Loving God and Neighbor

Luke chapter 10, verses 25 to 42.

Luke 10:25–42

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying,

Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

He said to him, What is written in the law?

How do you read it?

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.

And he said to him, You have answered correctly.

Do this and you will live.

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus,

And who is my neighbor?

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.

Now by chance, a priest was going down that road,

and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him,

passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was,

and when he saw him, he had compassion.

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.

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.

Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor

to the man who fell among the robbers?

He said, The one who showed him mercy.

And Jesus said to him, You go and do likewise.

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village,

and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.

And she had a sister called Mary,

who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.

But Martha was distracted with much serving,

and she went up to him and said,

Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?

Tell her then to help me.

But the Lord answered her,

Martha, Martha,

you are anxious and troubled about many things,

but one thing is necessary.

Mary has chosen the good portion,

which will not be taken away from her.

This is God's infallible and authoritative word.

The elusive pursuit of immortality

has been at the heart of humanity's spiritual aspirations throughout history.

And that's because God created us for eternal life.

But as Genesis chapter 3, verses 22 to 24 teach us,

Genesis 3:22–24

he mercifully cut us off from that possibility of eternal life

because of our sin,

because we rebelled against him,

lest we live forever in our state of rebellion and separation from God.

God cut us off from that possibility.

And ever since then,

so many people have sought immortality apart from God,

even though it is only to be found in him.

And the Jews, likewise, are preoccupied with this question.

And verse 25 says that,

Behold, a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test.

The lawyer in view here is not an attorney that we think of

when we think of here the word lawyer,

but a teacher of the Jewish law.

It's a religious scholar and an expert of the Jewish Torah,

the first five books of the Bible.

And he stands up from the midst of the crowd and questions Jesus.

Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

So as a Jew who believed in the promise of the resurrection life

spoken of in Daniel, the book of Daniel,

the scribe wants to make sure that he doesn't miss out in the end.

How can I make sure that I will be raised

to inherit that eternal resurrection life in the end?

And Jesus answers his question with a counter question in verse 26,

as he often does.

He asks him,

What is written in the law?

How do you read it?

This is a significant question because as Jesus says this,

he reveals his belief that the answer,

the correct answer to describe this lawyer's question

is provided in the revealed will of God

in the Old Testament scriptures.

He points the Bible scholar back to the Bible.

And the lawyer actually gives the correct answer.

Jesus points that out in verse 28.

And the answer is what we now know as the greatest commandment.

In verse 27,

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.

Or the command which we had as part of our call to worship earlier today

from Deuteronomy 6 verse 5,

Deuteronomy 6:5

The love of the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind.

That comes from Deuteronomy.

And the command to love your neighbor as yourself

comes from Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18.

Leviticus 19:18

So in sum, in the entire Old Testament,

there were 613 commandments.

And all of those were summarized in what we know as the Ten Commandments.

And the Ten Commandments are really distilled in this greatest commandment.

The first four of the Ten Commandments,

which deal with our relationship to God,

how we have to relate to Him,

are summarized in the command to love the Lord your God

with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And the command, the last six of the Ten Commandments,

which deal with our relation to one another,

is summarized in the command to love your neighbor as yourself.

And that's why this is called the greatest commandment.

It's the greatest commandment, not in the sense that it's one of many.

It's like the best among all the other commandments.

It's the one command, rather, that encompasses all of the other commands.

And that's why in Matthew 22, 40,

Jesus writes that all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.

And that's why Paul writes repeatedly that the whole law is fulfilled

in these double love commands.

So then what then do these all-important love commands mean?

When it comes to loving God,

what's emphasized is the totality of devotion.

We have to be totally devoted to Him.

Notice the four times the word all is repeated.

We have to love God with all our heart,

and with all our soul,

and with all our strength,

and with all our mind.

The word heart refers to the inner person.

It's the seed of our thoughts and our beliefs,

as the Bible uses the word.

