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Luke Chapter
Ten
Luke 10
The mission of the seventy follows in chapter 10, a
mission important in its character for the development of the ways of God.
This character is, in fact, different in some respects from that of
the beginning of chapter 9. The mission is founded on the glory of Christ
manifested in chapter 9. This of necessity, settles the question more
decisively of the Lord's relations with the Jews: for His glory came after,
and, as to His human position, was the result of His rejection by the nation.
This rejection was not yet accomplished: this glory was
only revealed to three of His disciples; so that the Lord still exercised His
ministry among the people. But we see these alterations in it. He insists on
that which is moral and eternal, the position into which it would bring His
disciples, the true effect of His testimony in the world, and the judgment
about to fall upon the Jews. Nevertheless the harvest was great. For love,
unchilled by sin, saw the need through the outward opposition; but there were
few moved by this love. The Lord of the harvest alone could send forth true
labourers.
Already the Lord announces that they are as lambs among
wolves. What a change from the presentation of the kingdom to the people of
God! They were to trust (like the twelve) to the care of the Messiah present on
the earth, and who influenced the heart with divine power. They were to go as
the Lord's labourers, openly avowing their object, not toiling for their food,
but as having claims on His part. Wholly devoted to their work, they were to
salute no one. Time pressed. Judgment was coming. There were those in Israel
who were not children of peace. The remnant would be distinguished by the
effect of their mission on the heart, not yet judicially. But peace should rest
on the children of peace. These messengers exercised the power gained by Jesus
over the enemy, and which He could thus bestow (and this was much more than a
miracle); and they were to declare unto those whom they visited that the
kingdom of God had come nigh unto them. Important testimony! When the judgment
was not executed, it required faith to recognise it in a testimony. If they
were not received, they were to denounce the city, assuring them that, received
or not, the kingdom of God had come nigh. What a solemn testimony, now that
Jesus was going to be rejected-a rejection that filled up the measure of man's
iniquity! It would be more tolerable for infamous Sodom, in the day that
judgment should be executed, than for that city.
This clearly points out the character of the testimony.
The Lord denounces [1] the cities in which He had wrought, and
assures His disciples that to reject them in their mission was the same thing
as to reject Him, and that, in rejecting Him, He who had sent Him was
rejected-the God of Israel-the Father. On their return they announce the power
that had accompanied their mission; demons were subject to their word. The Lord
replies that in effect these tokens of power had made present to His mind the
full establishment of the kingdom-Satan cast out entirely from heaven (an
establishment of which these miracles were only a sample); but that there was
something more excellent than this, and in which they might rejoice-their names
were written in heaven. The power manifested was true, its results sure, in the
establishment of the kingdom but something else was beginning to appear-a
heavenly people were dawning, who should have their portion with Him, whom the
unbelief of the Jews and of the world was driving back to heaven.
This very clearly unfolds the position now taken. The testimony of the
kingdom rendered in power, leaving Israel without excuse, Jesus passed into
another position-into the heavenly one. This was the true subject of joy. The
disciples, however, did not yet understand it. But the Person and the power of
Him who was to introduce them into the heavenly glory of the kingdom, His right
to the glorious kingdom of God, have been revealed to them by the Father. The
blinding of human pride, and the Father's grace towards babes, became Him, who
fulfilled the counsels of His sovereign grace through the humiliation of Jesus,
and were in accordance with His heart who came to fulfil them. Moreover all
things were given to Jesus. The Son was too glorious to be known, save by the
Father, who was Himself only known by the revelation of the Son. To Him must
men come. The root of the difficulty in receiving Him lay in the glory of His
Person, who was known only to the Father, and this action and glory of the
Father, which needed the Son Himself to reveal it. All this was in Jesus there
on earth. But He could tell His disciples in private that, having seen in Him
the Messiah and His glory, they had seen that which kings and prophets had in
vain desired to see. The Father had been proclaimed to them, yet they but
little understood it. In the mind of God it was their portion, realised
afterwards by the presence of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of adoption.
