The King's Questions: "How do you Read it?"
Notes
Transcript
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
King’s Questions:
Repeat of Introduction:
This week:
How do you read it?
Answer with Questions
Jesus answers a question with a question… “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Why is this question so important?
Jesus: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
Lawyer answers the first part of the question: “You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Answers first the first question, but notice again that Jesus asks two questions:
What is written in the Law?… How do you read?”
He answers the first question? Correctly.
Jesus agrees!
Matthew 22:37-40 “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
He doesn’t actually answer Jesus question about “HOW DO YOU READ IT?”
HOW do you read it? This question goes beyond reciting information. This question goes to interpretation!
Not merely how would you read the words, but how do you understand the words!
Jesus is not aiming for information, he’s aiming for transformation.
It’s clear from the rest of our passage that the lawyer knows the Law, but doesn’t know how to read it...
We know this because of verse 29:
“But he, desiring to justify himself...”
But the lawyer is not interested in transformation, he’s interested in self-justification.
Prove yourself before Jesus. Not good enough.
Desire for what?
Answer with a Story
“And who is my neighbor?”
Shorter answer: Everyone, man! Even people who are across ethnic, religious, and political divides.
But Jesus doesn’t give this simple answer. He shares a story...
The man walks the 23-mile trek from a lush, green climate, to a city in the desert. He knows taking this journey would be dangerous; he’d have to descend thousands of feet through rocky terrain. He also knows outlaws often times hide behind cliffs and rocks. The desert was a perfect escape route for them. The journey turns sour quickly as bandits appear out of nowhere, strip him down, take everything that’s of value, beat him half to death, and leave him to die. It wouldn’t take long before vultures and rodents have their way with him as well.
Priest:
As he inches towards death lying on the dusty desert floor, a priest walks down the same path. He notices the body from a distance and he recounts a number of ways to weasel his way out of doing anything. He conveniently recalls the fact that, as a priest, he can’t touch dead bodies- that would make him unclean and he just doesn’t have time to deal with all that spiritual car washing…
So he actually passes alongside another way. Jesus doesn’t go into a lot of detail here. This is a parable brush strokes. But a lot is communicated to us by a priest passing along the other side. The other side is easier. The other side is more convenient. The other side makes assumptions like that’s a body as opposed to a person with a beating heart. He’s being a good follower of God’s law. He did exactly what he was supposed to do by all his assumption, but yet he is not the hero of the story…
Levite:
While the man still lies there, another person walks down the same path. Surely things will change this time around… He’s a Levite, which means he’s eligible to be a priest but isn’t necessarily on active duty. The priests all come from the bloodline of Levites, a tribe who was never given a land to own like all the other tribes of Israel. The Levites were responsible for Temple duties, but they were given cities to take care of those who needed a place to escape…
But this Levite does pretty much the same way as the priest. He takes another way. He takes the easy route around. People come to him for help, not the other way around. And so the Levite just passes by…
Not an Regular Joe?
A Levite is not as highly regarded as a priest. Priests are up here. Levites, are up here… Both are set apart as spiritually special within Israel. We see a digression from the highest spiritual class in Jewish culture, to a more broader yet still respected one with Levite. The next logical person to walk towards the slain man would be a regular Israelite- someone like the laywer- someone who will surely help the dying man.
Samaritan:
But like most of Jesus parables, Jesus adds a dramatic twist. The next person travelling down this dangerous path is a Samaritan- those wretched apostates to the north? Yes, a wretched Samaritan sees this man and his heart fills with compassion. He runs up to the man, takes out his trusty first aid kit and gets to work. He washes the cuts, and tends the bruises. He slowly lifts this dying stranger on the back of his donkey. He goes to the nearest hotel and pays the hotel manager to look after this man. “When I return,” the Samaritan says, “I will return, and I will reimburse every penny that you’ve spent taking care of him.”
Differences between Samaritan and Jew:
The Old Testament (II Kings 17) says that Assyria, this nation to the northeast, came and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. So you have Assyria, coming into Israel, but not touching the nation of Judah in the south. As a result, II Kings 17 describes how the Samaritans formed out of the pagan beliefs of Assyria and the true beliefs of Israel. They took the truth out of the Torah, and mixed it up with religions from Babylon and other neighbouring nations.
Mount Gerizim vs. Mount Zion in Jerusalem
Torah vs. Torah/Writings/Prophets
Halfbloods vs. Pureblood
The Jews believed Samaritans were half-breeds; physically and spiritually. The Samaritans, on the other hand believed the exact same thing about the Jews. Of course, war and terrorist attacks between the two groups only heightened the tension. Would you extend compassion to a group who massacred a group of Jewish pilgrims on journey towards Jerusalem?
Concludes Story with a question:
“Which of these three do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
Rephrasing the Question:
Original Question: “Who is my neigbor?”
Restated Question: “Who had BECOME a neighbor?”
Young’s Literal: ‘Who, then, of these three, seemeth to thee to have become neighbour of him who fell among the robbers?’
Who’s the One who Proved to be a Neighbor?
Not “WHO WAS THE NEIGHBOR?”
Who proved it? Who showed it? Who displayed it?
Who justified himself as a neigbor??
What does this passage say to us?
The Law isn’t about justification, but about confirmation.
Can’t love the Lord.
Heidelberg Catechism Q/A
Can’t be saved by the Law because we don’t have the ability to love properly.
Gospel presentation
2. Desire to justify ourselves
3. Who are you becoming?
What have you become to those in need?
Not about who other people are, but about the type of person you are becoming!
“YOU go, and do likewise.”
Who is my neighbor is based on your mindset… Your definition of neighbor depends on how you view see you people and the needs around you.
Easy answer: Who is your neighbor?
Everybody
Hard Answer
It’s up to you who your neigbors are.
What needs to change in your heart to become a neighbor?
Can’t be justified by the Law, but we can
!Love is not about doing, it’s about becoming!
Who are you becoming?
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