That's why in Luke 1, 51, and Luke 2, 35,

it speaks of the thoughts of people's hearts.

It's the inner person.

The word soul refers to the spirit or life of a person.

Strength refers to our might or energy.

And mind refers to our cognitive faculty.

And in English,

we use these terms in vaguely interchangeable ways, don't we?

We say things like,

put your heart into it.

Put your soul into it.

Bear your heart to that person.

Bear your soul to that person.

What's on your mind?

What's on your heart?

Do it with all your strength.

Do it with all your heart.

So we use it interchangeably,

and it's actually very similar in the Bible.

These terms are used interchangeably in a lot of places.

So it's kind of hard to pin them down

and define it clearly and say,

this means that, and that means that.

And they overlap.

And so what's being emphasized here

is not that we are to use these four different faculties

to worship God and to love Him,

but rather that we are to use the totality

of all of our abilities,

all of our faculties,

all that we are to love Him and follow Him.

It calls for a reorientation of our whole selves

to God's purposes and priorities.

As I like to say,

I frequently,

that loving God,

following Him,

being His disciple,

is not a part-time preoccupation.

It's an all-consuming affair

that requires total allegiance.

When it comes to loving our neighbors,

what's emphasized

is not the totality of devotion,

but selfless service.

We are to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Some people over-psychologize this verse,

and they say that this means

we must first love ourselves,

because how can you love someone else

unless you love someone as yourself

unless you love yourself?

And they use this verse

to teach the importance of self-love

or self-esteem,

when that's precisely the opposite

of what this verse is commanding.

The verse does not command self-love.

It assumes self-love

and teaches us to subordinate

our self-love to neighbor love.

We naturally have our own interests in mind

as human beings.

We're naturally selfish.

But Scripture commands us to look out

not only for our own interests,

but also for our neighbor's interests.

Instead of being selfish

with our time,

with our relationships,

with our money,

we should be selfless

toward our neighbor.

It requires us to sacrifice.

So to put it another way,

to summarize the greatest commandment,

it means to love God

with our whole selves

and to love our neighbor

as ourselves.

That's really the main point,

main point of this passage.

But that's still pretty abstract,

isn't it?

What does that look like?

And so Luke actually

helpfully illustrates

the greatest commandment

in very concrete terms

in the following two stories.

first is the parable

of the Good Samaritan

in verses 29 to 37,

which show us

what it looks like

to love our neighbor

as ourselves.

And then,

in the following story

of Martha and Mary

in verses 38 to 42,

Luke teaches us

how we ought to love God

with our whole selves.

So let's first look at

what it means

to love our neighbor

as ourselves

in verses 29 to 37.

He says in verse 29

that the lawyer,

desiring to justify himself,

said to Jesus,

who is my neighbor?

The lawyer wanted

to prove himself right.

He wanted to show himself

to be righteous.

So he asked a follow-up question,

who is my neighbor?

Expecting Jesus

to kind of narrow down

the definition a bit,

narrow the scope

of the commands

to make it a little more feasible,

accessible.

He's my neighbor,

my own family.

Or maybe the people

that live in the immediate vicinity.

The ones in my condo.

Or maybe only my fellow Jews,

which is how most rabbis

during this time

interpreted that command.

This lawyer wants

and expects Jesus

to restrict the definition

of neighbor

in a way that allows him

to demonstrate

that he has kept

the greatest commandment.

Oh yeah,

I love my fellow Jews.

I love my fellow people.

We're also tempted

at times like this,

aren't we,

to adopt

the minimum requirement mentality

in order to justify ourselves.

Hebrews 10, 24 to 25

commands us,

let us consider

how to stir up one another

to love and good works

and neglecting

to meet together,

not neglecting

to meet together

as is the habit of some,

but encouraging one another.

Scripture commands us

not to neglect

meeting together,

but what exactly

does it mean

to neglect

the meeting together?

We try to define it.

Surely,

attending worship service

once a month

can't be considered

neglect, right?

