The Good Samaritan

Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church

Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast

you can have an encounter with Jesus that will

change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. Fantastic. So

if you've been around church for any amount of

time, you might have heard this story before.

And if you haven't been around church, then welcome.

The Good Samaritan, it's on plaques, it's on

charity vans. probably shared my private school

devotion and assemblies at least once a term.

It's a phrase we hear in parliament speeches.

In fact, there's actually the Good Samaritan

Act, which was a law brought into Australian

law in 2011 that talks and protects people from

the civil liability or the repercussions of them

going to go help another person, like giving

them unneeded CPR. It is in media headlines.

You know, there was a man, Alan Dare, and the

headline said, Alan Dare, Good Samaritan. He

was someone in 2022 who died when he went to

investigate some smoke on a property and was

fatally shot. Alan Dare, the Good Samaritan.

But familiarity can mimic or fake understanding.

Because one of the most unfortunate things that

can happen to a parable is that we turn it into

a slogan rather than a deep revelation of the

Kingdom of God. Most of us here might hear the

Good Samaritan and think, okay, try harder. And

immediately something within us tightens. Because,

well, we're already tired. We're already stretched

thin. We're already trying so hard to be good

parents, be good employees, to be a good husband

and wife, to be a good Christian perhaps. And

this parable can feel like Jesus is saying, do

more, love more, care more, just do a better

job. But what if that is not the invitation?

What if this parable isn't a to -do list or a

how -to list on how to love, but rather a wake

-up call to the very grace of God? We live in

a moment in history where compassion is really

loud, but actual mercy is rare. You know, we

can retweet, I don't think it's called that anymore,

we can retweet empathy. You know, we can post

slogans. We can share causes. Facebook has this

whole thing set up on your birthday. You just

click a button, click a cause, and you can ask

for people's money. We can say thoughts and prayers.

But when we come across someone actually bleeding

at the side of our path, maybe they're suffering,

losing it mentally on the public bus or falling

apart emotionally in the hospital waiting room.

Many of us quietly think, I just don't have the

capacity. These are my boundaries, and I'm not

crossing them. You know, we are over -scheduled,

over -stimulated, over -anxious, and under -connected.

We have a passion for causes, and I want to honor

that, but often we have no margin for people.

You know, we live in a culture that is quick

to judge from a distance, metaphorical or through

our phones, but we are very slow to kneel close

to someone in need. And it is into this world

and into that world that Jesus tells this story.

He doesn't simply say, try harder, but instead

He confronts us with something far more radical

and transforming. that we don't just struggle

to help, but we needed help first. I'm not gonna

give you a surprise halfway through the sermon

at what it's gonna be about. I'm just gonna say

it right now. We can only be the Samaritan once

we first, once we admit we were first the man

in the ditch rescued by Christ. or simply we

want to be the helper, but Jesus shows us that

first we are the one in need of help. Let us

pray. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that

you've brought us here today. Whatever we've

got going on in our weeks, Lord, may we just

bring that to you. That is a part of us, but

you carry all of that. Lord, may Your words speak

so clearly today. And if nothing else, may we

know of Your love. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

So it was a Sunday morning, not this morning.

It was a different Sunday morning. It was a church

morning. And as you can imagine, it was a holy

and peaceful time, having to leave the house

right at the kids' lunch time, every time. The

kids were melting down. We were already late

by like my standards. Shoes were missing. They're

probably in the car. Couldn't find them. Ollie's

hair had been done up and then undone and then

done up and then undone. Lunch boxes had some

snacks in them. Tim probably did that. Dinner

was had been planned. It was some some packet

of noodles. It was chaos and you know what, I

was so close to losing my Jesus, but we got in

the car. We got in the car and we were driving

and I was like, Tim, you got to pull into the

IGA because I for sure needed a Coca Cola. So

yes, thank you. So Tim pulled into the car park

and I was like, no, no, you and the kids stay

in the car. Please stay in the car. I just need

a moment of space. Stay in the car. It's fine.

I've got this. I'll be fine. And then I got out

and I was like, deep breath. And I walk into

where the shop entrance was and I see a woman

sitting there at the front. And the look on her

face told me, I need someone today. She needed

someone. And all I could think of was not today.

Have you seen the time? Do you know where I need

to be? Not today. I cannot. I am drowning. And

so I got my cola and I got the kids some sour

spray. That was a time that week, wasn't it everyone?

