The Good Samaritan/The Unexpected Neighbour
Luke 10:25-37 NLT
25 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?”
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.’”
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?”
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.
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. 32 A Temple assistant[b] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 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. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[c] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
1st c. audience – scandalous;
21st c. audience - Samaritan only associated with doing good
Translate for our context
Division – people we despise; overtly or subconsciously
Who do you despise? Why?
Luke 4:18-19 NLT
“18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
*He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,*
that the blind will see,
*that the oppressed will be set free,*
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
Micah 6:8 NRSVCE
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
*but to do justice, and to love kindness,*
and to walk humbly with your God?
The parable – Lumo https://youtu.be/asCkkmaoZbA
How to inherit eternal life
Who is my neighbour?
Mercy is the Key
Genesis 2:16-17 NLT
16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Genesis 3:22
22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
“We spend an awful lot of time trying to determine what is right and wrong and not enough time eating from the tree of life.”
–- Michael Sullivant