Go and do likewise

How do you think this story ends?

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10:36-37

Jesus, like with the first question of "what must I do to inherit eternal life," turns the question of "who is my neighbor" back to the expert in the law to answer himself. By doing this, Jesus is leaving the man no room to argue. When Jesus tells him to "Go and do likewise" the implication that if he doesn't do likewise, he doesn't inherit eternal life. It is perhaps Jesus' way of telling him that faith without works is dead.

• What does it mean to have mercy on someone? compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence
• What are some ways that you can show mercy to others?
• Now that we've studied this story for a few days, who are neighbors that you can love better? How?

Along comes the Samaritan

If you know this story, then you know what's coming next.

³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ 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.’

Luke 10:33-35

Let's review a little bit of this story:

• An expert in the law talks to Jesus
• What must I do to inherit eternal life
• Love God... and love your neighbor...
• Who is my neighbor?
• Jesus tells a parable
• A man gets robbed, beaten, stripped, and left for dead
• A priest passes by on the other side of the road
• A Levite passes by on the other side of the road

The man who was robbed - we really don't know anything about him except that he was robbed. Was he Jewish? Was he Samaritan? Was he a foreigner? We don't know. He was left for dead by the robbers. Maybe the priest and the Levite thought he was dead and didn't want to make themselves unclean by touching a dead body. Maybe they thought that it was a trap and they would be attacked if they helped. Maybe they thought that the man was an enemy and they didn't want to help him. We don't know. The priest and the Levite were men that the expert in the law would have looked up to and maybe he would have excused their not helping the man. But the Samaritan man - a man that the expert in the law would have looked down on - wasn't concerned about anything but helping the man who had been robbed. If we were to restate this parable in our world, the Samaritan man, would have stopped, pulled out his first aid kit, bandaged the man's wounds, drove him to the hospital, paid his hospital bill, and promised to pay any additional medical bills while the man was hospitalized. He would have paid this all out of his own pocket even though the medical bills alone would probably total thousands of dollars! The Samaritan, like the priest and the Levite, didn't know anything about the man who was robbed. Would he have liked the Samaritan if they had met in other circumstances or would the man have looked down on the Samaritan as inferior and unlikable like most Jewish people of the time did? Was the man who was robbed an enemy of the Samaritans? Was it a trap? The Samaritan didn't care, he just looked out for the mans needs.

• What does it mean that the Samaritan had pity on the man who was robbed?
• What did the Samaritan personally give up to help the man?
  • He used his own bandages, etc.
  • He put him on his own donkey - which meant that the Samaritan probably had to walk rather than ride.
  • He took care of him at the inn
  • He used his own money to pay for the inn
• Think again about the expert in the law. Considering that men he would look up to didn't help the man who got robbed and that a man who he probably disliked or hated did help the man, how do you think the expert in the law felt about it?

Who is my neighbor?

What do you remember about our story from yesterday?

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ 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. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

Luke 10:29-32

The expert in the law had asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him what the law said and he replied "Love God... and love your neighbor...". Perhaps this expert in the law was thinking loving God is easy and the people next door they're not too bad. But there's some people down the street from me that I don't like too much. I wonder if I need to love them too. Maybe I'd better get some clarification on this.

Jesus started to answer this question of who is my neighbor by seemingly NOT answering his question. Who was the man going from Jerusalem? Jesus doesn't say who he was or why he was in Jerusalem (worshiping at the temple, working in Jerusalem, or was he a merchant?) or why he was going to Jericho (did he live there, was he just visiting, was he trying to sell things there?) - He just says what happened to him: He got mugged. He was robbed, beaten, and left at the side of the road. We read of two men who passed him by: a priest and a Levite. Both of these men likely had been serving in the temple and were perhaps on their way home to Jericho. Yet both of these men passed by on the other side of the road!

• What did the man who was robbed need?
• Did the priest and the Levite notice the man who had been robbed?
• Do you suppose they "rubber-necked" as they walked by?
  • What do you suppose was on their minds as they passed by?
  • Why might they have chosen not to help this man?
  • How do you react when you see people in need?
• Does it seem like Jesus is answering the question "who is my neighbor"?

What must I do?

Have you ever wondered what it is you're supposed to do? What do you need to do to earn dessert after dinner? What do you need to do to pass the swim test? What do you need to do to get your room clean enough that your mother will be happy with it? Often times we're looking for a nice easy answer. Sometimes we find that the answer is not as easy as we hoped it would be.

This week we'll be looking at a Bible story that at first looks like it has an easy answer but when you look at it further, it gets a wee bit more complicated. Let's start looking at the story in Luke 10:25-28.

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ 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.’”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

The man asking Jesus the question here is an expert in the Law. He knows his Bible well. He asks Jesus a question that we all really want the answer to.

• What question does He ask Jesus? How do I inherit eternal life
• What does Jesus ask him? What does the Bible say?
• The answer is one that all good Jews in Jesus day would have known by heart. "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." Does Jesus agree with this? Yes, he told the man to do it.
• Do you think it is easy to do this?
  • What are some things that might keep you from loving God?
  • What are some things that might keep you from loving your neighbor?