"Go and Do Likewise"

Luke 10:25-37

“Go and do likewise.” The punchline of Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan is clear and direct. It sounds simple, but let’s be honest—sometimes we just don’t want to. Helping others is inconvenient, time-consuming, and often uncomfortable. Even when we do want to, we quickly realize that we cannot love as we should.

If this parable is just one more command for us to obey, all it does is highlight how often we fail to love our neighbor and reminds us that we can never measure up. If the message ends with the command, we are left crushed by the weight of our own inadequacy. But what if this parable isn’t just about us? What if we first see ourselves as the man lying in the ditch—beaten, broken, and helpless? What if we see Jesus at the center of the parable as the Good Samaritan? 

Jesus is the one who finds us in our brokenness, tends to our wounds, and bears the cost of our healing with His own life. On the cross, Jesus took our sin, our failures, and our inability to love perfectly, and He paid the price for all of it. Through His death and resurrection, He brings us to new life.

Now, “Go and do likewise” has been transformed from a crushing demand to an invitation. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Empowered by Christ’s love, we are called to show mercy, not out of obligation, but in response to the mercy we have received. We don’t have to justify ourselves; Jesus has already done that. Freed from guilt, we are sent to reflect His love to a world in need.

Who in your life is in desperate need of Christ's mercy? How can you, strengthened by Jesus, go and do likewise?