The Great Commandment: The Motive of Discipleship | Luke 10:25-37

Radical Love: The Heart of a True Neighbo

Bible Passage: Lk 10:25-37

Recommended Study: In preparation, consider using Logos to explore the historical context of the Samaritan's portrayal versus the Jewish priest and Levite, which could deepen your understanding of the implications of Jesus' choice of characters. Look for resources on intertextual readings of the law in the Old Testament to provide a richer background on how love was understood in ancient Israel. You might also examine various commentaries that discuss the ethical demands of the parable and explore its applications in today’s diverse social landscape.

Introduction

So, let’s look at where this story is located:

Its immediate context begins in Luke chapter 10:21-24, wherein Jesus rejoices that the things of heaven have been hidden from the wise and understanding of the day and revealed to the little children in the faith.

This is important because the two stories that follow: (1) The Parable of the Good Samaritan, and (2) Martha and Mary serve as examples of this very thing.

If we are to properly understand this text, we need to understand that Jesus is not giving us a story about a nice stranger; rather, this passage is an indictment of those who say they possess the truth and yet have not had it penetrate their hearts and show in their actions.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is not good news, it is a critique.

It’s an example of the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven being hidden from the wise and understanding.

With this background knowledge, let’s dive into this famous parable.

Questioning Love's Command (10:25-29)

You could introduce the challenge posed by the lawyer and Jesus' response, highlight the context of the question and the subsequent need to redefine 'neighbor.' Emphasize that Jesus begins His teaching by directing us to see the difference between theoretical knowledge and heartfelt obedience. Perhaps use this section to urge listeners to move beyond just understanding the command to love, into deeply living it out in their daily experiences, where it matters most. This showcases the depth of Christ's teaching and its call to push beyond legalistic boundaries.

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

A lawyer, meaning an expert in the Law of Moses, likely a Pharisee stood up to test Jesus by asking him the most important question you could ask.

What question could be more important?

At the end of life, what is going to happen to me?

If there is a judge over my life; how can I stand justified before Him?

They expected a future resurrection from the dead for the righteous where God’s chosen people would live in God’s coming kingdom forever.

But the lawyer was not asking Jesus because he wanted to know.

What he was really trying to do was to shame and destroy Jesus.

He was going to try and get Jesus to slip up.

Maybe He would say something foolish and expose himself as an uneducated man, not worthy of being so honored by the people.

Maybe He would say something that could be used to show that he taught something against the Law of Moses. Something that would mark him as a false teacher or a heretic.

The Pharisees and experts in the Law had no regard for Jesus–in fact, they hated him.

They viewed his popularity as a threat to their status and control over the masses.

He was preaching messages of hope and deliverance that seemed to run contrary to the traditions of the Jewish people.

26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

Jesus is famous for answering questions differently depending on who the one speaking.

He had a way of answering in a way that exposed the heart and desires of the asker.

In Matt. 22:34-40, Jesus directly answers the same question from a Pharisee.

But here Jesus turns the question around on the lawyer, asking him to answer his own question.

But his question shows how Jesus would answer this question.

He says, “What is written in the Law?”

For Jesus, the Word of God is the ultimate authority, one can look no higher.

For Jesus, the Word of God is the sufficient authority, what God has revealed is enough to know everything we need to know about life and godliness.

With a master’s skill, Jesus has both countered the trap set by the lawyer and shown where the correct answer is to be found.

And the lawyer gives an entirely appropriate answer.

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.”

·The lawyer gives the only possible correct answer to this question.

We need to understand that the Pharisees and the experts in the Law were theologians of great skill.

If you break down the Ten Commandments, you can see they are all about the Greatest Commandment

The first four commandments are all about honoring the Lord as God

That God is the only God.

Don’t make any images of the invisible God.

Don’t blaspheme His holy name.

Set apart the Sabbath day as holy to God.

Commandments Five through Ten are all about our conduct toward one another;

We should honor our parents.

Murder, adultery, theft, lying, and covetousness are forbidden.

It's entirely correct to say that all of God’s expectations of our conduct are related to loving God and loving others, and righteousness (that is, right standing before a holy God) is based upon our obedience to these commandments.

We spent months examining this very idea in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.

28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

Jesus' answer seems simple but is a strong critique against this lawyer, because “Do this, and you will live” isn’t a one-time command, but a continual one.

This is an “always” command.

