Sunday School Lesson 1 - Luke 10:25-37 - WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
INTRODUCTION: Today we begin a new quarter in the second half of the Gospel of Luke, picking it up in Chapter 10, where we left off quarter before last. First, a little about Luke: He was an educated Hellenistic Greek Gentile who had been trained as a physician (Col. 4:10-11). He was converted to Christianity by Paul at Troas, Asia Minor during his second missionary Journey in about 52 A.D. Second, I'd like to refresh your memories on some of the features that are unique to Luke's gospel: (1) It is the longest Book of the New Testament; (2) The gospel of Luke along with Acts, also written by Luke, are the only Books of the Bible written by a Gentile; and (3) because of his formal education, Luke wrote his gospel with a logical and scientific approach, recording many eye-witness details about Jesus' life that are omitted in the other gospel accounts. Another unique feature of Luke's gospel is its emphasis on Jesus' ministry to and compassion for Gentiles, Samaritans, women, children, tax collectors, sinners, and others regarded as outcasts in Jewish society. Since Luke was a Gentile, his references to the Old Testament are relatively few and most of them are words spoken by Jesus rather than citations of the Torah itself.
CONTEXT: Starting in Luke 9:51, we see Jesus begin a journey to Jerusalem and ultimately, to the cross, and He will continue this journey until His Triumphal Entry reported in Luke 19. At the beginning of the journey, the first 22 verses of Chapter 10 open with Jesus sending 72 disciples , two at a time (similar to His sending of the 12 in Chapter 9:1-6), to prepare the way for Him by proclaiming the gospel and healing the sick. In today's text, Luke 10:25-37, as Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem, we find Him being questioned by a "lawyer" (i.e., a term for an expert in Torah Law), then reply to the man with a story about people traveling from Jerusalem, which is best known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan, yet another writing that's unique to Luke's gospel. A lot of people remember this parable as a story about helping someone in need, but that isn't its real point; it's a parable that Jesus taught to illustrate a perspective on eternal life. We need to remember that when Jesus teaches in parables, it's always a story in which He uses commonplace, every day things that form an analogy to an important spiritual truth with an eternal meaning.
Read Luke 10:25-26 - WHAT SHALL I DO?
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?"
v. 25a: "And behold, a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying" - This "lawyer" is a man highly trained in Torah Law who has spent much of his life asking and answering questions about the Law. It might have been that this lawyer had exhausted all the local talent and wanted to test himself against this new rabbi. In vv. 23-24, Jesus has just told His disciples: "Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them." Now, the lawyer wants to see whether this person who speaks of such lofty things can answer a simple question.
v. 25b: "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" - Notice the lawyer's use of the term "inherit." This question contradicts the core of Jesus' teaching, since an inheritance of any form is the result of a relationship with the giver, not something a recipient can earn through effort. Eternal life is a gift we receive by grace from God through our relationship with Him, as opposed to earning it through works of righteousness. Here, however, this lawyer is basically asking what he needs to do in order to impress God enough to obtain inheritance of eternal life. In reality, this is a trick question that isn't seeking enlightenment, but a ploy intended to give this lawyer an advantage over Jesus.
v. 26: "And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" - Jesus answers the question with a question-a riposte. Jesus' question also steers the debate towards the OT Scriptures, and for Jesus, the Scriptures are the defining standard of faith and practice.
Read Luke 10:27-29 - LOVE GOD...AND YOUR NEIGHBOR
27 And he answered, "YOU SHALL 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 YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 28 And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." 29 But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
v. 27: "And he answered, "YOU HSALL 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 YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF" - The lawyer cites Deuteronomy 6:5 (the Shema) and Leviticus 19:18. While the lawyer gave the right answer, he unwittingly got himself into a trap. He thought his answer proved that eternal life required fulfillment of the Law, which it does, but in truth, his answer proved otherwise: the requirements of the commands are so far reaching and exacting that no human being (except Jesus) is capable of keeping them perfectly.
v. 28: "And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." - Jesus' answer both commends and convicts the lawyer: on one hand, "You have answered correctly" praises him for answering well; but on the other hand, the statement, "do this and you will live," strongly implies that the lawyer has yet to prove that he's able to live up to this standard.
v. 29: But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" - Now we see the lawyer pull a wild card in an attempt to justify himself. In his universe only a fellow Jew was considered to be a "neighbor," while Gentiles were not. Thus, the lawyer is implying that he has fulfilled the law by treating his fellow Jews with respect; and based on this premise, he has earned the right (i.e., "justified himself") to eternal life by fulfilling works of the Law, rather than through a personal relationship with God. He probably thought that that he had just pulled as fast one Jesus. But he didn't know Jesus, who is all-wise like His Father. Jesus has only set the stage for the lawyer to hear the Parable of the Good Samaritan, where he will be introduced to four individuals.
