Are You a Neighbor? (Luke 10:25-37)

Resource by Peter Park

One of my favorite tv shows of all time: Family Feud. Good laugh – You should youtube the funniest answers. Basically, the host asks a question that they’ve surveyed 100 people on, and the contestants are trying to guess the top answers. Ex: What would you find in KL? Petronas Towers, Batu Caves, Good Food, Malls.

Now if that question was…What’s the biggest problem in the world today? What do you think the top answers would be? According to google: Pandemics, Climate Change, AI Threats – Takeover, Poverty, Food Insecurity, Wars, Refugee Crisis. Those things are all valid and they affect so much of the world.

But I would argue that the biggest problem with the world is not out there, but in here, our sinful hearts. Our self-centeredness, self-absorption – It’s all about Me, My, Mine. My life, my comfort, my pleasure, my needs, my money. We are too me-focused. It seems to make the most sense, why would I be the center of my world, but it’s a miserable way to live. You live for yourself to get more, but it’s never enough. You’re always striving and wanting more. Get to the next level. It’s a vicious cycle. And it’s not just because the things of this world ultimately cannot satisfy or fulfill us. That’s true.

The deeper reason is because we are created in the image of God, we were not made to live for ourselves. Our Creator God, who is Trinity, one God, Three Persons, has always been in a loving, self-giving relationship for all eternity. And we were created in that image. So when we live for ourselves, it is counter to God’s created design for us. And so it can never satisfy us. It can never give us joy.

Last week: There is no good decision that is counter to God’s good and ordained ways. Anytime we operate outside of what God has said is good and how he created us and the world, it always leads to suffering and brokenness. It never leads to flourishing..

Now we’re going to look at one of Jesus’ most famous teachings in all the Bible where Jesus teaches on this. Parable of the Good Samaritan. Text: Lk. 10 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 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.”

So a lawyer, who is an expert in the law, is trying to test Jesus by asking what he has to do for eternal life. He probably thinks he is righteous according to the law. But Jesus responds with a question – what does the law say? And he answers correctly with…

Great Commandments – Love God and love your neighbor. The entire law can be summed up into these two commands. Jesus – When asked which the greatest commandment is, says, the first is to love God. And then he says the 2nd is to love your neighbor. He’s only asked for the first, so why does he give the second? Because you cannot love God and not love your neighbor. In fact, the Bible would say that if you say you love God and hate your neighbor, you’re a liar and hypocrite. Sounds harsh but two can’t be separated. They always go together. (P&G)

Now the problem with the requirement to obey the Great Commandments to gain eternal life is that they’re impossible to keep! Lawyer – What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus – Telling him to fulfill the whole law, he’s basically saying, there’s nothing you can do!

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Seems like a good question. If it’s one of the requirements of the law that you’re trying to follow – It’s good to know who your neighbor is, right? But the lawyer here is trying to vindicate himself, to prove that he’s fulfilled the law by limiting his exposure. Because if you draw a tight circle when defining who your neighbor is, people you like, then you can try and argue you’re good to go.

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

Now there are some who would say that the man had it coming. That he wasn’t wise traveling by himself on this road known to be especially dangerous. So it’s his own fault. And while that may be true, the problem is, Jesus doesn’t mention this as a teaching point here. In fact, he may be intentionally using the situation to further prove his point…

31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

The priest and the Levite both see the man, but they make intentional efforts to stay out of the way, to avoid the man. Why would they pass the man by? -Well, if he’s dead, it could make them ceremonially unclean. Both the priest and the levite would have had duties at the temple. So coming into contact with this man would have kept them from fulfilling jobs. -They themselves could have been in danger. -Taking time to help could jeopardize their own safety or it could have been a trap. They thought they had good reasons not to help.

But even just a couple verses in, we can already tell that the priest and levite aren’t going to be commended. Because they, like the lawyer, should have known better and understood that at the heart of God’s laws are not a bunch of rules to follow and things to avoid but a loving heart towards God and man – to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. (Mic.6:8)

But the hearts of the priest and levite are concerned more about themselves than the man in need. They put their responsibilities to their religious duties above their fellow man. They lacked compassion and had a self-serving, self-preserving attitude. (Dead man on HVF trail. – I would have been terrified. I don’t know if I can do a half dead person. I don’t even mess with dead bugs. Malaysian cockroaches – Dogs. Need the full armor of God. Judge me all you want. And blood creeps me out. Makes me light headed. I’m a wimp and I’m not ashamed. But what if it was one of my kids? Better believe I’d be doing whatever I can.)

33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Rest of our time – Look at the Good Samaritan – Five characteristics of a neighbor who loves well. And some common objections/questions.

1. Neighbor – Honors the imago dei in others. The Good Samaritan knows nothing about the man except that he has a need and that compels him to do something because the man bears the image of God. Being an image bearer means that the man, and every human being, is of infinite value. Nothing else in creation is like us. Not even the angels. So when I’m walking in my neighborhood and I see stray cats/dogs… My heart is not stirred at all by compassion to the degree as if I see a hungry/homeless man or woman. Opposite – That’s a problem.

