Sunday School Lesson
Lesson:
Luke
10:25-34
Golden
Text:
“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with
all thy mind; and thy neighbour as
thyself”
(Luke
10:27).
I.
INTRODUCTION.
One serious problem in our fast paced society is the loss of
individual identity. People become anonymous faces in a crowd,
statistics for a census or poll, or names on a computerized mailing list.
They are often valued only as voters, customers, clients, suppliers,
workers, church members, or taxpayers. But worse than that, some
people are seen as hindrances, nuisances, and liabilities in our efficient and
neatly ordered way of life. The mentally disabled child, the
physically handicapped, the poor, and the helpless elderly too often suffer
ostracism, neglect, or worse. It’s time for Christians to remind
themselves of the value of individuals. Jesus moved among the
crowds, but He saw the individuals in them. They were not objects
to be used, but persons loved and redeemed. Jesus’ parable of the
Good Samaritan reveals His values. Through the sad incident by the
roadside and the compassionate act of the ethnic outcast, Jesus answered a
crucial question: Who is my neighbor?
II. A HOSTILE
QUESTION (Luke 10:25-29)
A. The lawyer’s intent
(Luke 10:25). Our first verse says
“And, behold, a certain
lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life?”
On an unspecified occasion,
“a certain lawyer stood
up, and tempted” Jesus.
Jesus may have been teaching in a synagogue with this man seated in the
audience. At an appropriate time, the man rose to state his
question. Jesus’ questioner is identified as a
“lawyer.”
The term here doesn’t indicate a trial attorney but
instead one who was an expert in Jewish law. He was a
scribe. The lawyer “tempted” Jesus meaning he put
Jesus to the test. He asked, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life?” Taken at face
value, the question seemed to be a sincere one. But the lawyer was
an expert in the law and should have known the answer to such a basic
question. The question was not sincere. It was
designed to test Jesus’ teaching to see if it conformed to the law.
He addressed Jesus as “Master” meaning teacher which
gives us a clue that he was not asking because he was personally seeking eternal
life, but because he wanted to discuss a theological point with One who taught
regularly. The fact that he used the words “what shall I
do” appear to indicate that the lawyer assumed that some work was
required in order to gain life. In the New Testament
“eternal life” is commonly used to mean the same thing as being
saved or entering God’s kingdom.
However, the lawyer wasn’t looking for
information. He was looking for a chance to turn Jesus’ answer
against Him. Note: We should ever be grateful for people who study and
share God’s truth, but that truth must never become a mere subject for
discussion. God gave it to transform lives. If we
treat it as simply textbook material we are making God’s eternal truths trivial
and robbing people of spiritual
development.
B. Jesus’ question (Luke
10:26). This verse says
“He (Jesus) said unto
him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?”
Jesus didn’t answer
directly but turned the question back to the lawyer. He asked the
legal expert “What is written in the law? By
referring back to the law, Jesus was showing His respect for the law to which
this man had dedicated his life. Jesus then asked “how
readest thou?” In other words, “how do you understand
it?” Jesus knew that the man already had an answer to his own
question so He allowed him to express it.
Note: Answering a question with another question was one of
Jesus’ favorite teaching techniques. He could have given an
extended exposition on the subject and silenced His questioner, but Jesus wanted
the lawyer to think more deeply about his own question. Jesus knew
that the lawyer’s question assumed that eternal life could be earned by good
works. He seemed to have no sense of sin which requires atonement.
That had to be
corrected.
C. The lawyer’s knowledge (Luke 10:27).
This verse
says “And he
answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy
neighbour as thyself.” The lawyer undoubtedly had an answer ready. He
immediately answered Jesus by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5. This was
part of the Shema which means “to hear.” It’s the Jewish
profession of faith which begins, “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is
one” (see Deuteronomy 6:4). The complete Shema is found in Numbers
15:37-41; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21. Every devout Jew knew and
recited this every day. An expert in Jewish law would be expected
to give this answer. It is a command to love the Lord with all
one’s “heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength.” These terms put together refer to directing a
person’s entire being toward God, including the inner person, emotions, and
physical strength. But the lawyer went one step further and added
“with all thy mind” which would include one’s intellect also
directed toward God. The lawyer also combined this quotation from
Deuteronomy 6:5 with one from Leviticus 19:18, which demands that a person’s
love for his neighbor should be equal to his or her love for self.
Both of these quotations were later declared by Jesus to be the greatest
commandments in the law (see Matthew 22:37-40).