We may remark here, the power of the kingdom bestowed on
the disciples; their enjoyment at that moment (by the presence of the Messiah
Himself, bringing with Him the power of the kingdom which overthrew that of the
enemy) of the sight of those things of which the prophets had spoken; at the
same time the rejection of their testimony, and the judgment of Israel among
whom it was rendered; and, finally, the call of the Lord (while acknowledging
in their work all the power that shall establish the kingdom) to rejoice, not
in the kingdom thus established on earth, but in that sovereign grace of God
who, in His eternal counsels, had granted them a place and a name in heaven, in
connection with their rejection on earth. The importance of this chapter is
evident in this point of view. Luke constantly brings in the better and unseen
part in a heavenly world.
The extent of the dominion of Jesus in connection with
this change, and the revelation of the counsels of God that accompanied it, are
given us in verse 22, as well as the discovery of the relationships and the
glory of the Father and of the Son; at the same time also the grace shewn to
the humble according to the character and the rights of God the Father Himself.
Afterwards we find the development of the change as to moral character. The
teacher of the law desires to know the conditions of eternal life. This is not
the kingdom, nor heaven, but a part of the Jewish apprehension of the
relationship of man with God. The possession of life was proposed to the Jews by
the law. It had, by scriptural developments subsequent to the law, been
discovered to be eternal life, which they then, at least the Pharisees,
attached as such to the observance of that law-a thing possessed by the
glorified in heaven, by the blessed on earth during the millennium, which we
now possess in earthen vessels; which the law, as interpreted by conclusions
drawn from the prophetic books, proposed as the result of obedience: [2] "The man that doeth these things shall
live by them."
The lawyer therefore asks what it is that he must do. The
answer was plain: the law (with all its ordinances, its ceremonies, all the
conditions of God's government, which the people had broken, and the violation
of which led to the judgment announced by the prophets-judgment that should be
followed by the establishment, on God's part, of the kingdom in grace)-the law,
I say, contained the kernel of the truth in this respect, and distinctly
expressed the conditions of life, if man was to enjoy it according to human
righteousness-righteousness wrought by himself, by which he himself should
live. These conditions were summed up in a very few words-to love God
perfectly, and one's neighbour as oneself. The lawyer giving this summary, the
Lord accepts it and repeats the words of the Lawgiver: "This do, and thou
shalt live." But man has not done it and is conscious that he has not. As
to God he is far away; man easily gets rid of Him; he will render Him some
outward services and make his boast in them. But man is near; his selfishness
makes him alive to the performance of this precept, which, if observed, would
be his happiness-make this world a kind of paradise. Disobedience to it is
repeated every moment, in the circumstances of each day, which bring this
selfishness into play. All that surrounds him (his social ties) makes man
conscious of these violations of this precept, even when the soul would not of
itself be troubled about it. Here the lawyer's heart betrays itself. Who, he
asks, is my neighbour?
The Lord's answer exhibits the moral change which has
taken place through the introduction of grace-through the manifestation of this
grace in man, in His own Person. Our relationships with one another are now
measured by the divine nature in us, and this nature is love. Man under the law
measured himself by the importance he could attach to himself, which is always
the opposite of love. The flesh gloried in a nearness to God which was not real,
which did not belong to participation in His nature. The priest and the Levite
pass by on the other side. The Samaritan, despised as such, did not ask who was
his neighbour. The love that was in his heart made him a neighbour to any one
who was in need. This is what God Himself did in Christ; but then legal and
carnal distinctions disappeared before this principle. The love that acted
according to its own impulses found the occasion of its exercise in the need
that came before it.
Here ends this part of the Lord's discourses. A new
subject begins in verse 38.
