By George Huang
Initially given as a sermon at Chinatown Church of Christ
Scripture: Luke 10:25-37
This sermon explores the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) and what it truly means to love our neighbor. It shows that real love is not just knowing God’s commands, but acting on them — even when it is inconvenient and costly. Through everyday examples, it challenges us to move beyond self-interest and learn to care for others with compassion, dignity, and intentional action, reflecting the heart of God in our daily lives.
This sermon is designed to follow the Word Becoming Flesh sermon.
Powerpoint presentation – both English and 中文 Chinese
English text (for search engines to read):
The Good Samaritan
Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 On one occasion a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He said, “‘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.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 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. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 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. 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.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Real Kindness and Sacrifice Have you ever walked past someone in need and later wondered if you should have stopped? Most of us want to be kind people — but real kindness often comes at inconvenient times and requires sacrifice. On a cold, rainy, and windy day, I saw a wet puppy in a Wendy’s restaurant. It was sitting straight, but shivering from being wet and cold. Next to it was a tray with a beef patty, but the dog did not touch it.
What happened next reminded me of the parable of the Good Samaritan. A lawyer came to test Jesus by asking him a seemingly innocent question. Maybe if Jesus gives a wrong or incomplete answer, Jesus can be attacked. Lawyer’s question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked for his opinions. He rarely did this to people who asked him questions. The lawyer’s answer was very concise and complete. He was very well trained: 1. Love God completely, and 2. Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus’s response: You already know the answer; just go do it.
The Law and the Heart
Deut. 6:5 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. That is the summary of the first four of the Ten Commandments. Lev. 19:18 – “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.’” It is a good summary of commandments 5 to 10 and the Mosaic laws regarding interaction with others. So the lawyer knew the spirit and intent of the law, but he had trouble executing it. His question to Jesus: “Who is my neighbor?” It’s a question of limiting whom he is required to love. Loving others costs time, effort, and resources. He wanted to limit whom he needed to love so it would not be so costly to him.
Jesus got him to answer his own question by telling the audience the Parable of the Good Samaritan. What was the purpose of telling this parable? Jesus always had a reason. A common interpretation holds that Jesus wanted to show the difference between law and love. Some people think he was attacking the Jewish legalism for missing the original point of the law. He wanted to reveal the loving heart of God. This was not so obvious in the Old Testament. Jesus might also want to show people how to implement the spirit of the law. The lawyer knew the law, but maybe was trying to not do it because it is costly.
The Journey and the Three Travelers
The journey of these people is from Jerusalem to Jericho – 15 miles going east and mostly downhill. It’d take maybe 6 to 8 hours by foot. Basically, it’s a whole-day trip. The road was somewhat unsafe during Jesus’s times. There is a long stretch without towns. The injured person was robbed of his clothes. He probably didn’t have much stuff with him.
The three persons who walked by: 1. The priest represented servants of God or ministers. He would know the laws of God very well. 2. The Levite represented followers of God or Christians. He would also know God’s laws very well. 3. The Samaritan was part Jewish and part Gentile. They were people the Jews despised for not being pure. They mixed Jewish and pagan traditions. He is not respected by those religious Jewish people. He was not recognized as a religious expert, but he had the heart of God.
The Priest and Levite did see the injured man, but deliberately avoided going near him and touching him. Their possible thinking: If he is dead, then I’d violate the law if I touch him. I will be unclean for a few days and cannot practice religious rituals and so affect my job (Numbers 19:11-12). If he is not dead, then dealing with him may delay my trip. The Ten Commandments tell me not to hurt other people, and so I’m not violating the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments also do not say I have to help other people, so I’m not violating them. So, if they don’t bother with him, they still keep the law. Result: avoid that person. Don’t even find out if he is injured or dead. They were not thinking of the victim at all. They were acting out of their self-interest to protect themselves.
Today, some people are afraid to help others because of liabilities or that the victims may claim that the helpers hurt them. Today, we have the Good Samaritan Laws to protect people who help others from liability. But here, it was more of an inconvenience that led them to not help the injured person.
