Class Lesson August 28, 2016

What’s the clearest expression of love? Our actions.

Where do you draw the line for love?

It’s easy to love people who are close to us—our family and friends. We will go out of our way to express our love to them. When our children, grandchildren, or parents want something, we’ll often do all within our power to get it for them. And if they need something—there’s no limit to what we will do to meet their need. 

Why? We love them. No inconvenience or expense is too great if they have a need. Much of the time we’ll do the same for our best friends. These are our people, and we’re compassionate toward those we love. We take care of our own. 

But what about other people who are all around us? Everywhere we look we see people in need. Do we have any obligation to help them—to love them? And just where do we draw the line? 

It’s not a new question. Jesus addressed this question head on. He told a story with an interesting twist to get His point across. In doing so, He redefined what loving compassion looks like. He calls us to a higher standard than just “taking care of our own.”

SPECIAL FOCUS LESSON - LOVE GETS INVOLVED

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Our pastor recommended it. I tried it. It felt good. But it left me wondering.

His suggestion: The next time you buy lunch at a drive-through window, pay for the lunch of the person in the car behind you, and leave a small card (provided by the church) with a note expressing God’s love and information about the church. 

I had heard about people doing this and I thought, “I can do that. It’s convenient and easy to do. Maybe someone will be inclined to visit our church because they’ve had this unexpected experience.” But a thought continued to nag me. What if the person behind me didn’t really need any help buying lunch, but the car behind that one was filled with a hungry, homeless mom and three kids planning to split two kids meals?

Is a convenient and anonymous random act of kindness truly an adequate expression of God’s love for someone else?

Jesus told a parable in Luke 10 that helps us understand His perspective on how to express God’s love—and who is the right recipient of that love. God’s love for us is costly, and when we express it to others—no matter who they are—it will be costly for us. 

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

25Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26“What is written in the law?” He asked him. “How do you read it?” 27He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28“You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.” 29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus took up the question and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37“The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”



Love (v. 27)—Love involves the complete devotion of one’s entire being to God, not only in feelings, but in the actions of one’s life.

Priest (v. 31)—Priests were a class of male Jews. They were descendants of Aaron who were in charge of the sacrifices, offerings, worship, and maintenance of the temple. 

Levite (v. 32)—Descendants of Levi, known as Levites, were the lowest of the three orders in Israel’s priesthood. Their role was to assist the priests in their duties at the temple. 

Samaritan (v. 33)—Samaritans were considered “half-breeds” by the Jews because they were descendants of people from the rebellious northern tribes of Israel (Samaria) who had intermarried with non-Jews.

 

An expert in the Jewish law, a scribe, directed a question to Jesus that had the tone of a challenge. This was a key question for the Jewish community. The religious scholars of the day had been debating how Israel might regain their inheritance and keep it forever. The expert in the law already had his idea of the right answer. His question was a test to see if Jesus was a part of his group, or someone to be discredited and dismissed.

But instead of answering the scribe’s question, Jesus asked His own. In effect Jesus said, “You’re the legal expert. What does the law say?” 

The lawyer’s answer revealed his training in the Scriptures. He quoted a passage that devout people like him often recited. It is a passage so familiar it is known by a shorthand title: the Shema. Shema is the first word in Deuteronomy 6:4; it means to listen. “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

Then the lawyer added another passage that was clearly important to him: “Love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh” (Leviticus 19:18).

Jesus commended the expert in the law. “You’ve answered correctly... Do this and you will live” (v. 8). 

The legal expert and Jesus both knew the issue demanded more exploration. The only way to “do this and live” was to do it perfectly, to have always done it perfectly in the past, and to always do it perfectly in the future. We know that no one can fulfill those requirements in any way that would be satisfactory to God—and the lawyer surely knew that too. And so the tension between Jesus and the legal expert must have been immediately evident. 

 

   

The legal expert was quick to react. “And who is my neighbor?” (v. 29).
 

A neighbor, in this legal expert’s mind, was another member of the Jewish community. In fact, if the lawyer was also a Pharisee, as many were, a neighbor was a devout Jew—someone who thought, acted, talked, and looked like him.
 

But Jesus didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, He began a story to open the heart and mind of the legal expert. Sadly, it was a story that recounted a fairly common experience on the road that went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. On that mountainous, dangerous road an unfortunate man had fallen prey to the criminals who frequented the road. And he was robbed and left for dead.
 

