What Kind of Neighbor are You?

  • Tim Kelly
  • Feb 3, 2008

What kind of Neighbor are you?
Feb. 3, 2008 Spring of Life

Loving God means practically loving your neighbor in such a way that is impossible by yourself and only doable with God's help (His mercy).

I. Intro:

"Labels"- we like to use them so that we can size-up people and put them in a box of what kind of person they are:
*Liberal * Homophobe * Pro-life * Catholic * Conservative * Diverse * Pro-Choice * Protestant
* Progressive * Illegal alien * Atheist * Rich * Racist * Pro American * Fundamentalist * Poor
* Tolerant * Lazy * Judgmental * Assertive * Open minded

Once you have put someone in a box, then you can respond to them in the manner you feel is appropriate.  It makes it easy for us in "human terms" to make sense of what kind of person someone is and how we might interact with them. However, God's instruction, His Word, trumps any labels as we'll see today. How do you view people, or your neighbor? Then, very personally, what kind of neighbor are you?

In the gospel of Luke that we're going through each Sunday here at Spring of Life, the first nine chapters or so deal with who Jesus is. We saw in January who Jesus is from the slant of His enemies.

Now we're in a part of Luke's gospel- Luke chapter 10- that deals with what it means to follow Jesus. To follow Jesus means to love God with all your being and love people in such a way that is impossible by yourself and only doable with God's help.

Let's look at the story of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke (third book in the New Testament)... The Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 25-37.

III. The basis for understanding your neighbor begins with God.

A. An expert in the Law questions Jesus. He was an expert not in courtroom law as we might think, but in Jewish Religious Law. He knew the Old Testament Scriptures well. He was an expert in them.  He asks Jesus what is needed to inherit eternal life.  The Bible says that he was testing Jesus:
not necessarily a negative here... He wasn't trying to trap Jesus; It seems like he wants to find out what Jesus believes.

  • Jesus asks him what the Bible says.
  • Expert answers with a good text book answer. He summed up the O.T. by responding: Love God; love neighbor.
  • Shema: Shema yisrael adonai eloheenu ehad.  A good Jew recited this daily. It was from the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament of the Bible.
  • Vertical and horizontal.
  • Everything begins with God!

B. Your relationship with God will affect your relationships with others.
You cannot separate them.
I John 4:19-21.

What does this look like?
Examples: 

  1. Husband- He says that he loves God, he may be very active in the church... but he treats his wife like dirt. How can he love God whom he hasn't seen, if he can't love his wife who he sees each day? It just doesn't make sense.
  2. Gal who lets people know at work that she loves God. I love God, I'm involved at my church, etc. But, when it comes to gossip, she is the best at putting others down through her gossip. If you love God, then it will spill over into your interactions with others.
  3. A person who is listening to the radio and hears that a child molester got killed in prison, serving his sentence. It's a natural reaction to say: "Oh, he deserved that. He got what was coming..." You kind of feel good that this guy got his.

I love God, but there are some folks I just can't love... What sums up eternal life? Love God; love neighbor.

C. Closer you are to God, the clearer you see people the way God does.

  • Created in God's image: each person inherently has value.
  • Christ died for people... They mean so much to Jesus that He gave His life for people.
  • God loves them... And we try to hate them.
  • Jesus had mercy/compassion on people... and we have the audacity to hate.

D. Your vertical relationship with God always affects your horizontal relationships with others. If your relationship with God is growing, then you'll grow in horizontal relationships.
E. Everything begins with God and flows from that.

IV. The Expert in the Law- Justifying self... Read v. 29.

The expert in the Law wants to feel justified, or righteous, he wants to feel good about himself with his own life. I love other Jews, I'm ok. Neighbor literally means ‘one close to you.' Who is my neighbor?

  • Certainly other Jews
  • I'm doing a pretty good job
  • Jesus launches into a story of the Good Samaritan.

A. Label of neighbor: one in the Jewish community.
B. Not- sinners and gentile dogs.

V. Jesus launches into the story of the Good Samaritan.

A. Guy traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. It's a rocky and dangerous road... Bandits would hide in caves and jump travelers and rob them.
B. Priest: One who should have acted with mercy... He knew God's love and mercy. He passes by on the other side.
He doesn't make time for the person who is in need.
Too busy,
Too risky,
Or inconvenient?

C. Levite: One who should have acted with mercy... crosses by on the other side of the road.


D. What do you know, a stinking, lowlife, no good, filthy, horrible, hated, despicable, unrighteous Samaritan comes along... He acts like Jesus: he has compassion/pity on the man. This was the label on Samaritans.

E. Samaritans were despised: they were ½ breeds. Jewish background who had married foreigners. Samaritans insisted on just the first 5 books of the OT as their Scripture, and their place of worship was Gerazim, not Jerusalem. Samaritan's race and beliefs were different from Jews.

List two Samaritans in your life.

F. Unchristian: Christians viewed as condemning, hate gays, hypocrites, etc. This is researched and written by Christians... We Christians are not seen as Samaritans.

G. Look what this hated Samaritan does:
bandaged wounds,
poured oil and wine on the man's wounds,
put the man on his donkey,
took him to an inn and cared for him,
gave $ for his care,
promised to pay for any bills!
The Good Samaritan did the maximum to care for this man in need!

Time:
1. Each had the opportunity to respond to this God-led opportunity. Who makes time for the hurt and helpless guy?
2. Followers of Christ will respond to those in need... because they view opportunities and their time as God's... You can do three things with your time:
you can either spend time, invest time, or wasted time.

 

H. The Samaritan has pity on this man and invests his time to help.

I. Guilt- there's no way you can be this kind of neighbor in and of your own strength. Hate can run deep in our hearts, that we can't imagine having pity or compassion on some kinds of people.

J. What kind of neighbor are you?
After Jesus tells this story he asks the Expert... Which guy was a neighbor? The answer is obvious. Which would you want to pass your way if you're dying?

Go and do likewise. Be this kind of neighbor.

VI. The hope...
Ancient church fathers interpreted this parable with a broader interpretation...
Beat up traveler= you
Robbers= sin, Satan, and demons
Law= the priest... can't help you
Samaritan= Jesus!

Just when you need a Good Samaritan, and we all do, Jesus showed up. He has pity on you, compassion toward you, heals your wounds, gives you life, restores you! It's a beautiful picture of Christ working in your life.

How can you be a neighbor like the Good Samaritan? Only if you receive the kind of compassion and mercy first from Jesus. Then you can turn around and give that out to others. Only when you experience it on the vertical level that you can live it out to others on the horizontal level.