To be righteous before the Lord, We must be perfectly obedient to these two commands by wholly loving God, and selflessly loving others. And, we must never falter in wholly loving God, and selflessly loving others.

But the good news is if you do this, you will receive eternal life...you will.

Obviously, this is good news to no one because no one keeps these commandments perfectly! And no one ever has.

Can anyone claim to love God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind? Can you do it all the time?

Do you love your neighbor with the proper motives?

Unfortunately, we can no more love our neighbor than we can love our God.

In fact, if we fail in one, can’t say that we have succeeded in the other.

The Law cannot make us righteous.

Instead, God’s Law exposes our sinful nature and our desperate need for a Savior.

Paul, in Romans 7 tells us that the Law is perfect and good; it is our sin, seeking an ever-greater opportunity against God, that seizes upon the opportunity to commit acts of sin by breaking the Law.

Knowing what is commanded makes it easier for us to do what is forbidden.

This is who we are by nature: We are sinners from birth; sinners in our desires, thoughts, words, and deeds.

This is an impossible problem for this lawyer and for us.

He had been made the fool; in trying to trap Jesus, he had been forced into answering his own question and told to “practice what you preach”–which is totally impossible for him to do.

His response was not to humbly submit to his failure, but to justify himself.

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

This might have been an attempt to save face because he looked foolish in front of the others.

More likely, it was an attempt to avoid his own obvious guilt.

The desire to justify himself shows he must have known that he had fallen short of perfect obedience, and so he seeks to diminish the requirements of the law.

He needs the standard to be lowered so he can get a passing grade.

Consider the attitude of the man’s heart as a warning for us.

Do we desire the well-being of others and seek it out?

We have been called to make disciples of all nations.

This requires that we care about what happens to them.

The lawyer sought to dispute with Jesus but did not desire Jesus to come to a knowledge of truth and walk in righteousness–he didn’t care about Jesus’s well-being.

He didn’t care about the well-being of other listeners either.

Whether or not them walked in obedience and gained eternal life was of no importance to him.

He just cared that he emerged the victor in the debate and maintained his position and status among the wise and understanding.

So, rather than admit his failure, he attacked the definition of “neighbor”.

By this time in Jewish history, the category of neighbor had grown exceedingly small.

Pharisees likely only considered other Pharisees to be true neighbors.

They would read Psalms like 139:21-22, which says,

“Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.” (Psalm 139:21–22, ESV)

They might have used such passages to prove that it was even appropriate to hate others and that such action was indeed pleasing to the Lord.

The lawyer was certainly full of hatred and scorn for anyone who did not fit his narrow view of acceptable behavior...this should be a wake-up call for us.

We will never be able to make disciples out of those we hate!

Our perception of sin in others should not lead us to hatred of them for their sinfulness, but broken-hearted grief over where their sin has brought them. And our grief should drive us to action...as we shall see demonstrated by the Lord Jesus in the famous parable.

Cultural Constraints Clarified (10:30-32)

Maybe explore how the actions of the priest and the Levite illustrate cultural expectations and personal priorities that often hinder us from loving truly. Here, you could stress that Jesus uses their inaction to challenge societal norms and values that prioritize rituals over mercy. Reflect on how Christ’s kingdom calls us to love beyond duty, where compassion triumphs over convenience. This could suggest a transformative perspective on how Jesus sees true discipleship, as we prioritize people over programs, and mercy over ritual.

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.

Jericho was a relatively short distance away from Jerusalem (just 17 miles) but it involved an elevation drop of about 1,800 feet through some of the roughest terrain on Earth.

The road was known to be a dangerous route, populated by bandit gangs.

Traveling alone along this road was unwise and to be avoided if at all possible.

It’s important to note that this man is fictional; a character in a parable; designed to stimulate the mind of the listener...

What would you feel like if you were that person?

What would you do if you were an observer in this situation?

It is also important to remember Jesus’ parable is not designed to show us what to do, but rather to show us what we do not do.

It illustrates that we fail at showing mercy, and thereby, fail to obey God’s law of love.

31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

· We can all relate to this—we see a problem coming towards us and we cross the street to avoid it.

· If this parable is designed to show us what we do not do, Jesus is illustrating that the leaders of the Jewish people had failed to keep faith with God.

o The Priests’ job was to act as the designated intermediaries between The Lord God of Israel and His chosen people.

§ They offered sacrifices on behalf of the people.

