"Who is My Neighbor"

Kennard Friends Church
January 22, 2012
“Who is my neighbor?”

Last week we discussed a way to apply commandment of Jesus to love our neighbor as ourselves. I mentioned that we could start to show love for our neighbor by starting with our close friends, family and neighbors. I suggested we express our gratitude by letting those “neighbors” know the specific things you appreciate about them in your life. The implication is that if we cannot put our love into an action to those closest to us, how will we ever be able to love ANY neighbor we come into contact with?
How many of you have heard a sermon on the story of the parable of the “Good Samaritan”? How many feel like they have heard 100 sermons on the Good Samaritan? Well here is one more. Hopefully God can reveal new information which will generate a new inspiration for us to apply the story in a fresh way TODAY!

The term "good Samaritan" is used as a common metaphor. The word now applies to any charitable person, especially one who, like the man in the Bible parable, rescues or helps out a needy stranger.
The word “Samaritan” is used in several ways including charitable organizations. Let me share a few:

Samaritan’s Purse:
A ministry led by Franklin Graham.
Samaritan's Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan's Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God's love through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Samaritan Ministries:
An organization providing an alternative to traditional health insurance. Health care sharing is a Biblical approach to paying for health care, based on the Bible.
Hospitals:
• Good Samaritan Hospital (Cincinnati) — Cincinnati, Ohio
• Good Samaritan Hospital (Dayton) - Dayton, Ohio

There is even a law named after the Bible parable.
Good Samaritan’s Law:
A good Samaritan in legal terms refers to someone who renders aid in an emergency to an injured person on a voluntary basis. Good Samaritan laws are laws or acts protecting those who choose to serve and tend to others who are injured, ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated. They are intended to reduce bystanders' hesitation to assist, for fear of being sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death.

Luke 10 (NIV)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered: “‘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.”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
[Notice the word “do” in Jesus’ statement. Love is an action. Remember the key phrase from last week’s message about gratitude (one demonstration of love)? Gratitude unexpressed is of no value. Only when gratitude (or love) is expressed… and we “do” something are we fulfilling the commandment.]
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Notice all the actions in the story, let me repeat them (re-read the highlighted green words).

Road from Jerusalem to Jericho
In the time of Jesus, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notorious for its danger and difficulty, and was known as the "Way of Blood" because "of the blood which is often shed there by robbers." This past Monday was the national MLK holiday, so let me share something from Martin Luther King, Jr., in a speech he gave on the day before his death. Here’s what he said about this road:
Quote:
“I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road I said to my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 2,100 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 846 feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking, and he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked, the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?”
Unquote.
Do we ever avoid helping our neighbor because we ask “what will happen to me”?

Samaritans and Jesus
Samaritans were hated by Jesus' target audience who were Jews. The Samaritans in turn hated the Jews. Tensions were particularly high in the early decades of the first century because Samaritans had desecrated the Jewish Temple at Passover.
Do we ever hate another group of our neighbors?

Priests and Levites
In Jesus' culture, contact with a dead body was understood to defile a person. Priests were particularly trained to avoid uncleanness. The priest and Levite may therefore have assumed that the fallen traveler was dead and avoided him to keep themselves “ritually” clean. On the other hand, the depiction of travel downhill (from Jerusalem to Jericho) may indicate that their temple duties had already been completed, making this explanation less likely. Since there was an exception for neglected corpses, the priest and the Levite could have used the law to justify both touching a corpse and ignoring it. In any case, passing by on the other side avoided checking whether he was dead or alive.
Do we ever justify avoiding our neighbor?

The parable paraphrased in a 2012 setting…
One day an Anderson University professor in the School of Theology ask Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers by asking him ‘How to you interpret what the Bible says? The professor answered “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with your entire mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s right, Jesus said, so do this and live.

But the professor wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus “And who is my neighbor?”

Rather than giving a direct answer, Jesus told a story to make his point. He said…
“A Kennard man was driving through a rough area of downtown Indianapolis, when he carjacked and robbed. They stole his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A professor of 30 years who taught the Bible classes in the School of Theology at Anderson University saw the man. He crossed the street and passed trying not to make any eye contact. So too, a church secretary came by the crime scene where the man was badly hurt and she crossed the street without helping. But a motorcycle gang member was riding by when he noticed the man. He saw him and took pity on him. He put him on his Harley and took him to the nearest clinic. He told the clinic that he would cover the costs of the initial first-aid and future expenses.”
Then Jesus said to the professor “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of carjackers?” The Bible professor said, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

So have we answered the question “Who is our neighbor”? It is the person you come into contact. It can be the person with a need. It can be the person who needs your mercy. The key word from Jesus about the parable is the word “do”. Memorizing this verse is not as valuable as doing it.
Let’s end our time of learning by asking God to give us a new measure of mercy for our neighbor. Ask him for clear vision to see the need of a neighbor. Ask him for the ability to see others and have pity rather than to avoid eye contact and walk as far away as possible.

This is part of the greatest commandment. We have the greatest power on earth to help us do this. While my natural tendency might be to do the same thing as the Jewish priest and Levite, the Holy Spirit will help me do what is not humanly natural.

If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit in you. If you have not made a commitment to Christ, asked him to forgive you, believed on his name, then you CAN get help. When you are saved, born again, you automatically receive the Holy Spirit.
So we all have something to do with what we have heard. Let me give you time to respond in the way God is leading you.

Closing Prayer.