Beaten, Bruised, and Bloodied

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not allow anyone to put the yoke of slavery on you again. (Galatians 5:1) Amen.

To teach a lesson to a religious expert, Jesus tells a story about a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho who falls into the hands of robbers. He says, “They stripped him, beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.” Beaten, bruised, and bloodied this mess of a man lies there waiting for someone who might be able to help.

Thankfully a priest approaches. Certainly, a deeply religious man like a priest will lend aid. Nope! He sees the beaten and bruised man in the ditch and passes by on the other side.

Then a Levite approaches. Surely a man who works in the temple will stop to help. Nope! He leaves the bloodied mess of a man lying there and continues on.

We can hear the excuses running through the heads of the priest and Levite as they avoided the man in need. We’ve probably used the excuses ourselves. “It’s his own fault this happened.” “If I stop to help, I might put myself in danger.” “He needs more help than I’m able to provide.” We can always create excuses to avoid serving our neighbors.

The priest and Levite were people the religious expert would consider his friends and neighbors - the buddies he wants to hang out with. But they weren’t very friendly. They weren’t very neighborly.

So, Jesus adds some intrigue by making the hero of the story a neighborly Samaritan man, someone a good pious Jew would consider neither a neighbor nor a friend.

Jesus continues: “A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?” “The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

The behavior of the Samaritan could not have been more different than the Jewish men. He had less reason to stop. He had much farther to travel. The more details Jesus adds about what the Samaritan did, the less sense his behavior makes. Unlike the religious expert, he wasn’t looking to avoid as many neighbors as he could. He willingly became the neighbor of the man in need.

I’m sure there have been plenty of sermons over the years that teach, “Don’t be like the bad priest or Levite. Instead, be like the Good Samaritan.”

There is certainly room for pastors in the pulpit or teachers in the classroom to talk about helping the hurting, mending the marred, or curing the casualties. But there is so much more to Jesus’ story than “don’t do this but do this instead.”

The religious expert is asking about what he should do. Listen to his question that prompts Jesus’ story. “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Did you hear the crux of the question? “What must I do …?”

This guy is all about doing, activity, good deeds. It’s all about what he can achieve. He sees himself as the one in control. He’s not looking at what he needs. He doesn’t think he requires God’s grace. This guy is an expert in the law. He knows the Scriptures well. He knows the Jewish priest and the Jewish Levite are good, pious people. He knows the Samaritans are half-bloods and heretics. So, when Jesus has the priest and Levite leave the wounded man in the ditch, the expert doesn’t want to be like either of those guys. But then Jesus includes the Samaritan in the story. The expert would rather be a hypocritical priest than a heretical Samaritan. The lawyer would rather be a phony Levite than an apostate Samaritan. A pure-blood Jewish descendent of Abraham could never imagine himself being like a half-breed from Samaria.

The expert doesn’t want to see himself in the priest or the Levite. He certainly doesn’t want to see himself in the Samaritan. Then who is left in the story? Jesus wants the expert to see himself as the one who was left by the robbers in the ditch.

Jesus wants the expert to realize he doesn’t have it all together. He’s not in control. He’s not the priest or the Levite. He’s not even the Samaritan. Jesus wants the expert to realize he’s the bruised, beaten, and bloodied half-dead man lying by the side of the road. He’s in need of mercy. He’s in need of care. He’s in need of a Good Samaritan.

The Holy Spirit includes this story in Scripture for us to learn from. We can be like the expert and look around at what others are doing or look down on others for who they are. We consider ourselves to be good people, the ones in control, the ones who don’t really need any help.

But that’s not reality. Not even close. That’s why we need this parable.

We are the poor soul lying in the ditch. We have been beaten up by our sin, bruised by our culture, and bloodied by the devil. We are left for dead along the side of the road, for Scripture says, “The soul who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:20).

There are certainly plenty of people in our world who will rob us of our wealth and health. Plenty of demons in the spiritual realm who will rob us of our innocence. But the worst part is that we inflict many of our wounds upon ourselves with our sins, making the situation even worse.

We are the beaten, the bruised, and the bloodied.