From that verse to the end of verse 13 in chapter 11 the
Lord makes known to His disciples the two great means of blessing-the word and
prayer. In connection with the word, we find the energy that attaches itself to
the Lord, in order to receive it from Himself, and that leaves everything in
order to hear His word, because the soul is laid hold of by the communications
of God in grace. We may remark that these circumstances are connected with the
change that had been wrought at that solemn moment. The reception of the word
takes the place of the attentions that were due to the Messiah. These
attentions were demanded by the presence of a Messiah on the earth; but, seeing
the condition man was in (for he rejected the Saviour), he needed the word; and
Jesus, in His perfect love, will have nothing else. For man, for the glory of
God, but one thing was needful; and it is that which Jesus desires. As to
Himself, He would go without everything for that. But Martha, though preparing
for the Lord, which was right surely, yet shews how much self is inherent in
this kind of care; for she did not like to have all the trouble of it.
[1] In
verse 25 of this chapter, as well as in chapter 13:34, we have examples of the
moral order in Luke, of which we have spoken (p. 232). The testimonies of the
Lord are perfectly in place. They are of infinite assistance in understanding
the whole connection of the passage, and their position here throws great light
on their own meaning. Historical order is not the question here. The position
taken by Israel-by the disciples-by all, through the rejection of Christ, is
the subject of which the Holy Ghost treats. These passages relate to it, and
shew very plainly the condition of the people who had been visited by Jesus,
their true character, the counsels of God in bringing in the heavenly things
through the fall of Israel, and the connection between the rejection of Christ
and the introduction of the heavenly things, and of eternal life, and of the
soul. Nevertheless the law was not broken. In fact its place was taken by
grace, which, outside the law, did that which could not be done through the law.
We shall see this in going on with our chapter.
[2] It
is to be remarked, that the Lord never used the word eternal life in speaking
of the effect of obedience. "The gift of God is eternal life." If
they had been obedient, that life might have been endless; but in fact and
truth, now that sin had entered, obedience was not the way to have eternal
life, and the Lord does not so state it.
── John Darby《Synopsis of Luke》
Luke 10
Chapter Contents
Seventy disciples sent forth. (1-16) The blessedness of
Christ's disciples. (17-24) The good Samaritan. (25-37) Jesus at the house of
Martha and Mary. (38-42)
Commentary on Luke 10:1-16
(Read Luke 10:1-16)
Christ sent the seventy disciples, two and two, that they
might strengthen and encourage one another. The ministry of the gospel calls
men to receive Christ as a Prince and a Saviour; and he will surely come in the
power of his Spirit to all places whither he sends his faithful servants. But
the doom of those who receive the grace of God in vain, will be very fearful
Those who despise the faithful ministers of Christ, who think meanly of them,
and look scornfully upon them, will be reckoned as despisers of God and Christ.
Commentary on Luke 10:17-24
(Read Luke 10:17-24)
All our victories over Satan, are obtained by power
derived from Jesus Christ, and he must have all the praise. But let us beware
of spiritual pride, which has been the destruction of many. Our Lord rejoiced
at the prospect of the salvation of many souls. It was fit that particular
notice should be taken of that hour of joy; there were few such, for He was a
man of sorrows: in that hour in which he saw Satan fall, and heard of the good
success of his ministers, in that hour he rejoiced. He has ever resisted the
proud, and given grace to the humble. The more simply dependent we are on the
teaching, help, and blessing of the Son of God, the more we shall know both of
the Father and of the Son; the more blessed we shall be in seeing the glory,
and hearing the words of the Divine Saviour; and the more useful we shall be
made in promoting his cause.
Commentary on Luke 10:25-37
(Read Luke 10:25-37)
If we speak of eternal life, and the way to it, in a
careless manner, we take the name of God in vain. No one will ever love God and
his neighbour with any measure of pure, spiritual love, who is not made a
partaker of converting grace. But the proud heart of man strives hard against
these convictions. Christ gave an instance of a poor Jew in distress, relieved
by a good Samaritan. This poor man fell among thieves, who left him about to
die of his wounds. He was slighted by those who should have been his friends,
and was cared for by a stranger, a Samaritan, of the nation which the Jews most
despised and detested, and would have no dealings with. It is lamentable to
observe how selfishness governs all ranks; how many excuses men will make to
avoid trouble or expense in relieving others. But the true Christian has the
law of love written in his heart. The Spirit of Christ dwells in him; Christ's
image is renewed in his soul. The parable is a beautiful explanation of the law
of loving our neighbour as ourselves, without regard to nation, party, or any
other distinction. It also sets forth the kindness and love of God our Saviour
toward sinful, miserable men. We were like this poor, distressed traveller.
