DETOUR
Faith In Action - Week 2
LUKE 10:25-37
INTRODUCTION:
How do you feel when you see this sign? (Detour sign) I doubt that there is anyone in this room that says when they see this sign, “Alright! I get to take a detour!” Instead you might feel a little anxious because you’re not sure where this detour will take you. Or frustrated because you are pressed for time and this detour will mess up your schedule.
But what would you do if you saw a sign that it made it completely your choice whether or not you took the detour. Maybe it said, "Detour our Your Usual Route - your choice!" What would you tend to usually do? In my more honest moments I have to admit I would be prone to take my usual route, especially if I knew the detour might cost me time, money, & personal frustration.
Well, today as we continue our series “Faith In Action,” we’re going to talk about detours. Not the kind of detours that you encounter while driving, but the kind of detours that come at you as you are traveling the highway of life, life detours. Some detours in life come at you, and there’s no way you can choose to take your normal route. A serious illness, you’re laid off from your job, a loved one dies, a spouse walks out... those detours don’t give you a choice. But there are other times in your life when you have a choice to get off your normal path and take a detour, a detour that will enable you to help someone in need. When the chance to serve someone comes are you the kind of person who will follow the sign that says “Take your normal and comfortable route” or take the “Detour Ahead?”
Well, Jesus Christ asks us that very question. Tonight we are going to look at a person in the Bible who decided to take a detour on his road of life in order to be of service to someone else. It wouldn’t surprise me if you have heard of him. He is known as the “Good Samaritan.” You see tonight we’re going to take a page from the late Mr. Rogers and ask, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” As we look at this story I want us to see how Jesus wants to challenge and change us in the area of serving others.
I. DETOUR: JESUS CHECKS OUR MOTIVATION:
First, I want us to see that when it comes to serving Jesus checks our motivation. Let’s begin by reading the background to this story. Here’s how it came about. “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 26 ‘What is written in the Law?’ He replied. ‘How do you read it?’”(Lk 10:25-26) Sometime during Jesus’ ministry, he encounters a religious lawyer of his day. Now, this is not the kind of lawyer who goes to court in a civil or criminal case. This “lawyer” is an expert in Old Testament Law. He is a religious lawyer and the question he asks Jesus is basically: “What do I have to do to have eternal life?” Basically, he is asking, “What must I do to be saved?” But it is clear that his thirst for knowledge is not his primary motivation. Vs: 25 tells us that he asked the question, not with a teachable heart but this properly schooled lawyer was testing the popular, but unofficial, teacher to see if he could expose that Jesus couldn’t handle a tough theological question. But Jesus, being the Master Teacher turns the question around in v.26 and basically says, “Hey, you’re the expert, don’t you know the answer?”
Well, the lawyer can’t resist the temptation to show off his religious sophistication. Actually his answer shows a good bit of insight. He answers: “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 neighbor as yourself.” Jesus says, “Good job! You get an A+” I think the guy is smirking, feeling good about himself. If only Jesus would of stopped there. But He doesn’t and says, “Do this and you will live.” In other words, “Does your walk back up your talk? Are you just a lawyer with right answers or do you practice what you preach?” You see it’s one thing to know the right thing, it’s quite another thing to do it. Jesus knew this guy’s heart... and knew that the motivation for asking the question was not near as pure as his answer.
Let’s read verse 29. This is an important verse, because in it you see this lawyer’s second motive. “But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” You see his first motive was that he hoped to expose Jesus to be someone uneducated, but secondly, when that doesn’t work and he is confronted with something uncomfortable, he begins to defend or justify himself. He does this by trying to narrowly define a word. “What is your definition of “neighbor?” Now, I think it’s important to understand that the classic interpretation for “neighbor” by the Jews at this time meant “one who is near,” near in terms of race and religion. To the lawyer “love your neighbor” meant love those of your own race and religion, and if the person doesn’t fit these qualifications, then they aren’t a neighbor, and the law doesn’t apply.
And this is the key to understanding Jesus’ response. The problem with the man’s question was that he was trying to justify himself from not loving his neighbor, even though he knew it to be the second greatest commandment. Contrary to what most people think, the parable of the “Good Samaritan” isn’t just about helping people in need, it’s also about our tendency to make excuses. It’s about our self-justification. This isn’t a problem just for a 1st century lawyer is it? It’s a 21st century problem for us too. When it comes to helping others we can find a lot of ways to justify not helping them.. “It’s too dangerous,” “I don’t have the time,” “I don’t have enough money,” I’m not sure who needs my help.”
One of the things we are praying this Faith in Action series will do for us is to give us a “heart check-up.” Oh, not the valves and vessels kind but of our compassion. Are we like the lawyer? We know the answers but we don’t practice them?
Jesus is asking us to check our compassion. Do we see a need and simply justify it somehow and do nothing or do we practice what we preach?
II. DETOUR: JESUS CHALLENGES OUR DEFINITION:
So, Jesus not only checks our motivation in dealing with this lawyer he also challenges our definition of who is our neighbor. Now, in answer to the lawyer’s question about who is my neighbor Jesus launches into a story starting in vs:30.
