Luke 10:25-37 - Parable of the Good Samaritan

Well, I did have a great privilege while I was in Iraq to preach to an Alliance Church there and I was a special opportunity and I'm thankful for it. But I am very happy to be in this Pulpit with with my family and preaching God's word to you. So let's let's look continue to look in the Book of Luke. We've been in the Luke The Book of Luke for well better part of a year and a half now with some breaks, but we started back up where in Luke chapter 10 verses 25 through 37 looking at a parable. That just might be the most well-known Parable even outside of the church. You can meet people never been to church in their life. Who would know the term Good Samaritan and have an idea of what it means. I'd encourage you to open up your Bibles or turn on your device so that you can read along with me. We're looking at Luke 10 25 to 37. It is also printed on the back of the insert that you can find in your Bulletin.

Luke rights and behold a lawyer stood up to put into the test saying teacher what should I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him what is written in the law? How do you read it? And he answered you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength 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 he Desiring to justify himself said to Jesus and who is my neighbor Jesus replied A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him a departed leaving him half-dead now by chance a priest was going down that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side so likewise a levite when he came to the place and saw him pass by on the other side, but as Samaritan as he Journeys, Where he was and when he saw him he had compassion he went to him and bound up his wounds pouring on oil and wine. Then he sent him on his own animal and brought him to an in and took care of it and the next day he took him to dinar I and gave them to The Innkeeper saying take care of him and whatever more you spend I will repay you when I come back which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? He said the one who showed him mercy and Jesus said to him you go and do likewise. Let's pray father God. We thank you this morning for your word. We thank you for this wonderful Revelation that you have given us of who you are and what you've done and we pray father God that by your spirit you would help us this morning. We are finite creatures who still wrestle with sin and father God. We need your help in regards to your word this morning. Would you by your spirit help us to understand it with our minds and to embrace it with our hearts? We know when doing so father God that we will be changed because you have promised that your word will not return void that it will accomplish all you set it out to do. So would you by your spirit? As it applies your Living Word to us. Would you conform us to the image of Christ?

I pray father God that you would help me by your spirit to communicate Your Truth faithfully and in a way, that's helpful. I pray this in Christ name. Amen. Well as we look at this passage of scripture as we look at this back and forth with the lawyer and with Jesus and as we consider this famous Parable, I think we can summarize it in a couple sentence a couple sentences that will be helpful as we go forward and look at it. The first is this eternal salvation is inherited by those who truly love God Eternal salvation is inherited by those who truly love God and here's the next sentence truly loving God is evidenced by our love of neighbor truly loving God is evidenced by our love of neighbor. Let me just give you a heads up about how we're going to tackle this passage this morning. I've got a long introduction. I'm going to go on for a while in the sun introduction and then I'm going to have three points. The first two points will be very quick looking at what we have in this passage, and then finally I'll spin Sometime looking at the parable and how we can apply that to our lives. So let's begin with an introduction. Just getting our minds around some important things in this passage. First of all, there are two questions that dry this passage. Both questions presented to Jesus by this lawyer. The first question is this what shall I do to inherit eternal life at the initial question that this teacher of the law this lawyer stood up in the presence of Jesus to present to him. What should I do to a parrot eternal life? And then a second question, who is my neighbor is what Alyssa to the parable from Jesus Jesus his answer to the first question helps us to understand the what in the Salvation in Jesus is answer to the second question in the form of this Parable helps us to see what salvation looks like. So before we get to those things really, I think there's three things that we need to understand in regards to Jesus's interacting with the lawyer under the heading of what shall I do to inherit eternal life three things. We need to understand. I remember this is still part of the introduction. This doesn't count. Three things to understand first of all these commands that the lawyer answers to Jesus in regards to summarizing the law the commands of loving the Lord with all of your being and loving your neighbor as yourself these commands demonstrate our inability to inherit salvation in and of ourselves.

Take of the first one. 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 that came from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 5 where it says you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. What does that mean? That means we are commanded to be a loving God with all of our emotions and all of our affections. We are to be loving God with all of our Consciousness with all of our existence. We are to be loving God with all of our energy and every ounce of power. We have weird to be loving God with all of our intelligence and all of our intellect. We must love God with the whole of our being and we must do so perfectly. Nobody does that. Nobody Does that no human being has ever done that say 1

we are called in that commandment with absolutely every fiber of our being every aspect of our existence to love God and nobody does that.

