Who is my Neighbor?

Who is my Neighbor? Aug 11, 2002 Given by: Elder Billy Mathews [Index of Past Messages] As many of you know, Rich has been preaching a series this summer dealing with difficult questions of the faith. This morning, I am going to break from that series while Rich is in Connecticut officiating at the weeding of Scott Williams. If you know anything about MECF, you should know OUR MISSION statement, which reads: To saturate the St. Louis Metro-East area with GOD'S GOOD NEWS that anyone can experience Friendship with God through Jesus Christ, Spiritual and Emotional Wholeness in Him, and Life-Giving Purpose in His Kingdom. In keeping with this mandate, as outlined in Matthew 28:18-20, God has given us OUR VISION: TO ESTABLISH 1,000 Life-giving, Self-propagating Christian Communities (cells) in the St. Louis Metro-East area which will also be dedicated to the ministry of; • Drawing People to Salvation through Jesus Christ, • Developing Believers to Maturity in Jesus Christ, and • Deploying Mature Disciples into Ministry for Jesus Christ. The vision of Metro East Christian Fellowship is establishing 1000 cells in the metro east community, basically means establishing a cell in every neighborhood in the community. Our vision is neighborhood focused, or more rightly neighbor focused. I want to look at what Jesus said about who our neighbors are. Turn in your bible to Luke 10:25-37 -- I will be reading from the (NASB) And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" And he answered and said, "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." And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied and said, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. "And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. "And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. "But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. "And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.' "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same." Verse 25 - "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" - why was the lawyer questioning Jesus? Did he really want to know how to attain eternal life, or was this another theological trap prepared by Jesus' rivals? Either way, I like the way Jesus handled the question, I would even suggest you use this method of dealing with people when they ask you those difficult questions that Rich has been dealing with this summer. Using this method has several benefits, one is you will find out what they know about the subject, and if you listen to the way they answer the question, you may even determine something about their attitude in asking the question. I believe the attitude we have determines the answers we will hear. What does the lawyer's response in verse 29 tell you? But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" What do you think - the man summed up the Law in two sentences, but he wanted a definition of 'neighbor'. I think lawyers bear the brunt of too many jokes, and I believe it has been that way a long time, but the way so many of them are always looking for a loophole just invites others to question their sincerity, if not their intelligence. We know this guy understood the law, the NIV describes him as an expert in the law. Yet, he wanted Jesus to clarify who was a neighbor for him. I see the key to this passage as the lawyers attitude, his attitude of trying to justify himself, maybe his heart, or possibly his past actions. The statements by the lawyer give Jesus such a great opportunity to teach us, that I would probably overlook his attitude and not even mention it, except I recognized the attitude too well. I have found myself trying to justify myself too often. It is so easy to fool myself about application of this scripture - sure I love God with all my heart, soul strength and mind - and if I tell you (and everyone else I come into contact with) that I Love God, what reason would you have to question it? Would you look at my actions, how I lived my live and treated others to judge me about how I love God. Would that be fair to apply my actions and attitude in one area of my life to my actions in another area? I can tell you - "I love God, and my neighbor, that yeah, well sure I love my neighbors, or I would if I knew them, but you know right now, no one lives next door to me, so I guess that really does not apply to me." My words would say I Love God and my neighbor, but my actions would say different. In reality my attitude would be "I will just love those I come in contact with and avoid those I don't want to love." Have you ever played such games with yourself, trying to justify yourself? Listen to what Jesus said: . . . A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. "And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. "And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. "But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,  and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. "And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.' "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" We know the answer to the question, just as the lawyer did - of course the Samaritan was the neighbor. Is it hard for you to admit that you know what God has in mind? Think how the lawyer must have felt. Jesus' examples had to sting a bit, after all he was an expert in the Law - which meant he was could be a Levite, probably knew a lot of priest. So, Jesus tells him the priest and Levite passed by