Luke 10:29-37 - 29But he, wanting to justify himself, said
to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Then Jesus
answered and said: “A certain man went down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped
him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving
him half dead. 31“Now by chance a certain priest came
down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the
other side. 32“Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the
place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
33“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where
he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34“So
he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil
and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him
to an inn, and took care of him. 35“On the next day, when
he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the
innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and
whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay
you.’ 36“So which of these three do you think was
neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37And he
said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to
him, “Go and do likewise.”
We can, so easily, miss the point of this parable because we
think in the macro, not the micro.
A. We think on a too grand scale.
1. This guy’s head is bashed in...he’s
bleeding...lying on his side...next
to the road.
a. Have you ever seen anyone
like that?
1.) We say, “If I ever did I wouldn’t be
like those two hypocritical,
religious men!!”
2.) We all can...and do...
identify with the
Samaritan.
In truth, we are safe...we will probably never be put to the
test...as this Samaritan was.
A. We will probably never see such a critical need...
right in front of our faces.
We look at this parable, and then we search through life for
a corresponding need.
A. In the “real world”, we probably will never see a
corresponding need.
1. While we are gazing across the horizon of life,
this parable can and does unfold before our
eyes...but on a lesser scale.
a. Every day...every week...every month...
we are faced with the opportunity of
doing good for others...for treating others
with respect who may not, naturally have
our respect.
God puts people in our lives to test our proclaimed
“Christianity”.
A. People who may be repulsive...for one reason or
another.
1. To this Samaritan...this Jew was repulsive...he
was the symbol of all the Jews that looked
down their noses at people like him.......They
were not shy in speech or manners in
criticizing and condemning Samaritans.......
To the average Jew...Samaritans were dirty...
filthy...creatures. Jews treated their dogs
better than Samaritans.
a. You see, then, part of the point of this
parable...we help others...even if the
natural man in us wants to despise them.
God places people in our path who may not be socially
acceptable.
A. Are these people our neighbor?
1. Perhaps they are not mentally “all there”.
2. Perhaps they talk too much.
3. Maybe they are reclusive...they don’t talk at
all.
4. Perhaps they have dirty clothes.
5. Maybe they stink.
6. Perhaps they are of the “wrong color”...the
color that we have been brought up to hate.
We may not actually say it, but often we show by our
actions that we think as has been described in James
2:14-16.
James 2:14-16 - 14What does it profit, my brethren, if
someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can
faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is naked and
destitute of daily food, 16and one of you says to them,
“Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not
give them the things which are needed for the body, what
does it profit?
Or we view these people whom God has caused to cross
our paths in the way described in James 2:1-9:
James 2:1-9 - 1My brethren, do not hold the faith of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2For if
there should come into your assembly a man with gold
rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor
man in filthy clothes, 3and you pay attention to the one
wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a
good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,”
or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4have you not shown
partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not
chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of
the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
6But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich
oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7Do they not
blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 8If
you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;
9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are
convicted by the law as transgressors.
Christians do not always become involved in helping
others.
A. I contend that too often we are looking for the
bloodied and beat up man, alongside of the road.
1. Can we be neighbors in lesser problems?
I. Probably the biggest reason that we don’t become
involved is that we just really see the problem.
Eph. 4:17-18 - 17This I say, therefore, and testify in the
Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the
Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18having their
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of
God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of
the BLINDNESS OF THEIR HEART.
A. For one reason or another people just don’t always
broadcast their need for help.
1. We certainly wouldn’t miss the beat up and
bloodied man alongside the road...but........
a. What about the person who might be
suffering from verbal abuse?
b. What about the one who’s faith has
crumbled and is ready to drop out?
c. The family who has lost a loved one in
death?
d. Perhaps a child has run away from home.
e. We see red...puffy...eyes...what could be
the problem?
B. To be of help we must open our eyes and ears and
pay attention to those around us.
1. Our worldly neighbors.
2. People we encounter in our daily activities.
3. Our brothers and sisters in Christ.
a. This takes communications.
b. It takes love of others.
c. We have to care about things that are
outside of our comfort zone.
** Are we looking and listening for the cry for help?
II. Another reason that Christians don’t get involved with
the cares and problems of those around us is...we are
just too busy!
A. We probably really are very busy.
1. There is nothing inherently wrong with being
busy.
a. I am addressing the problem of being
TOO BUSY!
1.) Too busy implies that we have
gotten in “over our heads”...that
we have committed to too much
and do not have time to fulfill
our Christian duties.
b. Who made us too busy?
1.) We can blame it on our job.
a.) We have individual
responsibility for keeping our
jobs or changing our jobs.
b.) Nobody can make you work
more hours than you are
willing to.
