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In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...
(Gen. 1:1)



...And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness...
(Gen. 1:2)



...And God said, Let there be light: and there was light...
(Gen. 1:3)



...And God saw the light, that it was good...
(Gen. 1:4)



Jesus Christ says: ...I am the light of the world...
(Joh. 8:12)

...For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life...
(John 3:16)


The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! He is alive and death reigns no longer over Him. Anyone who puts his trust in Jesus Christ, receives everlasting, eternal life. The Bible calls this regeneration. A person is then spiritually born-again.

Perhaps you're wondering what you must do to receive this. The Bible teaches us that we don't have to do anything, but that we simply must believe. In general this means that we have to let something go: namely the steering wheel of life. So don't trust in yourself or other people any longer but put your trust in God and in what He tells you in His Word. This is called conversion. That's when you don't follow your own way any longer, but God's way. He wants to lead us His way. That's the only right way after all.

When you're born-again, you will literally be connected to God. He is the source of life. The Word of God is like food that will strengthen and feed the new life that has been born within you. Many Christians can confirm this. But it is impossible to understand these spiritual things properly without being born-again. You can compare it to a blind person who will never fully understand what a certain colour looks like. Or to a deaf person for whom it's impossible to imagine the sound of a bird's song. The same holds true for the natural man: he is spiritually blind, deaf and lame. If he becomes born-again, he virtually sees those beautiful colours and he hears these wonderful sounds or he jumps up and can walk around. But how do you explain the colour red to a blind man? Or the song of a robin to a deaf man? That's the reason why the simple message of the Gospel is so powerful: Dead man, believe and come to life! Blind man, believe and receive your sight! Deaf man, believe and hear! All these illustrations speak of the same: come to believe in Jesus Christ as your Redeemer and Saviour and you will live. Put your trust in God and in His Word from now on and accept Him in your life. If you do this, you will be transformed from an 'old man' with a past into a 'new man' with a bright future. This is grace, a wonderful present, that you only need to accept. But God doesn't force you. You can choose to reject His offer to become part of His Kingdom.

The Bible teaches us that man is a sinner by nature. This means that he misses his aim. Due to this, he is neither able to stand up to God nor to honour Him with "good deeds". Man can never live up to God's standards. The Bible tells us why we are sinners. But because this doesn't change our state as sinners, we will not examine any further at this point. It is far more important to point to the fact that God wants to redeem us from this state through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. In a legally valid manner, God has made an end to the old creation and has brought about a new one (which is still in the making). In it, there's no longer place for death and injustice. God invites you to become part of this new creation. God wants your life to become useful for Him. He wants you to know and adore Him in the new creation. But for that you first have to come to God and become born-again. By natural birth you came into this world. By regeneration you become part of the new creation. You can't help your birth. But it's your decision to become born-again. The old creation will disappear, but the new creation will never end. Therefore, once again: Be reconciled to God! It's just one step in faith! After that, you can take many steps in faith, but true life begins with this very first step.

With the following story I'd like to illustrate certain matters. In the Bible, the Gospel is depicted in various ways, especially by the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. We find this story in Luke 10:25-37. Let's read what it says:

...And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?...(Luke 10:25)

A religious man came to Jesus with a question, trying to entrap Him. He asks what he must do to gain eternal life. But the Lord Jesus parries the question by asking:

...What is written in the law? how readest thou?...(Luke 10:26)

The 'lawyer' proves himself competent by quoting two passages from the Law of Moses:

...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself...(Luke 10:27)

The first cited Bible passage is to be found in Deuteronomy 6:5 and the second one in Leviticus 19:18:

...And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might...(Deuteronomy 6:5)

...Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD...(Leviticus 19:18)

These two laws are as it were the summary of God's demand on man to inherit eternal life. That's why the Lord Jesus says to the lawyer:

...Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live...(Luke 10:28)

The man asked: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" and the answer from the Law is clear: "Do this and you will live". But after this, we read that the lawyer wants to justify himself.

...But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? (Luke 10:29)

Apparently suffering from a guilty conscience, he tries to get off the hook by inventing nit-picking questions and argumentations. He's aware of the fact that there's no fooling around with the first part of the commandment. God is the Creator of heaven and earth and there's only one God. But it's much less clear what the Old Testament means by 'neighbour'. That's the reason why the lawyer asks Jesus who his neighbour is. The Lord, however, doesn't give a direct answer but tells the following story.

...And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho...(Luke 10:30)

Take heed: it says that the Lord answered the man. In this story is pointed out who the neighbour of that lawyer is. A certain man, whose name remains unknown, descends from Jerusalem to Jericho. In this context, it's important to know that Jerusalem is the city where the temple was located. Furthermore, Jerusalem is called "the holy city". Jericho, however, is one of the oldest and lowest cities in the world. It's located close to the Dead Sea which is 400 m below sea level and because of that is the lowest spot on earth. Jericho lies approximately 260 m below sea level. The difference in altitude between Jerusalem and Jericho is about 1000 m. The distance from Jerusalem to Jericho is about 20 km. The man's travel from Jerusalem to Jericho therefore represents that he leaves the holy place and follows a rather steep path downhill. You could say that he was travelling towards death. Then we read:

...A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead...(Luke 10:30)

During his journey, the man falls among thieves. They rob him of his possessions and leave him behind heavily beaten. He could do nothing anymore but wait. He was 'half-dead' which means that his condition was so critical that he would die without immediate help. He was as it were at the mercy of his environment. The man's journey symbolises the way of man in general. It's a road that leads down and ends eventually in death. The only certainty one has is the knowledge that everyone will die someday. And who can save us from that?

...And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side...(Luke 10:31)

Perhaps the injured man thought that his rescuer had arrived. Unfortunately the priest passed him by.