Now the fact that Jesus made the Samaritan the hero of the parable would have been unthinkable to the Jews. Why would a Samaritan of all people help a Jew? Because the Jews considered the Samaritans to be their enemies. They had a different holy site. And they were looked down upon because they were of both Israelite and foreign descent, their bloodline wasn’t pure. (Harry Potter – Mudbloods.)

Notice: When Jesus asks, who proved to be the neighbor, the lawyer doesn’t say, the Samaritan. That would have been the short and easy answer. Instead he goes out of his way to say, “the one who showed mercy.” He’s right, but he doesn’t say “Samaritan” because of his prejudice. And that was exactly Jesus’ purpose in using the Samaritan as the hero. Jesus was showing that for both the half dead man and the Samaritan, their value was that they bore the image of God.

When you see others in need, who or what do you see? Do you see their ethnicity? Their faults? Their level of deservingness? Is it someone who is worth your time and energy? Someone who can pay you back?

Usually we think of people who are not in our close friend group as “they/them”. As “other”. But it needs to become my/our neighbor, my/our responsibility. Jesus makes clear that the answer to “Who is my neighbor?” is – Anyone you come into contact with is your neighbor! Anyone around you that’s in need. You might not like it, you might not like the person, but it doesn’t matter. It’s what Jesus said.

Love – Word and deed. Hungry – Go and be well. Church Pantry/Budget – Set aside some goods/funds to give away to help with real needs. The only requirement we put on those goods/funds is that they have to listen to us share why we’re helping. We share the gospel and how Jesus has loved us and been generous to us and so we want to be like him to others. We can’t just talk about love. We have to love the full person in word and deed to honor the imago dei in others.

“There are some people I don’t have to love. Unlovable. They don’t deserve it. I have good reasons.” And maybe you do have some legitimate reasons for why you feel this way, but what you’re saying is that your assessment of the person, as undeserving, is more accurate and authoritative than God’s, that they bear his image. And that’s a problem. God calls us to love even our enemies. And whatever we do, we don’t just do it for the person in need, we’re ultimately doing it for Jesus. Because when we serve image bearers, we are serving the one whose they bear the image. We’re serving God.

2. Neighbor – Demands no qualifications. The Samaritan’s service wasn’t contingent on anything, his perceived worthiness of the man, or why he was in need. Because when someone is in dire need, the details of why they’re there are irrelevant at that point in time.

Again, Jesus doesn’t mention that the man was at fault. But, let’s say he was. Do we really want to draw the line that we won’t help people who are in hard situations because it’s their own fault? I don’t think that’s a standard we could live by ourselves. Is the only time you need help when you’re purely the victim to no fault of your own? It’s such a prideful perspective to think that you don’t ever make mistakes or bad decisions and don’t ever need help when you’ve messed up. Of course you do. We all do. (Personal – Fan. Timothy. Grace. Doctor.)

In fact, I would go so far as to say that the overemphasis of lack of personal fault as a prerequisite for help is anti-Christ. Because Jesus didn’t say, your sin is your fault. You figure it out. It’s not my problem. The whole point of Jesus’ grace for us is that we didn’t deserve it! Next time you think – “They don’t deserve it.” – And neither do I. The next time you want to punish someone, maybe you show them mercy instead of retribution. Instead of – That’s what you get. – You deserve everything coming to you, but I’m going to help you out. I’m going to love you and show you compassion with no conditions.

It doesn’t matter who they are – Rich, poor, ethnic background, believer or nonbeliever, deserving or not. All that matters is someone has a need and that automatically becomes an opportunity for us. (2 Cor 8) – The opportunity to give – “Grace given to us”. Usually we only think about grace from the perspective of receiving something, being the beneficiary. But the Bible says opportunities for us to give and to serve are graces given to us so we can reflect the love and mercy of God.

“We don’t want to enable people.” Not talking about enablement or having healthy boundaries. There is a line of co-dependency and enablement. Wise – When helping hurts. Situations are oftentimes complex and we don’t want to be reckless. But I find that we’re usually far from this danger and we use it more as an excuse not to serve at all.

3. Neighbor – Has no limits. The Samaritan didn’t put a cap on how far he’d go to help the man. In fact he leaves a sizable deposit and is willing to come back and cover whatever else was necessary. And he was able to do this because he had margin in his life. Not only was he willing to sacrifice, he had lived in such a way that he had something to give.

To what extent? How much and how far should you go? As God has loved you in Jesus and what you would do for yourself. Do you put limits on yourself when you need help? Usually – Whatever it takes.

As believers, we are called to leverage our time, talent, and resources, all that God has blessed us with to bless and serve others, not just ourselves. That’s how God wants us to steward our lives and his resources. That means we have to build selfless and generous margins into our lives and be ready for when the needs come up.

“Am I really supposed to put the needs of others before my own? I don’t have much. Will I be ok?” Yes. 2 Cor. 9:10-11 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. God has a way of working that when we are generous even with our limited resources, he provides for us. We can never outgive God. Try and see. (We give more than what we can afford. God has always provided.)

