The Good Samaritan August 12, 2012
Introduction: Today
we are going to look at the story of the Good Samaritan; a story Jesus told in
answer to the question, “Who is my
neighbour.” This story serves to remind us all of the three founding
principles of our Fellowship. Can anyone
tell me what these three principles are? (Love God, Love others and Serve) Our story touches each principle.
As we read the Scripture
passage we are confronted with some very important
questions and then some very peculiar
responses to those questions. It will be helpful to realize that this is a
story within a story and we will have to be careful not to lose sight of the
original encounter and the original questions. Scripture: Luke 10:25-37
Situation:
The expert in the Law and Jesus were having a conversation about eternal life
and trying to answer the question who is my neighbour. In order for us to get the meaning of this
story we have to ask ourselves what did people say, what did they do and what
were the results and what can we learn from this?
Look closely at verses 25-28 what
can we learn about the expert in the Law from what he says? How would you describe or define an, “expert
in the Law?” (extremely knowledgeable in the teaching of the Law; the first
five books of the Bible) We are also told that he wants to test Jesus- Why? - He
refers to Jesus as “Teacher”- is this a sign of respect? As you reflect on the
first question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” can you think of why
this particular question was asked? Was he asking Jesus to answer questions he
already knew the answers to?
Do you find anything peculiar
about how Jesus responds to the question?
(Jesus responds to the question with a question?) Why? Was Jesus gauging
the man’s knowledge? (if he understood the Law did that make him accountable to
keep it?)
In verse 27 and 28 it appears
as though the man had answered correctly and the conversation was over.
What else can we learn about
this man from verse 29? (Scripture says
he wanted to justify himself- Why -pride- was he really interested in the
answers to his questions, or was he trying to make himself look good- could
motive be suspect here? It seems that the man had a lot of knowledge about the
Law in his head but what about his heart?) This second question seems simple
and innocent enough, however, in light of the fact that the Scripture tells us the
man’s motive (self justification); what do you think the man was really asking
Jesus? (clue, remember he is an expert in the Law; remember the hero in Jesus
story is the good Samaritan. Notice the use of contrast; this is a Hebrew
writer’s method to amplify the difference between how the expert of the Law
felt and how the good Samaritan acted) Could the expert of the Law be saying
something like, “Do I have to love even Samaritans?” In order for us to get to
the truth here we need to look closely at how Jesus answers the man and then
compare the man’s question with Jesus question in verse 36.
How does Jesus answer the
question, “Who is my neighbour?”(With the story of the Good Samaritan)
Jesus now answers the man’s
original question, “Who is my neighbor,” with another question, “Which of these
three was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
Can you see what Jesus has
done here? How does Jesus question differ from the original question? Jesus’
story and question put the onus on the expert in the Law. To have the proper perspective here we have
to realize the point is not, ‘Who is my neighbour’ but rather, “How can I be a
neighbour to those in need.” The point is
not, you only need to be a neighbour to certain people( i.e. those you like,
those who treat you nicely in return), your neighbourliness only needs to
extend so far. How far should neighbourliness extend? To get the truth principle on that let’s look
again at how Jesus ends this conversation. He turns to the expert and asks this
question, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour…”Why did Jesus say
this, what is He doing? (Helping someone who does not want to see the truth see it—Jesus is leading this man to the
truth) Look at the man’s reply, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus has now
maneuvered the man to the moment of truth (the man answers his own question)
and Jesus says to him, “Go and do
likewise.”
Extending Mercy:
Take a moment and look at what the Good Samaritan did and what we can learn
about extending mercy from this man. He
helped the helpless at considerable cost and inconvenience to himself. He ignored all cultural and religious
barriers and had mercy. He saw a need
and didn’t shy away from it. He stayed
with the man until he could get him to a good care facility. He did not look for anything in return for
what he had done.
Conclusion: In this story we have discovered a more accurate
picture of “the expert in the Law;” how would you describe him now that you
have read the entire story? (Self-centred, proud, arrogant, blind to the truth
about himself, blind to the needs of others, a full head and an empty
heart.) What was his downfall in the
story? Pride – wanted to look good –
justify himself.
Do you see this kind of thing
going on today? Where, or in whom? Have
you ever found yourself more concerned with looking good in the eyes of others,
personal image, pride, or justifying yourself? Do you avoid facing the truth
about yourself (for example, if you see inconsistencies in your own life, are
you reluctant to deal with them) what about the needs of others? Would you say
you are aware of the needs of those in your circle of influence, and the
opportunities God puts in your way to show mercy to others? What is your motive
for showing mercy to others? (a sense of duty or true concern)
What can we learn from this
story that would help us to show mercy to others, be more like the Good
Samaritan and less like the self- righteous expert in the Law? (true mercy has
no agenda and no boundaries; we show mercy to others unconditionally because
God showed mercy to us unconditionally; showing mercy has nothing to do with
self-justification; an abundance of Biblical knowledge in the head, does not
guarantee an abundance of mercy in the heart; when Christ reveals our heart and what is lacking in it to
us, we need to accept that truth and ask Him to help us face and deal with
it; we are on a spiritual journey, a process of becoming “Christ-like.” It
takes time for Biblical knowledge to move from our head to our heart, and it
takes time for us to face truth about ourselves.
In your desire to help those in your circle of influence and the
people in this community by showing them God’s mercy, are you ready to follow
Jesus’ instruction to the expert of the Law, to “Go and do likewise?”
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