Sermon Tone Analysis

REDEFINES OUR RELATIONSHIPS

Neighbor: concept apparently limited in the OT period and late Judaism to one’s fellow Israelite, or member of the covenant, and extended by Jesus to include anyone encountered in life.

Jesus differed dramatically from his Jewish contemporaries by eradicating the limitations on the neighbor to be loved.

In contrast to those who would limit love to one’s fellow countrymen, Jesus advocated extending the obligation reserved for the neighbor to the enemy as well and in so doing, destroyed the distinction between neighbor and enemy altogether.

On another occasion, a scribe asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment given by God

In response, Jesus cited Deuteronomy 6:5 concerning the nature of God and man’s obligation to love God with his entire being: heart, soul, and mind.

Of significance is that Jesus did not stop there but linked with this a second commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

Some scholars suggest that this dramatic and close association of love of God and love of neighbor originated with Jesus.

If Jesus did first draw these commands together (see Mt 22:37; Mk 12:29–31), it reveals our Lord’s own understanding of the relation of these two obligations: proper love for neighbor derives from love for God and conversely, love for God is inseparable from meeting the needs of a neighbor in love.

The debate in Jesus’ time was not over how to properly treat a neighbor but who, in fact, was the neighbor.

Jesus is asked this very question by an expert of the Law

Jesus had complimented the lawyer for his clear understanding of what was required to inherit eternal life; namely, love of God and love of neighbor.

Luke suggests (10:29) that the lawyer asked the further qualifying question in order to “justify himself,” that is, justify his actual behavior of limited love toward his fellowman.

Jesus chose not to respond directly but through the use of a parable, in this case, the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30–35).

In order to open the lawyer’s eyes to the tragic shortsightedness of his question, Jesus related an everyday story of a man traveling the treacherous road from Jerusalem down to Jericho, a road particularly plagued by robbers.

The traveler is robbed, stripped, beaten, and left half dead (v 30).

To this point, the lawyer might have assumed Jesus was offering an example of who constitutes a “neighbor”—a fellow Jew in need.

Jesus proceeds, however, to introduce two figures, a priest and a Levite (10:31, 32) who, in an academic discussion, could have argued quite ably on who is the neighbor God calls one to love.

The lawyer would no doubt have anticipated such experts in the Law to act rightly toward the victim.

In contrast, the priest and Levite, upon seeing the man in need, respond by “passing by the other side.”

Enter a Samaritan, a figure especially despised by the Jews.

Viewed as heretics by the Jewish religious authorities, the Samaritans were disqualified in rabbinic circles from being considered a “neighbor” and thus worthy of love.

While the lawyer listening to the parable would have expected the priest and Levite to act justly toward the victim, he must have been surprised that a hated Samaritan would show compassion and thus fulfill the greatest commandment.

Jesus intentionally spelled out the extent of the Samaritan’s compassion (immediate care in dressing wounds, transport to the inn, care for the victim there and extended care in paying for care by others while he is away, 10:34, 35) to such a degree that the lawyer would have no doubt as to the genuineness of the Samaritan’s love.

The irony of the story is that one not considered worthy to be called “neighbor” by Jews was precisely the one who showed himself to be “neighbor” to the victim (10:36, 37).

All of this reveals Jesus’ definition of “neighbor” and what “love of neighbor” demands.

Jesus sets no limitation on who qualifies as the neighbor commanded by God to be loved.

The forcefulness and power of Jesus’ teachings on the love of neighbor and its relationship to one’s love for God are demonstrated by a similar emphasis within the early church.

Paul on two occasions called the love of neighbor the “fulfillment of the entire law” “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

while James referred to the same commandment as “the royal law” (Jas 2:8).

What is gospel neighboring?

To meet the concrete needs, the human needs, of all the people around you, whether they believe like you do or not, with such costliness and such sacrifice that people will need to hear the gospel just to try to make some sense out of your life, because you’re so inexplicable.

REQUIRES OUR RESPONSE

Feeding, sheltering, protecting the weak, liberating the oppressed.

This is the essence of what it means to be a disciple.

This is the essence of what it means to love my neighbor.

This is it.”

