Inheriting Eternal Life

Luke 10:25 ESV

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Lawyer is just another word for scribe. These guys were the popular preachers, teachers, and spiritual advisors of the day. In a time when the priesthood was increasingly compromising with Greek and Roman influences, and with so much debate over what it meant to be a Torah observing Jew, the scribe could hold complete sway over the spiritual lives of the people. They were the zealous guardians of the Law since the time of Ezra.

Just as we need to consult lawyers to navigate our legal code, the scribes guided the common man through the intricacies of scripture, earning the name:

• the learned in scripture
• the learned in law
• the teachers of the law

So this man is no schmuck when it comes to the Old Testament

The Lawyers Test

And he decides to put Jesus to the test.

Luke 10:25 ESV

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

It’s an important question, and there were a surprising number of answers to it. The Lawyer is asking about final salvation – the day when God comes to save his people. But what defines God’s people? What do you do to become one of God’s people?

• The Pharisees would say you needed to keep their traditions.
• The Sadducees would emphasize temple worship
• The Essenes would say to hide out with them and their strange rituals in the desert
• The Zealots would hand you a sword and point at a Roman

So what does Jesus say we need to do?

Jesus’ Response

Jesus, debating in the popular style of his day, lobs the question back at the lawyer.

Luke 10:26 ESV

²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

“You’re the expert! You tell me!”

And the expert gives expert advice:

Luke 10:27

²⁷ And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.”

He’s points to two old testament passages that nearly every other Jew would agree as being among the most important. Loving God with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind – that is with everything you are and have power over – is from Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ESV

⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

The second one comes from Leviticus 19:18

Leviticus 19:18 ESV

¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

And Jesus agrees with all of this!

Luke 10:28 ESV

²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

This is how you inherit eternal life – do this and you will live. And it’s that phrase that kicks off the rest of the conversation – do this and you will live.

Who Is My Neighbor?

You see, the lawyer was good at reading the answer, he knew it was the correct one:

Luke 10:29 ESV

²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

• He knew the right answer
• He knew how to love
• And he also knew that he wasn’t loving everybody

So who is my neighbor?

And he’s not doing anything that we wouldn’t.

Connect

When confronted with the law of love we’re going to realize that we’re not doing such a great job at it. Rather than lift ourselves up to the standard of Christ, we try to negotiate it down to our level. Forget self-transformation, how can I transform the law into something I’m already doing?

This lawyer wants to negotiate the boundaries of his neighborhood. He’s wanting to divide the world into the distinct groups of neighbors and non-neighbors.

And we like to do the same thing. We scrutinize people so we can put them in either category. Does God expect me to love this person, or can I safely ignore them?

• How is this homeless person going to use the money he’s asking for?
• Just what kind of widows and orphans does James have in mind?
• Surely it’s divine justice to watch the sinners in other churches, political parties, or nations suffer
• Just who is my neighbor?

As long as we can separate neighbors from non-neighbors, then we can take comfort in knowing how to love without actually showing any love.

The Parable

So Jesus tells us a parable that is going to confront us on two thoughts:

First, it’s going to confront our conception of neighbor and blow those doors wide open.

Second, it’s going to show us that it doesn’t matter if we know all the right answers and can answer Jesus correctly. We need to go and do likewise.

We can remember our theme and some earlier passages we’ve read this month:

James 2:17 ESV

¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Jesus teaches us that love without works is dead.

James 1:22 NIV

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

We can’t just know what to do, we have to actually get down to the business of doing it.

Luke 10:30–32 ESV

³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

The Set-Up

So we have just some guy going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and that’s all we know about him – he’s just some guy.

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notorious for the bandits that prowled around there. Winding roads, tall cliffs, and caves made for easy ambush spots. And that’s where certain man is headed through. He runs into some robbers:

• And they strip him
• And then they beat him
• And then they leave him on the road – half dead.

When you come across someone naked and bleeding on the road it’s obvious that he needs help. Plenty would say that it would immoral to not help!

Well by chance, we see a priest going down the road. Hope! This is a man who knows God. Surely our poor victim will be taken care of.

But hope passes by on the other side of the road and out of sight.

But next we see a Levite! He’s not a priest, but he’s just as involved in the worship of Israel – from a privileged clan who was dedicated to serving God. Will this one help?

But as the priest, he sees the man, and crosses on the other side of the road. If I can only create enough distance from this man then I can go about my way without being inconvenienced.

We’re never told why these two didn’t stop. Maybe they’re afraid of being victim no. 2. Maybe they think half-dead is dead enough to make them ritually unclean. the point is rather than going to the man and helping, the two people you’d expect most to help did everything they can to be as far away from him as possible while going about their day.

Connect

Do you think they knew Leviticus 19:18? Do you think they knew they were supposed to love their neighbor?

What excuses do we make as we cross by on the other side of the road?

• Too busy
• Too tired
• Too costly
• Too dangerous
• Too far
• Not my problem

Would those excuses be reasonable to us?

• I know you need help moving, but I just don’t want to
• Sorry about your car breaking down, but I’m not spending thirty minutes of my day picking up your kids
• I know your struggling with the bills, but my TV is looking a little small these days

The excuse doesn’t really matter. What matter’s is that if we have the ability to help but cross to the other side of the road – we’re not loving our neighbor as ourself.

The Samaritan

Jesus continues his story with a surprising character.

Luke 10:33–35 ESV

³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’

There are other Jewish stories similar to this one, where they pious priest and Levite are out-done by the common Israelite. But Jesus introduces a Samaritan.