...And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side...(Luke 10:32)

The next passer-by also left the victim to his fate and passed him by. The wounded man is doomed to die. In this story we find a priest and a Levite. According to the Law of Moses, a priest also had to be a Levite. So we have actually two Levites of whom one was a priest. A priest is somebody who teaches the Law of Moses in a more or less illustrative way. He performs rituals prescribed by the Law. A Levite is a descendant of the tribe of Levi. Due to his descent, he has certain tasks that contribute to the priestly service. One of his tasks was, for instance, to take care of the people's welfare. Thus we find two representatives of the Mosaic Law. But neither of them could help the victim doomed to die with their laws, prescriptions and rules.

...But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him...(Luke 10:33)

The third man who arrived is a Samaritan. He did notice the victim. Samaritans were inhabitants of Samaria, an area bordering Judea. The Jews despised Samaritans and considered them to be socially and religiously inferior. In general Jews and Samaritans couldn't stand one another. But in this story, the Samaritan had compassion on the injured man; he's moved with pity and sympathy. We read that he was travelling the road and coming down to where the victim was. This means that the Samaritan took the injured man's place, as it were.

...And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him...(Luke 10:34)

This Samaritan had oil and wine which he applied to the victim's wounds. In the Bible, oil as well as wine stand for eternal life, the life of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins but conquered death forever by rising from the dead on the third day. Wine comes from grapes that are picked and pressed. The grape dies so to speak. But due to the process of fermentation, the grape juice comes to life after some time. Through death and resurrection new life has emerged: wine. And it's common knowledge that wine livens up any occasion! But also oil, for example olive oil, is the result of a process that is comparable to regeneration. In Biblical times, oil was used for the anointment and appointment of kings and priests. Oil has also a curative effect for the entire body: inwards and outwards. Both oil and wine stand for life: Life that has overcome death. It's not about the olive or grape, but it's all about the olive oil and the wine. These are applied to the severely wounded traveller.

...and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him...(Luke 10:34)

Next to the new, eternal life which the injured man receives, he also receives transportation, a roof over his head and further care.

...And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee...(Luke 10:35)

Thus there is a happy ending after all for this half-dead man. The Bible doesn't say if he ever arrived in Jericho, but they're taking good care of him in the inn. It wasn't the Samaritan's duty to help this man. The priest as well as the Levite were obliged to help him according to their own laws, but they didn't. They couldn't love. The Samaritan offered much more than just first aid. He voluntarily gave the wounded man much more than what was necessary. This is what the term grace means.

Here the story ends and with it the answer of the Lord Jesus to the lawyer's question. Thus, this story gives an answer to the question: "Who is my neighbour?" But the Lord Jesus formulates it even more precisely:

...Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?...(Luke 10:36)

It's about the victim's neighbour. But at the same time the Lord Jesus implies that this lawyer actually is this injured man. Because he asked who was his neighbour...(verse 29).

...And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise...(Luke 10:37)

The lawyer gives the right answer. The Samaritan is the neighbour. He showed mercy on the victim by "approaching" him (verse 33). He took the place of the wounded man and proved himself to be the neighbour. And now the Lord says to this injured man, the lawyer, that he has to love the Good Samaritan in order to receive eternal life. But if the lawyer in the story is the victim, who then, is the Good Samaritan?

It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Man who had compassion on this world that has fallen into sin:

...For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...(Romans 5:6-8)

God himself came to earth as man in order to die for your and my sins on the cross of Calvary. Yes, he became man so He could die. He humbled himself in order to be able to stand in our place and take on the punishment we deserved. He came as our neighbour. But the miracle is that God has raised Jesus from the dead and has made him both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36) Jesus has overcome death and has been appointed as heir of God. And now, in our time, the Lord Jesus Christ gathers His own people consisting of born-again believers. To this He has given Himself up. Maybe it's difficult for you to imagine the things you read here, but that doesn't matter. In the past, when you learned to count to 10, you accepted that, too. Only many years later you learned to do maths with these numbers. The same is true for spiritual things. When you learn to know God better, you'll learn to understand why He did and does certain things. Many people have heard the message of Salvation and Grace and have accepted it in faith. Just like the victim, they received wine and oil from the Good Samaritan and now enjoy their stay in the inn, where they are well provided for. They've received eternal life. Only after that, the process of growing-up and understanding begins.

We as human beings, who by nature are in the power of death, can do nothing else than confidently turn to the gracious Lord and give ourselves to Him. He cares for us and brings us to safety. We don't need to do anything but only put our trust in the living God and in what He has spoken.

...Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law...(Romans 3:28)

A religious life or so-called "good deeds" don't lead to God. According to God's standards, every person is a sinner and will therefore die.

...They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one...(Psalm 14:3)

Unfortunately, there are many people who think that they are the centre of the universe. Many want nothing to do with God and His Life. They don't want to hear that Someone exists who created the heavens and the earth and is therefore called God. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is also for them. For everybody who wishes to give his life to the Good Samaritan. At that moment, he will become born-again. But if one rejects Christ, one chooses living a temporary life that inevitably will end in death. Above all, there will be a day when man must appear before the living God.

So see to it that you make the right choice. Are you here in vain? Are you a 'misser'? Or do you want your life to have meaning? It's not until you learn to know Jesus Christ that your life will really have meaning. For He is the centre of the universe. It's all about Him. That's why the Lord's answer to this lawyer is also for us. Do we decide to love the Neighbour? Do we give our life to Jesus Christ and let Him take care for us? Or does our life end on our own chosen way from Jerusalem to Jericho?

I'm sitting in the inn safely with many other believers. I hope to meet you there, too.
It's your choice!


Page updated: August 18th, 2010