the injured man. Understand, the city of Jericho was home to many priest and Levites, and any on the road down to Jericho would have been returning from Jerusalem. The most likely reason a priest or Levite would have been in Jerusalem would be the performance of their brief tenure of temple service. Think about it, these men had probably just been serving God in the Holy Temple, in charge of reading the scripture before the people, serving God by serving the people. They should have been more humble, grateful, and willing servants of God, ready to obey His scripture, because it was so fresh in their minds, but, when given the opportunity to assist a fellow countryman, they passed by on the other side of the road. Now the hard question -- have you ever passed by someone in need - held your head up so you did not see them, their hurt and their pain -- just blocked them out. Or maybe I should ask, have you ever stopped to aid someone you did not know, someone hurting, hungry, without shelter or hope? I would hope you would answer no to the first question, and yes, lots of times, to the second. While stationed in Egypt, I had the opportunity to take my family to Cairo for sightseeing and shopping. It was John's 7th birthday, and I will never forget the encounter we had with a poor woman and her infant in the streets of the bazaar, or market. She was dirty - like she had been sleeping in the streets, she was skinny, like she was hungry, and her baby had flies on his eyes - and he did not blink. I was certain the poor woman's baby was dead - and just as certain there was nothing I could do for her. She was one of hundreds of thousands of poor people living in Cairo, and the few dollars I could give her would only feed her for a few days - I was torn, I wanted to help, but I also wanted to move on and protect my family from the sight. I justified myself, to myself, that I should not have to explain the circumstances to my boys -- why she was living in the street, why she was hungry, why I could not save her. But, I could not keep them from seeing, and John was devastated. He wanted to go back and take the woman home. Sometimes it is so easy to understand Jesus, if we just listen with the heart of a child. Though I knew I could not make a lasting difference in her life, I know she made a lasting impact on my life. I don't see someone in need now without seeing her, knowing whatever I provide will probably be of little consequence in changing their life, but knowing what Christ provides, can have a major impact. The lawyer would recognize the circumstances of the Priest and Levite, and I am sure it would sting him a bit that Jesus would remind him that given the opportunity to do good, some people the community would respect pass the opportunity by. Then, Jesus gives him the zinger. He tells him about the Samaritan. The foreigner - not even fit to be called a Gentile in the Jewish eyes. Jesus tells the lawyer the story of this despised man that stops, helps, and provides for the traveler. I'm not sure you can understand the hatred the Jews felt for the Samaritans. To try to make it more understandable, I've developed a short analogy. About the only thing I can think of that would equate in our society, would be to change the story to a setting in the deep south, around 1950. Consider the story being told to a member of the KKK instead of a Jewish Lawyer (just so you know, I'm not real sure about the hierarchy of the KKK, but this seemed an appropriate analogy). The story: There was a fine upstanding member of our great society, traveling from Birmingham to Mobil who stopped at a roadside park to rest. While there, he was attacked by thugs and left for dead. A short while later, a Grand Duke came by, noticed the man lying in the park and drove on without stopping. Shortly, another car approached, driven by a Grand Marshall. He also notices the man and drove off as fast as he could. Following this, a black man pulls into the park, notices the man, and comes to his aid. He attends to the man's wounds, helps him into his car, and drives him to the local hospital. The hospital was about to refuse the man treatment because he had no insurance, but the black man, pulled out his credit card, paid the hospital admissions fee, and told the receptionist he would be back in two days to take care of the remainder of the bill. - Now, who was the neighbor to this fine upstanding citizen? Not only has Jesus slapped the lawyer with the tale of the Priest and Levite, but he backhands him with the story of the Samaritan - ONE, Bamb, TWO, Pow! The Lawyer, if he were a Klansman, could easily envision how the Grand Duke would be too busy to not stop and help a fellow Klansman, after all, they were pretty busy folk. And the Marshall, why he probably had to get home and take care of the kids after being away all week. But the thought that a black man would stop and help a Klansman, and pick up the tab for his care, that was probably unbelievable to the lawyer. I can envision this, because I find myself justifying others who are like me, when they do things I just might do myself, and in unbelief when people I would least expect do something heroic or noble. I used the KKK because I was exposed to some in that culture when I was in high school and their attitudes were unbelievable to me. Yet, I could have also used from my personal experience the attitudes of some Jews and Palestinians, or some Germans and French, or some Texans and Mexicans. Yet, from my own