“Who Is My Neighbor?”
Luke 10:25-37
7-10-2022
Grace, mercy, and peace be unto from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The Gospel Lesson for today contains one of the most famous parables of Jesus: “The Good Samaritan.” That title is so well known that there are hospitals, care centers, and even laws which carry this name. That’s all well and good, because the unselfish care and concern of the Good Samaritan is definitely something we should emulate. But contrary to what you may have been told, that’s not the main purpose behind why Jesus told this story. He was actually trying to teach an important spiritual lesson about our salvation. In order to discover that we need to dig deeper into this parable.
The first thing that might jump out at you is it was a “lawyer” who posed this question to Jesus. Now, I realize there are hundreds of lawyer jokes but I’ll refrain because like any profession the majority of folks who practice law are likeable people. But not this guy. Verse 25 says that he asked his question in order to “test” Christ. That’s putting it mildly. In reality he was trying to set kind of a legal trap for Jesus. The insidious part is that he makes it sound so pious. He wasn’t actually interested in the spiritual issue that he was raising. He was more interested in a theological debate rather than learning the truth about the way to eternal life.
You see, this guy wasn’t a lawyer like Perry Mason representing clients in a courtroom. No, he was an expert in the Jewish laws that governed the people of Israel. That included the 10 Commandments and the myriad of other ceremonial laws that the Jews were expected to keep. And he’s convinced that he managed to keep all those Laws that he had so studiously examined. In fact, you can sense a bit of arrogance in his comments. Jesus, however, showed him how little he really knew.
Don’t you just hate it when someone answers a question with a question? And yet, sometimes that’s an excellent teaching tool. This man had addressed Jesus as “teacher” so now Christ was about to educate him. Keep in mind that Jesus was aware this lawyer was trying to trip Him up. So, Jesus asked him what the Law said about how to “inherit” eternal life? He answered correctly when he summed up all the commandments with, “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.” But the crux of the matter comes when it’s time to implement the commandments with actions. This lawyer had his own little check list and he honestly believed he had done his best to fulfill God’s Law. However, he had a nagging doubt as he tried to justify himself by his own works. Notice that Jesus didn’t argue with him. Instead, He allowed this man to reveal the holes in his thinking by using his own words against him.
Jesus said he had answered correctly. This simple response must have thrown the legal beagle off-guard. If it was that straightforward then why had this lawyer asked the question in the first place? It really put him on the spot. If he left it at that then it would make him look dumb in front of everyone who was listening. So, he tried to ask an intelligent-sounding follow-up question. And sadly, it shows that he missed the deeper meaning of this Commandment. “And WHO is my neighbor?” he asked.
Ah, now we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. This guy was focused on what he must do to earn eternal life. He figured he had done what was necessary by keeping the Commandments. But had he? Before we can answer that, you need to understand how the elite minds in Judaism thought. If you were a Pharisee, Sadducee, Scribe or a lawyer, you were above the rest of your fellow Jews. Their thinking went like this: “Yeah sure, I’ll be nice to the folks who are in my social group and I might even go out of my way to help them. But not the lower class, average Jew. I’ll be cordial to them but that’s it. And when it comes to a non-Jew, well, they’re no better than a dog. I can treat them any way I’d like without breaking this command. I can even mistreat them if I so choose.”
In order to correct this wrongheaded thinking, Jesus let the parable of the Good Samaritan do the talking. Notice the different classes of people that He names here. The Priest and Levite were part of that Jewish upper class. The man who was attacked by robbers was evidently a Jew also since he was “going down from Jerusalem.” But he was a lower-class Jew. And the Samaritan? Well, they were the hated half breed Jews. And yet, who is it that obeys the command of God to “Love your neighbor as yourself?” It was this despised outsider. The Samaritan not only was kind and compassionate, he also went out of his way physically and financially to help the hurt man. The Samaritan showed that he truly loved his neighbor, whoever that might be. In the process, this Samaritan also showed that he was the one who truly loved God because it compelled him to give unselfishly whatever was needed to help someone.
