When the lawyer asked Jesus for clarification on who we are to love, Jesus answered him by showing him what not to do. This daily devotional looks at the beginning of the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Nuggets
- We show what is in our hearts when we try to justify ourselves.
- Jesus started the Parable of the Good Samaritan off with a description of how not to show love.
Devotions in How to Love Our Neighbors series
Sometimes, we can start out on a strong foot. But then we soon stick that foot in our mouths.
The lawyer telling Jesus that we gained eternal life by obeying the greatest commandments started out strong. But then he asked for clarification of who is our neighbor.
Let’s take a look.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Asking the Right Question Wrong
“But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” (Lk. 10: 29 ESV)
We show what is in our hearts when we try to justify ourselves.
Ooo, baby. We are so quick to justify our actions and opinions!
I get it. We don’t want to be wrong.
The lawyer sure didn’t want to be wrong. He was an educated man — a Pharisee. He couldn’t be seen as weak or not knowing what he was talking about.
So, the lawyer asked a good question that was supposed to limit who was to be loved.
Yes, prejudice is learned. But oftentimes our environment — not saying this is right — does a pretty good job of teaching us what to consider right or wrong.
That, coupled with the fact that we gravitate to likeminded people, may hinder us from breaking out when we realize that we do have a flawed opinion.
Parker argued that the question really didn’t need to be asked. In our hearts, we know the answer is everyone.
Resource
The problem is that, when we are fighting a battle with self-justification, we aren’t focusing on our need for a Savior.
Jesus said we need to die to self. “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’” (Lk. 9: 23 ESV).
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The issue the lawyer had with that, according to Parker in another sermon, was he saw himself no worse than those around him. He was behaving exactly as the world was behaving.
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God doesn’t call us to be like the world. What they call right and good is not always what God calls right and good.
We need to use God’s standards.
Parker brings up a good point. How does the fact that we have many denominations impact the witness of a church?
I’ve read things about how worldview people question which set of beliefs are correct because there are so many differences within the different churches. Parker thought that was an invalid excuse to not believe in Christ.
To put it into context, it is like saying we are going to give up on dieting because there are so many different diet plans. That is crazy!
There are different interpretations of things. We have to remember no one is going to get it totally right because God’s ways are higher than ours (Isa. 55: 8-9).
We just have to make sure we believe the essential doctrines. We won’t gain eternal life if we don’t believe these and have submitted our lives to God.
Glossary
Doing Things Wrong
“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’” (Lk. 10: 30-32 ESV)
Jesus started the Parable of the Good Samaritan off with a description of how not to show love. He didn’t recommend this.
Let’s get the symbolism out of the way first. Keach helped us with this.
- Wounded man — all fallen mankind
- Fallen among robbers — mankind became sinful
- Stripped him — took our original righteousness
- Half dead — left us spiritually dead even though we are living
- The priest — the law
- The Levite — sacrifices
- Passing by — there is no salvation found in either the law or sacrifices.
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If we see love as wanting to fulfill the needs of others, the priest and the Levite did not show love. The man obviously had a need. He was seriously wounded.
If we consider Satan is symbolized by the thieves, Keach really put into perspective how Satan and evil steal from us. He wrote,
- “Because they are soul-thieves, and seek to rob us of our choice and chiefest treasure.
- “Because they are cruel and bloody thieves, murdering thieves.”
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We lose when Satan steals from us.
It is important to note the direction in which everyone was traveling. The victim was “… going down from Jerusalem to Jericho …” (Lk. 10: 30 ESV). The priest “… was going down that road …” (Lk. 10: 31 ESV). It also says, “So likewise a Levite …” (Lk. 10: 32 ESV).
The priest and Levite were not heading to Jerusalem to perform their duties. Their becoming unclean by helping the victim would not have kept them from performing their duties in the temple.
There was no excuse for not showing love to the victim. They were just being selfish.
But then how many times have we passed on the other side? When have we not shown love for whatever reason?
Oh, yeah. Sometimes, we aren’t any better than the priest and the Levite.
Making the Connections #1
We don’t have to be out and about very long before we realize that everyone has needs. Everyone is fighting some kind of battle.
That really raises the opportunities for service!
We just have to remember two things.
We are called to serve where God wants to use us. We need to ask Him where He is working and join Him there.
The last thing we want to do is limit where we will serve to our own ideas. We may be doing that because of the wrong motivation.
Our goal is not to be a social server. Jesus wasn’t a social savior.
Jesus was a spiritual Savior. We have to be more concerned about someone’s spiritual condition than their physical condition. We are to be a spiritual server.
Making the Connections #2
Jesus didn’t answer the lawyer’s question. He didn’t tell him what he should “… do to inherit eternal life?’” (Lk. 10: 25 ESV).
But then again, in all practicality Jesus did. When we love others and show them compassion in Jesus’ name, we are fulfilling both of the greatest commandments. We are gaining perfection, which we will get when we begin our eternal life.
Don’t read that too fast and read over that we have to do it in Jesus’ name. We can’t do it just because we are a good person.
How Do We Apply This?
- Join God where He is working.
- Focus on the spiritual, not the physical.
- Die to self daily.
- Recognize everyone not only as a neighbor but as a brother.
- God calls us to love.
- We are to choose good, not evil.
- Selfishness is not a part of love.
- Learn to question the right way.
- Live out the greatest commandments.
- Don’t focus on religion — focus on relationship with God.
- Fulfill the law by showing love.
- Write God’s laws into our heart.
Resource
Father God. We praise You because You are love. Thank You for interacting with us in love. Help us to show that love to others. Amen.
What do you think?
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