s shocking for a Samaritan to not only appear in the parable but to also do the right thing. I want the person who helps to be the good guy. I want the person who helps to be someone who’s an example of what it means to be right with God and earn eternal life. It has to be someone like me.

What do you think is rolling around the minds of Jesus’ audience? I think there’s a growing unhappiness with Jesus. He’s turned the tables on their expectations. They were prepared for the merciful man to be an Israelite. But here’s where Jesus is going. Remember the initial questions. What must I do to inherit eternal life? And who is my neighbor? Here’s the twist within a twist:

WE MUST ENTER THE DITCH AND ACCEPT A SAMARITAN AS HELPER, HEALER, AND FRIEND.

The Samaritan risks time, effort, and money to help a wounded and broken man. In other words, he risks everything he is and has. That is love and mercy.

Who does that sound like? Remember, Jesus sets his face for Jerusalem. What will happen there? He will be rejected, suffer, and die. This is a tale of great risk from a man who will take on great risk. Love and mercy. Who is the person in the ditch? Us…broken by our sin. Who is the Samaritan? Jesus…risking everything to save us.

Here's the deep connection:

• The Greek word for “inn,” pandocheion, means a place of “welcome for all.”

• Binding of wounds is referenced in Jeremiah 30:17, “For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord,because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’”

• Pouring on oil and wine is a reminder of Micah 6:6-8. This is the only acceptable sacrifice:

“With what shall I come before the Lord,and bow myself before God on high?Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,with calves a year old?Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,with ten thousands of rivers of oil?Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?He has told you, O man, what is good;and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?”

Who gets to decide who receives God’s love and mercy? God, of course. Who does Jesus extend love and mercy to? All who will receive it. How does Jesus flip the question asked by the lawyer? The lawyer wants to know about eternal life and who his neighbor is. And what is Jesus doing? He’s flipping it. Salvation is coming from who you least expect it. Will you receive it?

Here's the flow. The lawyer asks about eternal life. The parable focuses on someone who is concerned with saving the life of another. But wait. Staying with the question about eternal life, Jesus is moving the lawyer away from the idea that eternal life is a reward for good deeds. No…no… no…Jesus has shown over and over that eternal life is a relationship with God that begins in this life. And if you have a relationship with God built on love and mercy, you’re going to see the Samaritan as neighbor. And you’re going to receive help from a Samaritan.

Make no mistake. All the characters in this parable are fellow travelers on a 

dangerous road. So stay with the flow. The neighbor is one who comes to us in our need. It is the beaten man on the Jericho road who must ask, “Who is my neighbor?” Not the Samaritan. Here’s something you might want to write down:

GRACE COMES TO THOSE WHO HAVE NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE THAN TO ACCEPT IT.

The beaten man is so low he cannot help but receive it. Will he accept love and mercy from one like Jesus who dies on a cross?

Here’s the final, big-picture point:

SALVATION COMES TO THE WOUNDED MAN IN THE FORM OF A COSTLY DEMONSTRATION OF UNEXPECTED LOVE.

That’s the final destination of the flow of things. What is the cross? A costly demonstration of unexpected love. Jesus, the rejected outsider, fills the role of the Samaritan. The Samaritan dramatically appears on the scene to bind up the wounds of suffering, sinful people in a costly demonstration of unexpected love.

What, then, must we do to inherit eternal life? Believe that Jesus Christ is 

our Savior, who died on the cross for our sin.

Make no mistake. This story is not to make people feel guilty about not giving money to poor people. It’s not to make people feel guilty about not taking care of those in need. This story isn’t about making us good citizens who help anyone in need. As important as those things are, that’s not the point Jesus is making.

This parable is told to drive us to the foot of the cross. There we repent of our sin. There we repent of not loving God as fully as we should. We repent of not loving others as fully as we should. It’s at the foot of the cross where we receive love and mercy from the outcast…from the one who was rejected and scorned…from the one who was esteemed not. As Isaiah 53 says:

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?For he grew up before him like a young plant,and like a root out of dry ground;he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,and no beauty that we should desire him.He was despised and rejected by men,a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faceshe was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefsand carried our sorrows;yet we esteemed him stricken,smitten by God, and afflicted.But he was pierced for our transgressions;he was crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,and with his wounds we are healed.All we like sheep have gone astray;we have turned - every one - to his own way;and the Lord has laid on himthe iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,so he opened not his mouth.By oppression and judgment he was taken away;and as for his generation, who consideredthat he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?And they made his grave with the wickedand with a rich man in his death,although he had done no violence,and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt,he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,make many to be accounted righteous,and he shall bear their iniquities.Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to deathand was numbered with the transgressors;yet he bore the sin of many,and makes intercession for the transgressors.

It is Jesus, the outsider, who binds up our wounds. It is Jesus, the outcast, who heals us. Will you accept salvation which comes from Christ and Christ alone?

Let us pray:

FATHER, WE THANK YOU THAT YOU DRAW SINNERS TO 

YOURSELF. THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE. WE DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TO RECEIVE IT. JESUS HAS ALREADY DONE THAT FOR US THROUGH HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS. THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD NEWS…THE GREAT NEWS…THE GLORIOUS NEWS OF FORGIVENESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST. IN HIS NAME WE PRAY. AMEN.