That's why we can't inherit salvation in and of ourselves, but that's not all there is there's more there when I just told to love God in that way, but we're told we should love our neighbor as ourselves that comes from Leviticus 19 Verse 18. You shall not take Vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself by in the Lord. What does it mean to love our neighbor as ourselves that means to treat another person as you would most ideally like to be treated think of any given situation think think of that situation in the most optimistic way you can in regards to how you would be treated and that's how you ought to treat someone else and you want to treat them that way all the time. Nobody Does that not only does nobody love God, they were called to love God and Deuteronomy, but no one loves their neighbor in the way. We're called to love our neighbor in Leviticus 19. That is why we need to understand is Jesus is talking about these things that they demonstrate our own inability to inherit salvation in Andover selves if that's what is required for salvation the none of us. Have a hope Here's the second thing. I want you to know about this first interaction salvation is a family blessing that is inherited. It is not a merit badge that is earned. Salvation is a family blessing that is inherited. It is not a merit badge that is earned. Therefore. We need a family representative to get us into the family to get us into a place in a position where we can also inherit salvation. We need a representative who loves God with all of their being and who loves their neighbor perfectly. Fortunately, there is one who did that Jesus Christ the son of God love God perfectly and love his neighbors. Probably reading John Chapter 14 verse 31, but I do as the father has commanded me so that the world may know that I love the father. We know Jesus perfectly love the father because he perfectly obeyed the father. There was one who loved the father love God with all of his heart and all of his mind and all of his soul and all of his strength.

And he also loved his neighbor. We reading John 15 verse 13 greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends. Jesus demonstrated the Pinnacle of neighborly love.

When he lived a perfect life to God and then died on the cross for the sins of others. There is a representative who loves God you love God with all of his being and it loved his neighbor's perfectly and it is by that family member. That we can inherit salvation. The only way we can be part of the family of God so that we might inherit this salvation is to be found in Christ if we're found in Christ, and we will be found in God's family if we will be in that position of inheriting eternal life. In this section and John 14, + 15 + 16 + 17. We see so much about this but in John 17 verses 20 through 26 week, we get an understanding of the necessity be in Christ so that we can be in God's family. Read this prayer of Jesus. He says I did not ask for these only but also for those who will believe in me through their word that they may all be one just as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. He says the glory that you have given me I've given to them that they may be one even as we are one I and them and you and me that they may become perfectly one. So the world may know that you send me and love them even as you love me. That's the only way we can inherit salvation. We can't love the Lord Our God with all of our strength with all of our mind with all of our soul with all of our being. And we can't love neighbors perfectly the way we're supposed to love them. And so we can't inherit salvation that way but we can inherit it if we're found in Christ. Because he did love the Lord God perfectly and he did love his neighbor perfectly and if we are found in him then we inherit that salvation.

There's one more thing about this first section. As we consider the fact that no one can inherit salvation by doing these commands because we can't do them. But if we can be found in a representative who did do the weekend in here that salvation here's a third thing for us to think about this morning our inability to accomplish these commands and to accomplish them perfectly does not excuse us from trying to obey them. Continually. Let me say that again our inability to accomplish. These commands perfectly does not excuse us from attempting to obey these companions. Continually these commands continuing. This is what we're called to do 1st John 5:3 for this is the love of God that we keep his Commandments and his Commandments are not burdensome. 1st John 3:16 by this. We know love that. He laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers were called to these things. The call to inherit eternal life through these things is what we're called to. Unfortunately, we had Christ to win our salvation for us our Salvation, which is inherited in Christ calls us and motivates Us in an 8-oz us to love God and to love our neighbor Enzo. We don't do it perfectly.

We still pursue those things. We still Endeavor to love God in that way in love Neighbors in that way. So that's the end of my introduction.

Quickly now, I want to talk about something quickly regards tough. Love the Lord because we have a situation here. Which Jesus is talking to a Jew Jewish lawyer. Someone who was part of the Old Testament Covenant Community in and we know because we read the gospels what Jesus would do it and how he would change things and he would usher in the New Covenant. So it's important to understand this about loving the Lord to love God is to be devoted to the teaching in person of Jesus. To love God is to be devoted to the teaching and person of Jesus. And so when Jesus told this lawyer that he was to love the Lord God with all his heart and all his mind in all his strength at all. His soul part of that message was you also need to love me and you need to be devoted to what I teach we see in John 8 verse 42. Jesus said to them. If God were your father you would love me for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. He was very explicit about it if you claim to love God and if it's true, then you will love me to love God is to love Jesus. He also said in John chapter 5 verse 42 and 43, but I know that you do not have the love of God within you I have come in my father's name and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. Jesus said to love God is to love me and to love God is to accept me into except what I teach We need to understand this is what the love of God is in regards to this Theologian and Pastor John Piper said, so what is the relationship between loving God and loving Jesus? You can't have the one without the other loving Jesus is the test of whether you love God and loving God is the test of whether you truly love Jesus. The love the Lord is to be devoted to the teaching in person of Jesus to love your neighbor. In regards to what Jesus is talking about here. We need to understand that there is no distinction between Devotion to God and treatment of people.

