Life Stories: Neighbor

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ^[11] And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^[12] For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ^[13] This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  (Matthew 13:10-13 ESV)

[Excerpted from the Daily Mail 2017.08.13] A man was photographed seconds after he heroically pushed his fiancée out of the way of a white supremacist’s car in Charlottesville Saturday. Marcus Martin, 26, was a counter-protester at the tragic day’s events, marching the streets with his fiancée Marissa Blair, 27, and their friends. When a Dodge Challenger suddenly rammed into the crowd, Martin didn’t hesitate to push his bride-to-be out of the way, resulting in him being hit by the accelerating vehicle. Martin was photographed in mid-air seconds after he saved Blair’s life, and other photos reveal that when the car backed up over him, his shoe was dragged off.

Moments before Martin was struck, Blair said they had been walking through the streets, chanting and laughing. She added to the DailyMail.com: ‘We were saying, “Whose streets? Our streets!” and just having a good time. We were right at the intersection, deciding to go right or left. We went left. ‘We hear a commotion from the top of the street. It happened so fast. I felt myself shoved out of the way. [Martin] had pushed me out of the way. ‘It was so fast. All he could think was to push me. He saved me then he was under the car. I checked myself and then immediately thought, where’s Marcus? ‘I started looking where the car had hit people. I saw his hat had blood all over it but he wasn’t there. I found him with no blood on him.

Blair added: ‘I’m still numb. My friend is dead. Heather was with us because this is what Heather believed in. She died standing up for what she believed in. ‘We had been witnessing everything that was going on. We’ve been here for it. ‘We couldn’t have hate groups walking around our city with no peaceful opposition. ‘We knew the risk we were taking. But we said they aren’t going to do this anymore.’

‘Everyone has an opinion, but we were out there spreading love and not allowing hate groups to terrorize our city! Our country!!
This is a particularly extreme environment. As Blair said, “everyone has an opinion.” This is an example of doing what you believe to be right even when there is a risk. There is a risk of being counter cultural and there is the risk of physical harm or death. Have you had the opportunity to take a stand? Have you seen bullying, sexism, ageism, or racism? Jesus uses the story of the Good Samaritan to illustrate how to lean into this risk.

^[25] And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ^[26] He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ^[27] And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” ^[28] And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

^[29] But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ^[30] 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. ^[31] Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ^[32] So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ^[33] But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ^[34] He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ^[35] And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ^[36] Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ^[37] He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”  (Luke 10:25-37 ESV)

Jewish rabbis enjoyed debating the fine points of doctrine; this lawyer (a student of the OT law) wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. We get the impression that the man was not seeking truth, but was only trying to involve Jesus in a debate that he hoped he would win. The lawyer proved to be evasive when it came to facing truth honestly and obeying it. Our greatest responsibility is to obey the greatest of the commandments, which the man quoted accurately from Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5.

^[4] “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ^[5] You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ^[6] And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ^[7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 ESV)

^[28] And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ^[29] Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ^[30] And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ^[31] The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31 ESV)

But we cannot rightly love God or our neighbor until we have God’s love in our hearts. “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 ESV) If we cannot keep the greatest of the commandments, how can we ever hope to please God? How important it is to see that salvation is by faith, not by keeping the law; but once a person has been saved, he or she can depend on the Spirit to help fill their hearts with love.

^[3] Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ^[4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ^[5] and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  (Romans 5:3-5 ESV)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan was given to answer the evasive question of the lawyer. “Define your terms!” is an old trick of lawyers and debaters. Instead of getting involved in abstract terms, Jesus presented a concrete case; and the lawyer understood the point.

We must not “spiritualize” this parable and turn it into a metaphor of salvation. The point is simply that our neighbor is anybody who needs us, anybody whom we can help. The “hero” of the story is a Samaritan caring for a Jew; the priest and Levite — professional religious workers — are not heroes at all. The question we must answer is not “Who is my neighbor?” but “To whom can I be a neighbor?” (Wiersbe – WEO)

THE COST OF COMPASSION… (Discuss the challenges that come with a higher standard of willingness)

1. A willingness to cross social barriers (examples?)
   1. There should be no religious, racial, or national barriers to showing compassion!
2. A willingness to take risks (examples?)
   1. The Samaritan took a great risk by stopping to help
      1. What if the robbers were still near by?
   2. So Christians are called upon to take risks
      1. How do we know people won’t take advantage of our generosity?
3. A willingness to set aside busy schedules (examples?)
   1. The Samaritan was on a journey, but took the time to stop and care for the man
4. A willingness to make sacrifices (examples?)
   1. The Samaritan sacrificed more than just time and energy
      1. He used some of his own provisions
      2. He even offered an open-ended agreement to provide for his help

With the parable of “The Good Samaritan”, we are challenged to a higher standard of love.