Do I love my neighbour?
Bible Text: Luke 18:18-23, Luke 10:25- 37 | Preacher: Andrew Love | Series: The Ten Commandments | Introduction
People may superficially think they follow the Ten Commandments
The rich young ruler feels he has kept all the commandments and is a good person
Jesus quotes from some of the Ten Commandments
Jesus shows the rich young ruler that he had not followed these commands
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
This is familiar to us – but have we understood it?
Jesus said that people will not understand parables – it is perhaps the most misunderstood parable
It is not just doing good to our neighbour
The lawyer is testing Jesus (10:25)
Jesus answers his question with another question
This lawyer is well studied in the Old Testament
His reply: Deut 6:5, 19:18 – this summarises the whole of the law
Jesus said he had answered rightly
The lawyer wanted to justify himself
They would not love Samaritans or profligate Jews
They would love those who kept the law
Matt 5:43-44 – Jesus said to love your enemies
They had a very narrow understanding of was their neighbour
The parable
We are more like the priest or the Levite
It’s purpose is to reveal the love of God
The lawyer just wanted to justify himself – he did not cast himself on the mercy of Christ
What it does not mean
It is not just a skit to do good or to behave appropriately
Remember that this man has come to Jesus with a question
Jesus is asking if he understands perfect love for God and man
It was to have a profound impact on this man
Consider the extravagant love of the Samaritan
It is not about social justice (though this is right) – it is about evangelism
What does it teach us?
This story would have been familiar to readers of the day
The priest
1200 priests who would often travel back and forth from Jerusalem to Jericho
The road was steep and windy – about 20 miles
The road notorious for robbers – called “the way of blood”
The priest and levite – saw and looked, but passed by on the other side
The Samaritan
The Samaritans were the enemy of the Jews – This would have caused all sorts of feelings within him
Explanation
He shows great care for the wounded man
Examples
He shows extravagant love
Personal example
What does it teach us?
We are not meant to allogerise it – example
It should cause us to reflect on the love of God
God’s love
God loved us enough to die for us whilst we were still sinners
He did not love us on the basis of what we were
He loves us from eternity
His love goes to extreme lengths
He sent Jesus Christ into this world
Jesus Christ laid down His life on the cross
God is rich in mercy
He freely forgives
Jesus paid the price for our sin
Our response
We must look to Christ
Salvation is by faith alone
Oh that we would come to Him
Closing Remarks
Christ has fulfilled the law perfectly – that He would die in our place, that we might be forgiven and healed
As Christ loves us, so must we love others
Oh that this parable would draw us to Jesus