That must have stung the ears of the Jewish elites who were listening. Jesus didn’t leave any doubts about how to apply this parable. With the lawyer’s own words Christ convicted him. Jesus asked, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” In other words, “Who actually fulfilled the command to love your neighbor as yourself?” The lawyer couldn’t dodge the obvious answer. “The one who showed him mercy.” He probably choked on those words because he knew that he didn’t fit into that category. He wasn’t as righteous as he had thought. He had come asking what he must “do” to inherit eternal life thinking he could accomplish it, if he hadn’t already. But Jesus showed him that he had failed. And that’s because no sinner can “do” enough or do it perfectly enough to earn heaven.
That was a zinger to all the self-righteous people who heard it. But what about you and me? Do you see yourself in that parable? Oh, our initial response may be to say, “Why, I’m the Good Samaritan, of course!” I don’t doubt that you are compassionate towards others… at times. But is it true ALL the time? Or do you try to justify yourself like the lawyer in our text? Do you split legal hairs to get around the fact that God tells us to love everyone, regardless of who they are? It happens and you know it. We tend to shrink the circle of “neighbors” when it comes to helping others. And our reasoning seems solid. We might be inclined to help out members of our family, or close friends. We might be persuaded to help people in our community when a tragedy strikes. But things start getting sketchy when we look beyond that boundary line. Sadly, I’ve seen that boundary line get drawn at the doors of a church. And perhaps, sometimes, even within groups or cliques that are part of a congregation.
Now what do you suppose Jesus would say about that? He’d ask the very same question of us, “Have you fulfilled the command to love your neighbor as yourself?” And our answer will be judged by whether we had shown mercy or not, regardless of who the person was. You see, at the heart of all this is the question of Christ-like love. If we’re showing mercy out of love, then it really doesn’t matter who the person is or where they live. We are to see every human being as our “neighbor.” We need to remember that Jesus died for them too, regardless of who they are.
Yes, of course, we don’t have the resources to help everyone. So we need to be discerning with what God has blessed us with. Don’t need to be naïve. There are scam artists who make it look like they’re needy but in reality, they’re not. And the fact of the matter is that quite often they target Christian churches because they know we’re supposed to be compassionate to those in need. Over my years in the ministry, I’ve had to deal with plenty of folks who come asking for assistance. Some are legitimate but far too many are fakers and liars. All I’m saying is that we can be Good Samaritans while also being cautious and wary.
And yet all these acts of mercy are not ultimately what Jesus was trying to get at. You see, in that parable He is the Good Samaritan and we are that injured man who is lying on the side of the road. We’ve been beaten up by our sinfulness and robbed of any dignity. The Priest and Levite in the story represent the Law, not the Gospel. The lawyer in our text was relying on legalistically following the Law to save himself. Jesus, however, taught that the Law can’t rescue wounded and dying sinners. Sinners need a Savior who will rescue them simply because of His mercy rather than what we “do.” That Savior is Jesus, of course. He saw us in our miserable condition and had compassion. He knew we’d die eternally if He didn’t take action. And He did. He didn’t sacrifice just a little of His time and money and convenience to help us. No, He sacrificed His life on the cross in order to rescue us. Now, He heals our deadly wounds with His Word and Sacrament which act like the wine and oil in the parable. By it, He removes the infection of sin and applies the healing ointment of His forgiveness. In a very real way, the Church is like the innkeeper who Jesus entrusts us wounded and recovering sinners to. The Church has been commissioned by Him to continue nurturing everyone He has rescued with that precious medicine of God’s Word and Sacrament.
Once we understand the parable in this light, then we can finally answer the question of “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Trust in gracious work that Christ has done to make you worthy of heaven. The compassion and mercy that we’ve received will then compel us to respond in the same way to other wounded and dying sinners. As followers of Christ, we certainly look for ways in which we can show this kind of neighborly love. Not in an effort to “justify” ourselves, but simply as a response to God’s great love and mercy. If you are humbled by the thought that you may have “walked past” and turned a blind eye to a neighbor’s need then confess your sins and failures knowing that God will forgive you for the sake of Jesus. Rejoice in the mercy you’ve received and let your gratitude be shown in your compassion towards others. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!