4. Neighbor – Expects nothing in return. When the Samaritan helped the man, he knew nothing about his ability to be paid back. He was willing to help at his own personal cost expecting nothing in return. Jesus in another parable Lk. 14 When you throw a party (party of your life), don’t just invite your friends or rich neighbors who can pay you back, giving back and forth. Instead invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and then you’ll be blessed because they can’t repay you.

Serving – “I don’t get anything out of it.” If the only time we serve is when we get something in return other than the privilege of serving a fellow image bearer and becoming more like Jesus, then we’re not serving. Rather, we’re self-serving. We’re serving ourselves.

Maybe you’re only around people who are very self-sufficient. So you don’t even know who to serve, who you can be a neighbor to. You may need to reorient your life to put yourself into contexts where you can serve. There are plenty of needs in our church and in our city. Engage with some different people.

Now you might be thinking, “God is asking a lot of me. Does he not want me to enjoy life?” Of course he does. James – Good Father who gives us good gifts to enjoy. But it has to be balanced by a life that serves others. And where those gifts are also leveraged for others. It’s tempting to believe there’s greater joy in living for yourself but it’s a lie.

5. Neighbor – Lives out their imago dei. When we love and serve others in this way – honor the imago dei in others, demand no qualifications, put no limits, expect nothing in return – that’s when we truly find joy. Because that’s when we are reflecting the character of God and living out the imago dei in us. We are honoring how God created us and desires us to live, loving him and loving others. Most Important Point: Our willingness to help someone is usually more of a statement on ourselves than the person in need of help. Reveals our hearts.

(Mk. 8:34-36) Jesus – Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. Whoever loses his life will gain it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Meaning, you actually find life and joy by dying to yourself and living for Jesus and others. Mk. 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many. So we should be willing to do anything. There’s nothing beneath us that we’re too good for. PJD – In Christ, we can give up all we have because in Christ we have everything we need.

This parable started with the question “Who is my neighbor?” The focus was on other people – to whom are we obligated to love and serve? But Jesus flips the question to “Are you a neighbor?” – He makes it about our identity. It’s not about who our neighbors are or what we’re required to do as much as who we are.

To be a loving neighbor, you have to first understand that you/we all were the man left for dead. Jesus is the Good Samaritan who saw the imago dei in us and desired to restore what was broken by our sin. So he took on flesh and came to live amongst sinners. He came to rescue us when we were dead in our sins. He picked us up out of the ditch and saved us even though we were his enemies. We didn’t deserve it. He demanded no qualifications from us – He didn’t tell us what we needed to fix and get right before he stepped in. And he did it at great personal cost to himself, his own life. He didn’t put a limit on how far he would go to save us. He went all the way. He did everything necessary to save us. He became sin for us and died on the cross the death we deserved. By his death and resurrection, we are restored to life with the Father. Jesus is the perfect example of loving God and loving and serving his neighbor, us.

Could you imagine if Jesus had the same selfish attitude we often have? “Are you kidding me? You want me to do what? Give up my life for them? They don’t deserve me. They don’t deserve to be saved.” He didn’t complain. He didn’t do it begrudgingly. No. Instead, Jesus gladly, with joy, became a suffering servant for us.

We could never repay Christ for what he’s done. We don’t do to earn God’s favor or approval but because we have experienced the love and mercy of God. And having experienced his compassion…You now know how to be a neighbor and love your neighbor. We love because God first loved us. Jesus – Go and do likewise. As Christ has done for us to the same degree of love, compassion, and sacrifice.. So we gladly give of ourselves for the good of others. People changed by the gospel become people of the gospel. They’re overwhelmed by God’s love and in turn they love others as God has loved them.

Simple question to Ask each other regularly: How can I serve you? New: How can I serve you? How was your week? Hard? How can I serve you? What needs do you have? How can I serve you?

(Gal. 6:9-10) Start here – Household of God, especially. Super spiritual people – I disagree with that. Well, you’re disagreeing with the Bible. By our love for one another, the world will know Jesus.

Kids Ministry – Not babysitting. I don’t know why people wouldn’t want to serve in Kids. Jesus loved kids. You should too. Reaching lost people – Our own kids! Our homes, our kids, are our first mission field. First priority.

In our city – Loving our neighbor is the way to reach people with the gospel. Opens doors to conversations. As we die to ourselves serving others and sharing the gospel, new life springs up in others just as Christ did for us. That’s Jesus’ plan for reaching this city through us.

You cannot truly love someone without ever sharing the gospel with them. Now is loving someone just sharing the gospel? No. It’s more comprehensive than that. But you can’t not share the only thing that can save someone from eternal damnation and hell apart from God and say you love them. Famous NonChristian – If you truly believe that the gospel is the only way to be saved. How much do you truly have to hate someone not to share with them? Word and deed.

Do you see your need for Jesus? Offers you life…

Other videos in this series: