Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on September 14, 2025 for Trinity 13. More info at mtolivelincoln.org
Theme: The Questions Love Asks
Text: Luke 10:25-37
25Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26“What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?”
27He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.”
28He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 33A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?”
37“The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Lk 10:25–37.