The Neighbor Jesus Chose, Part V: Go and Do Likewise! - Sunday, August 23, 2026

For the last five weeks we have walked this road with Jesus. We have listened to a lawyer ask a question. We have watched a traveler fall among thieves. We have seen a priest pass by. We have seen a Levite walk away. We have watched a Samaritan stop. We have witnessed compassion become action. And now we arrive at the conclusion. The surprising thing about this parable is that Jesus never really answers the question the lawyer asked. Remember how the conversation began. The lawyer asked: "And who is my neighbor?" But Jesus never gives him a list or a direct answer. Instead, Jesus tells a story. And at the end of the story, Jesus asks a question of His own. The lawyer asked: "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus asks: "Which one became a neighbor?" This parable leaves us with four Important Words. Jesus concludes: "Go and do likewise." Not: Go and admire likewise. Not: Go and discuss likewise. Not: Go and debate likewise. Not: Go and study likewise. He said, Go and do likewise. Christianity was never intended to be merely informational. It was always meant to be transformational. The parable of the Good Samaritan is not merely a moral lesson. It is also a picture of the Gospel. Throughout church history, many believers have seen Christ reflected in the Samaritan. Consider the similarities, beloved. The wounded man represents humanity. Broken by sin, Helpless and Unable to save itself. The priest and Levite represent religion - the Law. Human effort. Good intentions. Yet none could rescue the wounded man. Then comes the Samaritan. The unexpected rescuer. The rejected one. The outsider. The one many would overlook. He comes near. He binds wounds. He provides healing. He pays the cost and promises to return. Isn’t that exactly what Jesus did for us? We were wounded by sin. Unable to save ourselves. Religion could not rescue us. Good works could not rescue us. Human effort could not rescue us. Then came Jesus the rejected one – the stone that was rejected became the chief cornerstone. He left His heavenly throne, He drew near. He healed our wounds. He paid our debt at calvary. And He promised in John 14:3 that: "I will come again." Here's your challenge: ask yourself these reflection questions: Who has God placed on my road? Whose wounds have I overlooked? Where is God calling me to show mercy? Am I becoming the kind of person who reflects the compassion of Christ? Because at the end of the day, the question is not merely who my neighbor is. The question is whether I am becoming a neighbor. And whether the mercy I have received from Christ is now flowing through me to others.