Luke 10:25-37 - Being a Neighbor

Introduction

Parable: Earthly story with a heavenly meaning

Stories are powerful

Jesus is dealing with the “wise and powerful”

In verse 21, Jesus prays thanks to the Father for hiding heavenly things from the wise and understanding (v. 21).

Through “intelligence” and “reason” alone some people think that they have heaven, hell, right/wrong, and God figured out.

Jesus often shared parable to hide heavenly meanings from people who don’t trust with faith.

Luke writes about a heckler that Jesus dealt with as He addressed His disciples

Luke 10:25 ESV

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

This lawyer was well versed in the Mosaic law

An expert of the law

The first 5 books of the Bible

This dude had Leviticus and Deuteronomy memorized.

He came looking to trap Jesus.

This was the kind of guy that had something to say, regardless of what you said you were incorrect.

Even if you agree with him.

This guy thought he was smarter than everyone else in the room.

He’s annoyingly and painfully smart

His intentions for his question are not pure.

Everyone around was claiming Jesus to be the Messiah, but this guy thought he could trap Jesus in false doctrine.

He’s playing with a serious question

There is no more important question than this question.

“Eternal life” is what people think of when they think of heaven.

“Eternal” means forever.

This is the “forever-life” with God that was meant to be with God.

Yet, he asks this question with mall-intent for Jesus.

The Question

“What must I do to inherit eternal life.”

The wording implies that he’s looking for an act that he can perform to earn the key to eternal life.

This seems like a natural way of thinking

What do I have to do or not do to be okay with God?

How do I need to behave in order to have God’s approval of my life?

Great question with venom behind it.

“What can I do to put God in my debt?”

Here’s a tip: When you going to test Jesus, make sure you’re sitting down so that when you fail you don’t have far to fall.

Jesus, per usual, flips the script.

What’s compelling about Jesus’s humanity, is that though He looked like us, He was not like us.

Jesus isn’t petty. We’re petty.

Jesus loves people who are evil to Him.

The lawyer comes to trap Jesus, but without missing a beat, Jesus puts the lawyer on his heels.

“What’s the book say, Mr. Lawyer?” (v. 26)

This lawyer devoted his life to reading God’s law, studying God’s law, and interpreting God’s law for the people.

So Jesus plays to the guys strength. “What’s written in the Law, Counsel?”

This guy is a great lawyer. He know’s the book.

The legal expert’s answer was a combination of Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5 (v. 27)

He summarizes the whole law.

Love God/Love people.

Jesus doesn’t do what this guy would do; Jesus doesn’t say, “HA! Idiot!”

Jesus affirms his answer. This is a shock to the lawyer.

No theological fireworks today.

Jesus loves the Bible

He loves the God of the Bible.

It’s important for us to know that the answer to our problems in the world can’t be settled in self-help books, but in the Bible.

If Jesus trusts the Bible, we should too.

“Good answer. Do that.”

Do God’s commandments perfectly for the rest of your life and you will live.

There’s the hook: Can you earn it?

Love God without having a moment of doubt

Love people perfectly every second for the rest of your life.

If that’s how you can earn eternal life, then do it.

Don’t just believe it. Do it.

Perfect obedience to God’s command to love Him and love our neighbors is one way to gain eternal life.

But don’t mess it up.

The problem is, we can’t do this.

We have not done it because we cannot do it.

We spend our entire lives “trying to get to heaven.”

Trying to meet the standard.

Trying to be “good enough.”

You’re not good enough.

If perfect obedience to God’s law is the way we live forever, then we are all going to die guilty.

There’s the hook. That’s the twist.

If the only way to get to heaven is to an action we do, then we’re all going to hell.

This guy’s problem is that there is a difference between answering the question theologically and living it practically.

The lawyer knows that he has the right answer, but he also knows that there is no way that he can do with with his life.

Face-saving question.

He wants to justify himself.

This guy should have asked, “So, what if a person can’t love God and love his neighbor perfectly?”

Jesus would’ve given him the good news that Jesus didn’t come for righteous people, but for sinners.

Jesus didn’t come for people that could do those things. He came for the people that have made a total wreck of their lives, no matter how much they try to hide.

But this guy doesn’t want Jesus to justify him.

He wants God to be okay with his actions, so he asks a different question.

“Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29)

He is clinging with all his might to a works-based religion.

He so badly wants to say, “I’m a good guy!”

He’s trying to lower God’s standards down to a place where he can clear it with his human efforts.

We do this exact same thing.

He wants to make sure he loves the right people.

Who do I have to be nice to?

The Story

Jesus could’ve given him an annoyed look and answered the question, “Everyone, dummy.” Jesus didn’t do that.

Jesus wanted to draw a reply from a Pharisee.

Jesus answers with a parable. Stories are powerful.