There is no distinction the Bible doesn't make a distinction between those two things. In fact, you find them together.

We like to talk about it as if they can be separated and we'll see you in a minute. That's exactly what the lawyer was trying to do in justifying himself. We would say well, you know someone so she's very mean to her family, but she loves God. Or you know this guy this guy gossips about people in church, but he loves God. Or this person this person is not very kind to newcomers, but she loves God, that's not how the Bible talks about these things. We can't separate the two of them. We read in the first John chapter 4 10 and 12 in this is love not that we loved God, but then he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. So so John's laying the foundation of this idea of Salvation and then he says beloved if God so loved us. We also ought to love one another no one has ever seen God if we love one another God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. So that idea. I've got a biting us and is what being perfected in us and that idea of Salvation is seeing as we love one another. We don't separate those two things. That's exactly what the lawyer is about to do. There's no distinction between Devotion to God in the treatment of people. Now remember, this is our last point. I want to spend some time talking about this Parable really haven't titled this point loving your enemy because that's where it takes us to. In the telling of this Parable Jesus is responding remembered to the second question of the lawyer and who is my neighbor is he he wanted to separate the idea of loving God from his actions towards other people. We're going to see that the Jesus doesn't allow for that and then surprises him even in regards to loving other people. It is important to note that this lawyer is trying to justify himself. He knew what the law commanded and is Jesus reinforce what he knew to be true about the summary of the law. He looked for a way to vindicate himself really so he could maintain his sense of self righteousness. But Jesus and using this particular Parable to illustrate his point make something very clear something that I'm sure the lawyer and the other Jews who were listening to him would have been very uncomfortable with he makes it clear that for his disciples. There are no non Neighbors. There are no non neighbors through this Parable. He indicates everyone is your neighbor. There is no person who you can categorically ignore in regards to showing Mercy or showing Compassion or showing love he demonstrates this in the parable. You see he tells a story of of two men who passed by this victim who had been robbed in Left 4 Dead and both of those two were dyed-in-the-wool Israelites. It was a priest and a levite. I understand. They were leaving Jerusalem. That means they were not in a hurry to get to work their work was done in Jerusalem their work was finished and completed and they were leaving along this road and these two men were involved in the religion of Israel. The priest was to perform ceremonies and rituals. The levite was really like an assistant to that priest did work around the temple embossed of both of these people would have been seen as representative of true Covenant members Israelites who work legally and spiritually and ethnically within the Covenant. That's how they would have been perceived. And here they passed by a fellow Jew has been victimized on the road to Jericho. This would have been puzzling for those listening to the parable. Why did these two? Poster boys for an Israelite by their fellow Jew on this road and not help but Jesus would amplify this sense of perplexity because he then tells the story of a stranger on the road to Jericho would in fact stop and help this victim a stranger who was a Samaritan. Understand that in the eyes of the Jewish people in this time as Samaritan was not a neighbor. As maren was Unworthy of respect. In fact, there are teachings of the time which suggested is Samaritan is unclean and they're unclean to the point. To eat with a Samaritan would be worse than eating pork which God had forbidden. That's how they looked at some errands. They were worthy of being avoided at best and nothing more and yet Jesus insists to this lawyer. But as Samaritan is being neighborly and that no more or no less than being in need is what it requires to consider. Someone a neighbor. That each person is responsible to love an individual regardless of their ethnicity or their age of their gender or the religious practices or their education economic status or their ideological position. None of those things matter. There's one requirement for considering someone a neighbor and that's that they are in need. This would have been viewed as Radical by those who hurt it. Neighbors just is not just someone who lives nearby you a neighbor is not just someone who's included in the Covenant Community. In fact a neighbor could be someone who is considered a cultural or ideological enemy to you. This would be a sounding to them. I had an opportunity when I was in Iraq to see this play out to see this truth of the parable of the Good Samaritan play out and someone who is telling me a first-hand story this young man who I saw it across from at a table for lunch ran was beside me Nathaniel Ray the pastor from Crossroads and Ingersoll was with us as well. And this young man told us his story of how he came to faith in Christ. He grew up in mosul and not in Iraq. And is he explained? It's a fairly long story because of his ethnicity and because of his upbringing he was rejected by everyone. He couldn't find a home with the Christians. You couldn't find a home with the Muslims. No one wanted to be part of his life or include him in their life. And it so happened that when ISIS attack mosul, he was kidnapped and it was it was right out of the movies. Has he explained it men broke into his home with machine guns. They put a black hood over his head. They threw me a vehicle and took him to a compound. He didn't know where he was. When I finally took the hood off of them and his eyes are adjusted to the light. He could see a steel drum across the room from his captors said go over to that steel drum reach in and pull something out. The only instructions they gave him. So we walked over to the steel drum you reached in and felt a rubber hose and pulled it out. That was the Implement. They used to torture him for the next three days. to beat him To inflict pain with the very thing he had pulled out of that steel drum. Wasn't enough to inflict on him this great physical pain and suffering. They wanted to impact him mentally and emotionally well and so after beating him for several days, they took him though. He was still alive and threw him on a pile of dead bodies where he had to stay. Until they let him get off. When they finally let him get off I left him in a courtyard and he said at that time one of the mass Isis members was walking by picked up a cinder block walked over to him through it on his leg and broke his leg. Any hope of Escape at that point was gone. He wasn't even MOBA. Now there's a story goes on where he explains how he was saved and how he managed to get out of that. It's another story. But I want you to consider this man. We've been rejected by his people in mosul. He had been abducted by ISIS. He had been tortured he had been beaten if there were anyone that he could say we're his enemies on any level he could say these people in mosul were his enemies But then he went on to describe to us what he was doing with his days. Now three times a week he along with some other brothers and sisters in that church in erbil Iraq sneak in to mosul. They go back to the place where he was captured and where he was rejected and where he was tortured. And they show Christ's love two people there who are need primarily to widows and orphans who were widowed and orphaned because of isis's killing there.