A priest passed by. This was certainly one of the legal expert’s neighbors. He was a religious leader in the community. He would unquestionably behave “correctly.” As he passed by the injured man, he moved to the other side of the road. Perhaps the priest thought, there’s no sense in becoming ritually unclean for someone he didn’t know, someone who was likely already dead.
 

Next came a Levite, another likely neighbor. This man was also a religious leader in the community, one who assisted the priests with their duties in the temple. Like the priest, he knew the law and couldn’t risk helping either, so he crossed over to the other side. They both knew this was a dangerous road, and if either of the religious men stopped to help, they would have just opened themselves up to the danger of being robbed and beaten. It wasn’t worth the risk for a stranger. 

These two religious leaders were clearly in the “neighbor” category for the legal expert, but they weren’t acting very neighborly themselves. Didn’t they feel any obligation? Where was their empathy? They had no excuse for their inaction. 

 

When Jesus’ story gets to the Good Samaritan, our contemporary minds hear a signal that the hero of the story has arrived. That, however, was not the case with those who heard Jesus tell the story that day. Jews utterly despised the Samaritans; these people were different and everyone knew it. The Samaritans were the descendants of people from the rebellious northern tribes of Israel (Samaria). The Jews hated them because they had intermarried with idol-worshiping non-Jews who settled in the territory following Samaria’s defeat by the Assyrian Empire. 

When Jesus contrasted the Samaritan’s compassionate behavior to the uncaring apathy of the priest and Levite, it was a shocking moment. The second-class, “half-breed,” unclean man acted in loving compassion toward the man in need. And he did it regardless of what it cost him. He risked his safety. He took he time and effort to bind the man’s wounds and ease his pain. He transported him to safety and made financial arrangements to cover the expenses of the man’s recuperation. 

Jesus turned the question back to the legal expert. “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” (v. 36). The answer is obvious even though the expert in the law couldn’t bring himself to say “the Samaritan.” He could only describe the man by his actions: “The one who showed mercy” (v. 37).

Jesus told the legal expert, “Go and do the same” (v. 37). This command was highly offensive to the legal expert. To be told to act like a Samaritan was a direct attack on the lawyer’s definition of a neighbor. 

Jesus calls us to a higher standard than acts of random kindness that barely cost us the price of a fast-food lunch. In fact, there’s nothing “random” about what Jesus calls us to do. We’re to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. And we express that love as we love our neighbors—those all around us.

LIVE IT OUT 

How can you step into someone’s life, get involved in a meaningful way, and express God’s love?

• Care for the homeless. Pack a few plastic bags with personal hygiene items and non-perishable snacks and then leave them in your car. The next time you see a person who appears homeless and hungry, offer one of these packs.

• Step out of your current “friend zone.” We can’t love those whom we don’t know. This week, pay attention to those you regularly encounter at work, at school, or at church and make an effort to get to know them better.

• Mobilize your Bible study group. Find out who can cook, perform car maintenance, do laundry, tutor an elementary subject, provide rides, and so on. Keep this list handy and when someone in your group encounters a person with one of these needs, offer to meet that need together.

God’s love for you is personal, planned, and costly. An appropriate response to His love is to replace your random acts of kindness with the same kind of deliberate acts of love toward your neighbors. 


Teacher Notes

What’s the clearest expression of love? Our Actions


Random acts of kindness are a good thing, but are they enough?


God says that our love for Him includes a costly love for others. What does that mean?


The Good Samaritan Parable

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is precipitated by and in answer to a question posed to Jesus by a lawyer. In this case the lawyer would have been an expert in the Mosaic Law and not a court lawyer of today.


Luke 10:25-37


I. Loving God Leads to Loving Others (25-28)

25Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26“What is written in the law?” He asked him. “How do you read it?” 27He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28“You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.”

Either as part of the teaching session or at its conclusion, an expert in the law stood up to ask a question. The man is identified as an expert in the law (a lawyer), an interpreter of Mosaic Law. Most of the time in Luke’s Gospel these people were characterized as opponents of Jesus.


What does it mean to be nice, to be kind, to love? How are the three alike? Different?



Was the expert in the law’s question an appropriate one and what was his intent?

