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WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? (Luke 10:25-28)
25On 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?”
27He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
The “expert in the law” (lawyer) was an expert in OT law (the first five books of the OT).
He asked his question to “test” Jesus.
He summed up the requirements of the law exactly as Christ did on another occasion (v. 27; cf. Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-31).
The lawyer’s answer was a combination of Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18:
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18).
· To LOVE is to obey God’s law.
The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:9-10; cf. Galatians 5:14; James 2:8).
· To love God is to love OTHERS.
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 John 4:19-21; cf. John 13:34-35).
Does verse 28 teach salvation by works?
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live” (v. 28).
“Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them” (Leviticus 18:5).
The impossible demands of God’s law are intended to drive us to seek MERCY.
“Do and live” is the promise of the law. But since no sinner can obey perfectly, the impossible demands of the law are meant to drive us to seek divine mercy. This man should have responded with a confession of his own guilt, rather than self-justification (The MacArthur Study Bible).
Jesus not only accepted the lawyer’s answer but also emphasized that he needed to carry it out.
THE PARABLE (Luke 10:29-35)
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30In reply Jesus said: “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. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But 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. 35The 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.’
The lawyer was hoping to limit the command to love one’s neighbor.
Traveling the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, he would have gone through the Pass of Adummim (Joshua 18:17), a name that is related to the Hebrew word for blood. This journey had a reputation for being dangerous long before Jesus’ time. The journey went from almost 2,600 feet above sea level to 825 feet below sea level and was about seventeen miles in length. It was a rocky thoroughfare winding through the desert and surrounded by caves, which made good hideouts for robbers who laid in wait (Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53, p. 1029).
“Traveling the road from Jerusalem to Jericho” would be like walking through a dangerous part of town in the middle of the night.
The victim is only minimally described because he is not the focus, those who react to him are.
“A priest happened [by chance] to be going down the same road.” Surely he would help!
Why didn’t the priest or Levite help? The story gives no motive, nor is it concerned with the reason. They both “saw” the man and “passed by on the other side.”
Ironically, those who were most concerned with keeping every requirement of the law, the priest and the Levite, did not help a fellow human being in great need. It was the Samaritan who “took pity” on the man.
Six compassionate actions of the Samaritan:
(1) He “went to him.”
(2) He “bandaged his wounds.” This might have involved ripping up some of his own clothes to make bandages.
(3) He poured oil and wine on the man’s wounds. Oil (olive) soothed the wound, while wine disinfected it.
(4) He “put the man on his own donkey,” which probably meant that the Samaritan had to walk.
(5) He “took him to an inn.”
(6) He didn’t dump and run. He “took care of him” and provided enough money (“two silver coins”) for the man to stay several days.
To the Jews, there was no such thing as a good Samaritan. The Jews and Samaritans hated each other.
It is the need of our neighbor and not his nationality that is important.
GO AND DO LIKEWISE (Luke 10:36-37)
36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The structure is similar in vv. 25-28 and vv. 29-37:
· Reason for the lawyer’s question: To test Jesus (v. 25).
· Lawyer’s question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 25).
· Jesus’ counter question: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” (v. 26).
· Lawyer’s answer: “‘Love the Lord with all your heart…’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (v. 27).
· Jesus’ concluding challenge: “Do this and you will live” (v. 28).
· Reason for the lawyer’s question: He wanted to justify himself (v. 29).
· Lawyer’s question: “Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29).
· Jesus’ counter question: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor…?” (v. 36).
· Lawyer’s answer: “The one who had mercy on him” (v. 37).
· Jesus’ concluding challenge: “Go and do likewise” (v. 37).
1. We are not to ask WHO our neighbor is; we are to BE a neighbor.
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (v. 29).
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (v. 36).
Jesus changed the question from “What kind of a person is my neighbor?” to “What kind of person am I?”
2. To be a neighbor is to show COMPASSION.
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him (v. 33).
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise” (v. 37).
The lawyer gives the obvious answer to Jesus’ question, though he cannot bring himself to say “Samaritan.”
Love that comes from the HEART responds with the HANDS.
The Greek word for “pity” (splagchnizomai) is often translated “compassion.” Jesus felt compassion for those in need (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 6:34; 8:2; Luke 7:13).
We often hear that the task of dealing with pain in the world is so vast that we don’t know where to begin or how we can even hope to make a dent in what needs to be done. Such thinking can become an excuse for inaction. Maybe I cannot help everywhere, but I can help somewhere and try to do a meaningful work of service. Being a neighbor does not require meeting every need of which I become aware, but of becoming one piece of a large puzzle that helps meaningfully in a specific context.
One of the frustrations of countless pastors comes from discovering people in their own congregations who are extremely needy and hurting, and have been so for some time, but no one has been aware of their situation because they refuse to tell anyone. “I don’t want to be a bother,” they say. “I can manage on my own,” others retort. Or, “I don’t want people to think I have to ask for help.” These and other excuses are all really cover-ups for the sin the pride. We must swallow our pride and admit our needs. Otherwise, the irony will only increase, when we eventually reach the point where we realize we do want help and then complain that the church has never given it! (Blomberg, Preaching the Parables, p. 65).
3. Even my ENEMY is my neighbor.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:43-45; cf. Luke 6:27-36).
Our enemy is really our most important neighbor.
There is no LOOPHOLE in the command to love one’s neighbor.
We are called to show compassion to anyone who is in need.
RESOURCES USED
Craig L. Blomberg, Preaching the Parables
Darrell L. Bock, Luke (NIVAC)
Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53 (BECNT)
Craig A. Evans, Luke (NIBC)
Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (NICNT)
Leon Morris, The Gospel According to St. Luke (TNTC)