2.) We can blame it on our social
calendar.
a.) Again, nobody is forcing you
to entertain...or to take that
trip...or to take all of those
classes.
3.) Perhaps its your commitment to
family.
a.) Very commendable, but I have
never seen anyone too
committed to their family.
** Whatever it is that is consuming all of our time and
energies...we need to take control!
1. We cannot be the kind of Christian that we should
be if we let everything else crowd out spiritual
duties of neighborliness.
a. As we assess our priorities in life, we need to
consider the “big picture”...how we affect
those around us........as well.
III. Then there are the ones who don’t get involved
because they DON’T WANT TO GET INVOLVED!
A. Most people understand that if we reach out to
those in need...we will become involved!
1. Involvement is costly.
a. It demands a sacrifice of our limited...and
therefore...precious.........TIME.
b. Involvement means getting our emotions
stirred up....we may become emotionally
involved.
1.) Some people are afraid of
becoming emotional over anything.
c. Involvement can (and often does) open
the door to us becoming hurt or even
rejected by the very people that we are
trying to aid.
** I have an easy solution.....DON’T EVER GET
INVOLVED!
1. We then could be the twenty-first century Levite...
priest...and spiritual giant.
a. Let us simply repeat the words found in
James 2:16.
James 2:16 - 16and one of you says to them, “Depart in
peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the
things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
ILLUSTRATION: In Elmer Bendiner’s book, The Fall of
Fortresses, he describes one bombing run over the German
city of Kassel:
Our B-17 (THE TONDELAYO) was barraged by flak from
Nazi antiaircraft guns. That was not unusual, but on this
particular occasion our gas tanks were hit. Later, as I
reflected on the miracle of a twenty-millimeter shell
piercing the fuel tank without touching off an explosion,
our pilot, Bohn Fawkes, told me it was not quite that
simple.
On the morning following the raid, Bohn had gone down to
ask our crew chief for that shell as a souvenir of
unbelievable luck. The crew chief told Bohn that not just
one shell but eleven had been found in the gas
tanks--eleven unexploded shells where only one was
sufficient to blast us out of the sky. It was as if the sea had
been parted for us. Even after thirty-five years, so awesome
an event leaves me shaken, especially after I heard the rest
of the story from Bohn.
He was told that the shells had been sent to the armorers to
be defused. The armorers told him that Intelligence had
picked them up. They could not say why at the time, but
Bohn eventually sought out the answer.
Apparently when the armorers opened each of those shells,
they found no explosive charge. They were clean as a
whistle and just as harmless. Empty? Not all of them.
One contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it was a
scrawl in Czech. The Intelligence people scoured our base
for a man who could read Czech. Eventually, they found
one to decipher the note. It set us marveling. Translated,
the note read: "This is all we can do for you now."
** Far beyond, “Be ye warmed and filled”.......
IV. Some will not see and hear the need for help, because
they do not have a vested interest.
A. These folks would warp the “golden rule” to their
own selfish purposes.
1. They believe that they only have a
responsibility to, “Do unto others to the
degree that they have done unto you”.
B. This is pure selfishness.
1. It is no different from the world’s philosophy
of, “You pat my back and I’ll pat yours”.
C. If Jesus had adopted that philosophy...none of us
would have been saved.
D. If the person that first spoke to us about our souls
had adopted that philosophy...none of us would
have heard the Gospel.
Matt. 7:12 - 12“Therefore, whatever you want men to do
to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the
Prophets.
V. Christians don’t involve themselves in other people’s
problems because they hope that things will work out
without any intervention.
A. In truth...things generally DO work themselves
out.
1. Even though the natural course of events
may take place, the results may not be at
all what should have been if we had become
involved.
2. When things are just left to take their natural
course...HOW DOES GOD RECEIVE THE
GLORY?
a. God intends us to be his hands, feet,
mouth, etc..
1.) He also expects us to show that
He is involved in the action so
that men will glorify him.
B. As we read in God’s word, we come across a
principle...”As you sow...so shall you reap”
Gal. 6:7 - 7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for
whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
1. If we don’t want to become involved with
others and just let people work it out
themselves...what gives us the promise that
God won’t do the same when we are in
trouble?
CONCLUSION:
Do Christians only care when there is something in it for
them?
A. We should be willing to give of ourselves...
unselfishly.
B. The same loving care that Christ exhibited
towards us when we were perishing in sin...needs
to flow from us to others.
As we read of this story of the Samaritan...whom do we
identify with?
A. Is that a good and accurate assessment...or would
others...and possibly God.........identify us with
the Levite and the Priest?