D. Jesus’ comment (Luke
10:28). In this verse Jesus said to
the lawyer “Thou hast answered right: this do,
and thou shalt live.” Jesus’ comment
probably surprised the lawyer for at least two reasons. First,
Jesus agreed with him. He said
“Thou hast answered right.”
There was no reason for an intellectual debate
between them. Second, Jesus applied
the lawyer’s answer to him personally when He said “this do, and thou
(you) shalt live.” But the word translated
“do” here is in the present tense and means “to
keep doing it.” The lawyer may have assumed that knowing the right
answer would insure eternal life, but only constant obedience would be
enough.
E. The
lawyer’s self-justification (Luke 10:29).
This verse says
“But he (the lawyer), willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And
who is my neighbour?” The lawyer was not ready to accept
Jesus’ simple answer. So he “willing to justify
himself” asked another question. The phrase “to
justify himself” means to show himself that he was righteous.
If he was convinced that he had perfectly kept the commands to love God
and his neighbor constantly, he never would have asked this question.
He knew that he didn’t really love all people, just those he considered
to be his neighbors. Being a lawyer, Jesus’ questioner looked for
a loophole asking Him “And who is my neighbour?”
If he could get Jesus to admit that certain persons were not his
neighbors, he could save his conscience regarding his lack of love.
Note: It’s clear that the lawyer had an ulterior motive in
asking who his neighbor was. He didn’t really want to know how far
his circle of love should extend. The Jewish leaders had already
determined that. Their circle of neighbors excluded Samaritans and
Gentiles. However, his question gave Jesus the opportunity to
teach a great
truth.
III. A
POWERFUL ILLUSTRATION (Luke 10:30-34)
A. A desperate situation (Luke Luke 10:30).
This verse says
“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded
him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” To answer the
lawyer’s question, who is my neighbor, Jesus told a parable: an earthly story
with a heavenly meaning. This story may well have been factual or
at least based on fact. Jesus’ stories were designed to make a
point or to teach a truth, but there was always reality involved.
The story concerned a man travelling “down from Jerusalem to
Jericho.” The trip from Jerusalem to Jericho went
downward and covered about seventeen miles.
Note: To show how much Jews despised
Samaritans, in order to avoid them, many Jews when
travelling from Jerusalem to Galilee in the north would take the road south to
Jericho, cross the Jordan River, and then turn back north through
Perea and on to Galilee. They would take the same path back to
Jerusalem. However, the more direct route to Galilee would have
been through Samaria, but Jews would do all they could to avoid those
people. The road down from Jerusalem to
Jericho was winding and rocky and was an ideal place for robbers and
murderers. Jesus’ listeners could easily have imagined the
situation of the man in the story. He said that this
“certain man” probably a Jew, “fell among thieves,
which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him
half dead.” This man was attacked by thieves who stripped
him of everything he had including his clothing. They beat him and
left him to die by the
road.
B. Selfish responses (Luke
10:31-32).
1.
(vs. 31). This verse goes on to say “And by chance there came
down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other
side.” Jesus said that it was only “by
chance” or by coincidence that a priest came by while the man was lying
there wounded. Since Jericho was the home of many priests, it’s
likely that this priest was returning home after serving his appointed time at
the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus goes on to say that “when
he (the priest) saw him (the wounded man), he passed by on the other
side.” The word “saw” signifies more
than a passing glance. It indicated that the priest got a good
look at the man, but still intended to avoid him by crossing over to the other
side of the road. We can speculate that the priest thought the
wounded man was close to death or already dead, and he didn’t want to defile
himself ceremoniously by touching a dead body (see Leviticus 21:1-4).
But this was no excuse not to help for James 2:9-10 says “But if ye
have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as
transgressors. For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of
all.”
2. (vs. 32). In this verse Jesus said
“And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on
him, and passed by on the other side.” The Levite, like
the priest might have been expected to show compassion since he was also a
religious professional (see Numbers 1:47-54) assisting the priests in the
temple. He did show some curiosity for he went to the man
“at the place” meaning where he was, and “looked on
him.” But even the Levite crossed the road and
“passed by on the other side.”
