My Neighbour – Sermon 14 July, 2013

My Neighbour

Luke 10:25-37

Today’s text is the familiar story of the Good Samaritan, and it is told in response to a question asked to Jesus by a Jewish lawyer. The story begins with a certain lawyer, an expert in Old Testament Law an Old Testament scholar, who stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

In a way this is a very god question. It is an inquiry of how it is possible to have eternal life. After all we as Christians do our best that someday we will be able to have eternal life.

In other words he was asking, “What must I do to be saved?” He was willing to see what the essential requirement of the Law for Jesus was.

Jesus threw the question back in the lawyer’s lap and He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” You know the law, what does it say?

The answer was simple. “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 love your neighbour as yourself.”’ Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

Jesus did not say that he could be saved by the law. He is reminding the man what the law says. The law requires not only that one keep the law, but that he keep it perfectly. The law must be kept without omissions or failures. To be justified under the law one must be perfect. Jesus wants the lawyer to see that law cannot save anyone because no one can keep the law perfectly.

The lawyer did what lawyers do so well. He looked for a loophole in the law. Verse twenty-nine, “But he wanted to justify himself, and so her asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” He figured that he met the first one well enough, but his keeping of the second one depended on how you defined “neighbour.” He was asking, “Who and how much do I have to love?” We are often like the lawyer in that we try to reduce God’s commands to something we can live with. We would like to believe that loving our neighbour means loving people who love us, or at least loving people who are lovable. Loving our neighbour thereby comes to mean; doing nice things for people who will probably do nice things back to us. That is probably what he lawyer thought too.

Jesus defined neighbour with a story of a man journeying from Jericho to Jerusalem, which was known for its danger and the possibility of being robbed.

This story teaches us some basic lessons concerning compassion.

1. Compassion is based on need not worth

A man on his journey from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. The man was robbed and wounded and left for dead. He needed help in the worse way.

As the man lay beside the road a series of three individuals came along the way. The first one was a priest who saw him but he passed by on the other side and continued his journey. The priest has been excused by some down through the years, by saying that he didn’t want to touch the man because he might have been dead, and this would have made the priest ceremonially unclean and he would have been unable to carry out his duties. But as they were leaving Jerusalem meant that already performed their duties.

The second passer-by was a Levite. When he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. The Levite at least went over and looked at the man, but perhaps it was just to see what had happened. He too did not feel a need to do anything to help.

The first two passers-by probably just didn’t want to get involved. They didn’t want any trouble. Both men saw the man but ignored the need.

2. Compassion feels something

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.

This man was not even a Jew helping a Jew, but rather a Samaritan helping a Jew who had been ignored by his fellow Jews. Given the mutual hatred between Jews and Samaritans, it would have been more likely to have expected the Samaritan to kill the guy. But the Samaritan saw the same pitiful man lying in agony beside the road and his heart shaken within him so that he could not pass by without helping.

He didn’t decide to help this guy on the basis of how worthy he was. He helped him because of how needy he was. There is no a logical reason for the Samaritan to rearrange his plans or to spend his money to help an “enemy” in need. He had the least reason to help, but he did.

Compassion Not Only Feels Something but

3. Compassion does something

Not only was the Samaritan’s compassion based on the need, he felt something so deeply that it had to be expressed in action. “So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.”

He didn’t pass by on the other side. He moved toward the injured man. You must move toward people to express compassion, in order to build relationships. It is not something that just mystically happens, it takes concentrated effort.

Jesus gave a series of six verbs to show the Samaritan’s compassion. He went to him, he bandaged his wounds, he poured oil and wine on his wounds, he put him on his donkey, he brought him to an inn and he took care of him.

In every one of his acts he demonstrated compassion as he responded in a practical, timely and unselfish way. He put him on his own donkey which meant that the Samaritan walked.

It is important to recognize that he took the time to take care of him. We may not be able to help everywhere, or help everyone, but we can help somewhere and try to do a meaningful work of service.

Compassion Not Only Does Something but

4. Compassion cost something

“The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. Look after him he said, and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you may have.

This man really went the extra mile; he took this man to an inn and saw to it that the innkeeper looked out for the recovering victim. He also promised that he would return and fully reimburse the innkeeper for any additional expenses that he incurred in caring for this man. He left money to take care of this man’s needs and he put no limit on how much he would spend to see the wounded man taken care of. There is nothing more the Samaritan could have done to show his compassion for this man.

Compassion Cost Something and

5. Compassion demonstrates our relationship to God

At the conclusion of His story Jesus asked the lawyer one additional question: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robes?” The lawyer couldn’t say the word “Samaritan” and so he responded, “He who showed mercy on him.” And for the second time Jesus tells this man to do something in order to inherit eternal life when this verse continues with Jesus saying to him, “Go and do likewise.” Why does Jesus say this? Because he realized that this man will not turn to him for salvation until he turns from his dependence on “doing” something to earn eternal life.

The lawyer was left without any of the excuses or the justification that he wanted. The second question that the lawyer had asked was, “Who is my neighbour?” the question had been turned on him and is now, “What kind of neighbour am I?”

In 1 John 3:16-18, one of the most condemning passages in the Bible we read, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love in words or tongue, but actions and in truth.”

Compassion demonstrates whether we have a relationship with God or not.

In this story Jesus is separating the person who has a real relationship with God from the merely religious. We saw what the religious people did when they saw this man bruised and battered by the side of the road. They kept walking. In fact, they crossed the street and kept walking.

Perhaps you have identified with this man’s question, “What must I do to go to Heaven?” The answer is the same, stop trying to inherit Heaven by doing – instead, believe on Jesus; trust that Jesus has already paid the penalty for you.

Krikor Youmshajekian