Context for the journey (v. 30).

It was a winding, 17 mile journey through limestone crags

Numerous caves along the way for robbers and thieves to hide.

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was famously dangerous.

Essentially, “This dude was walking down a dark alley alone.”

You can guess what happens next

The dude gets battered, robbed, left for dead.

Three passerby’s (v. 31-32)

A Priest and a Levite

Someone whose job is to serve people and offer sacrifices in the Temple.

Their public offices were designated toward tenderness and compassion

Whose duty was to care for people!

Someone who should have been one of his friends because they were of the same nation and religion.

Yet, neither of them do it

Instead they go out of their way to avoid him.

They likely heard his groans

Saw blood trickling from him

They made eye contact with him! (v. 32)

We do this with the homeless all the time.

“Don’t make eye contact”

Pretend they’re not there.

They are.

Then Jesus catches everyone’s attention

The Samaritan.

Jews hated Samaritans in a deadly way.

The Samaritans believed that the way the Jews worshipped was wrong and that the Temple was illegitimate

Jews thought they were unclean dogs.

Jews hoped fired from heaven would fall on them.

In the Jesus’s audiences hears, he would have been roughly like an Islamic extremists.

This is a racial issue.

The Samaritan was the villain in their narrative.

The plot twist was that the Samaritan had compassion on the man. (vv. 34-35)

Despite the danger of being mugged himself, the Samaritan goes to the man, binds his wounds, pours out oil and takes care of the man.

Then he shows radical generosity by taking him to an hotel, paying for his stay, and paying someone to care for the guy until he got back to care for him some more!

This dude’s kindness is extravagant.

The fact that he’s a Samaritan is scandalous.

Now Jesus shares this story to draw a response from the Lawyer.

Jesus answers the question with a question

The Question’s Answer

“So, who’s his neighbor?”

The men that look, talk, and believe just like he does?

The men listen to the same music, wear the same clothes, sin the same way?

The man that is of another nationality, doesn’t agree with you, and you probably wouldn’t pee on if he was on fire?

Which of the three was his neighbor?

The Lawyer couldn’t even bring himself to say “Samaritan” (v. 37)

His defeated answer still seeped venom.

The one who showed mercy and compassion

Jesus has reframed the discussion.

The question should not have been, “Who am I required to love?”

“To whom can I be a loving neighbor?”

Vision: We want to see Graceland equip and send out on-mission disciple makers who enrich the lives of people where the live, work, and play with the message of Jesus.

There are people you interact with on a regular basis who are living with brokenness, and you may have no idea.

Betrayal

Problems in Marriage

Infertility

Financial struggles

Health concerns that may turn terminal.

There are people you know that don’t trust in the finish work of Jesus for salvation.

They are living in the best form of hell they can right now.

But if they were to die without the gospel, they’ll experience a wrath that we could never picture with our darkest imaginations.

Conclusion

What is at stake when we don’t use our Jesus given skills and abilities?

We run the risk of missing the heart of Jesus.

We don’t live neighborly by playing “Keep Away”

Let’s keep away the non-Christians

Let’s keep away the Democrats/Republicans

Let’s keep away the crazy, holy people

Let’s keep away the sexually immoral people

Let’s keep away LGBTQ+ people

Let’s keep away the poor/rich people

In our isolation and seeking to protect ourselves from their “uncleanness,” we might actually be the ones who need to be rescued!

We may have missed Jesus if we look at people as if they are beyond grace.

If you look at the gospels, it’s the religious people that missed Jesus!

So much so that they crucified Him!

Graceland Church is not for people who have their act together!

It’s for people who have made an absolute wreck of themselves!

It’s for the people who don’t have their act together!

It’s for people who are stuck in their brokenness and have a desperate need of a Savior and a Rescuer!

Don’t put people in a box that you refuse to love!

Why?!

This is your story!

You were the man who were on your way in life

Satan came along and beat you, robbed you, and left you in your sin!

Every single one of use have felt the effects of sin in our lives.

We are more than half dead, we’re twice dead.

We’re dead in our sins and trespasses

Absolutely unable to fix ourselves.

Religion/the Law, like the priest and the Levite, looked at us and left us to fend for ourselves

You every effort to fix the problem yourself has proven worthless

Religion say “just do better!”

Has no compassion on you.

Offers you no relief.

Passes you by on the other side without compassion or love.

Then comes the Blessed Jesus

The unwelcome, unwanted outsider who we crucified with our sin.

He comes with compassion toward us and says, “Come to me, you who are weary, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28)

He comes to us, not with oil like the Samaritan, but with His own blood to heal the wounds of destruction our sin left behind.

He gives us a place to come and heal.

He gives us a people, the church, to come alongside us to help us through our darkest days!

He nurses us back to a right relationship with God!

We can be made whole again!