Read Luke 10:30-32 - ROBBERS LEFT HIM HALF DEAD
30 Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Note on vv. 30-32: Jesus could have simply answered, "Everyone is your neighbor," but instead he tells a story that encourages us to shift our focus from the boundaries we tend to build between ourselves and our neighbors to our neighbor on the other side. When we're focused on the boundaries, we can't see our neighbor clearly, but when we focus our attention on our neighbor, we hardly notice the boundary between us.
v. 30a2: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho" - Jesus tells us little about this "man." We don't know if he's Jewish, Samaritan, or an alien. We also don't know his purpose for visiting Jerusalem, nor his reasons for going to Jericho. In terms of "going down," we know that this road winds its way through very rough, rocky terrain and drops approximately 3,000 feet in elevation over a distance of just 17 miles. We can imagine that such terrain provides robbers good opportunities for an ambush with easy escape routes. Cleary, a dangerous place for someone traveling alone.
v. 30b: "and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead." - Normally, it would be possible for passers by to determine something about this victim's identity from his clothing or maybe his speech, but the robbers have stripped him naked and left him unconscious, making him virtually unidentifiable.
vv. 31-32: "And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side." - Both priests and Levites are from the tribe of Levi, but priests are also descendants of Aaron (Exodus 28:1). In that time, Priests served as mediators between humans and God, performing sacrifices and other rituals, and Levites assisted the priests with these duties (Numbers 3:6). These two were the ancient equivalent what we would label as "clergy" today, people we would routinely expect to have compassion for people in need. However, in both instances, when they noticed the injured man on the road, they purposely moved to the other side in order to avoid him. Jesus doesn't tell us why they failed to stop, which leads us to speculate on their reasons, e.g.:
Note: But whatever their reasons were, Jesus' story makes the point that both of them fell short of loving God and being a good neighbor, which is the standard that the lawyer cited in order to qualify for salvation. And we should not demonize the priest and the Levite-Jesus did not choose them because they were the worst in His society but because they represented the best.
Read Luke 10:33-35 - BUT A SAMARITAN FELT COMPASSION
33 But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.'
v. 33a: "But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him" - The history of the feud between the Jews and the Samaritans went back to 722 B.C., the year Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom and took its people into captivity. And they brought-in pagan Gentiles who intermarried with Jews who later began to worship the pagan deities alongside the LORD GOD of Israel. These people became the despised Samaritans of Jesus' time.
v. 33b: "and when he saw him, he felt compassion," - It was such a man-a Samaritan-who became the "neighbor" to the fallen victim. Unlike the priest and Levite, he doesn't avert his eyes but "saw him," and identified with his pain. Just as we know little about the victim, we know little about the Samaritan. Did he know the Law of Moses? Jesus doesn't say. We only know he was willing to help someone despite the fact that he was traveling through Jewish territory among people who would not be inclined to help him.
vv. 34-35: "and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you."
Read Luke 10:36-37 - GO AND DO THE SAME
36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" 37 And he said, "The one who showed compassion to him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
v. 36: "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" - Now, in a turnabout, Jesus turns the lawyer's question-"who is my neighbor" (v. 29b)-back on him.
v. 37a: "And he said, "The one who showed compassion to him." - Notice that the lawyer knows the right answer but can't even bring himself to say, "the Samaritan," and answers only "the one who showed compassion." His answer clearly reveals that he's not willing to accept the Samaritan as his neighbor.
v. 37b: "Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same." - There's a subtlety in this verse we need to see. After the lawyer's first answer in v. 27, Jesus answered in v. 28, "do this and you will live" (i.e., be saved), but after his second answer, Jesus answered, "Go and do the same," which contained no promise of salvation. At this point, the lawyer probably thought that he had fought Jesus to a draw; sadly, he was oblivious to the fact that he had just condemned himself.
APPLICATION-Our love for God is evidenced by our compassion for others. In today' Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus showed that we can't hate other human beings and still claim to love God. The lawyer in the story ultimately fell short because, based on racial hatred, he refused to recognize that the Samaritan could be his "neighbor." In an utter contrast, the Samaritan demonstrated God's love for others in a succession of compassionate actions that effectively saved the life of a man in dire need. The Samaritan is our model.
1. Eternal life is free of grace from God given to those who love Him-a personal relationship. Although we can rest with the assurance that our eternal salvation is completely secure (John 5:24), we can't truly claim to love God if we refuse to love others.
2. Our love for one another truly reveals our love for God. Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan in today's lesson demonstrates that showing compassion towards our "neighbor" reveals our love for God. And it's important to remember that, as believers, we show compassion towards others as an outworking of our love relationship with for God, not as something to earn our salvation.
3. Our "neighbor" can be defined as anyone in need. As Jesus' Parable showed us, we can't divide people as neighbors (i.e., create boundaries between them) based on their race, ethnicity, or culture because God created all people in His own image.