If I always attend

Easter and Christmas services,

that's infrequent,

sure,

but that's not neglect,

right?

Well,

I'm not part

of a local church,

but hey,

I watch live stream services

online and listen

to sermon podcasts.

Surely,

that meets the requirement,

doesn't it?

We try to find

the minimum requirement

because we want

to fulfill it

and say

and justify ourselves.

2 Corinthians 9,

6 to 7

says,

the point is this,

whoever sows sparingly

will also reap sparingly

and whoever sows bountifully

will also reap bountifully.

Each one must give

as he has decided

in his heart,

not reluctantly

or under compulsion

for God loves

a cheerful giver.

Okay,

so God commands us

to give to the church,

but how much

should we give?

What's the minimum requirement?

If I give a couple bucks

every week cheerfully,

that's enough,

right?

Tell me,

how much do I need to give?

I hear this question a lot.

How much do I need to give?

10%?

Just tell me,

I'll do it.

Tithing means

maybe I'm slowing

bountifully,

right?

Is it okay

to give 10%

after taxes?

Okay,

fine.

I'll give 10%

before taxes.

Well,

then I've done it,

right?

That means I've

sold bountifully.

I've met the requirement.

Instead of wanting

to obey God

to the fullest,

instead of wanting

to remain

in the center

of his will,

we look to fulfill

the minimum requirement

so we could

get a passing grade.

We're like a person

who's trying to find

all the loopholes

in the tax code

so we can pay

as little tax

as possible.

That's not how

Christian obedience

is supposed to be

and that's exactly

what this lawyer

is trying to do.

So who exactly

is my neighbor?

Tell me exactly.

Restrict it.

Define it.

Narrow it down

for me so that

I can fulfill it

and feel good

about myself

and justify myself

before the eyes of men.

And Jesus replies

in verses 30 to 35

with the famous parable

of the Good Samaritan.

Begins this way.

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.

This is a very

realistic parable.

The journey

from Jerusalem

to Jericho

includes what is called

the passage of blood.

It's called that

because there were

so many robberies

and murders

that took place

on that road.

The winding desert road

going down

from Jerusalem

to Jericho

was surrounded

by caves

which made

ideal hideouts

for robbers,

highway robbers.

And this man

in the parable

runs into such robbers

and they steal

his stuff

and leave him

half dead

and this man

is now fighting

for his life.

If no one

comes to his rescue

he will die.

But what good luck

it says in verse 31

not by chance

a priest

was going down

that road.

A priest

a minister

at the temple

of God.

Surely this man

of God

will come to the aid

of this dying man

but in a surprising

turn of events

it says that the priest

when he saw him

he passed by

on the other side.

He intentionally

avoids the man.

Various reasons

are possible

but we're not told

exactly what it is

so we can't know

for sure.

Perhaps he's fearful

that there are more robbers

just like the ones

that attack this man

and they don't want to

he doesn't want to risk

going anywhere near there.

Perhaps he thinks

the man might be dead

because he's half dead

he looks dead

and he doesn't want to

risk ritual impurity

by coming into contact

with the corpse

since he's a priest.

Whatever the reason

the priest doesn't want

anything to do

with this dying man.

And verse 32 continues

so likewise a Levite

when he came to the place

and saw him

passed by

on the other side.

Moses' brother Aaron

his family

and their descendants

had the exclusive right

to be priests

in the temple of God.

But the rest

of the members

of the tribe of Levi

to which Aaron belonged

took on lesser responsibilities

around the temple

and functioned

as basically

assistance to the priests.

So they were also privileged

they were a privileged class

of religious elites.

But the result

is likewise disappointing.

The Levite did get

a little closer

than the priest.

It says that he came

to the place

and saw him

but just like the priest

he passed by

on the other side.

And at verse 32

comes the twist

of the story.

After the Jewish priest

then a Jewish Levite

you would expect

simply a Jew

a Jewish lay person.