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.”
Before we keep reading the rest of the story, I want you to notice the cast of characters: We have a group of robbers. There is a victim, one who not only gets robbed but is left naked and beaten so badly he is almost dead. Then we have the three main characters that see the man in need. The first character is a priest. Priests were highly thought of in Israel. To a Jew a priest was a man who espoused constantly that they were to love God and each other. The second character is a Levite. Levites weren’t quite as honored as priests, but they were still a privileged group in society. They were responsible for protecting the sacred things of God. Here’s the point of why Jesus uses these two men. If there was anyone the Jews would of expected to stop and help this beaten man it would of been these two: their religious leaders! But they pass by.
So Jesus mentions a third. Who would you expect to be mentioned next? The original hearers would have expected to hear that a Jew came down the road. But the third character is a big surprise. Jesus says, “But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He 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. 35 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 expense you may have.’”
Jesus couldn’t have picked a more surprising character. Samaritans were absolutely despised by Jews. They were half breeds. They were considered heretics. The racial & religious contempt between these two groups was intense and at times even violent.
By using a Samaritan as the hero, Jesus is giving a new definition of who is my neighbor. You see for the Jew your neighbor were those of your own kind. Gentiles, non-Jews weren’t a neighbor and certainly Samaritans, half breeds, weren’t neighbors. But Jesus’ definition of neighbor is anyone who is in need, including those we don’t identify with! No matter their race, no matter their dress, no matter their kind... our neighbor is anyone that has a need no matter who they are.
By that definition how many injured people have we passed by this week? Did we reach out or go to the other side of the road when we see someone struggling through divorce, abuse, an unexpected pregnancy, alcohol, homosexuality, death? You say, “I didn’t see anyone in need.” Did you look? Sometimes I think in our busyness we choose not to see. But through all this Jesus says, “If you really love your neighbor than you are willing to look for them, get off your usual route & help them when they are in need.”
III. DETOUR: JESUS CHANGES OUR APPLICATION:
So, okay... we are to check our motivation, do we have hearts of compassion? And we are to check our definition, do we have our own little check list of people who we will help or are we willing to accept Jesus’ definition of anyone who is in need? That brings us to the question: What does this mean to me? I think there are several things we can learn in terms of application.
(A) In order to be the kind of neighbor God wants us to be we must realize that a detour takes risk. We lived in Montrose, CO for four years and often went to the town of Telluride. Telluride is a beautiful resort town, with skiing and a gondola and much more. But it didn’t always have a good reputation. To this day to get to Telluride you must drive a narrow, curvy, two lane road. Back in the Wild West days, that road was even less hospitable. It was so full of robbers that Telluride became known as “To Hell You Ride.” Well, the 17-mile road from Jerusalem to Jericho had the same kind of reputation and a similar kind of infamous name. Because of the number of robbers along this road, it was known as “The Way of Blood.” When the Samaritan stopped to help, he knew he was on a dangerous road. He maybe even thought that the robbers might be near and that they might get him next. But the Good Samaritan didn’t use risk as a justification not to act.
Sometimes we justify ourselves not helping someone because we are afraid of the risk to us. Now, I’ll admit there are times when taking a risk just may not be smart. I know that we must use the common sense God gave us. I heard this week on the news about a young girl who went to help someone in a Mall parking lot and they snatched her purse. Years ago there was a scam in South Florida where people would fake being broke down on I-95 and when you stopped to help they robbed you. God is not saying, be stupid, he is saying, “do what you can when you can.” You see someone having car trouble call the police and tell them what you’ve seen and where they are. You see some 80 year old lady all alone having trouble carrying her groceries.. Help her... you probably can take her if she gets feisty!
You see, most of the time our problem isn’t that we take too many risks; it’s that we don’t take any at risks all. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The first question the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But ... the Good Samaritan reversed the question: If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”
If you are going to love your neighbor you must be willing to apply the “ready-risk” factor to your life. Notice I didn’t say the “stupid-risk” factor, but be ready to risk in a way that applies help to those in need.
(B) To be the kind of neighbor we must understand that a detour takes personal involvement. If you are a Boomer you may remember the story of Kitty Genovese. “At approximately 3:20 on the morning of March 13, 1964, twenty-eight-year-old …(Kitty) Genovese was returning to her home in Queens, NY. She parked her car in a nearby parking lot, and started the walk to her second floor apartment some 35 yards away. She got as far as a streetlight when a man grabbed her. She screamed. Lights went on in the 10-floor apartment building nearby. She yelled, "Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me!" Windows opened in the apartment building and a man’s voice shouted, "Let that girl alone." The attacker looked up, shrugged and walked-off down the street. Ms Genovese struggled to get to her feet. Lights went back off in the apartments. The attacker came back and stabbed her again. She screamed again. Again lights came on and windows opened in many of the nearby apartments. The assailant left and got into his car and drove away. Ms Genovese staggered to her feet as a city bus drove by. It was now 3:35 a.m. The attacker returned once again. He found her in a doorway at the foot of the stairs and he stabbed her a third time. It was 3:50 when the police received the first call. They responded quickly and within two minutes were at the scene but Kitty Genovese was dead. " [THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 27, 1964, p. 38.]
