Like a good neighbor Statefarm is there...

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Introduction

Hello my friends. We are continuing through our parable series this week. I get the privilege of taking us through a very popular parable.... and my prayer is that I do it justice. There is a tendency as communicators of the Word (The Bible) to try to “deliver it fresh”…I really struggled this week on this line between presenting the eternal truth of Scripture without trying to spin it from a ‘new angle’. And…I came to the conclusion that, well, how Jesus presented it is plenty good (haha).
Let’s open our Bibles to
We’re going to be talking about The Good Samaritan today but before we get there I think context is key! So, in order for us to understand verses 29-37 lets take a look at verses 25-28. At this point in the story Jesus just sent out 72 in pairs into the regions where he was about to travel to. The 72 return and everyone is rejoicing....and then a lawyer poked his head up. Scripture tells us he wanted to put Jesus to the test:
Luke 10:25–28 ESV
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 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.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
Pause: This guy was a ‘lawyer’ and familiar with the Law (Jewish Law) others will call this guy a ‘scribe.’ Strict orthodox Jews wore little leather boxes around their wrists called phylacteries.
E

PHYLACTERY (φυλακτήριον, phylaktērion). Prayer boxes that Jewish men wear on their foreheads or left forearms as a devotional aid during statutory times for prayer.

Meaning and Etymology

Phylacteries contain copies of the four biblical passages upon which their usage is based: Exod 13:9, 16; Deut 6:8; 11:18. They serve as a ritual reminder of the covenantal commitment to keep the Torah of Moses and to thank God for His many blessings (1QS 10.10; Segal, 160–64). Two other physical symbols reflect this same goal:

1. mezuzah—a small box, containing scrolls bearing the same four verses, mounted to the right doorpost of the house and of each room (see Deut 6:9; 11:20);

2. tzitzin—tassels or fringes with blue cords worn at the four corners of a prayer shawl (see Num 15:37–38; Deut 22:12).

The use of phylacteries has varied throughout history according to time and place, as have rules regarding their use. The Greek term “phylactery” (φυλακτήριον, phylaktērion) comes from the Greek word meaning “to watch, guard” (φυλάσσω, phylassō). Its only occurrence in the Bible is in Matt 23:5, in which Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees. The term also appears in extrabiblical sources from the mid-second century AD (Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 46.5; Massekhet Tefillin §9 [attributed to R. Judah b. Ilai, using the translation equivalent qāmîa]; §12). Phylacteries are also known by the term tefillin (m. Berakhot 3:1), which may be based on the Hebrew term for prayer (תְּפִלָּה, tephillah)

These boxes came as, what Jews, saw as a command/instruction from 2 passages:
Exodus 13:9 ESV
9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 6:8 ESV
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
The phylacteries contained part of , Deteronomy 6 & 11, and . Jesus asks the lawyer: “How do you read?”
Exodus 13:1–10 ESV
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” 3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. 5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
Exodus 13:11–16 ESV
11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
Exodus
Deuteronomy 11:13–20 ESV
13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you. 18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,
Deuteronomy
Leviticus 19:18 ESV
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: I am the Lord.
So, Jesus essentially tells the lawyer…look on your wrist and you will have the answer to your question.
We then pick up the story in verse 29.
Luke 10:29 ESV
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Vs. 29. Willing to justify himself.—Perhaps the scribe took the reply, “this do,” as an indirect reproach that he, to his own amazement, had not yet done it, and now apparently his conscience begins to speak. But he will justify himself, inasmuch as he intimates that he, in this respect at least, had already fulfilled the requirement of the law, unless it were that Jesus perhaps by the words “thy neighbor” might have some different meaning from himself. But better still, we are perhaps to conceive the matter thus: if the answer was so simple as it appeared to be from the words of our Saviour, there might undoubtedly be need of an excuse that he had approached Jesus with so trifling a question. He wishes, therefore, by this more particular statement to give the Saviour to feel that precisely this is the great question, namely, whom he is to regard as his neighbor and whom not; and as to this, our Lord now, in the immediately following parable, gives him a definite exposition.

The Lawyer Seeks To Justify Himself

In these little boxes were four Biblical passages:

PHYLACTERY (φυλακτήριον, phylaktērion). Prayer boxes that Jewish men wear on their foreheads or left forearms as a devotional aid during statutory times for prayer.