You'd expect

kind of an anti-clergy story

where a priest

and a Levite

had failed

but this common

faithful Jewish man

comes by

and does the right thing.

You see

it's not about

your titles.

It's about

being faithful.

That's the story

you would expect.

But instead

it says

a Samaritan.

In the Greek

the word Samaritan

is awkwardly placed

as the very first word

of the sentence

unlike the words

priest and Levite

earlier

in the earlier

preceding verses.

It's fronted there

for emphasis

for shock value.

This wasn't the case

earlier

but now

after the priest

goes by

on the other side

the Levite

goes by on the other side

they both

it says

they saw the man

and then they

walked by

on the other side

but a Samaritan

what is a Samaritan

doing in this

Jewish parable?

I mentioned

last week

briefly

that we know

from the gospel

of John

that there was

really bad blood

in history

between Jews

and the Samaritans.

The Samaritans

were a mixed race

of Jews

and Gentiles

they were half

half breeds

as Jews would call them.

Instead of worshipping

at Mount Zion

in Jerusalem

they argued

that true worship

should be held

at Mount Gerizim

in Shechem.

For these reasons

Jews not only

viewed

these Samaritans

as ethnic

half breeds

they also saw them

as religious

heretics

their deviants.

So this is the point

where you would expect

the hero of the story

to come

and resolve

the tension

that's been building up

but out comes

a Samaritan

and the Samaritan

goes the full lengths

to care for this dying man.

It was said

of both the priest

and Levi

that they had seen him

but they passed by

but the Samaritan

when he sees the man

it says he had compassion.

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.

So it's unclear

what kind of cloth

he would have had

available to bandage

this man's wound.

He had to use

some from his own cloak

or maybe the turban

or a piece of

the linen undergarment

to bind up the wounds.

He does that

but as he does that

he also treats the wound.

He uses his own supplies.

He uses the oil

to soothe the wound.

He uses the alcohol

the wine

to disinfect it.

And the oil and wine

would have been

his own provisions

for travel

but yet he gives it up

in order to serve this man.

And then

since the man

is in no shape to walk

he comes down

his own animal

probably a mule

which means

he would have to walk

the rest of the way

and then he brings

this wounded man

to an inn

and continues

to take care of him.

As if that weren't enough

most people would have

could have left

the man there

and left

and gone his way

and never come back

and people would have

still praised him

for being a good Samaritan.

But he doesn't

stop there.

He says in verse 35

the next day

he stays overnight

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.

Since the wounded man

had just been robbed

he has no money

to pay his way.

And so the Samaritan

seeing that

the innkeeper

would be reluctant

to care for a man

who can't pay

for his stay

he pays

two denarii

up front

that's the equivalent

of two days worth

of wages

full days worth

of wages

which would have

been enough

to pay for about

24 days

at this kind of inn

in this day and age.

But even that's not

the limit of this

Samaritan's generosity

and hospitality

he assures

the innkeeper

in verse 35

take care of him

and whatever more

you spend

I will repay you

when I come back.

Please don't

discontinue your care

for this man

and if I don't return

before the money

I paid you

runs out

be assured

that I will return

don't expect

anything from him

I will guarantee

your compensation

personally

take nothing

from him

take everything

from me.

And after that

shocking twist

to the story

Jesus asks

a very pointed

question

verse 36

which of these

three

do you think

proved to be

a neighbor

to the man

who fell

among the robbers

and the proud

Jewish lawyer

can't bring himself

to say the word

Samaritan.