The Samaritan’s Decision
But this Samaritan’s reaction was very different. He must be on a journey – going east, away from Samaria. He saw him and it was time to make the decision on what to do. Three things that must have crossed his mind: “Should I?”, “Could I?”, and “Am I willing?”
Should I? It is Jewish territory, so that person is likely a Jew. That Jew may be offended if I touch him. Would I be accused of hurting him? His conclusion: Helping people is always the right thing to do. The question is how.
Could I? Yes, I can try to help him survive if he is not already dead.
Am I willing? I would delay my trip a bit if I go help him. His decision: yes, I am willing.
He took pity on the injured man – his heart moved and he made the decision to help. He bandaged the injured man and poured oil and wine on the wound. Why carry such heavy liquids? Maybe he was a trader selling oil and wine? If so, then he was also a target of robbers too! So it was very dangerous to stop. He took the injured man to an inn and took care of him. He spent time doing this and delayed his own trip. He also spent money to take care of him. He left more money too – 2 denarii was 2 days of wages. Loving and caring for people would cost you something – time, effort, and resources. He promised the innkeeper to give him more on his return trip if needed. So this is not a one-time engagement. He was really committed to helping that man. Sometimes caring for people can take a long time and be quite costly.
This Samaritan, who probably didn’t know God’s teachings very well, actually had the heart of God. The one considered an outsider turned out to be the true neighbor to the injured Jew. There is another observation: The hero is someone the audience despises. To Jesus’s listeners, the Samaritan was the last person they expected to be the hero. We may not feel like extraordinary people, but when we love other people, we are heroes in God’s eyes. Because we accomplished what God wanted us to do all along – Love God and love other people.
Choosing to be a Neighbor
The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” He knew loving others costs something – time, effort, and resources. So he wanted to limit whom he needed to love. God says “love your neighbor” but did not define who the neighbor is, and so he wanted to limit who the neighbor is. Jesus’s teaching: Choose to be a neighbor to others and learn how to love your neighbor.
- Love those around us and whom God puts in our path. Even when our strength is limited, opportunities to love people still cross our path every day. Sometimes, a short word of encouragement or a pat on the back is all it takes to make someone’s day. Studies have shown that a sincere “Thank you” is more encouraging and memorable than a gift or money.
- Choose to act. Do not only think about our own interests or obligations. Our intentions lead to our actions. Our actions show others our true hearts and intentions. We need to decide to love, and learn how to love and care for other people. That is the heart of God.
Modern Day Examples
That puppy at Wendy’s was wet and cold, and an employee probably brought it into the restaurant. It was given a beef patty, but did not eat it. Was it good training? Or was it afraid to eat? Finally, a girl broke the patty into small pieces and fed a piece to the puppy. She took time to show love and made the puppy feel comfortable about eating the beef patty. Maybe a restaurant worker brought in the puppy and gave it food, but did not know how to get it to eat. Or maybe he had to go back to work and did not realize the puppy was not eating. The employee did the right thing, but he did not go far enough. The girl took time to care for the puppy and finally got it to eat. She had to comfort the puppy to achieve the desired results. She knew how to love and did it.
But what if it was a hungry man outside the restaurant instead? How would people treat him? Would we treat him better than how the employee and the girl treated the puppy? Sadly, many people find it easier to love an animal than a fellow human being… It may be due to fear, disdain, a feeling of superiority, or indifference. We may even find it easier to donate money to help someone far away than to help someone in front of us.
There was a possibly homeless man sitting on the floor in front of a pick-up food place. He was not asking for food, but based on where he sat, everyone could tell his intentions. A person went to talk to him respectfully before going in to order his own food. He patiently explained the menu to him and let him choose his food, and bought food for him and himself. He gave that person a bit of dignity by explaining the food items and asking for his choices. In such situations, we often avoid the interaction and just buy some cheap items without asking. But sometimes human interaction is more important than physical food. He needed to feel dignity, too. So we need to learn how to care for others too.
