Introduction: We have begun this fall to look at the life of Jesus as we see it through the lens of the gospel of Luke. We’re doing so as a way of taking up the promise of Jesus when he says, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). Where do you look for life?  Some of us hope to find it in a relationship with that special someone, others of us seek life as we seek to be as successful as we can in our chosen profession, still others of us hope to find life as we pursue a sport or hobby or some other kind of diversion. But Thomas a Kempis, a 15^th c. German monk who wrote a great spiritual classic, The Imitation of Christ, directs us elsewhere. He writes that if we want to find life, if we want to live a truly human life that reflects the image of God in which we have been created, our main concern should be “to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ.”

 

We’ve begun to do this by means of the “Travel Narrative” of Luke’s gospel (9:51 – 19:44). In embarking on this narrative, we’re following Jesus and his disciples on their journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. As we do so, we are paying particular attention to what he has to say about what it means to live within the kingdom of God. How is it that we are to think and to live, to be and to do, while we are on our own journey with Jesus toward the heavenly Jerusalem? Last week we heard Jesus call us to be patient with those who are not yet on the journey, and to make our relationship with him a priority if we desire to truly journey with him.

 

Today, as we hear a conversation Jesus had with an expert scholar that spills over into the parable that has become known as the “Good Samaritan,” Jesus helps us to see that real life, life in the kingdom of God is found as we practice mercy.

 

Jesus’ conversation with this man is driven forward by four questions, which he trades with this man kind of like they are hitting a tennis ball back and forth. Let’s use them to help us listen in.

 

I. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

            A. The first is asked by the “expert in the law.” Who is he? Well, the law in which he was trained was not secular law but the law of God, known as the law of Moses or Torah. So, a more accurate description of this fellow would be something like a Bible scholar or theology professor. These scholars had an honored profession. Their role was to keep God’s word from being misquoted or misused by people who were trying to drum up divine authority for their own ends. So, when this scholar stands up to test Jesus, he is really just doing his job. Seventy-two of the followers of Jesus had just returned from an enormously successful mission in Samaritan territory. What was this guy Jesus all about? Was he a fraud, a false prophet, or an authentic representative of God?

 

            B. The question he asked was likely a standard one, and a good one at that: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He puts it in the first person so that it won’t sound accusatory but like a request for advice. Its topic, eternal life, is of the utmost importance. What do we need to do to find and live the life that God holds out for us? What do we need to do to join in with what God is doing in the world? Where should we look to find the life that is really life and that really lasts?

 

II. “What is written in the Law?”

            A. In response, Jesus asks a question of his own. Elie Wiesel, the Jewish novelist and spiritual writer was once asked in an interview, “I have noticed that you Jews often answer questions by asking another question. Why do you do this?” Wiesel replied, “Why not?” Jesus knew what the lawyer was about. Not only that, he saw a prime moment for a teaching opportunity. “What is written in the Law?” he asks. “How do you read it?” Not only is a dialogue begun, but the scholar is being asked for his professional opinion, which is flattering to be sure. Jesus is no rookie at this game!

           

B. The answer the scholar gives comes right out of the scriptures: “Love God and love your neighbor.” It’s what has come to be known as the Great Commandment because it was the answer Jesus himself gave when asked to name the greatest commandment in the Law (Mt. 22:34-40). Jesus affirms the scholar’s answer: “Do this and you will live.” Now this answer, perhaps, might make us a little uneasy. Is Jesus teaching a works righteousness, that what we do is what earns us our salvation? Certainly, that seems contrary to being saved by grace through faith. When the Philippian jailer asks Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, they respond, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Ac. 16:31). But it’s always helpful to remember that the belief that makes a Christian is never just mental assent. To inherit eternal life, to experience and participate in the life that God holds out for us requires a faith that is expressed in love of God and love of neighbor. If we don’t have love for God and love for our neighbor, we don’t really have faith. Sometimes we need to emphasize the content of our belief and at other times the outworking of it. With this scholar, Jesus saw the need for the latter, and essentially encouraged the man that if he was really looking for life, he should put into practice what he said he believed.