He replies

in a roundabout way

verse 37

that the one

who showed him

mercy

and Jesus said

to him

you

go

and do

likewise.

verse 37

can be translated

more literally

this way

the one

who did

mercy

it's the same

word

the word

do

the one

who did

mercy

and Jesus

said to him

you go

and do

likewise

there's an

emphasis

the repetition

of the idea

of doing

and Jesus

is driving

home a point

and notice

how masterfully

Jesus turns

the lawyer's

question around

because what

was the lawyer's

initial question

it was

who is my

neighbor

he wanted

to define

the terms

and delimit

the concept

of neighbor

so that he

can justify

himself

and say

that he

performed

his minimal

duty

but Jesus

shifts the

focus

from defining

who it is

to doing

the word

do has come

up twice

already

in verse

25

the lawyer

asked

what shall

I do

to inherit

eternal

life

and Jesus

said in

verse 28

you have

answered

correctly

do this

and you

will live

and here

in verse

37

he says

follow the

one

example

of the

one

who did

mercy

you go

and do

likewise

instead of

trying to

qualify

bible's

demands

on your

life

instead of

trying to

limit it

confine it

make it

manageable

focus on

obeying it

the real

question is

not

who is

my

neighbor

it's

am I

a neighbor

don't

ask who

your

neighbor

is

be a

neighbor

love

and

serve

whomever

you

come

across

that has

a need

that you

can

meet

your

neighbor

is not

just

your

fellow

countrymen

your

neighbor

is not

just

your

blood

relatives

your

neighbor

is not

just

those

who

share

your

ethnicity

or race

your

neighbor

is not

just

someone

who

shares

your

theological

views

or your

political

opinions

your

neighbor

is not

just

the people

who

look

like

you

and

speak

like

you

your

neighbor

is not

the people

you like

the people

you love

to serve

it's

anyone

who has

a need

that you

can meet

that you

come across

and there's

a wider

lesson here

for Jesus

his disciples

as well

because

Jesus

has

repeatedly

up to

this

point

in chapter

9 and

10

told his

disciples

that

to be a

follower of

Jesus

is to

represent

Jesus

and since

Jesus

represents

God

the

father

they

too

as

disciples

of

Jesus

represent

God

himself

and

that's

why

he

said

in

Luke

9

48

and

here

and

also

in

Luke

10

16

the

one

who

hears

you

hears

me

and

the

one

who

rejects

you

rejects

me

and

the

child

of

God

the

disciple

of

Christ

by

virtue

of

his

or

her

identification

with

Jesus

by

virtue

of

their

union

with

Jesus

through

faith

carries

with

him

or

herself

the

dignity

and

authority

of

God

himself

and

that

means

by

implication

what

we

do

for

any

of

the

followers

of

Jesus

we

do

for

Jesus

himself

in

addition

to

that

wonderful

truth

Jesus

repeatedly

pronounced

fearful

judgment

on

those

who

reject

him

and

his

followers

he

taught

his

disciples

to

wipe

the

dust

off

their

feet

as

they

leave

towns

that

reject

them

and

their

message

as

a

sign

against

them

as

a

testimony

against

them

that

they

will

be

rejected

and

condemned

by

God

on

judgment

day

should

they

persist

in

their

stubborn

rejection

of

Christ

so

in

light

of

all

this

you

can

kind

of

see

why

the

disciples

might

have

a

misunderstanding

and

we

saw

their

misunderstanding

earlier

in chapter

9

verses

51

to

55

when

they

came

to

a

Samaritan

village

they're at

a Samaritan

village

and they

reject

them

and the

disciples

are

understandably

upset

and they

asked

and they

but

Jesus

rebuked

them

and

this

parable

of the

good

Samaritan

serves

as a

corrective

to

them

yes

those

who

reject

Christ

and

his

disciples

will

face

judgment

but

that

will

be

at

Jesus

second

coming

and

not

his

first

coming

and

Jesus

comes

first

in

grace

to

save

and

then

he

will

come

again

a

second

time

in

glory

to

judge

but

for

those

who

live

between

those

two

comings

we

are

to

be

messengers

not

of

bad

news

but

of

the