Satan, our enemy, has robbed us, and wounded us: such is the mischief sin has
done us. The blessed Jesus had compassion on us. The believer considers that
Jesus loved him, and gave his life for him, when an enemy and a rebel; and
having shown him mercy, he bids him go and do likewise. It is the duty of us
all , in our places, and according to our ability, to succour, help, and
relieve all that are in distress and necessity.
Commentary on Luke 10:38-42
(Read Luke 10:38-42)
A good sermon is not the worse for being preached in a
house; and the visits of our friends should be so managed, as to make them turn
to the good of their souls. Sitting at Christ's feet, signifies readiness to
receive his word, and submission to the guidance of it. Martha was providing
for the entertainment of Christ, and those that came with him. Here were
respect to our Lord Jesus and right care of her household affairs. But there
was something to be blamed. She was for much serving; plenty, variety, and
exactness. Worldly business is a snare to us, when it hinders us from serving
God, and getting good to our souls. What needless time is wasted, and expense
often laid out, even in entertaining professors of the gospel! Though Martha
was on this occasion faulty, yet she was a true believer, and in her general
conduct did not neglect the one thing needful. The favour of God is needful to our
happiness; the salvation of Christ is needful to our safety. Where this is
attended to, all other things will be rightly pursued. Christ declared, Mary
hath chosen the good part. For one thing is needful, this one thing that she
has done, to give up herself to the guidance of Christ. The things of this life
will be taken away from us, at the furthest, when we shall be taken away from
them; but nothing shall separate from the love of Christ, and a part in that
love. Men and devils cannot take it away from us, and God and Christ will not.
Let us mind the one thing needful more diligently.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Luke》
Luke 10
Verse 3
[3] Go
your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
Verse 4
[4] Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
Salute no man by the way — The salutations usual among the Jews took up much time. But these had so
much work to do in so short a space, that they had not a moment to spare.
Verse 6
[6] And
if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall
turn to you again.
A son of peace —
That is, one worthy of it.
Verse 7
[7] And
in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the
labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
Verse 11
[11] Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off
against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is
come nigh unto you.
The kingdom of God is at hand — Though ye will not receive it.
Verse 13
[13] Woe
unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been
done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago
repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Wo to thee, Chorazin — The same declaration Christ had made some time before. By repeating it
now, he warns the seventy not to lose time by going to those cities. Matthew 11:21.
Verse 16
[16] He
that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he
that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Verse 18
[18] And
he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
I beheld Satan —
That is, when ye went forth, I saw the kingdom of Satan, which was highly
exalted, swiftly and suddenly cast down.
Verse 19
[19]
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all
the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
I give you power —
That is, I continue it to you: and nothing shall hurt you - Neither the power,
nor the subtilty of Satan.
Verse 20
[20]
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but
rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Rejoice not so much that the devils are
subject to you, as that your names are written in heaven - Reader, so is thine,
if thou art a true, believer. God grant it may never be blotted out!
Verse 21
[21] In
that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in
thy sight.
Lord of heaven and earth — In both of which thy kingdom stands, and that of Satan is destroyed.
That thou hast hid these things — He rejoiced not in the destruction of the wise and prudent, but in the
display of the riches of God's grace to others, in such a manner as reserves to
Him the entire glory of our salvation, and hides pride from man. Matthew 11:25.
Verse 22
[22] All
things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but
the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will
reveal him.
Who the Son is —
Essentially one with the Father: who the Father is - How great, how wise, how
good!
Verse 23
[23] And
he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes
which see the things that ye see:
Verse 25
[25] And,
behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall
I do to inherit eternal life?
