“But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus…”
So often when considering the story of the Good Samaritan, we forget the setup. There is a lawyer who wants to test Jesus, and he fails. Hard. Jesus shows that his “difficult” question was silly. And this fellow is embarrassed, and he wants to justify himself. He asks a question not to learn but to try to prove how good he is.
The tale of the Good Samaritan is a response to self-justification. Do you want to pretend that you’re good – so, do you risk life and limb for those who hate you, and do you give up all that you have and then take out loans to care for them? Because that’s what the Samaritan does – that’s what we all ought to do. If you want to be justified by the law, if you want to justify yourself, there’s the standard.
And we can’t match it. Jesus holds this up to the lawyer to just get him to shut his trap, to stop his plotting and self-congratulation. You are not good. Period.
And yet, there is One who is Good – God. There is One who is Good – Christ Jesus who comes down from heaven and takes up human life and limb not merely to risk them but specifically to suffer and die for miserable sinners. There is One who gives all that He has to rescue and redeem people battered and broken by sin.
And that is what Jesus has done for you. You don’t need to talk, you don’t need to prove yourself to God. You don’t need to demonstrate anything – because Christ is the One who has done it all for you. He has found you broken and beaten, dead in sin and trespasses, and He gives you life and forgiveness and salvation in His Word. Simple as that, with nothing more for us to say.
