Luke 10:23–37
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 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.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 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. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 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. 35And 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.’ 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.”
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
You need the right tool for the right job. If you need to fix your glasses, a hammer isn’t going to help you. Sure, you might need to insert a pointy piece of metal hardware into the frame of your glasses, but it’s going to be a screw and not a nail. In fact, when you’re trying to fix a pair of glasses, it isn’t even enough to have a screwdriver. You need the right kind of screwdriver – one that is tiny and difficult for my not-so-dexterous hands to manipulate. That’s why, for me, the right tool for fixing my glasses isn’t a tiny screwdriver; it’s an optician.
The lawyer who comes to Jesus is undertaking a worthy task – desiring to have eternal life, but he is using the wrong tool. Not only does he not have the right tool in his tool chest, he doesn’t even understand of what kind of tool he needs. He thinks salvation is something he can do and achieve for himself. That’s why his question is, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus gives him perfect, correct instructions for earning eternal life by pointing him only to the Law. Love God perfectly and love your neighbor perfectly. Do this, and you will live (Lk. 10:26-28; see also Ps. 15).
The lawyer’s response to this is interesting. He doesn’t ask, “Who is God?” That would be ridiculous. He also doesn’t ask, “How do I love God?” Instead, he asks, “Why is my neighbor?” That question reveals something. Apparently, the lawyer thinks that already loves God perfectly. It’s only the second part of the equation that befuddles him. He is looking for an ‘out.’ He wants a limit on the extent of the command to love others. But there is no limit on this command. You cannot love God whom you have not seen if you don’t love your neighbor whom you have seen (1 Jn. 4:20).
In the context of this conversation between Jesus and the lawyer, that question is absurd. The word ‘neighbor’ defines itself. In at least Greek, Hebrew, Latin, German, and English, the word for ‘neighbor’ has more to do with location than anything else. In each of those languages (probably in others too), ‘neighbor’ means the person close to you. The English word neighbor is spelled so weird because it comes from two middle-English words smooshed together: nigh – as in ‘near,’ and gebur which means ‘dweller.’ Your neighbor is anyone who dwells near you. Or, to explain the title of the sermon, your neighbor is the one who lives nigh unto you – a nigh-liver.
Now, the lawyer asks the question because he’s trying to get out from under the command to love his neighbor as himself. He wants a limit to the love that is required of him because, presumably, he wants to keep lying to himself about being worthy of inheriting eternal life. But in general, the question, “Who is my neighbor?” is something we Christians should have in our minds constantly – not because we’re looking for information or identification of our neighbor. Rather, we should be asking that question so we recognize all of the targets of love that God places in front of us. Because we don’t get to pick and choose our neighbors. God gives them to us.
In the parable, God ‘neighbors’ the robbed, stripped, beaten, left-half-dead man to three people. God plops this needy guy in the path of the priest and the Levite. However, both of them intentionally and deliberately try to un-neighbor him. They move to the other side of the road to create distance between them and the wretch in the ditch.
Of course, if the situation had been reversed and either the priest or the Levite had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead, they would have desired help from anyone who passed by. Everyone who gets into trouble or danger is glad to receive help from anyone. That’s the most basic meaning of the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
But the third guy, the Samaritan, is an outsider. Jews and Samaritans hated each other. But this Samaritan recognizes that God has neighbored this man to him, and he uses, what appears to be, unlimited resources to care for him. He binds up the man’s wounds and pours on oil and wine. He bears the burden of lifting the man onto his own animal and walking to town and cares for the man overnight. He pays for two more nights so the man can stay in the inn. And on top of that, he sets up an all-expenses paid account for any charges or costs the man would rack up between the time the Samaritan leaves and comes back.
We misunderstand this parable if we think it is teaching us who our neighbor is. Sure, the lawyer had asked who his neighbor is, but Jesus uses the parable to show what it is to be a neighbor, a nigh-liver. To be a neighbor is to show mercy. The mercy of the Samaritan had no limits. And that is why the Samaritan is such a clear picture of Christ. Jesus proves to be a neighbor. The eternal Son of God descended from His heavenly throne, took on flesh, and dwelt among us in order to neighbor us and shower His mercy upon us.
Everyone gives you an opportunity to show love. But you aren’t called to love everyone the same way. If you try to feed every single person you come across (whether they need it or not) but that comes at the cost of feeding your own children, that’s a problem. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
Other portions of Scripture are helpful in this as well. Galatians 6:10 says, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Yes, you are to love everyone whom God puts along your path, but even in that there is a hierarchy. You are to care for those God puts closest to you first. And your closest neighbors are those in your immediate family – your spouse, your parents, your children. After that is the people in this congregation who have been made your brothers and sisters in Christ. Next come the people who live next to you on your block and your coworkers, boss, and friends. Finally, anyone else that God puts along your path and causes to live nigh to you.
When you think of those two great commands, “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself,” think of a dart board. What is the bullseye? You might think that God should be there, so you aim all your good works toward God. But that is wrong. God doesn’t need to be the center of your target. He doesn’t need anything from you, and you can’t give Him anything (Job 35:7, 41:11). Instead, it’s the people God places closest to you who are the center of your target. Think of God as being underneath the entire target. Christian, you love God by loving the neighbors that He has given you (1 Jn. 4:20).
Dear Banks, that brings me to you. Banks, in Jesus, God has neighbored you. Today, you are Baptized. Today, Jesus has joined you to Himself by placing His name upon you (Mt. 28:19) and clothed you in His righteousness (Gal. 3:27). Banks, you have been born of God; remain in the faith which overcomes the world (1 Jn. 5:4). Banks, God has neighbored you to us and us to you. As your brothers and sisters in Christ, we will share with you the mercy God has given us so that you can be filled with His mercy and share it with others as well.
Banks and all you saints, receive the mercy of Jesus who has neighbored you. He comes to your rescue. He binds up your wounds. He pours on the medicine of immortality. He sets up an all-expenses paid account for you in the inn of the Church. Everything you need is covered and paid for. So, let the mercy He has given you spill over to other nigh-livers that God places in your life. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
First, love is a beautiful summary of the Law, but that one word, love, does not replace the Law. Many people will say that since we have these two great commandments to love God and love our neighbor that we don’t need the rest of the Law. But that is false. Just because you think you are motivated by love does not mean that you are doing the right thing. We are so fallen that sometimes we try to pit love against the Commandments. Love is never an excuse to sin or an excuse to overlook sin. Instead, the Commandments define the shape of love, which is the second point about the Law.
But, Christian, you know the answer. In fact, you have been taught this and have believed it for so long that you hardly think about it too much. But it is the most amazing thing. Jesus is man, born of His mother. And Jesus is God, begotten of His Father before all worlds. Jesus is man so that He can die, and He is God so that His death can be an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
44 “The Lord said to my Lord,
Stop playing games with the Law, there is no contradiction in it. Instead, believe. Believe that Christ has come for you. He has given His life for you. God has purchased you with His own blood (Act. 20:28). He has removed the curse of the Law from you because He has perfectly kept the Law for you. And He gives you His perfection, His righteousness, His holiness.
Pastorsamwise 
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