The Gospels remind us often that there was no love between the Jews and the Samaritans.

• John 4:9 reminds us that the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans
• When Jesus is rejected by a Samaritan village the disciples ask if they should call upon heaven to send fire down and consume them

Way back in Israel’s history, the northern 10 tribes of Israel we’re carried away into captivity by the Assyrians (you can read all about this in 2 Kings 17). And with all that empty land they dropped in the captives from other nations they had conquered. These outsiders were afraid of God and learned his law but still bowed down and worshiped idols.

So over the centuries you have Jews intermarrying with these foreigners and developing their own flavor of Judaism. Soon, they claim to be the promised children of Abraham. They have the authoritative scripture, the Samaritan Torah. They have the right place to worship on Mt. Gerizim, not in Jerusalem.

So when Israel came back from captivity they held out a stiff arm. This is our land now. This is our sacred tradition. And we will do anything we can to stop you from building your city or your holy temple. And over the years these conflicts broke out into outright war between Jew and Samaritan.

So you can imagine the disgust, the wrinkling of the nose at this half-breed, this pretender, this heretic, this enemy of God coming down the road.

To put it in modern terms imagine if the wounded man were passed by an elder and then a deacon – only to then be approached by a Muslim, an atheist, a man wearing a dress.

But it is this Samaritan who, when he sees this half dead man, instead of going to the other side of the road, goes to him.

What Love Looks Like

Whenever we create excuse to not show love to someone in need we are finding a way to create distance between us. Neighbors are near – non-neighbors are over there somewhere. But compassion means getting near  and getting involved.

The priest and the Levite could soothe their conscience but reminding themselves “I wasn’t the one who stripped him or beat him. I’m not the reason he feel into such misfortune!”

And we can soothe our own conscience by saying “I’m not responsible for how messed up the world is. I’m not out there spreading hatred. I don’t support evil causes or give to wicked people. I don’t swear at people, I don’t steal from them, I don’t lie or cheat. I’m not part of the problem!”

But are we a part of the solution?

We are not like the robbers who strip the man and beat him. But how many people have we left half dead?

The Samaritan loves his neighbor and goes to him – even though it cost him.

It Costs

He first bandages his wounds pouring on oil and wine. The oil and wine would have been pricey as is, but where did this Samaritan get the bandages? First aid kits weren’t around so he probably got them from his own clothes. then he puts him on his own pack animal – so he’s walking now. A lone man carrying luxuries and with a pack animal? What an ideal target for those same bandits who started the story. Was he scared?

And then he takes him to an inn and gives the innkeeper enough to host the beaten man for over three weeks. And then he guarantees any further costs by saying he’ll be back to cover it.

• It cost him money
• It cost him comfort, walking through that dangerous path
• It cost him time. He didn’t just dump him at the nearest town. He put him up in an inn and said he’d be back to check up on him!

That is how you love your neighbor!

Compassion as the Love of God

All of this can be summed up by what we’re told of the Samaritan in verse 33

He had compassion.

Compassion is a word you’d think to be pretty common in the bible. It seems to fit right in there with love and mercy.

But compassion, this specific Greek word for it at least, only shows up 11 times, and it’s something that only Jesus does.

• He feeds the five and four thousand because he has compassion for them
• He has compassion on the father with the demon possessed boy
• He has compassion on the widow who lost her only son
• He has compassion for the blind men begging him to be healed

The only other time we see someone showing compassion are in the parables of Jesus:

• The master has compassion on the servant who can’t repay his debt and forgives him
• The Father of the Prodigal Son has compassion when seeing him

Each of these two characters being an obvious stand in for God.

And then there’s the Samaritan who has compassion on our wounded friend. The priest and the Levite know about God, but they don’t have the compassion of God. This Samaritan, this outsider, this unexpected source of compassion – is more like God than God’s own people.

Who Became a Neighbor?

Jesus then asks the lawyer in verse 36:

Luke 10:36–37 ESV

³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

How does this answer the lawyers question “Who is my neighbor?”

The Samaritan cared for a man whom he had never seen, who likely would have hated him under normal circumstances, who was – by all other definitions – not his neighbor. Jesus says that he proved to be a neighbor. Other translations, “which one of these became a neighbor?”

A love like God’s does not find reasons not to love. It does not try to find a way around the one in need of love. It does not try to justify itself by asking “And who is my neighbor?”

To love as God does is to simply be a neighbor. I’m not going to love you because of who you are, I’m going to love you because I have experienced the love of God in my own life. Because he came near to me in my sin and sickness and showed me a love that cost me his son. Because he didn’t love me because of who I am, but because of who he is. I am going to love you the same way. I am not going to define my neighbor, I am going to simply be one.

Conclusion

There’s most likely going to be a moment this week, where someone bothers you with their problem. Life is always being interrupted with opportunities to be a neighbor.

• They need help with a project
• They need to borrow your notes
• They need you to help build a shed
• They need a ride

And it’s going to be really inconvenient for you to help them. And your first instinct will be to create distance.

• I don’t have time
• I have other responsibilities
• Go ask somebody else

Instead of waiting for them to come to you – you go to them. Especially the people you don’t like. Don’t wait for an opportunity to help to be forced on you. When you see someone in need close the distance. Be like God. Be a neighbor.

If we want to inherit eternal life we need to spend a lit less time thinking of why we can ignore people, and spend more time becoming neighbors. Go and do likewise.