• The question was one that was of legitimate concern and important to the Jews.
• There is no question more important that knowing how to receive eternal life.
• The expert in the law already had his idea of the right answer. His question was a test to see if Jesus was a part of his group, or someone to be discredited and dismissed.
• The lawyer’s question was, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25). This question provided Jesus with an opportunity to define what His disciples’ relationship should be to their neighbors. The text says that the scribe (lawyer) had put the question to Jesus as a test, but the text does not indicate that there was hostility in the question. He could have simply been seeking information. The wording of the question does, however, give us some insight into where the scribe’s heart was spiritually. He was making the assumption that man must do something to obtain eternal life. Although this could have been an opportunity for Jesus to discuss salvation issues, He chose a different course and focuses on our relationships and what it means to love.

How should Christians today respond to challenging questions designed to test them?



Why did Jesus turn the question back on the expert? How does the expert answer?

• In effect Jesus said, “You’re the legal expert. What does the law say?”
• This was rabbinic style – asking a question in return.
• This method challenged the learner to search out an answer rather than being given one.
• It also allowed the teacher to assess what the learner already knew and understood.
• The question would direct the expert back to his own area of expertise.
• “How do you read it?” was an invitation to give his interpretation.
• Jesus thus avoids an argument and puts Himself in the position of evaluating the scribe’s answer instead of the scribe evaluating His answer. This directs the discussion towards Jesus’ intended lesson. The scribe answers Jesus’ question by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. This is virtually the same answer that Jesus had given to the same question in Matthew 22:37 and Mark 12:29-31.

What does it mean to “love your neighbor as yourself”?

• Our natural tendency is to put ourselves first - we are quick to watch out for our own interests
• God calls us to act counter to that natural tendency and act the same way towards others … looking out for their interests … as we do for ourselves
• Leviticus 19:18 (meaning to love a neighbor in the same ways, to the same degrees, with the same commitment as one’s self).

What is the message behind the message in verse 28?

• In verse 28, Jesus affirms that the lawyer’s answer is correct. Jesus’ reply tells the scribe that he has given an orthodox (scripturally proper) answer, but then goes on in verse 28 to tell him that this kind of love requires more than an emotional feeling; it would also include orthodox practice; he would need to “practice what he preached.”
• Eternal life is more than giving theologically correct answers or repeating creeds or statements of faith. Eternal life is a gift of God to those who have been spiritually transformed. Those who have been transformed are governed by love for God and from God that is expressed in the way one lives in relationship to God and others. “Students can make a 4.0 in Bible and miss the point. Jesus did not say to the expert, ‘Great answer! You are my best pupil.’ Rather, Jesus said, ‘Go and do.’ “ The proof that one has been saved is not in saying it but in showing it (Matt. 7:21).

Point: Loving God completely leads to loving others compassionately.

If a person truly loves God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind – they will love others compassionately.




II. Loving Others Means Taking Action (29-32)
29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus took up the question and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

Why do you think the expert in the law felt the need to justify himself?

• He may have felt uncomfortable with the progression of the conversation to this point. If his intent was to trap Jesus, he had failed, and maybe he felt trapped himself.
• If he really wanted to know how to inherit eternal life, he may have felt embarrassed that Jesus pointed out that he already knew the answer; he just hadn’t put it into practice.
• If his intent was to establish that Jesus’ teaching was consistent with the Law, well, obviously it was.

To justify: means to show one to be right. He either wanted to prove he had been faithful to the Law or to provide an excuse for why he had not. Whether he had been, could depend on how one defined neighbor, so he asked a follow-up question. “And who is my neighbor?”



What was the expert’s intent behind his question, and who is my neighbor?

• The man probably had a narrow definition limited to fellow Jews that he hoped Jesus would affirm. Jesus did not share that narrow view.
• Followers of Christ are not to look for ways to limit acts of compassion but to increase them beyond measure.
• The expert wanted to limit who he was supposed to love.
• He wanted to limit the definition of “neighbor” to someone close, someone nice.
• Hope it isn’t someone who I don’t like, someone who is offensive.

