Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

Every once in awhile, I hear a story about an unlikely character doing something extraordinarily good. You may have heard about a boy, William Kamkwamba, who made a windmill out of scraps he found around town. Or you may have heard of Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of nearly 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. This morning I’d like to talk about such a case in the Bible of an unlikely character doing good.

“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” What is written in the Law? he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: ” ‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” You have answered correctly, Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” ” (Luk 10:25-37 NIV)

Every parable has one point. Thus, this sermon has only one point: love your neighbor. Like the expert in the law, we may ask, “Just who is my neighbor?” To answer that question, Jesus told us the story of the Good Samaritan. We should know that Jews did not like Samaritans. Samaritans were of Jewish decent. But those who called themselves Jews thought that Samaritans had compromised the faith. Jesus told the story using a Samaritan to show how important this idea of loving your neighbor is. It goes beyond culture, beyond race, and beyond religious beliefs. Your neighbor is anyone who could use your help.

For years, I thought the way Jesus asked the final question in this passage sounded funny (v. 36). The way He asked it, I’ve always thought the question seemed to ask who the man who fell into the hands of robbers was supposed to love. Who was his neighbor? Maybe I’m just over analyzing the text, but I think in trying to figure out why Jesus asked the question this way, we can learn something profound about how we ought to view everyone around us. I was reading the question the wrong way. Like the expert in the law who were speaking with Jesus, I was too focused on who my neighbor was.

The way Jesus asked the question, the emphasis was not on the people involved, but on the action. The point is not, “Who is my neighbor?” The point is, “Who needs my love?” Let’s step through this story one more time. A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho. It’s assumed that he was a Jew because he was going from Jerusalem, but the text doesn’t actually say this. He gets robbed and beat up. Both a priest and a Levite, respected Jews who the expert in the law could identify with, passed the man by and did not help him. But a Samaritan slapped a band-aid on him, took him to the Holiday Inn, and paid all his bills, and continued to have him looked after until he was well.

Being missions-minded is being a neighbor. It’s being the Good Samaritan. It’s being the hands and feet of Christ. It’s loving those around you despite what it will cost you so that they will see Christ in you.