BEYOND WORDS: WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR
May 26, 2024
Charles Billingsley
How many times in your life have you heard the parable of the “Good Samaritan”? It is probably one of the two most familiar in Scripture, the other being the parable of the Prodigal Son. Today, Teaching Pastor Charles Billingsley gives us a fresh perspective on this story told by Jesus, which will change your thoughts on it for the rest of your life. Join us as we wind up the series on the Parables of Jesus, seeing in the story that Jesus Christ Himself is the true Good Samaritan, who rescued us out of the ditch we were in, helpless and wounded, to heal us by His stripes, and give us eternal life. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is the story of the gospel!
Focal Passages: Luke 10:25-37.
Who is my neighbor?
- Read Luke 10:25-29. How many of you, when you first heard the story of the good Samaritan, asked someone, “Who is my neighbor?” What did the lawyer ask Jesus when he opened the conversation? What vocation did “lawyer” indicate at that time? What was his motive? Why did Jesus ask him for his interpretation of the answer the lawyer gave?
- How did Jesus respond? Could the man do this (vs. 27)? Why did Jesus tell the lawyer to do it and he would “live”?
- In vs. 29, what is meant by “he wanted to justify himself”? Leaders like the lawyer were teaching people that they could hate which persons?
What did the ‘preacher’, the ‘music leader’ and the Samaritan do?
- Read Luke 10:30-37. Will someone please paraphrase the parable? What was the likely reason the priest and the Levite passed by? Why did the Samaritan not pass him by? What were the ten things the Samaritan did for the man? Talk about each one and critique your own actions in each of these areas. How much money’s worth of care did he give the innkeeper?
- What is the major reason we do not respond to the needs we see around us each day? Are we using this as a “justification” for ourselves? What would happen to our time if we gave it to others? Will we make excuses to God for being too busy to minister to the needs of others?
In serving others, we ARE serving God!
To be a Good Neighbor is often an interruption.
- Read vv. 33-35. Which one of the ten actions the Samaritan took required the most amount of time? When he took the wounded man to the inn, when did he leave? Do you think he paid the innkeeper so much money for just the room, (1/32nd of a denarii per night), or for the “Take care of him” part?
- This whole scenario Jesus told could have taken a full day’s worth of the Samaritan’s time—maybe more. When is the last time you gave someone a whole day of your life? Do you let yourself be interrupted for an hour? BUILD TIME IN YOUR DAY FOR INTERRUPTIONS!
To be a Good Neighbor is usually an inconvenience:
- In vv. 33-35, at what point did the interruption become an inconvenience for the Samaritan? Did that cause him to stop? Why do we get so bent out of shape when someone asks us to do something that causes our schedule to be rearranged, even for a short while?
- Where is the sin in that attitude? A NEED SEEN IS A TASK REQUIRED
To be a Good Neighbor will require an investment:
- Spend a couple of minutes discussing the differences between “seeing” and other forms of using our eyes that ends up processing someone’s internal condition. You have to do more than just “see”! How can you open the eyes of your heart to the needs around you?
- Give up something—your seat, money, ticket, clothes. What happens when we give generously? THE LEVEL OF THE NEED WILL USUALLY DETERMINE THE INVESTMENT.
- Meet the need. Read James 2:15-16. James lays it out plainly—if you see someone in need and say “Well, have a nice day!” but you give them nothing for whatever their obvious need is, you have really messed up. What are ways we can meet needs of others all day long that costs us little or nothing—in money or in time?
- Plant the seed: As you’ve often heard from the TRBC pulpit, we have to “earn the right to be heard.” What does that mean to you? How do we do that?
Be the Innkeeper. WHAT DID THE INNKEEPER DO?
“Do all the good you can, to all the folks you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, for as long as ever you can…. for Jesus’ sake!” David Jeremiah.
“They [the people of the world] don’t care what you know until they know that you care!”
TAKE AWAYS: THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN IS THE STORY OF THE GOSPEL!
1) JESUS CHRIST IS THE TRUE GOOD SAMARITAN!
2) EVERY ONE OF US IS THAT POOR MAN LYING IN THE DITCH AT SOME POINT IN OUR LIVES!
3) WE WERE LOST AND HELPLESS AND HOPELESS, AND LEFT FOR DEAD!
4) JESUS CAME TO US, IN OUR HOPELESS CONDITION—HE MET OUR NEED!
5) HE TOOK OUR PLACE IN THE DITCH—THAT’S MERCY!
6) HE GIVES US HOPE ETERNAL WITH HIM! 7) HE OFFERS US AN INHERITANCE!
8) JESUS BECAME A NEIGHBOR TO US!
Close:
Will you ever again hear the story of the Good Samaritan without thinking of Jesus Himself intentionally coming down the road, knowing we were lying in the ditch, broken and almost dead? In fact, we were dead in our trespasses and sins and He came to us and made us alive! He had compassion on us and healed our wounds, and HE carried the old rugged cross on which He died, so He could pay the price for our sins! He gave us His love, offered us eternal life and a home forever with Him. The story of the Good Samaritan is the story of Salvation! It is the story of the gospel.
By Sandy Day
May 26, 2024