Imagine the most despised person in society and making them the hero of the story. That's what Jesus does -- no one would have expected a Samaritan to be the hero here. For a priest and a Levite to pass the wounded man by and the Samaritan to show compassion is intended to shock the audience -- because Jesus wants to shock us. Jesus wants us to step back from labels and think about acts of love and limits of love. He wants us to realize that God thinks about love differently than we do. God doesn't shy away from costly love. Realize what this Samaritan does -- for a complete stranger, he not only inconveniences himself, but also writes a blank check so that this man can be healed. He incurs great cost to himself for the sake of another.
The idea is that we realize that we are the ones who are wounded. We are the ones who need a Savior, and thankfully, Jesus is the one who comes with a willingness to incur costly love. Jesus doesn't count the cost, but is willing to write a blank check, up to and including at the cost of his life, so that we might be healed. Jesus shows us mercy.
If we hear this story enough, and let it marinate into our hearts, we are amazed at the love of God. The more we do this, then it shapes us into a certain type of people. We become the type of people we expand the limits on our own love, because we are busy giving thanks for the love of God that has expanded to include us when we are broken.
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