A Half Breed for the Half Dead

Text:

Luke 10:29-36:

29: But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30: And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped

      him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31: And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32: And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33: But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34: And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to

      an inn, and took care of him.

35: And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care

      of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36: Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

 

Theme:

A Half Breed for the Half Dead

 

Introduction:

• The Gospel according to St. Luke from which our text comes was written by the one called by Paul, “the beloved physician”, and often traveled with Paul on his journeys. Luke’s focus in writing the Gospel was to tell of Jesus’ life as  the Human-Divine One as opposed to The Gospel according to St. John which tells Jesus’ life as the Divine-Human One.
• The passage of the Gospel of Luke from which we have taken out text concerns itself with the story of Jesus having encountered a lawyer asking questions in the attempt to tempt Jesus…just to trip our Savior up.
  • This parable comes forth in response to the lawyer asking Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
  • The lawyer ended up getting a depiction of not only the potential for his neighbor, but also the potential for his SELF!!!

 

Body:

• “There was a CERTAIN Man”
  • The certain man, a Jew as believed, was left half-dead after having been robbed and beaten and left on the side of the road.
• There was a HALF BREED for the HALF DEAD
  • A priest passed by on the other side
    • The priest was seen as perfect in the eyes of the people
  • A Levite passed by on the other side
    • Levites are of the priestly tribe of the Jews…as close to priestly perfection as you can get
  • Isn’t it amazing how all of the OTHER JEWS passed by on the OTHER SIDE
    • We will go to the other side sometimes just to avoid what we know we should be doing!
    • We will go to the other side sometimes just those on our own side!
  • “But a CERTAIN Samaritan”
    • God had a certain somebody who was not even a Jew…a stranger, a half breed Samaritan
    • God can use whoever, however, whenever, and wherever to do whatever!
      • He didn’t cross to the other side
      • He didn’t avoid helping the man
      • HE HAD COMPASSION!
• There were some pretty pitiful folk called US
  • First of all from Psalms 51:5, we know that, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
  • Don’t we find ourselves like the “certain man”
    • “went down from Jerusalem to Jericho”
      • Oh, how many of us are guilty of traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho
        • From home to outside
        • From a safe place to a dangerous place
        • From the church house to the club house
    • “and fell among thieves”
      • First of all, “fell” because leaving God takes you no where but DOWN!!
        • When we leave the church, leave God, or leave our home, things just get worse!!
      • Secondly, leaving made the man vulnerable to those outside of the ark of safety…thieves
        • Thieves because they want we have!!
        • John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:”
        • Satan is the chief thief, and he has helpers!
      • Thirdly, sometimes the thieves are the ones closest to us! The nicest!  The cutest!  The most dedicated!
    • “which stripped him of his raiment”
      • The difference between us and the certain man is that thieves stripped the certain of his clothes but we take our clothes off ourselves at the sight of the thief…WE TAKE OURS OFF!!!
        • Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
          • The whole armor is our raiment: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation.
        • The thief does not want your armor…he just wants you to take it off
        • Take off the armor and then the enemy can get to your life
    • “and wounded him”
      • Once the armor is off the enemy injures us bodily, spiritually, and, emotionally.
      • Let’s look at Job!
        • After the hedge of protection was taken from around him
        • After his possessions were taken away from him
        • After his children were killed
        • After his wife turned on him
        • After his friends turned on him
          • then the enemy touched his body with boils!
          • It’s one thing to mess with my STUFF
            • But it’s another thing to mess with my SELF!
    • “and departed leaving him half dead”
      • The thieves left him half dead…they didn’t kill him!
      • Satan/Sin leaves us HALF DEAD…he can’t kill us! We are left:
        • Without all of our faculties
          • Half cocked
        • Without all of the joy that we used to have
          • Half hearted
        • Without a mind to do right
          • Half out of our mind
        • HALF DEAD!
• There is a HALF BREED for us HALF DEAD
  • God gave a CERTAIN somebody to help us…Jesus
    • John 3:17, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
  • However, although Jesus’ breeding consisted of half his human mother, Mary, and his divine Father, God, his existence was not half and half…Jesus was at the same time ALL HUMAN and ALL DIVINE
    • Jesus was ALL HUMAN
      • He needed sleep … that was from His mama
        • Mark 4:38, “And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow”
      • He cried … that was from His mama
        • John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”
      • He got thirsty … that was from His mama
        • John 19:28, “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.”
      • He got hungry … that was from His mama
        • Matthew 4:2, “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.”
      • He got angry … that was from His mama
        • After his triumphal entry into Jerusalem which is celebrated now as Palm Sunday, Jesus went into the temple and got mad at what He saw
        • Luke 19:46, “Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
      • He died … that was from His mama
        • John 19:30, “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”
    • Jesus was ALL DIVINE
      • At age twelve, when Mary and Joseph had left the Passover feast, they realized that Jesus was not with them. When they went back and found Him in the temple baffling the priests, Jesus simply said to them:
        • Luke 2:49, “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”
      • A woman with an issue of blood as well as others was healed from the POWER that was in the hem of His garment…THAT’S GOD!
      • The disciples knew that He had to be Divine because after Jesus calmed the seas from the ship they said in
        • Matthew 8:27, “… What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”
        • THAT’S GOD!
      • At the cross the centurion knew it too, for after seeing our Saviour die and nature mourn at its loss, he cried out in:
        • Mark 15:39, “Truly this man was the Son of God”
        • THAT’S GOD!
      • But He didn’t stop at death. He went to Hell and preached the first revival, letting Satan know that His time ain’t long.  THAT’S GOD!
      • But He didn’t stop at that revival. He then got up from the grave on that third day morning with ALL POWER in His hands!  THAT’S GOD!
        • This lets us know that our time ain’t long!!!

 

Conclusion:

• Jesus is our Good Samaritan, just as the Good Samaritan did, Jesus does for us:
  • “And went to him”
    • God didn’t turn away from us
    • I’m not a Jew, but He loves me…I’m yet a sinner, but He loves me!!!
    • Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
  • “and bound up his wounds pouring in oil and wine”
    • God gave His best that we might live
    • John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
  • “and set him on his own beast”
    • God gave us His own as a means of transportation
    • John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
  • “and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”
    • God gives us a place in the midst of our weakness and struggle
    • Psalms 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
  • “And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”
    • Jesus came and left, but before He left He took care of my bill and set me up a tab.
    • I am so glad that Jesus paid the price for ME on Calvary
      • When I was half dead
      • When I couldn’t pay my own way
      • When I already had a past due bill through sin
      • When I still incurring charges through sin
  • And HE’S COMING BACK!!

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