Kitty Genovese … was a name that would become symbolic for a dark side of our national character. It would stand for Americans who were too indifferent or too frightened or too alienated or too self-absorbed to “get involved’’ in helping a fellow human being in dire trouble. Why didn’t someone help? Why don’t we always get involved? I think it’s because of what getting involved costs.
(1) It may take our time. The Samaritan didn’t use a time schedule as an excuse not to help. He took the time to stop, and then he slowed his trip progress by putting the man on his donkey. There wasn’t an emergency room where the Samaritan could take the man. Instead, he took him to a motel and cared for the man himself that night. In Malcolm Gladwell’s Book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference he tells of a fascinating experiment: “Some years ago two Princeton University psychologists, John Darley and Daniel Batson, decided to conduct a study inspired by the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. They decided to replicate that study at the Princeton Theological Seminary ... Darley and Batson met with a group of seminarians, individually, and asked each one to prepare a short, extemporaneous talk on a given biblical theme, then walk over to a nearby building to present it. Along the way to the presentation, each student ran into a man slumped in an alley, head down, eyes closed, coughing and groaning. The question was: ‘Who would stop and help?’ Darley and Batson introduced three variables into the experiment, to make its results more meaningful. First, before the experiment even started, they gave the students a questionnaire about why they had chosen to study theology. Why did they want to learn about God? Then they varied the subject of the theme the students were asked to talk about. Some were asked to speak on the relevance of the professional clergy to the religious vocation. Others were given the parable of the Good Samaritan. Finally, the instructions given by the experimenters to each student varied as well. In some of the cases, as he sent the students on their way, the experimenter would look at his watch and say, ‘Oh, you’re late. They were expecting you a few minutes ago.’ In other cases, he would say, ‘It will be a few minutes before they’re ready for you, but you might as well head over now.’ So, these students had just been asked to think about why they were in Seminary, they were given a Biblical topic - some the actual story of the Good Samaritan and then some were told they were late and others were not.
I don’t know about you but if I had been asked who I thought would stop and help with these conditions I would of said, the students who entered the ministry to help people and those especially that were reminded of the importance of compassion by having just read the parable of the Good Samaritan and speak on it.
In fact, neither of those factors made any difference. ‘It is hard to think of a context in which helping those in distress would be more predictable than for a person thinking about the Good Samaritan, and yet it did not significantly increase helping behavior,’ Darley and Batson concluded. ‘Indeed, on several occasions, a seminary student going to give his talk on the parable of the Good Samaritan literally stepped over the victim as he hurried on his way.’ The only thing that really mattered was whether the student was in a rush. Of the group that was, 10 percent stopped to help. Of the group who knew they had a few minutes to spare, 63% stopped.
What this study is suggesting, is that the knowledge that you have is less important than the immediate self-need you perceive. The words ‘Oh, you’re late’ had the effect of making someone who was ordinarily compassionate into someone who was indifferent to suffering. That tells me we’ve got to really work on this. When it comes to helping those in need and loving our neighbors, the greatest ability is availability! That’s why we’re asking you to give up a Sunday this Oct. 21. To say, on that one day I’m not going to use time as an excuse to hold back. Maybe it will begin to educate our hearts and minds, making us more aware of our neighbors in need.
(2) Something else it may take in your personal involvement. It may take your money.
Lk. 10:35: “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 expense you may have.’” Sometimes we justify not helping those in need because it is going to hit our pocketbook. The Samaritan did not use this as an excuse. He made financial sacrifices to help the man in need. The two silver coins represented two days’ wages. Even more, the Samaritan said that he would take care of any extra expenses as well. Margaret Thatcher once said, “No one would have remembered the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions. He had money as well.” Many times it may take money to help your neighbor in need.
Did Jesus answer the question “Who is our neighbor?” Yes, he did. But he may have answered differently than those in His time and we might expect. Your neighbor isn’t necessarily someone who lives next or near to you. Your neighbor is whoever is in need, anyone you can help.
One last thing I want you to notice. Notice that Jesus did more than answer the question. He asked the expert in the Old Testament. “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Did you catch what Jesus did? He changed the focus of the question and gave us a critical one to answer. No longer are we asking… “Who is my neighbor?” but rather “What kind of neighbor are you?” Let me ask you, would you want yourself as a neighbor? As Christ followers, we have the privilege to be like the Good Samaritan - to disadvantage ourselves to advantage others.
This week I challenge you to get off your normal beaten path of life. It doesn’t have to even be anything big. Visit someone in the hospital. Take a plate of spaghetti to a widow or widower in your neighborhood. Volunteer to baby-sit for a single mom. Write a letter to a soldier oversees. Would you bow with me and I’m going to ask you to spend just a moment and ask: “God, what divine detour would you like me to take this week?”
*Resource for this sermon were:
Zondervan’s Faith In Action Campaign
Illustration of Kitty Genovese from John Hamby - www.sermoncentral.com