The scribe was an educated man and realized that he could not possibly keep that law, nor would he have necessarily wanted to. There would always be people in his life that he could not love. Thus, he tries to limit the law’s command by limiting its parameters and asked the question “who is my neighbor?” The word “neighbor” in the Greek means “someone who is near,” and in the Hebrew it means “someone that you have an association with.” This interprets the word in a limited sense, referring to a fellow Jew and would have excluded Samaritans, Romans, and other foreigners. Jesus then gives the parable of the Good Samaritan to correct the false understanding that the scribe had of who his neighbor is, and what his duty is to his neighbor.



Jesus answers by telling a story.

• The setting and characters would have been familiar to the expert, with the exception to the surprise ending, the story was very realistic. “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho” a distance of about 17 miles.
• The Parable of the Good Samaritan tells the story of a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, and while on the way he is robbed of everything he had, including his clothing, and is beaten to within an inch of his life. That road was treacherously winding and was a favorite hideout of robbers and thieves. The next character Jesus introduces into His story is a priest. He spends no time describing the priest and only tells of how he showed no love or compassion for the man by failing to help him and passing on the other side of the road so as not to get involved. If there was anyone who would have known God’s law of love, it would have been the priest. By nature of his position, he was to be a person of compassion, desiring to help others. Unfortunately, “love” was not a word for him that required action on the behalf of someone else. The next person to pass by in the Parable of the Good Samaritan is a Levite, and he does exactly what the priest did: he passes by without showing any compassion. Again, he would have known the law, but he also failed to show the injured man compassion.
• While some might have expected more from the religious leaders, they also might have even identified with their hesitancy to act. They might have thought, “I would have done the same thing.”

Put yourself in the position of the priest or Levite. What would be some reasons for not stopping to help this man?

• He’s already too far gone to help
• I might be ceremonially unclean if I touch a dead person
• This might be a trap … the robbers might be just waiting for me to stop
• I’m late … cannot be delayed
• I can’t afford to get involved
• Can’t afford the time or the resources involved
• They got themselves into the problem, they can get themselves out
• They need to learn to stand on their own two feet
• They deserve the plight they are in … it’s God’s judgment!
• I’m already too busy with family, school, job, church … someone else will help them
• Those people are just too different from us … we cannot relate to them, they probably won’t understand or appreciate our help

When you see a situation that calls for loving action – how do you decide when and where to get involved?



How do we overcome barriers like these?

• Confess your lack of love and concern for others in need
• Ask God to work in our lives to give us His love for them
• Get to know the people, then you realize their true needs
• When they become your friends, you are more willing to help them
• Pray for them … often God uses you to be the instrument of answering your own prayers

Who are some “neighbors” we try to avoid in our culture? How do we justify our actions?



When you see a person in clear need right in front of you, how to you tend to respond?



How did the wounded man present a limited window of opportunity for the priest and Levite?

• He was in need right then
• If they waited until it was more convenient, the man would probably die
• Despite their commitments to other things, this might be a priority presented by God

Regardless of their excuse, a man in need was left alone to suffer in his plight because two people who would have professed to love God failed to take action when they had an opportunity to help another person.



Point: We fail to show love when we fail to take action on behalf of others.



III. Loving God and Loving Others Knows No Limits (33-37)
33But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37“The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”


One more traveler journeyed down the road. The mere mention of him could have generated hisses and boos – “But a Samaritan.” Here would have been the perception of the expert: “It’s all over for the injured man now. He is as good as dead, if he isn’t already. If anything remained to be taken, the poor man will be stripped of that too.” No Jew would ever have expected a Samaritan to be a hero.



Why would a Samaritan be considered an unlikely hero?

• Jews hated Samaritans
• Samaritans considered religiously and racially to be inferior - half-breeds
• During Jewish captivity, Samaritans had been left behind and their worship had drifted away from Jehovah - they had intermarried with local pagans

What actions did the Good Samaritan take that Jesus said should be emulated by His followers?



How did the Samaritan prove his compassion?

• Took pity, bandaged his wounds, gave medication, gave him a ride, took him to an inn, cared for him and paid for further care.

The next person to come by is the Samaritan, the one least likely to have shown compassion for the man. Samaritans were considered a low class of people by the Jews since they had intermarried with non-Jews and did not keep all the law. Therefore, Jews would have nothing to do with them. We do not know if the injured man was a Jew or Gentile, but it made no difference to the Samaritan; he did not consider the man’s race or religion. The “Good Samaritan” saw only a person in dire need of assistance, and assist him he did, above and beyond the minimum required. He dresses the man’s wounds with wine (to disinfect) and oil (to sooth the pain). He puts the man on his animal and takes him to an inn for a time of healing and pays the innkeeper with his own money. He then goes beyond common decency and tells the innkeeper to take good care of the man, and he would pay for any extra expenses on his return trip. The Samaritan saw his neighbor as anyone who was in need.