Conclusion We need to have the right intentions and to follow the heart of God. If the Word truly becomes flesh in us, people will experience God’s love through our actions — just as the injured man experienced mercy through the Samaritan. We can start with people around us, people we are obligated to help, and the people we know. Then we can think about others near us, and then broaden out to people we don’t even know.
God will put people in your path for you to love and serve. Opportunities to love are often gifts from God. Hebrews 13:2 – Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. The question is not, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ but ‘Am I willing to be a neighbor to someone?’ May our actions show people the love of Jesus. That’s “the Word becoming flesh” being manifested in us.
May God bless us all.
Chinese text:
善良的撒瑪利亞人
經文: 路加 10:25-37 有一個律法師起來試探耶穌，說:「夫子，我該做什麼才可以承受永生？」 耶穌對他說:「律法上寫的是什麼？你念的是怎樣呢？」 他回答說:「你要盡心、盡性、盡力、盡意愛主你的神，又要愛鄰舍如同自己。」 耶穌說:「你回答的是。你這樣行，就必得永生。」 那人要顯明自己有理，就對耶穌說:「誰是我的鄰舍呢？」
耶穌回答說:「有一個人從耶路撒冷下耶利哥去, 落在強盜手中。他們剝去他的衣裳，把他打個半死，就丟下他走了。 偶然有一個祭司從這條路下來, 看見他, 就從那邊過去了。又有一個利未人來到這地方,看見他,也照樣從那邊過去了。 唯有一個撒馬利亞人行路來到那裡，看見他，就動了慈心， 上前用油和酒倒在他的傷處， 包裹好了，扶他騎上自己的牲口，帶到店裡去照應他。 第二天拿出二錢銀子來 ，交給店主說:『你且照應他，此外所費用的，我回來必還你。』 你想，這三個人哪一個是落在強盜手中的鄰舍呢？」 他說:「是憐憫他的。」耶穌說:「你去照樣行吧。」
好撒瑪利亞人
你是否曾經路過需要幫助的人，事後卻後悔自己當時是否該停下來？ 我們大多數人都想成為仁慈的人 — 但真正的仁慈往往得在不方便的時候出現，並且需要做出犧牲。 在一個寒冷、下雨、颳風的日子，我在一家 Wendy’s 餐廳里看到了一隻濕漉漉的小狗。 它直直地坐著，但因身子濕和寒冷而顫抖。它旁邊有一個盤子，上面放著一塊肉，但它沒有吃。
接下來發生的事情讓我想起好撒瑪利亞人的比喻。 一位律法師來試探耶穌,問了一個看起來非常無辜的問題。 也許如果耶穌給出一個不對或不完整的答案，他可以藉此來攻擊耶穌。 律法師的問題：「我該做什麼才可以承受永生? 」 耶穌問那律法師他的看法。祂很少對那些問祂問題的人這樣做。 律法師的回答非常簡潔和完整。看得出來他訓練有素。 1. 你要盡心、盡性、盡力、盡意愛主你的神， 2. 要愛鄰舍如同自己。 耶穌: 你已經知道答案了，所以去做吧。