Note: The response from these two religious leaders was
inexcusable. Their law had taught them to rescue even a friend’s
or an enemy’s animal of burden if it was in trouble (see Exodus 23:5;
Deuteronomy 22:4). So how much more should they have cared for a
person in need. Showing mercy to those in need is one of the most
basic requirements of the law of God (see Micah6:8). If Israelites
were required to show mercy even to strangers (see Leviticus 19:34) and enemies
(see Exodus 23:4, 5; II Kings 6:8-23), then surely they should show mercy to
fellow Israelites. Their religion had become simply a ritual to be
performed at one location and was not relevant to daily life. They
didn’t consider the injured man to be a neighbor in need. While
the priest and the Levite no doubt would have claimed to love God, they had no
love for their fellow man. Many Christians today fall into similar
sin. They attend their lovely sanctuaries but isolate themselves
from the needy of the world. They won’t associate with dirty,
unkempt, and sickly people, but those are often the ones the Lord has sent our
way (see James 2:1-9). When Jesus walked the earth, He took His
place with the outcasts---lepers, tax collectors, harlots, and
handicapped. Therefore, He was greatly criticized by the religious
establishment. Would Jesus fare any better today?
Any religion that ostracizes, or ignores the needy can scarcely be called
Christian.
C. A loving response (Luke
10:33-34).
1.
(vs. 33). In this
verse, Jesus continued to say “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.”
The next person to see the
injured man was not a Jewish leader or layman but a “Samaritan.”
Jesus could not have chosen a more distasteful
illustration for a Jewish audience. Jews hated Samaritans.
They were considered half-breeds and were considered semi-pagan because
they had their own religion as a rival to Judaism (see John 4:20-21).
To be fair, it must be said that Samaritans generally hated Jews as well.
Note: In order to get the full impact of this story we must
have some understanding of the prejudice and hatred that existed between the
Jews and the Samaritans. When Sargon of Syria conquered Samaria,
the northern part of Israel in 721 B.C.,
many Jews in that area were taken captive from their homeland and
were gradually replaced with heathen people from other parts of the Assyrian
Empire. These imported people intermarried with Jews who had
remained in the land and the descendents of their offspring became the
Samaritans of Jesus’ day. Samaria became a place where Hebrews and
Gentiles mixed through intermarriage (see II Kings 17:23-33). The
religion of the Samaritans was a mixture of Judaism and paganism.
True Jews despised the Samaritans and avoided them and their country (see
John 4:9). This Samaritan
however, showed
compassion toward the injured man. Jesus said
that this man “came where he (the injured man) was: and when he saw him,
he had compassion on him.” The word
“compassion” refers to pity coming from the innermost part of
one’s being, or the seat of one’s affections. This kind of
affection is necessary for an effective ministry (see Matthew 9:35-10:1).
Jesus dared to use a Samaritan as an example of compassion while speaking
to His Jewish audience. When the callous priest and Levite saw the
injured man they passed by as far from him as they could. They
didn’t want to be bothered or inconvenienced. But when the
Samaritan saw the injured man, he had compassion on him. He didn’t
try to see first what his nationality was or ask whether this Jew would have
helped him. Compassion carried him beyond such pettiness.
2. (vs. 34). In our final verse Jesus said
“And (the Samaritan) went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in
oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took
care of him.” The Samaritan showed his compassion in
practical ways. First he “bound up his wounds, pouring in
oil and wine.” He bandaged the injured man’s wounds,
while pouring wine and oil on them. “Wine” was
used as an antiseptic to cleanse his wounds, and the “oil” was
olive oil used to ease the pain. These were common remedies in the
ancient world. Since the injured man couldn’t walk, the Samaritan
also “set him on his own beast” probably a donkey, while he
walked on the rocky road so the injured man could ride. Then he
“brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” He
took the man to an inn where he personally cared for him overnight.
Note: The Samaritan’s care for the man was not yet finished
according to Luke 10:35 which is not part of our lesson but probably should
be. On the next day when the Samaritan was leaving the inn he left
money with the innkeeper for the patient’s further care. He gave
the innkeeper “two pence” or two denari which was equal to two days
wages. This was enough to care for the injured man for maybe
several weeks. Leaving instructions for the host to care for the
injured man, the Samaritan went his way, but not before he assured the innkeeper
that when he returned he would repay any extra costs incurred.
Here is a remarkable picture of selfless love shown by a total
stranger. We may argue that the story is too idealistic and that
such care would be very unlikely in real life. But that’s not the
point. Jesus was illustrating what loving one’s neighbor as
oneself really means. Remember, this parable does not answer the
question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” It answers
the question “Who is my neighbor?”
IV.
Conclusion. This
parable of the Good Samaritan shows the connection between loving God and loving
others. Those who believe in God and truly love Him will also love
others, even to the point of inconveniencing themselves to care for them.
Those who don’t love others show that they don’t love God either.
Let’s ask the Lord to help us see our neighbors as He does and be
willing to inconvenience ourselves to serve them. In that way, we
demonstrate the degree of our love for God.
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