We’ve been beaten by robbers who steal our joy and replace it with suffering. We’ve been bruised by our failures to obey God. We’ve been bloodied by our interactions in the workplace and our homes. We’ve been left half-dead by a culture who demands righteousness from us – but only if it fits their current Woke righteousness.

Face it. No one in our world cares. No one is coming to your aid. No one is coming to rescue you. That’s because they are all in the same situation as you. Beaten, bruised, and bloodied. Lying by the side of the road. Left in the ditch to despair and die.

Until a Good Samaritan comes along. Well, not merely a Good Samaritan. … A Great One! The nameless Good Samaritan is someone whose name we know very well – Jesus!

Jesus doesn’t come for the healthy. He comes for you, the sick. He doesn’t come for the strong. He comes for you, the weak. He doesn’t come for those who think they have it all under control, who boast of their achievements, and who are trying to do enough good to enter eternal life. Jesus comes for you because you’ve admitted you’ve lost control of your life – you who are lonely, afraid, smelly, down, and destitute. He comes for you when you finally admit you are dead in your sin and unbelief. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

The Good Samaritan in the parable couldn’t leave the injured man lying by the side of the road. He took the injured man to an inn, poured oil and wine on his wounds, bandaged them up, and then provided for any additional expense.

Jesus couldn’t just leave us at the mercy of the robbers of the devil, his demons, and this world. Instead, the Good Samaritan showed mercy to us. With his incarnation, he got down into the ditch with us. He couldn’t leave us lying there dying in our sins. He was lifted up on the cross so he could lift us up to life again. He cared for our wounds by being wounded on the cross.

But he continues to do so much more. He continues to provide the necessary spiritual medical attention we need. He provides the oil and wine of his baptismal waters on us every time we hear his words of forgiveness and see the sign of the cross. He lifts us up and carries us with his Word to the inn of his Christian Church. He puts us in the care of his innkeepers – his pastors. He provides us with food in his Sacramental meal at the Lord’s Table.

Our Good Samaritan covers all the expenses – not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death (1 Peter 1:18). He sees our misery and mess and rescues us.

I want you to see the expert in the ditch. Then see yourself lying right next to him. You look down the ditch and you see all of us lying there. Our Good Samaritan of Jesus comes along to rescue all of us – one by one.

After you see Jesus as the Good Samaritan who rescues you, then as a sanctified Christian, you will desire to be a Good Samaritan who rescues others. You love because Jesus first loved you. Because Jesus left his home in heaven to be your neighbor here on earth, you can be a neighbor to those around you here on earth. Because Jesus has freed you from your prejudices, hesitancy, and excuses, you can help those who are different from you.

Lucas and Skyler, both 18-year-old cousins, were on an inflatable raft on Beck Lake in Cody on the afternoon of July 4. A thunderstorm suddenly swept over Cody, churning up the calm waters. The guys were in the middle of the lake when the inflatable raft capsized, sending Lucas and Sklyer into the water. They weren’t wearing life vests. Even though both guys were very good swimmers, because of the heavy swells and current, they weren’t able to swim to the side of the lake. So, they started calling for help.

A man who was at the dock with his canoe, heard and saw them. He grabbed two life vests from his canoe and swam out to the guys. They grabbed onto the life vests, and he swam them back to shore. After checking that the two teens were OK, the man left, without giving his name to them.

That stranger was a Good Samaritan. I pray that any of us would be willing to help whenever the need arises. Not because we have to. Not because we’d feel guilty if we didn’t help. Not because we are trying to inherit eternal life. We act like Good Samaritans because we already have eternal life. Because we are sanctified and want to put our faith into action. Because we get to follow the example of Jesus, our Good Samaritan.

You are the beaten, bruised, and bloodied half-dead messes in the ditch. Jesus comes along to be your Good Samaritan. He washes you up, bandages your wounds, brings you to the inn, feeds you, and pays for your continued care. Now when you find others in the ditch who are just as beaten, bruised, and bloodied as you were, bring them to the inn of our church. Together let’s wash them with baptismal waters, feed them with Christ’s sacramental meal, bandage their wounds with God’s forgiveness, and assure them their continued care has been paid for by Jesus’ redemptive sacrifice on the cross.

Then you will be a Good Samaritan, too. Amen.

Serve one another through love. In fact, the whole law is summed up in this one statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13, 14). Amen.