John Linwood Widdifield
Jesus and His disciples have set their faces toward Jerusalem.
Just before this account, the company of travelers runs into opposition in
a Samaritan village (Luke 9:51-56). The disciples ask the Lord if He would
like them to call fire from heaven to destroy them. It is obvious from this
account that Jesus still has some things to teach them. Perhaps the story
of the “Good Samaritan” was given to the lawyer in the same way
that adults sometimes talk to each other in the hopes that the children are
listening.
Shortly after the incident in the Samaritan village, Jesus and
His disciples are approached by a lawyer. The scripture does not indicate
whether or not the lawyer was trying to put Jesus on the spot, or if he was
honest in his questioning. The lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit
eternal life (Luke 10:25). Jesus, in the style of a rabbi, answers the question
by coaxing the lawyer to reveal what he already knew. The lawyer answers with
a condensed version of the Law of Moses. He says, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’”
(v. 27).
Jesus responds that the lawyer has answered correctly. But the
lawyer needs further clarification. The lawyer has the words memorized, but
the spirit of the words is missing. A definition of neighbor is in order.
The Jews of this time did have a definition for “non-neighbor.”
The lawyer’s place in this world demanded that he define everything.
He did not treat the law flippantly. His job was to take the law very seriously.
Jesus responds with the story of the “Good Samaritan.” Jesus takes
dead words and breathes life back into them.
Jesus has been teaching those around Him the definition of love
for His entire ministry. Earlier in His journey to Jerusalem, He had to deal
with the misguided anger of His own disciples toward a community of Samaritans.
Now Jesus is faced with a more subtle, but even more devious, attempt to curtail
the extravagance of love. The people closest to Him then and His followers
today need to forever be reminded of the unintelligible reach of grace. When
people cease to be guided by the Spirit of Christ, they tend to define their
own limits. Jesus, in the focus passage, destroys these limits and defines
love to be greater than we can imagine (or may even want).
The answer to the lawyers first question is easy; it is quite
literally written on the lawyers forehead or forearm in the form of a phylactery.
Jesus does not correct the lawyer but confirms his correct answer. The problem
is not with the answer, it is with the tendency people have making the simple
complicated. The human mind wants to shroud the truth in darkness, while Jesus
came to bring light to the world. If we have a definition for neighbor, then
we are capable of withholding love based on that definition. Jesus points
out that “neighbor” is anyone and everyone.
The first part of the answer to the lawyer’s questions
is what empowers the believer to obey the second part. Jesus spends His time
un-defining neighbor. To say “I love God” is an easy thing. A
person who says that must be taken at their word. To say “I love my
neighbor” is a very different thing. Loving neighbor requires unselfish
action. Loving someone who is an enemy can only be done through the empowerment
of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes in full when we love God with everything.
Jesus ends the parable by telling the lawyer to “go and do likewise.”
He is not just making a commandment about neighbors, but informing the lawyer
that to love God is to love your neighbor. God empowers us to love Him and
it is through that love we can love our neighbor as undefined by Jesus the
Christ.
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
In today’s world, it is becoming less and less clear who
our neighbors are. We argue and fuss about who should or should not be allowed
to cross our border. We harbor resentments toward each other for hurts, no
matter how old. We are in a world like that in which Jesus walked. Jesus’
walked was a hodge-podge of cultures and religions. Despite this we see explosive
growth of the Body of Christ. It is an exciting time to turn our ears back
to the Master and learn how to live in a world where “neighbor”
might be hard to define.
It is important to convey the radical nature of Jesus’
definition of “neighbor” in the parable of the “Good Samaritan.”
God empowers us to love even those who would want to see our religion destroyed
and our moral standard fall. The world caricatures Christians as intolerant,
narrow-minded tyrants who will settle for nothing less than complete assimilation.
Jesus did not teach a “boot-on-neck” missionary style but love
and compassion. Over and over we find when we love God, we will love neighbor.
James says, “show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my
faith by what I do” (2:18). Jesus makes it clear: to love God is to
love our neighbor. If we try to restrict the definition of neighbor, we have
not embraced the love of God.