Verse 27
[27] And
he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy
neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God — That is, thou shalt unite all the faculties of thy soul to render him
the most intelligent and sincere, the most affectionate and resolute service.
We may safely rest in this general sense of these important words, if we are
not able to fix the particular meaning of every single word. If we desire to do
this, perhaps the heart, which is a general expression, may be explained by the
three following, With all thy soul, with the warmest affection, with all thy
strength, the most vigorous efforts of thy will, and with all thy mind or
understanding, in the most wise and reasonable manner thou canst; thy
understanding guiding thy will and affections. Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18.
Verse 28
[28] And
he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou
shalt live — Here is no irony, but a deep and weighty
truth. He, and he alone, shall live for ever, who thus loves God and his neighbour
in the present life.
Verse 29
[29] But
he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
To justify himself —
That is, to show he had done this. Leviticus 18:5.
Verse 30
[30] And
Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and
fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and
departed, leaving him half dead.
From Jerusalem to Jericho — The road from Jerusalem to Jericho (about eighteen miles from it) lay
through desert and rocky places: so many robberies and murders were committed
therein, that it was called the bloody way. Jericho was situated in the valley:
hence the phrase of going down to it. About twelve thousand priests and Levites
dwelt there, who all attended the service of the temple.
Verse 31
[31] And
by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side.
The common translation is, by chance - Which
is full of gross improprieties. For if we speak strictly, there is no such
thing in the universe as either chance or fortune.
A certain priest came down that way, and
passed by on the other side — And both he and the Levite no doubt could
find an excuse for passing over on the other side, and might perhaps gravely
thank God for their own deliverance, while they left their brother bleeding to
death. Is it not an emblem of many living characters, perhaps of some who bear
the sacred office? O house of Levi and of Aaron, is not the day coming, when
the virtues of heathens and Samaritans will rise up in judgment against you?
Verse 33
[33] But
a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him,
he had compassion on him,
But a certain Samaritan came where he was — It was admirably well judged to represent the distress on the side of
the Jew, and the mercy on that of the Samaritan. For the case being thus
proposed, self interest would make the very scribe sensible, how amiable such a
conduct was, and would lay him open to our Lord's inference. Had it been put
the other way, prejudice might more easily have interposed, before the heart
could have been affected.
Verse 34
[34] And
went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on
his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Pouring in oil and wine — Which when well beaten together are one of the best balsams that can be
applied to a fresh wound.
Verse 36
[36]
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among
the thieves?
Which of these was the neighbour to him that
fell among the robbers — Which acted the part of a neighbour?
Verse 37
[37] And
he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou
likewise.
And he said, He that showed mercy on him — He could not for shame say otherwise, though he thereby condemned
himself and overthrew his own false notion of the neighbour to whom our love is
due.
Go and do thou in like manner — Let us go and do likewise, regarding every man as our neighbour who
needs our assistance. Let us renounce that bigotry and party zeal which would
contract our hearts into an insensibility for all the human race, but a small
number whose sentiments and practices are so much our own, that our love to
them is but self love reflected. With an honest openness of mind let us always
remember that kindred between man and man, and cultivate that happy instinct
whereby, in the original constitution of our nature, God has strongly bound us
to each other.
Verse 40
[40] But
Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost
thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore
that she help me.
Martha was encumbered — The Greek word properly signifies to be drawn different ways at the same
time, and admirably expresses the situation of a mind, surrounded (as Martha's
then was) with so many objects of care, that it hardly knows which to attend to
first.
Verse 41
[41] And
Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled
about many things:
Martha, Martha —
There is a peculiar spirit and tenderness in the repetition of the word: thou
art careful, inwardly, and hurried, outwardly.
Verse 42
[42] But
one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be
taken away from her.
Mary hath chosen the good part — To save her soul. Reader, hast thou?