申命記 6:5 – 你要盡心、盡性、盡力愛耶和華你的神。 它是十誡前四條誡命的總結。 「愛鄰舍如同自己」是在利未記 19:18 – 不可報仇，也不可埋怨你本國的子民，卻要愛人如己。 這是十誡第五到十條關於與他人互動的摩西律法的總結。 所以律法師知道律法的精神和意圖，但他在執行上有疑問。 他接下來的問題 : 「誰是我的鄰舍？」 這是一個試著要限制他需要去愛誰的問題。 愛他人需要付出些代價:時間、精力、和資源。他想限制他需要愛的人, 這樣這代價就不會那麼昂貴了。
耶穌透過講述好撒瑪利亞人的比喻讓他回答了自己的問題。 耶穌講這個比喻的目的是什麼？祂總是有原因的。 一個常見的解釋是他想展示律法與愛之間的區別。 有些人認為他是在攻擊猶太人的律法主義，因為他們地律法主義錯過了律法的本意。 耶穌想揭示神慈愛的心。 這在舊約中並不是那麼的明顯。 耶穌可能還想向人們展示如何實施律法真正的精神。 這律法師熟知律法，但他也許在試圖不要花心血去執行律法。 讓我們研究這個比喻，看看我們能從中學到什麼。
這些人的旅程是從耶路撒冷到耶利哥 – 向東行15英里，主要是下坡。 步行可能需要 6 到 8 個小時。 基本上，這是一個一整天的行程。 在耶穌的時代，這條路不太安全。 只有伯大尼城在他們之間。 因此有很長一段沒有城鎮的路。 強盜搶走了這傷者的衣服。 他可能沒有太多東西。 強盜不必要地毆打他，所以他們真的很邪惡。
走過的三個人：
- 祭司代表神的僕人或牧者。 他應當非常瞭解神的律法。
- 利未人代表神的追隨者或基督徒。 他也應當非常瞭解神的律法。
- 撒瑪利亞人是一部分猶太人，一部分外邦人的混血民族。 他們是猶太人鄙視的人，因為他們不純種。 他們將猶太教和異教傳統混雜在一起。他並不受那些宗教人士的尊敬。 他雖然不被認為是宗教專家，但他有一顆有神性的心。
祭司和利未人有看到了那受傷的人，但故意避免靠近他並觸摸他。 這是他們可能的想法：若那傷者是死了的，那麼如果我碰他，我會違反律法。 我會不潔凈幾天，不能執行宗教儀式，會影響到我的工作。 民數記 19:11-12 如果他沒有死，那麼幫助那人可能會耽誤我的行程。 十誡告訴我不要傷害別人，所以我沒有違反十誡。 十誡也沒有說我必須幫助別人，所以我沒有違反十誡。 所以, 如果他們不去管那人,他們仍守了律法。結果他們避開那傷者。甚至可能不知道他是受傷還是死了。 他們並沒有想到那傷者的需要。這兩人是為了保護自身利益而選擇了他們的行動。
如今，有些人不敢幫助別人，因為他們擔心承擔責任，或擔心他們幫助的人會聲稱他們傷害了他。 現代我們有《好撒瑪利亞人》法令來保護營救他人的人免於承擔責任。 但在這裡，對他們造成的不便是讓他們沒有幫助那傷者的原因。
但這撒瑪利亞人的反應卻是完全的不同。 他一定是在一段旅程中 — 他向東走，遠離撒瑪利亞。 他看到了那傷者，是要決定該怎麼做的時候了。 他應該有考慮到三件事: 「我應該嗎?」, 「我能嗎?」, 和 「我願意嗎?」 「我應該嗎?」 這是猶太人的領土，所以這個人很可能是猶太人。 如果我去碰他，那個猶太人可能會不高興。 我會被指控傷害他嗎？ 他的結論：幫助別人永遠是正確的做法。 問題是如何去做。 「我能嗎?」 是的, 如果他還沒有死,我可以試著幫助他活下來。 「我願意嗎?」 如果我去幫助他，我會耽誤我的旅行。 他的決定是：我願意。
他憐憫受傷的人 – 他的心動了，然後做出了決定。 他給受傷的男子包紮，並在傷口上倒了油和酒。 為什麼要攜帶這麼重的液體？ 也許他是一個賣油和酒的商人？ 如果是這樣，那麼他也是強盜的目標。 所以停下來是非常危險的。 他把受傷的人帶到一家旅館去照顧他。 他花時間這樣做，因而耽誤了自己的旅行。 他還花了不少的錢來照顧他。他給旅店老闆留下了更多的錢 – 2 錢銀子是一般人 2 天的工資。
