Discipleship Basics: Being a disciple begins with the Great Commandment

Being a disciple begins with the Great Commandment

Luke 10:25–37 (CSB)

"25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.”, 28 “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

The Question… “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The Answer “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.”

Notice that Jesus did not answer the question… but instead Jesus asks the man what the Law says. The lawyer knew the answer. He didn’t ask from a of sincere desire to know, he asked the question to test Jesus. His motives are not pure, his intent is to discredit Jesus.

During this exchange Jesus teaches the lawyer that it is not just a matter of knowing what the Law says… It is a matter of doing what we know.

This is why Jesus answers in verse 28, “you have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

Disciples Love God with all that they are and others with all that they have.

Loving God with all that you are =’s Loving God with your heart, soul, strength, and mind

This is every facet of your being.

Loving God with all that you have =’s loving your neighbor as yourself

God doesn’t command us to love others in ways we think they deserve.

He tells us to love others the same way that we would love ourselves. Jesus’ command to “go and do likewise” struck home with the lawyer. I am regularly asked by people:

How much is enough?

How much of my $ is enough?

How much of my time is enough? How much of my life, commitment, words, etc… is enough?

Well, the lawyer just said it out loud… the way that you would love yourself.

The lawyer indicts himself with his confession of the law. Luke says in verse 29, “But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus…” Why did he want to justify himself? Because his life didn’t match up with what he knew to be true. He knew that he was to love God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. He also knew that he was supposed to love his neighbor as himself. But, now he had lost his confidence. He was no longer trying to catch Jesus with a tricky question, he is now trying to justify his current way of life in relation to the answer he gave to Jesus.

Justifying our current circumstances goes against what Jesus requires of His followers. The reality of doing what Jesus demands involves substantial if not even radical change. Jesus knows what is in the heart of a man. Therefore, what began as an inquiry of Jesus has now become an examination of the lawyers love for God by Jesus himself.

In his effort to justify himself the man asks the following question: “Who is my neighbor?” And Jesus responds with a parable in verses 30-37.

Luke 10:30–37 (CSB)

30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

In the parable the man going down the road could be anyone, but I think its safe to assume that when he hear a story we often substitute someone who looks a lot like us in as the characters unless we are told otherwise. Since the man was a Jew, it’s safe to assume that the man going down the road is a Jew as well.

The priest avoided the man for godly intentions, he was trying to keep the law. The Levite avoided the man for godly intentions, he was trying to keep the law so he could help the priest. The Samaritan is the one who doesn’t fit. (One of these is not like the others.) Samaritans are not Jews, they are by their nature unclean. Jews would have had nothing to do with a Samaritan because they were half-breeds who worshipped in the wrong place and in the wrong ways. But, in our story the man who a Jew would walk miles out of his way to avoid is the hero.

Look at the way the Samaritan responds to the man in need… a man that in the minds of those hearing the parable envision as a Jew mind you. (verse 33-35)

The samaritan cares for others than he does his own welfare

Through the Samaritan we know that loving our neighbor requires three things:

1. Compassion for others rather than concern for yourself

2. Humility because it comes at great cost to yourself

3. Commitment because it is modeled after the love God has for us

Jesus has loved us in every way like the Samaritan. Jesus’ death for our sins is the result of his mercy and compassion. Jesus humbled himself at great cost- the cost of his very life to make us right with God. Jesus has promised to return and complete what he began… His love is eternal and it is steadfast. He will finish what he started in us. He promises to see it through to completion.

With the Great Commandment in view there are 4 Basic requirements for being a disciple given to us in Scripture, These are summarized in Luke 14:25-33.

Luke 14:25–33 (CSB)

25 Now great crowds were traveling with him. So he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

4 Basic requirements for being a disciple

1. Love God More Than Anyone Else (vs. 26)

2. Deny Yourself and Take Up Your Cross (vs. 27)

3. Forsake All That You Have (vs. 33)

4. Count the Cost (vs. 28-32)

Disciples are called to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples

The mission God has given us is grounded in the command to love God and to love others. You cannot just love God and you cannot just tell people about God. In the same way that loving God is demonstrated by loving your neighbor, loving your neighbor is most visible when you share the gospel.

Breakout #2 will focus more on sharing the gospel and making disciples. Our focus today is on being a disciple so that our efforts flow from our love for God and our relationship with Him.