 

Illustration: Early on in his book, The Imitation of Christ, a Kempis warns against what he calls “intellectual acrobatics,” that is, acquiring knowledge for the sake of acquiring it and being able to think highly of oneself. Of these learned individuals he writes, “Would that their living had been equal to their learning; then they would have studied and lectured to good purpose. How many perish in the world because of useless learning and for caring little about the service of God!” [p. 7]

 

Our learning must turn into living; our knowing must lead to doing, or we really don’t know anything at all. The scholar tells Jesus what he knows. “Put it into practice” Jesus replies.

 

III. “Who is my neighbor?”

            A. Rather than do that, the scholar responds to Jesus with another question. It is a classic question, really: “And who is my neighbor?” Luke tells us that he asks it with a motive – in order to justify himself. Often, we try to justify ourselves when we feel uncomfortable, when we know that we might not quite be in the right, or we feel uneasy with what we’ve just been told.

 

Illustration: Last Friday I attended a convocation address held in the Gordon College Chapel and I brought a cup of coffee into the chapel with me. Afterwards, Beth Cairns chided me about doing that since there was a sign in the foyer that prohibited food or drink. So, I spent the next ten minutes trying to justify myself!

 

What seems to be going on in this lawyer’s attempt at justification is that he is looking for a loophole, for a way to exclude some from the designation “neighbor.” “Who is my neighbor?” is asked in hope that some people really are not. To put it still another way, the scholar is attempting to limit how far God’s grace truly reached. Could it, would it, reach beyond the community of Israel? The lawyer didn’t think it should reach that far. Jesus did.

 

            B. To show just how wide-reaching the mercy of God stretched, Jesus sought to open this man’s heart with a parable. A discussion of theology can only take one so far. And so we hear the very familiar story of a man who was traveling on a very dangerous road. He’s on the 17 mile stretch that runs from Jerusalem, at 3,300 feet, down to the badlands of Jericho and the Jordanian plain. The road twists through canyons and runs by caves, where bad guys often hide. Robbery is common and murder not infrequent. Well, this man in the story gets mugged and loses everything, even the clothes off his back. He’s then beaten up and left half-dead. As he lays there, two Jewish, religious professionals happen by. Neither stops to offer help. Both, in fact, cross to the other side of the road to get as far away as possible. Jesus doesn’t tell us why, but why is not the point. What he does tell us is that a third fellow comes along, a hated Samaritan at that. This guy takes care of the mugged man in a full orbed way. He disinfected him, bandaged him, took him to an inn, and provided the means for this man’s continued care.

 

IV. “Which of these three was a neighbor?”      

            A. It’s a simple story really. But the power in it comes as Jesus returns to the question game and asks what turns out to be his last: “Which of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man?” The scholar could not bring himself to spit out the word “Samaritan,” but he did get the answer right: “The one who had mercy,” the one who showed the compassion of God. “Go,” Jesus concludes, “and do likewise.”

 

Do you see what Jesus has done? He’s refused to define who a neighbor is. He’s set no limits or boundaries because true love knows no boundaries. What Jesus does through this parable is turn the whole question around. Instead of “Who is my neighbor?” the question becomes, “Will you be a neighbor?” Are you able to see and meet a need? Are you willing to show mercy, to extend God’s grace to anyone whose need God has put you in a position to address? The point is driven home by Jesus by providing a model for being a neighbor from a group the scholar was trying to exclude.

 

Ultimately, the parable is not a moralistic attempt on the part of Jesus to get us to be nice and helpful to others. The parable is told to help put flesh on the response to the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” To find life, to find lasting meaning, to participate in what God is doing, to live within the kingdom of God, Jesus calls us to “do” mercy. He calls us to turn love from a noun – something talked about by philosophers, poets, pastors, theologians, and editors of teen magazines – into a verb, such that it comes to life and brings life to others, including those who give it.

 

Will you be a neighbor? Do you know, we’re never told how the scholar responds; maybe that’s because Jesus really wants to ask the question of us.