§ They provided the ministry of the Law by which Israel was to have fellowship with Yahweh, their God.

Their entire role in Jewish society was to care...and Jesus is saying they don’t.

· See…a priest was required to keep themselves ritually clean to serve in the temple.

o It was a crime to break this command.

· But he was going down to Jericho, so he was not engaged in his priestly duties.

o His personal, ritual cleanliness was not a priority.

§ Had the man been dead and he touched him, there would have been plenty of time for the priest to take care of his ritual cleansing before his next service...

· The hard truth is he simply did not want to take the time.

· So he used the ritual law as an excuse to not love his neighbor.

· Jesus holds a particular grudge against those who use the Law to disobey the Law.

o Consider Mark 7:9-13 when Jesus calls out the Pharisees:

“And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”” (Mark 7:9–13, ESV)

32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

· The tribe of Levi was set apart by God to be a tribe of servants, working at the Temple and assisting the priests in ministry, roughly analogous to modern-day deacons or associate pastors.

· By the command of the Lord, the Levites lived off of the generosity of the people of Israel through the tithes offered at the temple.

o They owned no land in Israel.

o They possessed no territories.

o They lived as sojourners among the people of Israel–surviving on the charity of others.

One would think that a Levite would have some concept of helping a stranger in need, some empathy that would predispose him to help a stranger, yet he too ignores his plight because he does not care.

· This continues to be a weakness in the human spirit, our selfishness blinds us to the condition of others:

o We often accept help and care from others in times of need without a second thought.

o Yet, when others are facing a similar situation, we can find ourselves coming up with all manner of excuses as to why we cannot help.

· We know well the fate of the unrepentant sinner, and yet, how motivated are we to get involved and do what would lead to their rescue?

Compassion Crosses Barriers (10:33-35)

Perhaps focus on the Samaritan's actions as the pinnacle of the parable, portraying the essence of selfless love. Drive home the transformative power of Christ-like love that breaks barriers and redefines relationships. This action reflects Jesus’ teaching on radical love, urging believers to see all individuals as worthy of care. Maybe draw parallels between the Samaritan’s sacrifice and Jesus’ own life and ministry, encouraging the audience to let their faith be marked by such active compassion and mercy.

33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

· Jesus does not use an example of a regular “Jewish Joe” as the picture of neighborly love as would have been expected.

o He had often preached about the kingdom of God belonging to the poor and needy.

o They would have looked scornfully upon the failure of the elite and expected to see a regular Joe like them succeed where their leaders had failed.

§ It would be the perfect story…or so they thought

· Instead, Jesus picks the most controversial person possible, designed to provoke the hearers...a Samaritan.

· It’s hard to express how deep a hatred existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, and it is unlikely that we would be able to fully understand this kind of feud.

o It makes the Hatfields & McCoys look like two children having a spat.

· To the Jew, a Samaritan was a heathen, someone who gloried in their sinfulness...

o They wore that which made them unclean and unrighteous in the eyes of the Jews like a badge of honor; their ethnic impurity and their religious profanity.

The Samaritans descended from the northern Kingdom of Israel and its capital city of Samaria.

They had been conquered by the Assyrians, deported, and then forcibly intermarried with non-Jewish peoples.

This was a violation of the Mosaic law, which prohibited such marriages.

Not because of any racial issues, but entirely because they caused cultural and religious issues.

But this was already a problem for the northern Jews.

King Jeroboam had set up high places of worship, and Israel was drawn away from God into idolatry.

Later northern kings had married foreign queens and adopted their idolatrous worship, further pulling Israel into sinful patterns.

This idolatry continued until the time of Jesus;

Now the Jews and Samaritans were next-door neighbors, but they had built a high, thick wall of hatred between them.

Even James and John hated the Samaritans to the point that they wanted to call fire down from heaven upon the Samaritan village which had rejected Jesus.

But I think there may have been another reason as well for the strong feelings against Samaritans:

The Samaritans represented the physical reminder of Israel’s past failure...and their present spiritual condition...

The Samaritans openly rebelled against God’s Law, but the Jews had also, only spiritually.

And so, Jews may have hated Samaritans even more because of what they reflected about the Jewish heart condition.

We can be most hateful of that which tempts us the most.

This spiritual emptiness is shown in the lack of compassion demonstrated by the Jewish leaders.

The Samaritan shows compassion for the wounded man.

