The other side of the road

We are all on a journey.  As we travel down this path of life we encounter humanity, every belief, lifestyle and religion.  Some we agree with, some we don’t.  The question is “How do we respond as a follower of Jesus Christ?”.
The Bibles says in Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Today we will discover that humanities value is established on the basis of the nature of God, who is the perfect example of dignity and holiness.

We begin by looking at:

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37)
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.”

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

Luke 10: 25 begins with a question from an expert in the Law.

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus knowing the man’s evil intentions that he wanted to test him, asks him this:

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

The expert replies:

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.’ ”

Jesus answers:

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

This man knew how he had not lived. So we see in verse 29:

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

Why would he ask “Who is my neighbor?”.  For most Jews a neighbor was another Jew, not a Samaritan or a Gentile.

He wanted to justify himself because of his negative attitude towards people who were not Jews.

So Jesus begins telling a story to make the point that the question for our lives is not “WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? but WHAT MUST I DO TO BE A LOVING NEIGHBOR?

We see the opening statement in verse 30:

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.

This man…Jesus doesn’t say whether he is a Jew, a Gentile, a Samaritan…nothing.  Jesus just says that He is a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.

Because Jerusalem sits on a mountain twenty-five hundred feet above sea level, one always goes down from Jerusalem no matter which direction one takes.

Jericho was seventeen miles east of Jerusalem and approximately eight hundred feet below sea level.

When this man fell into the hands of robbers.

Robber would hide in the mountains, rocks, and desert along the road between Jerusalem and Jericho so as this man traveled, he was stripped of his clothes, beaten and left for dead.

And then the story really gets good.

31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

A priest would of been a descendant of Aaron and involved in the sacrifices and maintenance of the temple, as well as in various purification rites, a priest could not defile himself by contact with the dead, except in the case of a close relative.

The priest had an excuse, but we all know…it was only an excuse.

You see this road that this man was beaten was a lonely road.  We see in verse 31 that:  The priest happened to be going down the same road.

Happened to be going. Jesus used the words “happened to be going” to show that this was not the road that most traveled down.

And when the priest noticed the naked, bloody, beaten man…it says…he passed by on the other side.

The priest passed by on the other side. This is a colorful way of describing the priest’s unwillingness to love his neighbor as himself.

Then verse 32:
32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

The Levite was a descendant of Levi who assisted the priests in various sacrificial duties and policing the temple but could not perform the sacrificial acts.

Luke was not suggesting that since the Levite’s duties were less then that of the priest he might have been more open to help because he didn’t have the problem of becoming defiled.

Rather Luke was making a point that the RELIGIOUS did not practice being loving neighbors.

The Levite behaved just like the priest and passed by on the other side of the road.

Let me ask you…on this path called life…what people group… in the sea of humanity causes you to “PASS BY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD?”

Is it “THOSE GAYS”, THOSE RETARDS, THOSE STUPID OLD PEOPLE,  THOSE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS?

What people group do you have the least amount of compassion for?
James 3:8-9 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.

Have you ever cursed someone made in the image of God?

Do you see the image and likeness of God in all Humanity?

Christ came to this earth and became a man, He did not become an angel; He became a man” .

He became  a man to redeem humanity.

Man was, at the Creation, special. And each human being remains just as special today.

When we look at the earthly life of Christ we begin to understand how we are to act towards humanity.

Jesus welcomed those whom society viewed as the stranger, those whom society wanted to ignore.

With Jesus, it didn’t matter where they had come from or what they had done, Jesus knew that within them the image of God remained.

Jesus reached out to all of humanity not because it was a nice thing to do or his ‘good deed for the day’, but because he saw the image of God in others as something to be honored, cared for, respected, served and loved.

We need not look any further than the the WAY that Jesus lived on earth and read the TRUTH that He taught.

Jesus came to this earth to have  relationship with humanity not to start a religion.

The priest and the levite passed by the man on the other side of the road.

It was the the RELIGIOUS that did not practice being loving neighbors.

Religion causes us to live by a set of made up rules about who is “GOOD” and who is “EVIL”

Religion causes us to ask the question: WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

Rather than ask: WHAT MUST I DO TO BE A LOVING NEIGHBOR?

Religion compartmentalize humanity in to a categories.

A relationship causes us to not pass by on the other side of the road, but to see all humanity with the eyes of Jesus.

Jesus continues to tell His story in verses 33-35

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.’

Verse 33 with Jesus saying:  But a Samaritan.

Jesus deliberately chose an outsider, and a hated one at that, for his hero in order to indicate that being a neighbor is not a matter of nationality or race.

The Jews hated the Samaritans, and that is the very reason Jesus used a Samaritan as His hero of the story.

This Samaritan, not knowing the naked, beaten mans, nationality, race, sexual orientation, or background had pity on this man.

He was willing to help him and not just pass by on the other side of the road because he  recognized the image of God that is in all humanity.  The ingredient that connects us, and make us human.

The Samaritan not only had pity, but then took action.

Verse 34 says: 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.

He placed the man on his own donkey.

This shows the desperate condition of the man.

The Samaritan then uses his own resources, his own money to help this man recover.

A neighbor according to Jesus is one not only in word but in deed.

He gave of his possessions (oil, wine, donkey, money) modeling the life that Jesus expects of us, to not only help, but to expect nothing in return.

Jesus indicated that one should worry less about who a neighbor is than about being a good neighbor.
After this story, Jesus looks at the expert in the Law and says:

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 that “THE EXPERT” replied:  “The one who had mercy on him.” avoiding  the term “Samaritan”

Being a loving neighbor does not mean we agree with and except everyone’s beliefs.

It means that regardless of what someones believes, we still respond to them with the love and compassion of Jesus when they are in need.

Who is on the other side of your road?

According to scripture who is your neighbor?

Everyone.

How does Jesus want us to respond to humanity?

Jesus want’s us to respond like the Samaritan.

Learning and growing in the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE of Jesus is about passionately loving God and with great compassion, loving all humanity.

Never walk on the other side of the road.

LIFE OUTSIDE THE BOX QUESTIONS:

1. Who in your neighbor?