The Good Samaritan
Notes
Transcript
Intro
This isn’t a vision sermon, but the passage is the one we chose for our mission statement.
Need: We want clarity on who our neighbor is. Should I show love to this person or that person. Jesus flips the paradigm on its head in this passage.
Main Idea: Be a neighbor
Passage of Good Samaritan. “I thought it was about loving your neighbor”? Well, yes, but that’s not how the conversation begins. After Jesus rejoices in what God has done, others are listening intently to what is going on.
Luke 10:25-37
How #1: Obey the Father (25-28)
Exp. The mind is a wonderful thing. How it processes information and stores it. We desperately search for answers to things, and salvation is no different. Verse 25. Lawyer = teacher of the Law. Not someone who argues. Put him to the test = trying to trick Jesus. Common question in that day: How do I inherit eternal life? Jesus is going to turn it back on him with a question. Verse 26. Typical response from a rabbi to let someone wrestle with their own question. Since he’s a lawyer, he should know the Law. His answer was good. Verse 27. Quotes Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18. Jesus affirms his answer. Verse 28. This answer stumps the lawyer. He will try and justify himself in a minute. Notice, Jesus’ concern. Not that you know what to do, but that you do it.
Ill. When I was a teenager, had a wild mouth. Parents would tell me to do something and wouldn’t do it. Then they tell me again, and I respond, “I know.” Well, knowing isn’t obedience. Obedience is obedience. Syllabus and college students. What do I do for your research paper? Syllabus? Go and do it. Fulfill the Law and you shall live.
Arg. Verse 27. Love God with all your heart, soul, might. This was just the beginning of his list of commands. Leviticus is full of the Law. Love your neighbor as yourself. Outward expressions. Here’s the point: We can’t obey perfectly. Matthew 5:17-20
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Christ - We cannot fulfill the law perfectly, so we must rely on the grace of God through Jesus! Salvation requires more than knowledge, it requires obedience. But you can’t be obedient enough. Jesus was. Going to the cross.
App. What do we do? Put knowledge aside and trust in Christ.
Repentance is more than knowing you need to repent.
Love God with everything you are.
We should obey, and now we can in Christ.
How #2: Forget about who your neighbor is (29-37)
Exp. One commentator acknowledges that Jesus’ response could be sarcastic to the teacher of the law. Practice what you preach. Wanting to justify himself, the lawyer responds. Verse 29. Why justify himself? This man wants to know who he is obligated to show his love to. If Jesus responds with mother, brother, etc., then he’s good. Also means there are those he doesn’t need to love. Jesus tells the parable. Verse 30-35. Road = wadi qelt. Dangerous. Left for dead. Jew from Jerusalem. Priest. Levite. Samaritan. Shocking person. Years of rivalry. Samaritans were known as half-breeds to Jews.
Ill. Be like me cheering for Bama. UNC fan cheering for Duke. Red Sox fan cheering for Yankees. It doesn’t make sense. That’s the point.
Exp. The point is not who the neighbor is, it is are you being neighborly. Look at Jesus’ question. Verse 36. Lawyer uses neighbor as noun. Jesus as adverb. Who proved to be neighborly? You do not have neighbors. You are a neighbor. Jesus never answers his question about who his neighbor is. He is describing what a neighbor does. What does neighborly look like?
Had compassion. Being neighborly begins with compassion.
Bound up wounds. Saw the wounds and didn’t ignore them. Treated them.
Poured oil and wine. Medicinal remedy of that time.
Brought him to an inn and took care of him. Left his own plans to tend to this man.
Paid for two days wage and was willing to pay for more. Paid for plenty of time there and would return.
Exp. Verse 36-37. The one who showed mercy. Wouldn’t even say “Samaritan.” He was right. Mercy. Go and do likewise. We don’t know his response. Go and love your greatest enemies. Why? Because Jesus did.
Christ - We cannot be justified ourselves. We can only be justified through Christ and follow through with obedience. Jesus is the ultimate Good Samaritan. Not because he was a Samaritan, but because he had compassion, bound up our wounds, took care of us. Ultimately, he would go to the cross for us so that we would be healed. By his stripes, we are healed. Who is neighborly? The one who showed mercy. And who does that? Jesus.
App. What do we do?
Be a neighbor. Jesus’ vocabulary is that “neighbor” is actionable.
Don’t look for loopholes in obedience. Don’t try and find a different neighbor.
Conclusion
Taking the truth of God to one neighbor at a time. Go be a neighbor!
