GOOD GUYS LUKE 10: 25-37

THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN

25:1 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.”

BIG IDEA: DON’T LET FOLK BOX YOU IN!

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IS THE MOVIES. I’VE ACTUALLY GOTTEN MY FAMILY TO JOIN MY (OBSESSION) PASSION AND LOVE FOR MOVIES.

THE OTHER DAY, WE PILED UP TO CATCH A NEW ANIMATED FILM CALLED THE BAD GUYS...

THIS VERY COOL FILM FEATURED A GROUP OF MISFITS - OUTSIDERS, WHO HAD BEEN STEREOTYPED BY SOCIETY.

IN OTHER WORDS, PEOPLE’S OPINIONS OF THEM WEIGHED MORE THAN THEIR OPINIONS OF THEMSELVES… (STAY WITH ME YOUNG PEOPLE).

SO, RATHER THAN CREATE THEIR OWN PATH AND BE WHO THEY WANTED TO BE, THEY BECAME WHO EVERYONE SAID THEY SHOULD BE - BAD GUYS.

(((HOLD THAT THOUGHT))))

IN THIS LIFE, YOU HAVE A CHOICE: BE WHO GOD HAS CREATED, SAVED, CALLED YOU TO BE!

OR BE WHO SOCIETY - OR THE “SO CALLED” EXPERTS SAY THAT YOU SHOULD BE...

YOUNG PEOPLE, GOD HAS INVESTED SO MUCH IN YOU AND SACRIFICED SO MUCH FOR YOU - FOR YOU TO LIMIT HIS POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU...

THE FATHER’S LOVE SENT HIS SON...

THE SON’S LOVE LED HIM TO THE CROSS...

THE SPIRIT’S LOVE LED HIM TO RESIDE IN YOU...

YOU ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE...

YOU ARE NOT WHO YOUR ZIP CODE SAYS YOU ARE OR WHO SOME HATER CLAIMS YOU ARE...

YOU ARE CHILDREN OF GOD.

CREATED IN HIS IMAGE.

CALLED TO BE LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD.

GIFTED TO BE TEACHERS, LAWYERS, DOCTORS, JUDGES, GODLY POLITICIANS, ENTREPRENEURS, AND YES - EVEN PASTORS!!!

YOUR BROWN SKIN IS NOT SIN NOR A CURSE...

SO WAKE UP EVERY MORNING - LOOK AT THE PERSON YOU SEE IN YOUR MIRROR AND SAY, “I LOVE ME. BECAUSE GOD MADE ME. JESUS SAVED ME. THE SPIRIT DIRECTS ME. GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME.....ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE!”

DON’T LET FOLK BOX YOU IN!!!

JESUS IS TEACHING A PARABLE ABOUT NEIGHBORS...

MORE SPECIFICALLY, HE’S ANSWERING THE QUESTION, “WHO IS YOUR NEIGHBOR?”

AND JESUS CHOOSES TO HIGHLIGHT, AS THE STAR OF HIS PARABLE, THE ONE WHO SOCIETY SAYS WAS A BAD GUY...

JESUS CHOSE TO MAKE A HERO OUT OF THE ONE WHO EVERYONE SAID WOULDN’T AMOUNT TO NOTHING.

THE SAMARITAN.

NOW THE JEWS AND THE SAMARITANS HAVE DOCUMENTED - HISTORIC HATRED FOR ONE ANOTHER. The Samaritans were scorned by the Jews because of their mixed Jewish and Gentile ancestry.

SO MUCH SO, THAT THE JEWS DON’T EVEN SAY THEIR NAME...

THIS IS WHY THERE IS SUCH A CONTRAST IN THE BEHAVIOR OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS PARABLE...

WE HAVE A PERSON WHO IS BEATEN BY THE MESSED UP...

AND THEN PASSED BY THE DRESSED UP...

ONLY TO BE LIFTED BY THE LEFT OUT!

OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS!

JESUS SHOWS US HOW LOVE FOR OTHERS SUPERSEDES RACIAL BIGOTRY OR SOCIETAL STRONGHOLDS...

LET’S REVIEW: A MAN IS STRIPPED, BEATEN AND LEFT HALF DEAD.

HE’S VISIBLY IN NEED OF AID.

