The Good Samaritan (3/10/19 Family Service)

Interesting Question: I want you to imagine you died and are standing in front of God. Hopefully, that won’t be a shocker to you – “what? There is a god?” It’s too late if that’s the first time you realized it… And the only thing that He’s going to look at as to whether you would make it to heaven or not is how you have treated those who would be of no benefit to you – such as little children, the homeless, the strangers you will never meet again, etc.

Let me state my point first, I only have one point today, and spend the rest of the sermon defending it: Our salvation is proven most clearly by how we treat those who are of no benefit to us.

 

Jesus, through the story of the good samaritan is making the point that it is not who we are, as in our social status or religious status, that matters, but with whom we are willing to associate. I think most of us are familiar with the story of the good samaritan. This story was told by Jesus as a response to a question by an expert in the law of God – in other words, a theologian. He asks, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” That is the question of humankind, isn’t it? What is the elixir that will cure us from death? Where is the fountain of youth? I recently rewatched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on Netflix, where Indiana Jones and his father, played by Sean Connery, are looking for the holy grail – the cup of Jesus he used at the last supper, because the myth is that if you find the cup and drink from it, then you will have eternal life.

We want to live forever! This Jewish theologian in the 1st century was no different. He wants to live forever and asks Jesus how he can get that. But Jesus, in his typical fashion, answers his question with a question: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” In other words, what does the Old Testament say about how you can live forever? The theologian says, “Well, You shall love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” And to this Jesus say, “You are right. Do that and you will have eternal life.” The end of the conversation? No. The theologian feels that there should be something more. He senses that Jesus has more to say to this than the standard answer known by every Bible believing people of that day.

So, he asks Him another question: “Who is my neighbor?” Now, Luke the writer of this story says that the theologian said this wanting to “justify” himself. I think what he really wanted to do was to trap Jesus in His words and expose Him – remember this guy was an expert of the Law and Jesus was consistently against these lawyers and the pharisees – but seeing that Jesus turned the table around and was testing him, he wanted to turn the table back around and asks him another tough question: “Who is my neighbor?”  

He’s saying, “Jesus, you said to get eternal life, you have to keep the law which is summarized by loving god and loving my neighbors. So, what I’m asking you is who’s my neighbor that I should love and be saved?”

I think this is sinister. 1) If Jesus answered, “Your neighbor is people who are living around you,” Then the lawyer can say, “Oh, I love my neighbors. They are all lawyers and pharisees like me. We vacation together, our children play together,, we eat kosher meal together. We love each other. So, i’m good. Then, why are you against us lawyers, Jesus?” 2) Now if Jesus answered, “Your neighbor is your fellowship Jewish people,” then he could’ve said “I work for them to teach them obey God’s law! Again, I’m good. Then, why are you against us, Jesus?” Or 3) if Jesus said, “your neighbor is the gentiles living around you,” Then the lawyer could’ve said, “The Law (the Bible) teaches us that we are not to associate with the gentiles because we are to keep ourselves holy. So, are you saying that we should break the biblical commands, Jesus?” or 4) If Jesus said, “Your neighbor is everyone around you”, then the lawyer could’ve said, “Well, that loses the meaning of the word, ‘neighbor,’ doesn’t it, Jesus? If God wanted us to love everyone, then why didn’t He just say to love everyone, rather than to love our neighbor, huh? Huh?”

So, this is a trap. No matter what Jesus said, He would be in trouble. But you don’t play word games with the One who is called the “Word” of God.

In answer to this question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus tells the famous story of the good samaritan. A man is robbed and injured on the side of the road. A priest walks by not helping. Failure #1. A levi – they are those who helped the priests – walks by not helping. Failure #2. But a third person, the hero of the story appears and rescues the man and does good do him. He was the one who was being a neighbor to the injured man.

Shocker #1: The hero of the story is a samaritan – the samaritans were hated by the Jews because of the past geo-political and religious reasons. The lawyer would’ve never guessed it. If Jesus was going to tell him that his neighbor is his enemy, such as the hated samaritans, then the story should have the injured man as the samaritan and the Jewish man as the hero saving this poor and wicked samaritan man. That way, he can pet himself on the back and think, “I’ve done a good deed, helping even this despicable Samaritan.” But Jesus makes the Samaritan the hero of the story, helping the Jewish man.  

Shocker #2: the lawyer is forced to put himself in the shoe of the one who was being helped – the injured man – rather than the one helping – the samaritan. He is to forced to think in terms of not what he needs to do, but what needs to be done to him!

Shocker #3: Jesus changes the moronic question by the theologian of “who is my neighbor”, to which there is no good answer, and forces him to think, “ who am I being a neighbor to?”

The good samaritan was the one being neighborly, thus fulfilling the law and gaining eternal life, by treating with love a man who would be of no benefit to him. Jesus is making the point: Our salvation is proven most clearly by how we treat those who are of no benefit to us.

The question is not: who is my neighbor that I should love to get into heaven? But the question is to whom am I being a neighbor that proves my salvation?

Now the original question makes sense, doesn’t it? If the only thing that God’s going to look at as to whether you would make it to heaven or not is how you have treated those who would be of no benefit to you – such as little children, the homeless, the strangers you will never meet again, would you make it in?  

APP: The thing to do is not to go and be nice to those people all of sudden. You are just acting without your heart in it. You are being a hypocrite. Instead, do this: APTAT

1) Admit you can’t do it. You are selfish and you have no interest in people who wouldn’t immediately benefit it. Admit it.

2) Pray for a renewed heart. Only God can change your heart to love those you cannot love. When God gave us the command to love God and love our neighbors, He gave it to us knowing that we can’t do it. So, that we would RELY on Him to enable us to do it.

3) Trust His word – “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 14:7)

4) Act – Don’t sit there until you get your loving feel for those you didn’t love before. Go, act. Lead your heart. Do the loving act trusting that God will bring your heart along.

5. Thank Him – that God will do it and has done it. The very fact that you desire to be this way shows that you have that love in you.