These were people who I think you could rightly say where his enemies these were people in every facet of his existence were his enemies and yet he chose not to see them as such he chose to see them as neighbors and does what he can to help them. It was an incredible story and one of the things we asked when he was finished telling was how does that happen? How does that happen that you now sneak back to that place where you experienced such trauma such pain such suffering. His answer was that the love of God in Christ? Jesus has transformed him and he sees things differently. There's a powerful example of how Christ work in someone's life and help them to understand that. Everyone is our neighbor. Let me finish this morning by making three applications. Three things for us to consider and think about and do in regards to what we've considered. About the Good Samaritan. First of all, we need to recognize that ideological or religious or cultural enemies are in fact our neighbors. To whom we should show love we're called to love them. We need to recognize the weekend love our neighbors without agreeing with her neighbors. Think about this and several a couple different spheres. Brothers and sisters we can maintain our belief. That marriage is a covenant for Life between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others and still love people who disagree with us.

We can believe that sex is to be reserved exclusively for those in a covenant of marriage and still show compassion to those who don't believe that and don't practice that. They're our neighbors. We can love them. We can in our society insist that submission to our creator means that we accept our bodies and we accept our biological sex as good gifts. And yet we can respond to those who disagree with that.

in compassion and love You know, we still say repent and believe we can insist that life is sacred from conception until natural death and still be willing to show Mercy to those who opposed that idea. When we talk about religious beliefs, whether it's the Muslim immigrant or the 5th generation Canadian atheist weekend unwaveringly disagree with their worldview and yet still be willing to show them kindness in times of need. That's what the parable of the Good Samaritan cause us to

secondly We need to recognize the loving. Our neighbor is an exercise in wisdom as well as in compassion.

Loving our neighbor is not a Whimsical haphazard unsyncing activity. The reason that is because the needs are too great. The needs are too great. If you are not wise and how you love your neighbor, it wouldn't take you long to be one of the neighbors who is desperately in need to be helped. That's how great the need, is that out there. So we need to be wise without ever using that wisdom as an excuse for not loving.

So we need to love our neighbor. We need to exercise wisdom as we do so.

Finally by wave application we can keep this simple. Lettuce show compassion to those in need no matter who they are. Let us demonstrate love to our neighbors to help them in their suffering in their difficulty. Let's do that individually as we meet people and as we come across people, but let's do that corporately as well. Let me encourage you this church does many things and provides many opportunities in which you can love your neighbor. If you want to know more was on the limit, let me encourage you to speak with gram grams of got to talk to about those things, but we need to keep doing that individually and keep doing that corporately to show compassion to those no matter who they are. Even if we see them as a type of enemy or opponent. Eternal salvation is inherited by people who truly love God and truly loving God is evidenced by our love of neighbor. Let's pray. Father God we thank you for your word. We thank you for the gift of this Gospel of Luke and which we hear this teaching of Jesus.

I'm father we want to today. Thank you for Jesus because we know that we cannot accomplish the law. When is we looked at this morning the summary of the law to love you with all of our heart and mind and soul and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. We know we fail at that. But we're grateful that we had a brother. Who did all of that perfectly?

And true faith and repentance were found in him. We inherit eternal life and we're grateful for that. Father God I pray that you would help us to to understand what it means to love our neighbor to understand that all people are created in your image and are therefore our neighbors even people who oppose us will think differently than us or even people who might attack us or persecute us we can still in your power and your love look at them as Neighbors. I pray father God that you would help us to love our neighbors to love them wisely. I pray this in Christ's name.