How do we sometimes put demands on love?



What conditions do we sometimes put on showing love to others?

• I will love you if you will love me
• I will only be nice to you if you do what I want
• I’ll be mean to you if you don’t treat me nice, if you don’t love me
• I’ve only got so much love to go around … you may or may not be within my limit

How do we move from random acts of kindness to an intentional lifestyle of costly love?

• God’s love for you is personal, planned, and costly. An appropriate response to His love is to replace your random acts of kindness with the same kind of deliberate acts of love toward your neighbors.
• Risky, costly love
• Pray for people in need
• Ask God to give you compassion that you do not have within yourself
• Become involved in outreach ministries,
• Become a volunteer (rescue missions, Habitat for Humanity efforts, etc.)

If Jesus were telling this same parable today, how do you think He might change it so that we could more directly relate to it?


Because the good man was a Samaritan, Jesus is drawing a strong contrast between those who knew the law and those who actually followed the law in their lifestyle and conduct. Jesus now asks the lawyer if he can apply the lesson to his own life with the question “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" (Luke 10:36). Once again, the lawyer’s answer is telling of his personal hardness of heart. He cannot bring himself to say the word “Samaritan”; he refers to the “good man” as “he who showed mercy.” His hate for the Samaritans (his neighbors) was so strong that he couldn’t even refer to them in a proper way. Jesus then tells the lawyer to “go and do likewise,” meaning that he should start living what the law tells him to do.





Points:

God calls us to demonstrate our love for Him by loving others.

Love is shown by action, is not limited to certain people or situations and can be costly.



The priest and the Levite saw the injured man, but they did not see an opportunity. Even if they felt sorry for him, apparently that was not enough to move them to action. The Samaritan’s exercise of compassion is the model for becoming involved in ministry to others!


Ministry is more than a feeling, a word, a good thought, or an organized church program. It is seeing an opportunity and, being moved by love, going into action to bring relief, to someone in distress and need.



By ending the encounter in this manner, Jesus is telling us to follow the Samaritan’s example in our own conduct; i.e., we are to show compassion and love for those we encounter in our everyday activities. We are to love others (vs. 27) regardless of their race or religion; the criterion is need. If they need and we have the supply, then we are to give generously and freely, without expectation of return. This is an impossible obligation for the lawyer, and for us. We cannot always keep the law because of our human condition; our heart and desires are mostly of self and selfishness. When left to our own, we do the wrong thing, failing to meet the law. We can hope that the lawyer saw this and came to the realization that there was nothing he could do to justify himself, that he needed a personal savior to atone for his lack of ability to save himself from his sins. Thus, the lessons of the Parable of the Good Samaritan are three-fold:



1. We are to set aside our prejudice and show love and compassion for others.

2. Our neighbor is anyone we encounter; we are all creatures of the creator and we are to love all of mankind as Jesus has taught.

3. Keeping the law in its entirety with the intent to save ourselves is an impossible task; we need a savior, and this is Jesus.





There is another possible way to interpret the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and that is as a metaphor. In this interpretation:

• The injured man is all men in their fallen condition of sin.
• The robbers are Satan attacking man with the intent of destroying their relationship with God.
• The lawyer is mankind without the true understanding of God and His Word.
• The priest is religion in an apostate condition.
• The Levite is legalism that instills prejudice into the hearts of believers.
• The Samaritan is Jesus who provides the way to spiritual health.

Although this interpretation teaches good lessons, and the parallels between Jesus and the Samaritan are striking, this understanding draws attention to Jesus that does not appear to be intended in the text. Therefore, we must conclude that the teaching of the Parable of the Good Samaritan is simply a lesson on what it means to love one’s neighbor.



Prayer of Commitment

Father, my world is troubled and divided. I would prefer to withdraw. Help me to know how to love the unlovable and to demonstrate my love for You by being involved with them. Amen.



Hope to see you on Sunday!


In His Love,

David & Susan