── John ‘Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Luke》
Chapter 10. Love the Lord and People
What is Set for
You
Eat It
I. The
Extension of Missionary
II. The Good
Samaritan
III. The Choice
of Mary
── Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》
The Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37)
INTRODUCTION
1. One of the more well-known parables that of "The Good Samaritan" - cf. Lk 10:30-37 a. Hospitals have been named after the person in this story (e.g., Good Samaritan Hospital b. "Good Samaritan" laws have been passed to encourage passers-by to help those in need 2. It has been common to apply allegorical interpretations to this parable; for example... a. The traveler represents man, who has left the heavenly city (Jerusalem ) for the worldly one (Jericho b. The robbers are representative of the devil and sin, who leave man dying in sin c. The priest and the Levite refer to the Law and its sacrifices, which are unable to help d. But the good Samaritan is Jesus, who provides the help needed e. The wine represents the blood of Christ; the oil, the anointing of the Holy Spirit f. The inn is the church, the inn-keeper representative of the apostles; the two coins representing baptism and the Lord's Supper 3. As interesting as such interpretations may be... a. Is it really what Jesus is teaching in this parable? b. Or does Jesus have some other lesson that He wants us to glean from it? [In this study we shall review the setting of the parable, and then offer some lessons that I believe are more in keeping with Jesus' original purpose in telling it...] I. THE PARABLE AND ITS SETTING
A. THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN JESUS AND A LAWYER... 1. A lawyer stands up to "test" Jesus - Lk 10:25 a. A "lawyer" in this context would be one well-versed in the Law of Moses b. The word "test" doesn't have to imply negative connotations; it may simply mean the man was seeking to ascertain Jesus' faithfulness to the Law c. But there are some implications that he was seeking to trick Jesus... 1) He "stood" up, perhaps to draw attention to himself 2) Later, he sought to "justify" himself with another question; implying he was interested in more than just a simple answer to his question d. His question was similar to that asked by the rich young ruler (Lk 18:18): "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 2. Jesus answers the question by pointing him back to the Law - Lk 10:26 a. In so doing, Jesus shows His own confidence in the Law c. In a similar manner Jesus pointed the rich young ruler to the Law - Lk 18:20 b. Keep in mind that at this time the Law was still in force, so the answer was still to be found in it - cf. Mt 5:17-19 3. The lawyer replies with a proper understanding of what the Law taught concerning eternal life - Lk 10:27-28 a. He quotes from Deu 6:5 and Lev 19:18 b. Both which Jesus quoted to another lawyer on a later occasion - cf. Mt 22:34-40 c. Upon these two laws, one to love God, the other to love your neighbor... 1) The entire Law was based 2) Those living while the Law was still in force could "live" (i.e., be saved) 4. But the lawyer is not finished... - Lk 10:29 a. He desires to "justify" himself (was he embarrassed Jesus answered him so easily?) b. He asks the question which precipitates the parable: "Andwho is my neighbor?"
B. THE PARABLE ITSELF... 1. A man travels from Jerusalem to Jericho 10:30
a. A distance of about 20 miles b. A dangerous road, known as "The Way of Blood" because of the robbers c. Stripped of his clothing and wounded by thieves, he is left half dead 2. Two pass by, doing nothing - Lk 10:31-32 a. The first was a priest, the he second was a Levite b. Both of these were of the religious elite in Israel time 3. A Samaritan comes by and shows compassion - Lk 10:33-35 a. Samaritans were despised by the Jews - cf. Jn 4:9 b. They were the descendants of those imported at the time of the Assyrian captivity (cf. 2 Ki 17:24-41) c. Yet this Samaritan who would have been despised by the Jews shows compassion 1) He bandages the wounds, applying oil and wine (first aid in those days) 2) He puts the wounded man on his own animal and takes him to an inn 3) He gives the innkeeper two denarii (two days' wages) to provide care 4) He tells the innkeeper to spend whatever it takes, and he will repay him when he comes again C. JESUS' FOLLOW-UP TO THE PARABLE... 1. He poses the question: Which of the three proved to be a neighbor? - Lk 10:36 2. The lawyer replies with the obvious answer: "He who showed mercy on him."