Surely if I got them some sour spray that would

like temper their moods. It was fine. We got

to church, did the thing and I was sitting in

worship later and it hit me. I had avoided someone

in comfort because I was so desperate for comfort

myself. I didn't just fail to help someone in

need. I needed help. You know, sometimes we can

imagine that we don't help people because Maybe

we're cold -hearted or we think that we're uncaring

or maybe we're selfish or we just don't have

enough or there's idols in our life that take

over. But often it's something else. We don't

pass by pain because we hate people. We pass

by because we are hurting too. We are tired,

stretched, overwhelmed and trying everything

to hold our own world together. And it's not

that we have no heart, it's that our heart is

wounded, it is empty, or it's running on fumes.

Before Jesus invites us to be the Samaritan who

offers help, He invites us, He meets us as the

traveller who needs help. We don't just fail

to rescue many, many, many days, we are the ones

that need rescuing. And Jesus knows that. He

meets us as the one in the ditch. Why don't we

open up our Bibles? Probably on your phones.

If you want a hard copy one, grab this one. Follow

along with me. We're going to open up to Luke

10 as Kyra read it out the second time. Verses

25 to 37. I mean, who... I mean, more word of

God, hey? It's all good. And it begins like this.

One day an expert in religious law stood up to

test Jesus. From the very first line, we see

his motive. He's not seeking truth, but testing

Jesus. He asked, teacher, what do I have to do

to inherit eternal life? Look at those words.

What must I do? Not just accept and receive eternal

life freely, but how do I earn it? How do I control

it? And this is a human reflex. Tell me the rules.

I'll do them. Just tell me what it is I need

to do. Where is the benchmark? How can I secure

my place? I'll do it. Just tell me. Jesus answers,

what does the law of Moses say? How do you read

it? The man quotes Deuteronomy in Leviticus.

The man answered, you must love the Lord your

God with all your heart, all your soul, all your

strength and all your mind, and love your neighbour

as yourself. Right! Jesus told him, do this and

you will live. That's like a pat on the back

from Jesus. But the man is not satisfied. He

wants the bare minimum requirement, so he asks,

justifying his actions, who is my neighbour?

Translation, where is the limit? Where can I

stop? How much love is enough? Where is the boundary

that I can draw in my life? He is not seeking

clarity. He's seeking an escape clause. And we

do the same. I'll love my people. I'll help those

who look like me, who think like me, go to the

same church as me, vote like me, agree with me,

live next to me maybe. But Jesus refuses this

very small version of love. Jesus does not answer

who the neighbour is. Instead he tells a cool

story, a parable. And at the end he asks who

was a neighbour. He shifts the question from

who is my neighbour to who was a neighbour. From

who deserves my love to what kind of person am

I becoming? Not, how do I love less? How do I

love enough? But instead, how do I love like

heaven? Because friends, Jesus wants to bring

his kingdom to earth. And in Henley here we pray,

Lord, may your kingdom come here in Henley as

it is in heaven. This prayer isn't just sentimental.

It's not just something that sounds good because

of the alliteration. It is disruptive. It breaks

walls that cross this boundary. It costs something

to pray this. The kingdom of God does not draw

circles to keep people out. It breaks them so

grace can enter in. But what was the parable?

What was the story, this cool little story that

Jesus shared? Well, a priest walks by the man,

a Levite, which is the temple assistant, walks

by. These are the church people. They're respected.

They're clean. The ones you would expect to help.

And Jesus says, nuh -uh. The hero of the story

today is a Samaritan. This is like a bomb in

the middle of the religious heart of the people

who are asking. It cuts through all the expectations.

A Samaritan? To Jewish listeners, Samaritans

were racially wrong, theologically wrong, culturally

wrong. Which is wrong. That was not meant to

be the hero. Jesus is blowing up ethnic superiority,

spiritual pride, religious tribalism. This story

is not like a soft little story about good morals

that we should follow. This story was a revelation

to that community. Enter now and it's speaking

a holy truth. The racist categories of society

do not exist in the Kingdom of God. In heaven,

there is no us and them. There is only beloved

and rescued. And we pray, God, let that kingdom

come here in Hanley, as it is in heaven. So what

does the actual Samaritan do? Why is he such

a hero? What does he do for the traveller? Well,

the Samaritan saw him. He was moved with compassion.

