02/17/2026
Hope Church
Parables of Jesus Series
A parable is a story taken from real life or a common situation in life in order to make a spiritual point. Jesus told parables to teach truth to open hearts and challenge resistant ones.
Parable of the Good Samaritan - Luke 10:25-37
A religious expert wants to know how to inherit eternal life, but only to point out he has kept the law. When he confesses that we are to love God and our neighbors, he then asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” This question is also not from sincerity but to see who qualifies as a neighbor and what the minimum amount of effort was required to love that person.
In the Kingdom of God, Love is not a concept but a confrontation. Most of us like the idea of loving people—we just don’t always like the inconvenience of actually doing it.
In Luke 10, Jesus tells a story to reveal who our neighbors are and the kind of love we are to give them.
- A man is robbed and beaten, left half dead. Though we know nothing of his occupation, moral resume, or how deserving he was to receive care, we know this: he was a fellow human being IN NEED.
- Three men find him on the path:
- 1. A priest and levite:
a. These men worked in God’s house
b. These men were respected as men who loved God and modeled His Word
c. But they both pass by on the other side.
- They didn’t fail because they lacked Biblical knowledge. They failed because they didn’t let compassion interrupt their schedule.
- You can be close to God’s work and far from God’s heart.
- Never let working for God destroy the work of God in you.
- 2. A Samaritan:
a. Samaritans were hated by Jews and considered corrupt, mixed, unclean and false worshippers.
b. Jews would inconvenience themselves before interacting with Samaritans
c. This man sees the man in need and felt compassion for him and helped.
- Compassion: “To suffer with or feel with”
- Jesus is frequently described as being moved with compassion for people
The religious saw the man in need and avoided and moved on to “spiritual” things. The Samaritan saw the man in need and moved toward the man.
- When you see with God’s eyes, you will feel with His heart.
- Love demands action.
The Samaritan gave costly, inconvenient and compassionate love:
- He risks his own reputation by helping a Jewish man
- He had no expectation for anything in return
- He poured oil and wine and bandaged the man’s wounds
- He used what he had to meet an immediate need
- He lifted the man onto his own animal
- He found the man a place to stay and recover
- He made a sacrifice to pay for the man’s care
- He promised to return
In Jesus’ culture, having a neighbor carried with it a sense of responsibility. Prior to 911 and Government assistance or medicare, people relied on others nearby for care.
Needs I see aren’t someone else’s responsibility, they are mine.
Jesus is the Samaritan. We were half dead and in need of rescue—beaten down by sin, abandoned and unable to save ourselves. Religion saw us and passed us by. But Jesus, the outsider who was despised and rejected, came to where we were:
- He bound our wounds. (Palm 147:3)
- He paid the price for our healing and carried our cross. (Isaiah 53)
- He delivered us to safety. (Colossians 1:13)
- He made a deposit of the Holy Spirit (Comforter & Helper) (Eph 1:13-14)
- He promised to prepare a place for us & then return. (John 14:2-3)
We don’t love our neighbor to earn salvation:
- We love our neighbor because salvation has already come to us.
- We love because He first loved us.
- We forgive because He first forgave us.
- We extend mercy because we have received mercy.
- We move toward others with compassion because He first moved toward us.
Question for Us Today: Who is lying in the road of your life right now?
Maybe it’s you? Maybe a person you’ve been avoiding?
A situation that feels inconvenient or overwhelming?
A need you’ve spiritualized away?
Jesus says to go and do the same! Not because it is easy or safe, but because that is what love looks like in the Kingdom of God.
