Transforming Love

Philip Pattison

Luke 10:25-37

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.”

First, Jesus gives us the : The mandate is simple: to see and move with compassion.

Martin Luther King Jr said it like this: "In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, ‘Those are social issues with which the gospel has no real concern,’ and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely otherworldly religion which made a strange distinction between body and soul, the sacred and the secular."

“The world does not need a definition of religion as much as it needs a demonstration.” Martin Luther

“We cannot rightly raise our hands in worship of a God that steps towards us in our hard and broken and then use those same hands to push the hard and broken of others away.” - Jason Johnson

Jesus is calling you and me to see and move towards the need. And thats exactly what the Good Samaritan does. Look at the of his love.

One final thought. We’ve seen the Mandate and the Measure of love…but let me close with the .

Jesus is saying “I am the Good Samaritan. I’ve come down to where you are, I’ll put myself in harm’s way - not just at the possibility of danger, but KNOWING that it will cost me my life…I know you’re broken, half-dead and all hope seems lost, but I’ve come with wine and oil. My blood and my Spirit and I’ve come to make you clean, I’ve come to bring you to life and make you whole. is the Good Samaritan.

It’s only when we see as our Good Samaritan that we can - bit by bit - become LIKE The Good Samaritan.