3. Jesus then admonishes the lawyer to do likewise 4. Notice that Jesus turned the focus of the original question... a. From "Who is my neighbor?" to "Who was the one that wasneighbor to the one in need?"
b. This indicates that Jesus sought to draw attention to what it means to "Love your neighbor as yourself" [The purpose of the parable, in view of the context and the manner inwhich Jesus applied it, is clear: Jesus teaches who our neighbors really are, and what it means tolove your neighbor as yourself.
Here are some lessons that can be gleaned from the parable when itspurpose is kept in mind...] II. LESSONS FROM THE PARABLE
A. A NEIGHBOR IS ONE IN NEED WHOM WE CAN HELP... 1. One might think that a neighbor is one with whom we share affinities a. Such as being of the same race, nationality, or religion b. I.e., anyone who is not considered your enemy 2. Yet Jesus put such a concept to rest by using the Samaritan as an example a. The Samaritans were different in race, nationality and religion from the Jews b. There was animosity between them - cf. Jn 4:9; Lk 9:52-53 c. Though considered enemies, the Samaritan was helping a Jew in need 3. And so it is that Christians are to show "hospitality" (lit., "love of strangers") - cf. Ro 12:13; Mt 5:43-48; Ga 6:10 -- Your neighbor, then, is anyone in need whom you have the ability to help! B. THE INCONGRUITY OF DIVORCING NEIGHBORLINESS FROM RELIGION... 1. Of the three passers-by in the parable, the first two should have been the first to help a. The priest and the Levite should have been influenced by their religion to help b. Indeed they were taught to love the stranger - Lev 19:33-34; Deu 10:17-19
2. When they separated neighborliness from their religion, they became hypocritical a. For the priest would teach the Law, and the Levite would assist in the service b. But failing to "practice what they preach" showed how shallow their devotion to their faith really was 3. As Christians, we need to be sure to practice "pure and undefiled religion", otherwise we deceive ourselves - cf. Ja1:22,26-27
-- What kind of religion do we have? C. THE COST OF COMPASSION... 1. A willingness to cross social barriers a. As Jesus illustrated in using a Samaritan in this parable b. There should be no religious, racial, or national barriers to showing compassion! 2. A willingness to take risks a. The Samaritan took a great risk by stopping to help 1) What if the robbers were still near by? 2) What if other thieves came by on this road known as "The Way Of Blood"? b. So Christians are called upon to take risks - cf. Lk 6:30 1) How do we know people won't take advantage of our generosity? 2) Perhaps this is an area where we need to have faith in God 3. A willingness to set aside busy schedules a. The Samaritan was on a journey, but took the time to stop and care for the man b. Jesus taught us to take the time to show compassion even when forced - Mt 5:41 1) The first mile may have been forced 2) But the second mile was one to be given out of love 4. A willingness to make sacrifices a. The Samaritan sacrificed more than just time and energy 1) He used some of his own provisions - Lk 10:34 2) He even offered an open-ended agreement to provide for his help - Lk 10:35 b. Jesus taught His disciples to be willing to make sacrifices - Lk 6:29-30,34-35 c. In so doing, we are truly followers of God and walking in love - Ep 5:1-2 CONCLUSION
1. With the parable of "The Good Samaritan", we are challenged to a higher standard of love a. Higher in that the definition of "neighbor" is more inclusive b. Higher in that the definition of "compassion" is greater 2. This should not be surprising in light of what Jesus told His disciples earlier: "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no meansenter the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 5:20)
3. What is your righteousness like? That of the priest and Levite, or of the Samaritan? a. Only as we emulate the example of the good Samaritan, can it be said that our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees! b. Only then do we have the assurance of entering the kingdom of heaven! c. Therefore let us heed the words of Jesus to the lawyer who tested Him: "Go and do likewise." Of course, without the salvation that Jesus makes possible, no degreeof righteousness is possible... - cf. Ac 2:36-38; 22:16
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