愛和關心別人會花費你一些東西：時間、精力和資源。 他答應旅館老闆說如果不夠的話，他會在回程時給他更多錢。 因此，這不是一次性的行動。 他真的致力於幫助那傷著。 有時愛人及照顧人可能需要很長的時間，而且成本很高。 這個撒瑪利亞人可能不太瞭解神的教導，但他有神的慈心。 那個被認為是外人的人, 結果卻成了那受傷著真正的鄰舍。 還有另一個觀察結果：這比喻中的主角是聽眾看不起的人。 在耶穌的聽眾看來，撒瑪利亞人是他們最意想不到的英雄。 我們或許不覺得自己是什麼了不起的人，但當我們愛人時，我們在神的眼中就是英雄。 因為我們實現了神一直以來希望我們去做的事 — 愛神及愛人。
現在，我們來比較這律法師和耶穌。 律法師問: 「誰是我的鄰舍? 」 他知道愛別人是要付出代價的。 所以他想限制他需要愛的人。 他知道神說要愛你的鄰舍，但神沒有定義誰是鄰舍，所以律法師想限制誰是鄰舍。 耶穌的教導: 要選擇做他人的鄰舍，並學習如何愛你的鄰舍。 1. 愛那些神在我們生命中及路上所放著的人。 即使我們的力量有限，每天我們仍然會遇到去愛別人的機會。 有時候，一句簡短的鼓勵或一句安慰就能讓別人開心一整天。 有研究表明，一句真誠的「謝謝」比禮物或金錢更能給人鼓勵和留下深刻印象。 2. 選擇行動，不能只考慮自己的利益或義務。 我們的意圖會帶領我們的行動。我們的行動向他人顯示了我們真實的內心和意圖。 我們要決定去愛人和學習如何愛和關心別人。 因為那是神的心。
Wendy’s 餐廳裡的那隻小狗又濕又冷，一名員工可能把它帶進了餐廳。 有一個員工給它一片牛肉，但它沒有吃。 是它訓練有素嗎？ 還是因為它感到恐懼？ 最後，有一個女孩把肉掰成小塊並餵給小狗。 她花時間表達善意，讓小狗能安心的吃肉。 也許一個餐廳員工把小狗帶進來，給它食物， 但不知道如何讓它吃。 也許他得回去上班，沒發現小狗沒有吃。 那員工做了正確的事，但做得還不夠。 那女孩花時間照顧它，終於讓小狗吃了食物。 她必須安慰小狗才能讓它進食。 她知道如何去愛，並且做到了。
但是，如果餐廳外面是一個饑餓的人呢？ 人們會如何對待他？ 人們對待他的方式會比員工和女孩對待小狗的方式更好嗎？ 令人遺憾的是，許多人覺得愛動物比愛其他人更容易… 這可能是由於恐懼、鄙視、優越感或冷漠造成的。 我們甚至可能覺得捐款幫助遠方的人比幫助眼前的人更容易。 有一個可能是無家可歸的人坐在一個小餐館前面的地上。 他沒有跟人要食物， 但是根據他坐的位置，每個人都會看出他的意圖。 一個客人去和他有禮貌的說話，那人向他解釋了菜單，讓他選擇食物 ， 然後才去為那人和自己點食物。 他通過解釋食物並讓他選菜，給了那個人一點尊嚴。 在這種狀況下，有時我們會避免互動，只隨便買一點食物給他人而不問他人的意見。 但有時人類的互動比吃的食物更重要。人類需要感到受尊重。 因此，我們也需要學習如何關心他人。
我們需要有正確的意圖及跟隨神的心。 如果道真的在我們裡面成為肉身，人們就會透過我們的行為體驗到神的愛， 就像那受傷的人透過撒瑪利亞人體驗到憐憫一樣。 我們可以從我們周圍的人開始，先照顧我們有義務照顧的人，以及我們認識的人。 然後，我們可以關心我們附近的其他人，然後擴展到我們不認識的人。 神會安排人出現在你的生命中，讓你有機會去去愛及服事他們。去愛的機會往往是神的恩賜。 希伯來書 13:2 – 不可忘記用愛心接待客旅，因為曾有接待客旅的，不知不覺就接待了天使。 問題不在於「誰是我的鄰舍？」，而在於 「今天我是否願意成為他人的鄰舍？」 願我們的行動向世人展現耶穌的愛。這就是「道成肉身」在我們的身上彰顯出來。
願神保佑我們
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