Meaning and Etymology

Phylacteries contain copies of the four biblical passages upon which their usage is based: Exod 13:9, 16; Deut 6:8; 11:18. They serve as a ritual reminder of the covenantal commitment to keep the Torah of Moses and to thank God for His many blessings (1QS 10.10; Segal, 160–64). Two other physical symbols reflect this same goal:

1. mezuzah—a small box, containing scrolls bearing the same four verses, mounted to the right doorpost of the house and of each room (see Deut 6:9; 11:20);

2. tzitzin—tassels or fringes with blue cords worn at the four corners of a prayer shawl (see Num 15:37–38; Deut 22:12).

The use of phylacteries has varied throughout history according to time and place, as have rules regarding their use. The Greek term “phylactery” (φυλακτήριον, phylaktērion) comes from the Greek word meaning “to watch, guard” (φυλάσσω, phylassō). Its only occurrence in the Bible is in Matt 23:5, in which Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees. The term also appears in extrabiblical sources from the mid-second century AD (Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 46.5; Massekhet Tefillin §9 [attributed to R. Judah b. Ilai, using the translation equivalent qāmîa]; §12). Phylacteries are also known by the term tefillin (m. Berakhot 3:1), which may be based on the Hebrew term for prayer (תְּפִלָּה, tephillah)

The text tells us that the lawyer sought to justify himself… and he asks, “who is my neighbor?”

His question springs therefore from a very different source from that of the rich young man, Matt. 19:16, and without doubt he expects a very different answer from this one, which, on the position of the law, was the only possible one. He is first put to shame by the very fact that the Saviour gives him to hear nothing strange, but simply that which was perfectly familiar.

Note: When you compare this account to the account of the Rich Young Ruler we see that the Rich Young Ruler says he’s kept all of the commands from his youth, Jesus then tells him to sell all of his possessions and then he walks away sad because he has great wealth.
Mark 10:17–27 ESV
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
:
Matthew 19:16–22 ESV
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Vs. 29. Willing to justify himself.—Perhaps the scribe took the reply, “this do,” as an indirect reproach that he, to his own amazement, had not yet done it, and now apparently his conscience begins to speak. But he will justify himself, inasmuch as he intimates that he, in this respect at least, had already fulfilled the requirement of the law, unless it were that Jesus perhaps by the words “thy neighbor” might have some different meaning from himself. But better still, we are perhaps to conceive the matter thus: if the answer was so simple as it appeared to be from the words of our Saviour, there might undoubtedly be need of an excuse that he had approached Jesus with so trifling a question. He wishes, therefore, by this more particular statement to give the Saviour to feel that precisely this is the great question, namely, whom he is to regard as his neighbor and whom not; and as to this, our Lord now, in the immediately following parable, gives him a definite exposition.

Mark: 19:16-22
Mark 19:16-22
Mark: 19:16-22
Jesus tells hin in verse 28 to ‘do the following’ and the scribe takes it as if Jesus told him he wasn’t doing it…at this point he says, well who is my neighbor (because if Jesus says its just the Jews then he would respond that he’s already doing this):
The Gospel of Luke Who Is My Neighbour? (Luke 10:25–37)

but with their passion for definition the Rabbis sought to define who a person’s neighbour was; and at their worst and their narrowest they confined the word neighbour to their fellow Jews. For instance, some of them said that it was illegal to help a Gentile woman in her sorest time, the time of childbirth, for that would only have been to bring another Gentile into the world. So then the scribe’s question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ was genuine.

Luke 10:29–37 ESV
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 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. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 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. 35 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.’ 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.”
Alrighty… lets pray.
Alrighty… so, now that we have the context set lets talk setting and then we will talk about our characters. The setting of our parable is the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. This road was known to be super dangerous. Jerusalem is about 2300 feet above sea level and the Dead see is 1300 below sea level… in about a 20 mile stretch this road drops about 3600 feet.
A few facts about this road:
5th century scholar named Jerome called it ‘The Red or Bloody Way’
By the 19th century it was still necessary to pay Sheiks ‘safety’ money before you travelled on it
This was a dangerous road and things like someone getting jumped happened all of the time during Jesus’ time
There is a longer, yet safer option which most Jews would’ve taken to (a) avoid danger and to (b) avoid most Samaritans through Bethlehem
Characters
The traveller. Most assume this is a Jew… but a fool nevertheless. Most people who travelled this road would seek strength in numbers. A lot of commentaries refer to this guy as ‘reckless’ and ‘foolhardy’
The priest. The text tells us that the priest passed on the other side… this man probably had on his mind. He would be unclean if he touched a dead man (for 7 days). This is some literary license here but… this priest put the Temple and its liturgy above human suffering. He wanted to remain ceremonially clean.
The levite: The Levite comes closer but then moves across the way. Bandits were known to use decoys… so, the Levite took no change and being jumped himself.
The priest and the levite both appeared to go closer, make an inspection, and then chose to keep going.

