25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
— Luke 10:25-37, ESV

You know the old joke about partisan ministers arguing about whose church Jesus would join today.  The Catholic priest claimed He would join the Catholic church, because of the rich history and tradition of Catholicism.  The Pentecostal pastor claimed He would join a Pentecostal church, because of the fullness of the spirit in the Pentecostal churches.  The Reformed Baptist pastor simply stated, “I don’t think He’d leave our church.”  

Denominations have fun thinking about where the Lord would go to church.  But there is a larger debate that is a little more serious, often more acrimonious, and it transcends denominations.  If Jesus were with us today, would He be considered a liberal or a conservative? 

By liberal, I mean progressive, changing, compassionate, bending to meet the needs of people, sometimes even recklessly so.  By conservative, I mean steadfast, orthodox, compassionate but traditional in means and measure.  You recognize the difference, in politics, in religion, in Christianity.  

If you look closely at the Lord Jesus Christ, what do you see?  As the militant Messiah, He was a radical change-agent.  As the suffering Servant, His heart bled with compassion.  As the topmost Teacher, He affirmed the age old truths of the word of God and offered only one, orthodox way to Heaven.  You can see how both movements, liberal and conservative, claim Jesus Christ as Lord.

This is especially true when you consider the passage of Scripture before us this morning.  Our Lord answers a tough question from a hardline conservative who thinks Jesus is a liberal.  Then, the Lord tells a story that seems liberal on the front end, but has a very conservative cache of old and enduring truths.  It is as if there were two of Him.

We like to call this the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a tale of one, good, Samaritan who did one, real good deed.  But is there more than one good Samaritan in the text, and He did more than one good thing.  Let me tell you the Parable of the Two Samaritans.

The Liberal Samaritan

The “lawyer who stood up to put [Jesus] to the test” was clearly a hawkish conservative who considered Jesus to be a two-dollar liberal.  Luke, the only Gentile writer of Scripture, used “lawyer,” while his Jewish counterparts would have called the gentleman a “scribe.”  Scribes were in league with the Pharisees, and both were considered to be the most conservative people on the planet.

When the One who created the planet showed up, He seemed to be bending and breaking rules, changing existing orthodoxy, and pouring out a bleeding heart to the outcasts of society.  Jesus did break their pharisaical rules. Jesus did challenge their orthodoxy concerning who is, and who is not, going to Heaven.  And Jesus had a heart bigger than Texas and Arkansas put together.  This is all classic liberal stuff.

So just how does one get to Heaven, the lawyer asked Jesus.  In the ultraconservative world of the Scribes and Pharisees, one had to pull oneself up there by their own bootstraps, meticulously obeying and the rules and regulations of the legalists.  Jesus, at this stage the liberal Samaritan, answered not with legalism but with love.  That’s just what a bleeding heart would do.  But the love Jesus offered was based on a quotation from Holy Scripture, and He did not challenge nor change a word of it.

Then, in true liberal fashion, Jesus tells the story of the social gospel.  It was love and action that the priest and the levite lacked.  But the good liberal Samaritan had both.  He gave the robbed and wounded man his heart and hand, not to mention free health care, free food, and free lodging.  

Yes, Jesus is the liberal Samaritan.  And what has He told us to do?  “You go, and do likewise.”

The church of Jesus Christ today should use her considerable assets and prophetic voice to be a champion for the poor, just like Jesus.  We should feed the hungry, cloth the disadvantaged, and shelter the homeless.  We should not expect nor wait for the government to do it.  We should get behind the Christian and other charitable organizations that are doing it well, like Jackson House, The Call, Habitat for Humanity, Christian Charitable Ministries, food banks, and other means of compassionate care.

Praise the Lord, we can find all these organizations and others in our church budget.  Praise the Lord, some of our members are out there working with these entities and others.  Praise the Lord, what a bunch of liberal Samaritans!  

But, let’s not close the door on the conservatives just yet.  They may have something to offer as well.  Because you see, Jesus is both.  He is the liberal Samaritan.  And, He is the conservative Samaritan.  

The Conservative Samaritan

The problem with the Scribes and Pharisees who were constantly accosting Jesus was that it was them, not Him, who had changed the word of God and the gospel of salvation.  In a movement contrary to conservatism, they added layers of bureaucratic rules and regulations to the plain and simple commandments of God.  They replaced grace with a new way of works for a man to “justify himself.”  Theologically speaking, they were the progressive party.  It was Jesus who stood conservatively for the “old paths” (ref. Jeremiah 6:16).

Jesus answered their question, affirming the Old Testament Scripture, and did not add a word to it nor take away anything from it.  Then, Jesus told them a parable.  And remember, parables are always arrows, pointing the way into the kingdom of God.  

Jesus’ answer was pure Bible.  He solicited a quote from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.  Jesus Himself was fond of quoting Scripture and always held the highest view of it, a true conservative principle.  In doing so He rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees who had exchanged word and gospel for a prideful mechanism of religious regulation.  

Receiving and sharing the love of God is the answer to life’s greatest questions.  “For God so loved He gave …” (ref. John 3:16).  Those who have received love give love, for love is the principal gift of the Spirit (ref. Galatians 5:22).  But how does one become rescued by the love and Spirit of God?  It is through, and may I say conservatively only through, the gospel of Jesus Christ (ref. John 14:6).

Jesus’ parable was pure gospel.  He is “compassion,” He is the Good Samaritan, who in love reaches out to the lost.  The man beaten up by the world, the flesh, and the devil was “dead in trespasses and sins” (ref. Ephesians 2:1).  He was lost and without hope in his existing condition.  He could not save himself.  He could not be saved by morality or religion.  Only by accepting the grace based on the work another could he be restored to life.

Here is where the conservative Samaritan comes in.  He does what God has always done.  He demonstrates the one and only way of righteousness is to receive grace.  

God gives grace.  He takes the initiative.  He seeks and saves.  He chooses and changes lives.  Those lost in the ditch of depravity are hopeless and helpless, apart from the grace of God.

God does the work.  The incarnate Lord, Jesus, perfectly fulfilled the law of God with absolute sinlessness.  He kept every commandment, of God not the Pharisees, until His dying day.  He is perfect righteousness and He gives this righteousness away.  

God pays the price.  Jesus’ body and blood make substitutionary atonement for our sin.  A debt we cannot pay is paid in full, securing our spiritual health and giving us an eternal lodging without fee, rent, or mortgage.  

The parable points out there is no way man can “justify himself.”  There is only one way, one gospel, which gives eternal life by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  Our immutable God offers an unchanging way to inherit eternal life.  He is the conservative Samaritan.

Survey the religions establishment in the world today and you will find a plethora of Scribes and Pharisees.  All major religions, except for biblical Christianity, offer a way of works for salvation, and this the true and living God will not accept.  Survey the liberal, mainline Christian denominations in the world today and you will find a lot of programs for the poor, but little or no confidence in Scripture and the gospel.  Survey the conservative, Bible believing, gospel preaching churches in the world today and you will find hope for your soul, but little care for the broken bodies of society.  

What we need today is not a good Samaritan.  We need the two Samaritans in the body of Christ.  We need hands that reach out to the poor and needy to change their circumstances.  We a voice unchanging that preaches and teaches the word of God and gospel of Jesus Christ.  We need to see this complete picture of Jesus in the parable of the two Samaritans and “go and do likewise.”