Category Archives: New Testament

And who is my neighbor? – Luke 10:25-37

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The story begins with a lawyer asking about eternal life.  When Jesus asks him what is written in the law, he responds with the answer Jesus himself has given in Matthew 22 and Mark 12.  My personal opinion is that this was a little bit of a setup.  The lawyer wanted to give Jesus an answer he knew he would like, so that he could ask his next question.  So in 10:29 he, “desiring to justify himself,” now asks, “And who is my neighbor?”  A narrow definition of neighbor can make “Love your neighbor” an easy command to obey, but Jesus was not about to limit his definition.  

He now tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  A man is attacked by robbers.  A priest and a Levite both pass by “on the other side.”  A Samaritan comes along and helps.  To digest the parable’s full meaning we have to remind ourselves that Samaritans and Jews typically hated each other.  They were both ethnic and religious rivals, and the mixed-race Samaritans only appeared in the land after the norther tribes of Israel were dragged off into exile.

If Jesus told the story today in Israel today, he might say “Along came a Palestinian Arab …” When Christ asks his final question (10:36), “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” the lawyer gets it right. “The one who showed him mercy.”  Then Jesus delivers his punchline (10:37), “You go, and do likewise.”

To find a proper application for “Go and do likewise,” it might help to think of someone we dislike or someone we believe dislikes us.  Who really irritates you?  Who do you feel most uncomfortable around?  Who do you suspect feels uncomfortable around you?  Who is to you an ethnic and/or religious rival?  What about the atheist next door?  Now go and do likewise.  According to Jesus, the “neighbor” we need to love most may come to us dressed as our enemy in need.

Luke 9 – Verse by Verse

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Up until now, Luke has shown us the ministry of Jesus in and around Galilee. This week will arrive at a turning point. Christ will allow his identity to sink in with his disciples and then turn toward Jerusalem.

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Luke 09.mp3

A Prayer Prompted by Luke 9

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Dear heavenly Father,

We believe that Jesus is the Christ, your Son in whom you are well pleased, the Holy One of God. We can see that he exercises authority over nature and the spirit world.  We understand that he exercises divine authority because he is God – such as declaring us forgiven of our sins.  He has the right to demand our complete loyalty and trust for the same reason. He is God.  

We accept that following Jesus means we need to be open to being sent out in various ways to serve him.  It means we will have to trust him when that service goes beyond our abilities.

Please help us to see him as fully God as well as one of us, and to see ourselves as no better than others. Please make us willing to give him our complete loyalty and devotion regardless of the sacrifice that requires.

In Christ,
Amen.

Beyond our ability – Luke 9:10-17

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10 On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

The Gospels are wonderfully informative when it comes to understanding what it is really like to follow Jesus.  Here they were before a vast crowd of thousands and it was getting late.  The disciples were concerned.  “Hey boss, maybe it’s time we send them away.  We don’t want it to get dark before they can make it to a nearby village. What do you think?”  After a day full of Jesus teaching and healing, they understandably thought their day was done.  The big event was only just beginning.

“You give them something to eat,” is Christ’s response.  “Uh, we don’t really have that much food here, unless we go off and buy it.  But then again, we don’t have that much money either.”

Following Jesus means that he is going to give us work to do that is beyond our ability.  He does this mainly so that we can learn to trust in him, and then see him remarkably provide.  

Jesus had the disciples gather the people into groups of around fifty.  He then began to multiply the food.  I find it interesting that he worked with what they had.  There is a lesson in there someplace.  He fed the people with bread and fish, not with, say, vegetables and sacrificial lambs.  Somehow he used what the disciples could find and remarkably, miraculously provided for the multitude.  No doubt he does that kind of thing still, through people like us in our present circumstances.