This inspection, however, merely persuades them of the greatness of the danger that awaits them also if they delay even for an instant, and therefore they make haste to quit the way of blood as quickly as possible. Neither the voice of humanity, nor that of nationality, nor that of religion, speaks so loudly to their heart as the desire of self-preservation.

John 8:48 ESV
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
The Samaritan: if this was a play…this is when the Jews in the crowd would jeer and throw tomatoes at this character. This was the ‘villain’ of a lot of their stories. I like to remind us of the fact that the Jews detested the Samaritans. They thought them heretics and half-breeds. These were mixed Jews during a previous captivity.
Jews use this term as an insult. Whether this man was a Samaritan by race or a ‘Samaritan’ because he was a ‘heretic’ in the eyes of the Jews he had good standing at the inn…
It also interesting to note that Jesus uses a Samaritan as his example of human love especially after he’s been rejected at the Samaritan village:
Luke 9:50–56 ESV
50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.” 51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.
Luke 9:51 ESV
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Luke 9:56 ESV
56 And they went on to another village.
Luke 9:50–56 ESV
50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.” 51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.
We notice a few things about our Good Samaritan:
His unrestricted helpfulness (offers his own oil, wine, and animal)
Self-denial (gave up his beast)
Heartiness (his conversation with the innkeeper…telling him to take care of this man)
Continuance (he says he’ll rectify the account if it costs more than 2 denari for this guy to get up and running again)
Whereas the priest and levite valued orthodoxy and self-preservation the ‘heretic’/ half-breed valued humanity.
Jesus is calling out a Heterodoxy with Humanity, and Orthodoxy without Humanity. Let me explain:
The Gospel of Luke Who Is My Neighbour? (Luke 10:25–37)

We note two things about him.

(1) His credit was good! Clearly the innkeeper was prepared to trust him. He may have been theologically unsound, but he was an honest man.

(2) He alone was prepared to help. A heretic he may have been, but the love of God was in his heart. It is not uncommon to find the orthodox more interested in dogmas than in help and to find those whom the orthodox despise to be the ones who show the greatest love for others. In the end we will be judged not by the creed we hold but by the life we live.

This is going to sound like nails on a chalkboard but this is the same message when God says that he requires mercy and not sacrifice. Mercy will always outweigh your orthodoxy and proper doctrine. Understand me on this I’m not saying that doctrine isn’t important but I am saying that Proper Doctrine and the need to constantly be right is less important than living out mercy and love.
This is the message here…to both the lawyer and to us. Jesus asks the lawyer who
Luke 10:36–37 ESV
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.”
We are to be a people marked by mercy. The church is in the margins and it can sometimes feel like we have our back against the ropes, if you will. Our tendency during these times is to be right. The main issue of the priest and Levite is that they were too concerned with self-preservation. They were too concerned with self even though they had all of the head knowledge…or should’ve had all the head knowledge. In our secular age…we must be consistently displaying our faith (yes, be ready for a ‘defense’) but my co-workers, my friends (who don’t know the Lord), and my family who don’t know the Lord are looking for examples of this life lived out. A life that constantly points to Jesus…
“Piety consists not in having, but in doing”

Body

Conclusion

The Gospel of Luke Who Is My Neighbour? (Luke 10:25–37)

Jesus’ answer involves three things.

(1) We must be prepared to help others even when they have brought their trouble on themselves, as the traveller had done.

(2) Anyone from any nation who is in need is our neighbour. Our help must be as wide as the love of God.

(3) The help must be practical and not consist merely in feeling sorry. No doubt the priest and the Levite felt a pang of pity for the wounded man, but they did nothing. Compassion, to be real, must issue in deeds.

What Jesus said to the scribe, he says to us—‘Go you and do the same.’

So, my prayer for us is that we continue to be marked by mercy and grace.
“Piety consists not in having, but in doing”
The world isn’t
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