personal experience, I also know there are exceptions in all these examples, except for the KKK, they preached and lived hatred for a whole people just because they were different from them. I think that is strong evidence of hate for a people without knowing them, and that is how I see the relationship of the Jews to the Samaritans, they would not associate with them to get to know them, yet they detested them. And I think that is one reason Jesus chose the characters of this parable. Back to Jesus' question, "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?". I believe the lawyer was too shocked to try to justify himself, or the priest or Levite, any further, but he answered rightly, just as we should: "The one who showed mercy toward him." And Jesus said to him, just as he says to us - "Go and do the same." Not all of our opportunities to help will be so obvious to us. I believe we have to be alert to the opportunities God provides, we must be ready to answer the call he has given us. Who did Jesus say was our neighbor? I would tell you, my neighbor is the man next to me, across the room from me, down the street from me, whoever I come in contact with, or even the ones I avoid because I know them too well to like them. God provides opportunity for us to be neighbors. It may be as simple as holding a ladder while a neighbor is pruning a tree, picking up someone's paper while they are on vacation, taking a dinner over when they have had a new baby, or saying I care when they have suffered a loss. Our opportunities are to establish relationships, to build friendships, to garner trust, and to live our lives in such a way that they see Christ through us. Not everyone has been called to be a preacher, but we are all called to be prepared to have an answer for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15). Are you prepared to tell your neighbor why you love him? I would sum up this morning's lesson with three points: 1. Be prepared to answer the hard questions. Use Jesus' example, and ask the questioner what they think and find out their heart, then use scripture to address the truth. 2. Be prepared to help a neighbor. Don't be concerned about their status, their social position, or what they can do for you, but be concerned for them. 3. Know your neighbor. Though this point was not specifically in the lesson, I want to encourage us to take a little time to get to know the people we come in contact with each day. If we are going to influence them in any positive way, we will have to show an interest in them. Before I close out this morning, I want to draw your attention to one other example of being a neighbor. This last example comes from Exodus 12:1-4 (NASB). "Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household. 'Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb." I hope you recognize the context of this passage. God is giving instruction to Moses to prepare the people of Israel to flee Egypt. The instructions are how to prepare the first Passover meal, the meal they are to eat just before they flee, but also to eat annually thereafter as a remembrance of what God has done for them. Part of their preparation is to take a lamb on the 10th of the month, care for and nurture the lamb and then on the 14th of the month, slaughter the lamb. Because this was to be a meal consumed in haste, they were to only prepare enough for what they could eat that night, no leftovers. So, if they had a small family, they were to get with their neighbors and share the lamb, according to what each would eat, so there would be no leftover. This feast, with all its instructions, was still carried out by the Jews when Jesus came. Jesus celebrated the feast with his disciples with the breaking of the bread, partaking of the wine, sharing the Lamb. Kasey beautifully shared with us last week the significance of the emblems we partake of each week - I loved how she pointed out the significance of sealing the engagement covenant with the bride taking the cup - and how we, as the bride of Christ, are sealing our covenant with Jesus each week as we partake of the fruit of the vine. But today, I want to remind you that Jesus told us to show mercy on our neighbor, and I want to remind you that the Jews were to share the Lamb with their neighbors - I really want to make a tie-in here - we are to show mercy to, and share the Lamb, with our neighbors. Aren't they really the same thing, especially if your neighbor does not know Christ, the Lamb of God? Without Christ, I can assure you, your neighbor is wounded and hurting. As we partake of communion today, I ask that you focus on what Christ has done for you - if you have a spiritual hurt, I ask that you let Him heal you of it - He can, but only if you give it to Him. And, I ask that you focus on your neighbor, you know, the one that is hurting, wounded, and needs to know Christ, the one everyone else passes by and leaves them in their hurt. We celebrate communion here at Metro East by coming together at the small tables around the auditorium, and all believers are invited to come. We will close the service by partaking communion together, after you have taken communion, please feel free to move to the rear of the auditorium, but please remember those that have not completed their time at the tables. You are welcome to go to the table with your cell, your family, or your neighbor. As you go - to the table, and out to your neighbor, remember, share the Lamb. Let us pray.   [Back to Top]