He came near. He touched wounds. He paid the

cost. And He promised to return. These aren't

good morals. This is not a good bedtime story,

although you could probably read it then. This

is the very heart of God revealed. And doesn't

it kind of sound familiar? Like this is Jesus's

job description. He's the one who saw you, had

compassion on you, drew near to you, carried

you, paid for you, and promised to return for

you. This story whispers, you are not the hero

because there's already a hero and he came for

you. We can only be this Samaritan once we admit

we were the first, we were first the man in the

ditch rescued by Christ. We want to be the helper,

but Jesus shows us first that we are the ones

in need of help. Jesus didn't come and save us

because we were really good at loving. Jesus

saves because He is good at loving. And nowhere

more do we see that any more clearly than at

the cross. Grace does not stand at a distance

and applaud our effort. Grace climbs down into

the ditch of humanity and bleeds there. Grace

does not simply ask us to try harder. Grace takes

the nails, carries a cross, and wears a crown

of thorns. On the road between heaven and earth,

we were not simply wounded in a ditch, but we

were dead to our sins. Jesus did not cross the

street for us. He crossed eternity. He stepped

into flesh. He walked the long road of suffering,

carrying a cross through Jerusalem, willing to

move towards pain so that He could move us towards

life. and He hung on the cross that we deserved.

At the cross, Jesus became the stranger, despised

and rejected. He was the one left outside the

camp, treated as the enemy, the outcast, the

unwanted, so that you and I could be brought

home and carried in His arms. The Gospel is not

God saying, you're so close, just do a little

more. The Gospel says you were helpless. so I

came to help you. You were broken, so I was broken

for you. You were condemned, so I took upon your

condemnation. You were dying, so I died in your

place. Before we ever get to be the Samaritan,

Christ became the one who crossed the road, carried

us on his shoulders, and paid or we owed. Not

with coins, but with His very blood. The Gospel

does not say, try harder. It says, it is finished.

It says, come and be carried. I'll invite Charlie

back up. So when Jesus shares this story and

then He finally says at the end, go and do. likewise.

He is not saying try harder in your own strength.

He's saying now that you have been loved like

this, go and love others. This is not grit your

teeth Christianity. It is grace filled mercy.

It is a love that flows because we have been

carried first. Henley imagine imagine if mercy

became our instinct instead of avoidance and

defensiveness Seeking out our coca -colas What

if compassion outran Convenience that we seek

even when our calendars full Even when it stretches

us beyond what we think we can bear What if we

cross the street for strangers? Cross the room

at church to greet someone on their own? What

if we cross cultural lines? Opening our homes

and opening our hearts to those who look different

to us, who speak different, who live different

to us? What if we forgave faster than we judged?

I know which one's kind of quicker. Choosing

mercy in the car park. Patience in the Woolworths

line as the order lady does one item at a time.

What if we chose grace in our group chats? Gentleness

at the school pickup. Kindness online. When people

are just commenting the most inappropriate things.

What if our love wasn't just inspirational quotes

or charity van slogans or good intentions and

really great headlines. But meals delivered.

Coffee invitations, checking on our elderly neighbors

or the non -old ones too. Showing up for a tired

parent. Showing up for a tired student on placement.

Slowing down to listen to someone who's hurting.

Sitting with someone in their grief. opening

our table to someone who needs a family, offering

prayer and actually praying instead of passing

by silently. Imagine the kingdom of God breaking

in. Imagine the Henley community noticing. Imagine

people saying, I don't know what's happening

in that church, but love. Love just keeps spilling

out of it. That right there, that, that is heaven

in Hanley. That is the kingdom of God near to

us. Because when, when mercy walks across the

road, heaven walks with it. And when the church

moves towards pain, people meet. Jesus. Not because

we are any good at helping. But because we remember

that we were first helped. So where do you feel

wounded, exhausted and unseen? Where do you need

Jesus to kneel beside you today? I'm gonna take

a moment in silence for you to have a think about

that. Maybe write something down. Where do you

need Jesus to kneel beside you today? Just like

them. Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's

message. If you felt challenged or need prayer,

we'd love to hear from you on Instagram at encounterhemmy.

Or if you're interested in how you can support

this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide

.com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless

you.