Who Is My Neighbor? Luke 10:25–37

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Who Is My Neighbor? Luke 10:25–37 by Mind Map: Who Is My Neighbor?  Luke 10:25–37

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2. Luke 10:25–37

2.1. Luke 10:25–26 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

2.2. Luke 10:27 27 The man answered, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

2.3. Luke 10:28-29 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

2.4. Luke 10:30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

2.4.1. Luke 10:31 31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.

2.4.2. Luke 10:32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

2.4.3. Luke 10:33 33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.

2.4.4. Luke 10:34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.

2.4.5. Luke 10:35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

2.4.6. Luke 10:36 36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

2.4.7. Luke 10:37 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

3. I. BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOR STARTS WITH COMPASSION.

3.1. The story of the good Samaritan flows out of the discussion of what were the greatest commandments

3.1.1. Jesus said they were to love God and to love one’s neighbor.

3.2. Luke 10:33 says that when the Samaritan saw the wounded man he “took pity on” or had compassion for him

3.2.1. The Greek word used in this verse (splanchnizomai) literally means “to be moved in the inward parts.”

3.2.2. It describes someone deeply moved with compassion. It is frequently used to describe Jesus’ compassion toward people in need (Mark 1:40–42; Luke 15:20).

3.3. In John 13:34, 35, Jesus says, “A new command I give you:

3.3.1. Love one another

3.3.2. As I have loved you, so you must love one another

3.3.3. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

3.3.4. The principal characteristic that marks us as followers of Jesus Christ is that we love one another.

4. II. A GOOD NEIGHBOR PUTS COMPASSION INTO ACTION.

4.1. The dangerous condition of the road from Jerusalem to Jericho reveals that it is far easier to maintain a religious system than it is to clean up a neighborhood.

4.2. Many of the biblical commandments deal with our responsibilities toward our neighbors.

4.2.1. For example, the last of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house [or] wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17).

4.3. Yet these responsibilities must be met from an attitude of compassion. Romans 13:8–10 commands:

4.3.1. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

4.3.2. The commandments … are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

4.4. The Bible defines love in terms of things we do and don’t do. Note that Jesus ended the story of the Good Samaritan by saying, “Go and do likewise.”

4.4.1. He did not tell the lawyer, “Go and feel likewise,” but “Go and do likewise.”

5. III. A GOOD NEIGHBOR CARES EVEN THOUGH IT COSTS.

5.1. Luke 10:34, 35 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.

5.2. Says the Samaritan:

5.2.1. 1) Went to the wounded man

5.2.2. 2) Poured oil and wine onto his wounds

5.2.3. 3) Bandaged him

5.2.4. 4) Put the man on his own donkey

5.2.5. 5) Took him to an inn and cared for him through the night

5.2.6. 6) Gave the innkeeper two day’s wages to continue looking after the man until he got well

5.2.7. 7) Made arrangements to reimburse the innkeeper if the wounded man needed anything extra.

5.3. Love costs. The Samaritan demonstrated that the care we show to others should be measured by the care we would show to ourselves.

6. APPLICATION

6.1. So, who is our neighbor? The lawyer asked Jesus the question hoping to limit his responsibility to love and care for other people. But Jesus changed the question to “Am I a neighbor to those around me?”

6.2. To the thieves, the traveling Jew was a victim to exploit. To the priest and the Levite, he was a nuisance to avoid.

6.2.1. But to the Samaritan he was a neighbor to love and help

6.2.2. Anyone who needs us is our neighbor—and to us Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.”

7. ILLUSTRATION

7.1. A nurse escorted a tired, anxious young man to the bedside of an elderly man who was dying.

7.1.1. “Your son is here,” she whispered to the patient.

7.1.2. The old man reached out his hand, and the young man wrapped his fingers around it, squeezing a message of encouragement

7.1.3. All through the night the young man sat holding the old man’s hand and offering gentle words of hope.

7.1.4. As dawn approached, the patient died.

7.1.5. The young man placed on the bed the lifeless hand he had been holding, then went to notify the nurse

7.1.6. When the nurse began to offer words of sympathy to the young man, he interrupted her.

7.2. “Who was that man?”

7.2.1. He asked

7.2.2. Startled

7.2.3. The nurse replied

7.2.4. “I thought he was your father.”

7.2.5. “No,”

7.2.5.1. He answered

7.2.6. “I never saw him before in my life.”

7.2.7. “Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”

7.2.7.1. Asked the nurse

7.2.8. “I saw that he needed his son,”

7.2.8.1. He replied

7.2.9. “and his son wasn’t here

7.2.10. When I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I knew just how much he needed me.”

8. Why was the lawyer asking the question?

8.1. Some questions are genuine requests for information, while others are intended to make a point.

8.1.1. Still other questions seek to change the subject and thereby avoid some sort of unpleasantness

8.1.2. Such was the case with the lawyer in this parable. He asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor,” but the real question is, “Am I a good neighbor?”

8.1.3. Good neighbors show active compassion even when it costs them to do so.