In fact, this is not the only place.

In Matthew 25, Jesus says,

Jesus has the audacity to say, “Here’s how I know the difference between a person who just says they believe and a person who has actually experienced my supernatural grace.

A life poured out in deeds of compassion and service, especially to the poor, is an inevitable sign that you’ve actually experienced my salvation.

It may come later, it may come sooner, but it will always come.

REFUTES OUR RESTRICTIONS

There are three ways in this passage in which Jesus refutes their restrictions.

The first way we tend to restrict gospel neighboring is we try to limit the who.

“Your neighbor is anybody in need, absolutely anyone.”

The protagonist reaches across an enormous racial barrier in order to help.

It’s Jesus’ way of saying, “Don’t you dare try to limit this.

Don’t you dare.”

THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOR IS THE ONLY DOOR OUT OF THE DUNGEON OF SELF.

GEORGE MACDONALD.

Secondly, we tend to limit the when.

Jonathan Edwards, who was a pastor in New England in the 1740s, wrote a fascinating treatise called “The Duty of Charity to the Poor” because his own congregation was giving him all these excuses why they didn’t want to do it.

He made lists of all the excuses and gospel answers.

Here’s one excuse.

“But you say, ‘They are not truly poor.

I only have to help people when they’re truly destitute and poor.’”

Edwards’ answer is something like, “Should we relieve our neighbors only in extreme destitution?

That is not agreeable to the rule of loving our neighbors as ourselves.

We get concerned about our situation long before we become destitute.

We do something about our situation long before we become destitute, so you should love your neighbor as yourself.”

Here’s the second excuse.

“But they brought on their trouble themselves.

I don’t have to help when they have brought it on themselves.”

Jonathan Edwards writes, “But Christ loved you, pitied you, and greatly laid himself out to relieve you from all that want and misery which you brought on yourself by your own folly.

Should we not love others as Christ loved us?”

In other words, Edwards is saying Jesus looked down from heaven and if he had said, “I only want to help the deserving poor with my blood,” he could have saved himself a trip, because there isn’t anybody down here who deserves it.

Thirdly, we tend to limit the how much.

Jonathan Edwards deals with a person who says, “I can’t afford to help people in need.

I can’t afford …” he essentially says, “Remember

Edwards goes on, “IF OUR NEIGHBORS DIFFICULTIES AND NECESSITIES ARE MUCH GREATER THAN OUR OWN. . .

WE SHOULD BE WILLING TO SUFFER WITH HIM AND TAKE PART OF HIS BURDEN UPON OURSELVES.

When people say, “I can’t afford to give,” what they mean is, “I can’t afford to give to the poor or the needy without it burdening me, without it hurting my living standards, without it really making me radically sacrifice.”

Jesus says, “Yes.

That’s it.”

There’s no such thing as a person who can’t afford to help.

In fact, if you can afford to help, you’re not helping enough.

Jesus Christ says, “Let me tell you the magnitude of what I’m calling my disciples to do.

You are to help even people who ordinarily you would hate the sight of.

You are to help people who have brought this on themselves, and you are to help them to the place where some of their burden falls on you, so that to some degree you experience some of their difficulty because you’re giving that heavily.”

He says, “That is what I call you to.

Don’t you dare limit it.”

Well, let me ask you a quick question.

How do you get anybody to live like this I mean, obviously this is great, but nobody lives like this? Nobody lives like this.

So how do you get people to live like this?

That brings us up to our final observation this morning.

REVEALS OUR REASON

The first way you can try to get people to live like this is through morality, secular or religious.

The secular version goes like this.

You say, “Well, if you’re a progressive person, if you’re a decent person, if you’re a civic-minded person, you’ll be concerned for the poor.

You will vote for policies that help them and you will give yourself and your time through volunteer work and through your money.

That’s the secular version.

The religious version is, “You must give to the poor because the Bible commands it or the Qur’an commands it or the Torah commands it,” or whatever.

There is not one major religion in the world that doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on helping the poor.

So you have a religious and a secular version, but they both basically motivate you through guilt.

“You have so much, and they have so little.

Don’t you feel bad?

Give it away.”