good

news

of

Jesus

Christ

the

message

of

salvation

so

yes

we

are

to

love

and

serve

our

brothers

and

sisters

in

Christ

as

if

we're

serving

Christ

himself

and

we

would

but

because

they

represent

Jesus

but

this

does

not

mean

that

we

are

not

to

make

this

point

Jesus

intentionally

uses

a

priest

and

a

Levite

as

negative

examples

in

this

parable

because

if

anyone

in

this

culture

in

this

time

would

have

been

considered

lovers

of

God

it

would

have

been

the

priest

it

would

have

been

the

Levite

but

they

failed

to

observe

the

greatest

commandment

why

because

they

did

not

love

their

neighbor

as

themselves

Jesus

is

here

explicitly

rejecting

the

kind

of

mystical

spirituality

that

is

divorced

from

service

to

mankind

this

lawyer

had

devoted

his

life

to

studying

God's

word

his

laws

and

that's

excellent

and

we

should

all

strive

to

do

that

and

maybe

many

of

you

have

read

the

Bible

through

many

times

from

cover

to

cover

but

if

you

profess

to

love

God

but

your

love

for

God

is

not

evidenced

by

your

love

of

neighbor

then

your

love

of

God

and

love

of

neighbor

go

together

loving

our

neighbor

as

ourselves

is

a

necessary

expression

of

our

love

for

God

then

in

verses

38

to

42

Luke

gives

us

a

picture

of

the

opposite

imbalance

and

teaches

us

what

loving

God

with

our

whole

selves

looks

like

he

says

in

verses

38

to

39

read

with

me

now

as

they

went

on

their

way

Jesus

entered

a

village

and

a

woman

named

Martha

welcomed

him

into

her

house

and

she

had

a

sister

called

Mary

who

sat

at

the

Lord's

feet

and

listened

to

his

teaching

earlier

in

Luke

8

we

saw

that

women

were

among

Jesus

wider

group

of

followers

which

would

have

been

shocking

in

this

day

and

age

and

here

we

see

an

even

more

explicit

statement

of

that

truth

Mary

sat

at

the

Lord's

feet

and

listened

to

this

teaching

this

is

the

language

of

discipleship

that

occurs

again

and

again

throughout

the

gospels

she

is

one

of

the

disciples

sitting

at

Jesus

feet

and

learning

from

him

his

followers

taught

men

and

women

are

heirs

of

the

heavenly

inheritance

in

Christ

Jesus

the

equality

of

men

and

women

that

our

culture

assumes

owes

its

existence

to

Christ

teaching

there

would

have

been

many

in

this

context

who

would

have

been

scandalized

by

Mary's

boldness

and

even

more

by

Jesus

acceptance

of

her

but

among

her

fiercest

critics

we

find

her

very

own

sister

Martha

it

says

in

verse

40

that

unlike

Mary

who

sat

at

the

Lord's

feet

and

listened

to

his

teaching

Martha

was

distracted

with

much

serving

and

she

went

up

to

him

and

said

Lord

do

you

not

care

that

my

sister

has

left

me

to

serve

alone

tell

her

then

to

help

me

hosting

a

large

group

in

your

house

is

not

a

small

feat

many

of

you

guys

have

done

it

some

of

you

guys

do

it

probably

a little

too

frequently

we

don't

know how

large a crowd

is here

but at

the very

least

we could

assume

that

Jesus

and his

inner

circle

the 12

apostles

were present

so that's

at least

13

guests

and

some

of you

have cooked

for a

group

that

size

before

and it's

a

difficult

work

a

former

seminary

professor

of mine

marveled

at this

kind

of

hospitality

he

said

he called

it a

minor

miracle

he said

a good

cook can

take

cold

food

and get

it into

the

refrigerator

at one

time

the hot

food

in the

stove

at another

time

and it

all comes

out at

the same

time

and everybody

has a

good

time

isn't that

amazing

but it

doesn't

always go

that

smoothly

some

of you

have

also

experienced

how

hard

it is

to

juggle

several

things

at once

in the

kitchen

by

yourself

oh no

the dough

is rising

a little

too much

that

that meat

is burning

in the

fire

that soup

is boiling

over

and you're

scurrying over

in a hurry

and trying to

take a plate

and then you