Why Some Stop, Why Some Pass By?

There are stories in the Bible were we all cheer the hero of the story, go home rejoicing in what they had done, but then go back to our ordinary lives. One of those stories is the good Samaritan—the priest passes by, the Levite passes by, but the Samaritan stops, loves, heals, gives, and even goes the extra mile and says, whatever else they need, put that on my account. Jesus tells this story to show the difference between heroes and the ordinary, the difference between being religious or making a difference for God. So many churches are dwindling down in number, they are looking for the next great program or great marketing strategy to put them over the top, but it is really simple, become a hero, stop passing up the opportunity to make a difference in the world.

Parable of the Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

³¹ “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. ³² A Temple assistant^[a] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

³³ “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.³⁴ Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,^[b] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

³⁶ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

³⁷ The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”  (Luke 10: 30-37)

We have all passed by in our lives, we all have walked on the other side of the street. Many times we look for those to come to the church that are going to help support the cause, not be a cause for support. Do we want to be someone who stops, do we want to be a hero for God. Let’s look at who passed by in the story, why they might have passed by, the reasons we might pass by, and what could cause us to stop.

1. Who passed by—A priest and A Levite—this really stings since they are supposed to be “Godly” people, and they both represent something that really isn’t good about religious service. Jesus used these two to drive home a point to all those who want to serve God from a religious point of view.

a. they were both busy in religious service—this is a real problem, there is a difference between religious service and Christianity.

b. Sometimes in our quest for the good, we bypass the best. The goal isn’t theology, or spiritual recognition, our goal is to be like Christ.

c. They were in the ministry—it is true that there is a real danger that ministry can become what others can do for us, over what we can do for others.

2. Why they might have passed by—

a. they may have been in a hurry to get to Synagogue—religion can cause us to become churchy, to feel like ministry must go on inside the four walls under the steeple.

b. they may have decided the person had it coming to them. Many times the lack of effort in helping those in need is the predisposition we have of making the judgment that they should have been in church. Or I knew they would never amount to anything. Or they should have listened to us a long time ago.

c. Maybe they could just care less—as long as I am righteous, as long as I’m on my way to heaven, as long a my family is doing good. Religion has the tendency of making people self centered and self absorbed.

3. Why might we pass by?

a. one of the main reasons we might not care for the lost and hurting in this world is the effort required to help people. It takes time, effort, energy and sometimes money, and it is easier just to go to the weekly church service.

b. Maybe we don’t have as much of Christ in us as we profess. Maybe we are still worldly and given over to our own appetites and needs.

c. We might just not like people—people love the church, they love the ministry, they love the conferences, the councils, the committee meeting, they just don’t like dealing with problematic people. It’s like, if it were for all these rotten people, the world would be a better place. When we get out of the people business, we pass by.

4. What Could Cause Us To Stop?

a. have compassion—the Samaritan had compassion, Jesus had compassion on the multitudes, and until we get a good dose of compassion and love for sinners, the lost, the sick, the lonely, the hurting of society, we won’t ever stop.

b. To realize the church has lost its impact on society as a whole, and if we don’t start stopping, this old world is going to fall apart. The church can be the spiritual glue that can hold things together. We have the ability to make a difference by our love.

c. a fresh revelation of the cross—if we realize that Christ didn’t just die for us, but for this whole world, it could be the attitude adjustment that could cause us to stop, to help, to care, to listen. Maybe we will get burned a few times, maybe some will take advantage of us, but at least we are on the right side of the road.

In many occasions Jesus would tell a story and then say, go and do likewise. Jesus tells us to walk on the right side of the road. Anyone who is a giver, a helper, a person of love and compassion, is a true neighbor. So many people profess a great love for God, but 1 John 4:7-11 says that the love for God, who we have never seen, is proven by those who we do see.

⁷ Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. ⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

We have all passed by before, let’s pray God gives us a chance to stop. When we stop, we aren’t doing the people near as much good as we are doing ourselves. It is when we do real ministry we feel like we are doing God’s will for us by fulfilling this commandment: “…. through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13b-14 NASB)