This word means a being powerfully moved toward the plight of another.

The Samaritan is moved to action on behalf of the beaten man.

He does not merely pity the man, he is compassionate...he acts upon his love for his neighbor; to see him be made well.

The Priest and the Levite (the Jews) may have felt pity but were moved to action only toward their selfish desires.

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. 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.’

The Samaritan’s mercy goes the full distance to care for the beaten man.

He takes every possible action to seek his neighbor’s good.

He humbly sacrifices his well-being by giving the man his donkey.

He incurs the cost of the man’s care.

He makes a guarantee that the full payment will be paid on his return.

These are important things to remember later.

Christ's Call to Action (10:36-37)

You could conclude with Jesus’ call to 'go and do likewise,' urging each believer to embody the love demonstrated by the Samaritan. Encourage a proactive stance in love that does not stop at the edge of comfort but ventures into discipleship marked by action. Highlight Jesus' challenge to move from discussion to action, echoing His call to let love be active, transforming, and inclusive, much like His own example. This final charge is about living out true love as a testament to Christ’s influence in our lives.

And so, Jesus asks:

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.”

Jesus’ message is clear: a heathen moved to compassion is more worthy of the kingdom of heaven than one who knows the letter of the Law yet misses its heart.

Micah 6:6-8 says:

““With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:6–8, ESV)

None of these qualities is something that can be checked off a list, they are attitudes of the heart that spur us on to do good works.

Obedience to Christ’s command must include a heart attitude change.

In the end, it is not up to others to prove themselves neighbors to us. Jesus says that we must prove ourselves neighbors to others, and the opportunities are vast.

But the implications of Jesus’ command are clear:

We must show mercy if we are to love our neighbor.

We must be merciful if we are to wholly love God.

We must be merciful to inherit eternal life.

Conclusion

We must understand the nature of mercy by understanding that we are the recipients of astounding mercy from The Lord Jesus Christ

We need to see ourselves in this story...and we are not the good Samaritan.

We are more likely to be the priest or the Levite—too consumed by our own cares to render love and mercy to others,

We have failed to keep the heart of God’s Law and we must repent of the times and ways that we have lacked mercy towards others...

When we have not wanted good for them.

When we haven’t cared if they walk in the truth.

When we have not cared if they will inherit eternal life.

I once heard a famously atheistic performer, Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller, speak about a man who brought him a Gideon New Testament after a show.

He spoke of how touched he had been by the attitude of the man...he could tell that this man genuinely cared for his well-being.

Then he made a very provocative statement. He said;

“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell, or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?

“I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

I was very convicted by this statement.

How many opportunities have I had to show the mercy of God to others, but failed to do so?

I often fail to love my neighbor.

Because the truth is, we are also the man on the side of the road, but worse. Consider the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1–7, ESV)

We were worse than the man on the road.

o We were in a state of spiritual death because of our sins.

We were destined for judgment and rightly so...all of us.

But God made a way when there was no way.

He looked on us with compassion and mercy and raised us up to new life by His Son Jesus:

You see, Jesus is the better Samaritan:

He didn’t happen upon me; he purposefully came to find me when I was dead.

He raised me from death and made me clean.

He humbly bore the indignity of human life for my sake.

He paid the full cost for my transgressions with his life and by his wounds, I am healed.

And now that I have been made new, I am an agent of mercy to a lost and broken world in which I may go and do as Jesus did by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, I ask you, how have you loved your neighbor?

Would you have God look upon you in the same way you have looked upon your neighbor?

If the answer is no, then you have truly loved neither God nor your neighbor.

One cannot claim to love God if he does not love what God loves...and God loves us.

As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:11:

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, ESV)

Mercy looks upon the lost sinner with compassion rather than hatred because we remember that we are only different because of Jesus.

The Great Commission and the Great Commandment must be held together.

The mission of making disciple-making can’t be separated from the motive of making disciple-making.

Because we love God, we love people.

Because we love people, we make disciples.

Because we want what is good and best for them, we will seek to bring them to the faith, so that they can have eternal life.

What greater love can we show others than to lead them to the greatest gift?

True discipleship is reflected in the willingness to love others radically, challenging cultural norms and embracing everyone as our neighbor.

Even those we would consider to be our enemies…we are called to seek them out and draw them to Christ for salvation.

In doing this we will become like our Savior, as Paul says in Romans 5:8-11

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:8–11, ESV)