IN COMES THE PRIEST...

JESUS IS INTIMATING THAT OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHO SHOULD HELP - THE PRIEST SHOULD.

YET, THE PRIEST FAILS TO LIVE UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF HIS TITLE AND STATUS…THE PRIEST CROSSES THE STREET, AS TO AVOID CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A HALF-DEAD MAN...

IN SIMILAR FASHION, A LEVITE (A WORSHIP LEADER IN THE TEMPLE - SET APART FOR GOD’S GLORY), ALSO CROSSED OVER, AVOIDING THE HALF-DEAD MAN...

NOW OUR TEXT SHIFTS: VS. 33: BUT A SAMARITAN…THE GOOD GUY!

PLEASE CATCH THE SHIFT IN THE TEXT: THE FIRST TWO SHOULD HAVE, BASED UPON EXPECTATIONS...

THE FINAL ONE (THE SAMARITAN) SHOULDN’T HAVE, BASED UPON EXPECTATIONS...

(((DON’T LET FOLK BOX YOU IN)))!

THE MISSING INGREDIENT WITH THE FIRST TWO DUDES IS COMPASSION!

EVERYONE SAY COMPASSION.

COMPASSION IS LOVE.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 10)

33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.

YOUNG PEOPLE, WHEN WE ARE MOTIVATED BY GOD’S LOVE THROUGH US, WE WILL NOT BE BOXED IN BY ANYONE’S LIMITATIONS UPON US!

THIS SAMARITAN DOESN’T JUST SHOW COMPASSION. HE SHOWS EXTRAVAGANT COMPASSION!

THREE POINTS:

TAKES A RISK.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 10)

34 He went over to him

RISKS REQUIRE FAITH AND COMPASSION.

RISKS OPEN OUR EYES TO SEE WHAT OTHERS REFUSE TO SEE...

RISKS.

RISKS LEAD US TO HELPING WHEN OTHERS IGNORE… RISKS!!!

TAKES HIM IN.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 10)

Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

COMPASSION TAKES PLACE UP CLOSE.

COMPASSION MAY GET YOU DIRTY. BE COMPASSIONATE ANYWAY!

COMPASSION IS OFTEN INCONVENIENT. BE COMPASSIONATE ANYWAY!

THE SAMARITAN GOT OFF OF HIS ANIMAL, AND PUT THE HALF-DEAD MAN ON HIS ANIMAL...

THEN TOOK HIM IN! TOOK HIM TO AN INN!

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less."

TAKES GOOD CARE.

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 10)

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.’

COMPASSION TAKES GOOD CARE.

COMPASSION GOES THE EXTRA MILE.

COMPASSION SAYS, “I WON’T LEAVE YOU HANGING...”

NONE OF WHAT THE SAMARITAN DID WAS REQUIRED...

IF HE SIMPLY BANDAGED THE WOUNDED MAN…THAT WAS MORE THAN THE OTHERS DID...

HE IS PROVING - DEMONSTRATING - MODELING WHAT A TRUE NEIGHBOR LOOKS LIKE…WHAT MERCY LOOKS LIKE...

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING!

YEAH, GOOD GUYS!

BUT WAIT…DON’T FORGET THE BAD GUYS…REMEMBER I TOLD YOU TO HOLD THAT THOUGHT...

THE BAD GUYS - THE ONES FROM THE MOVIE...

HAD LIVED UP TO THE LIMITED EXPECTATIONS OF EVERYONE ELSE...

THEY BELIEVED THE LIE THAT THEY WERE DESTINED TO BE BAD...

SO THEY WERE BAD...

BUT THEN SOMETHING SHIFTED...

AFTER EXPERIENCING A GLIMMER OF GOOD, THEY REALIZED THAT GOOD WAS POSSIBLE...

WHO THEY COULD BE WOULD NOT BE DETERMINED BY WHO THEY HAD BEEN...

OH YOUNG PEOPLE - I JUST WANT TO CALL TO THE GOOD GUYS IN ALL OF YOU!

I WANT TO CALL OUT THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE...

TO DO MORE THAN ANYONE EXPECTS

TO TAKE RISKS

TO TAKE FOLK IN..

TO TAKE GOOD CARE...