Title: Who Is My Neighbor?
Contents
who is my neighbour?
Luke 10:25-36
Many people living in the world dream of miraculously turning their lives around once and for all, without the usual effort. But that never happens. This is because our life is determined by how hard we usually live. (2 Corinthians 9:6) Therefore, we should not dream of a miraculous reversal of our lives without making any effort in ordinary times, but rather follow God's way and will in everyday life. You have to try hard to live with it. God blesses the lives of such people.
However, many people still tread on numerous three-leaf clovers (happiness) in search of four-leaf clover (lucky). Trampling everyday happiness in search of good fortune. In other words, all the life God has given us is happiness, but we do not appreciate it and chase only good luck every day and trample on happiness. But such a person will never get lucky. Because God appreciates everyday life and gives blessings of good luck only to those who work hard every day. The good fortune given to those who aim for God every day like this is a true blessing from God. But the good fortune given to the unprepared who does not work hard every day is rather a curse.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that he dies every day (1 Corinthians 15:31). In other words, he breaks his will before God's will and does his best for the gospel every day. God used Paul, who was usually prepared in heart, in the work of preaching the gospel. God gives blessings (fortune) to those who are prepared like this.
The focus of today's text is Who is my neighbor? But whose neighbor are you? is. With this in mind, let's study the words of the text together.
To test Jesus, a lawyer asks Jesus, what must I do to receive eternal life? (25). Seeing Jesus, who usually speaks of love and forgiveness, with tax collectors and prostitutes, the lawyer thought that Jesus was the one who came to destroy the law. So, if Jesus answered that the law was unnecessary, he was asking the question with the evil intention of putting Jesus in trouble.
In addition to the problem that the lawyer asked the question with evil intentions, there was one more problem that he thought could be saved by keeping the law (Romans 3:10). (James 2:10) Salvation can only be obtained through faith in Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8) And those who are convinced of their salvation through such faith are free to keep the law.
Jesus never came to abolish the law as the lawyer thought. (Matthew 5:18) Rather, He came to fulfill the law (John 13:34, Romans 13:10). When we asked the lawyer if it had been done (26), the lawyer answered based on the words of Leviticus 19:18. Then Jesus said, “Why do you teach only the fa ade of the law and not the spirit of the law?” He tells us to put into practice the spirit of love of the law.(28)
The lawyer continues to speak. Who is my neighbor to show himself right this time (29)? asks Jesus. In response, Jesus provides an answer to this question with a parable of the man who was met by a robber (verse 30).
A man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho ran into a robber. This man not only had his clothes to protect him from the cold of the night taken away by the robbers, but he was also beaten to death, and he was in a situation where he had no choice but to die. (30) At that moment, a priest passed by the road, but the priest refused. Even when they saw the person who was about to die, they passed by.(31) The priest escaped this person to keep the law that he was not allowed to touch anything unclean before making a sacrifice. These priests did not know that the fundamental purpose of the sacrifice was to save the dying (Matt. 12:12). Losing the fundamental meaning of the law, only the fa ade of faith following the literal meaning of the law remained (Mt 23:23). ) God never accepts the priest's sacrifice. Meanwhile, a Levite passed by, but he also passed by avoiding a man who was killed by a robber for a similar reason.
However, a Samaritan (those who were born because the people of Israel, except for Judah, were contractually married to Gentiles due to the Assyrian intermarriage policy), whom the Jews considered the ugliest and did not even engage in business (John 4:9), took pity on him and asked for help. gave
The superficial meaning of this parable that Jesus spoke is that the people who believe in Jesus (internal Jews) are the real heirs of Abraham and are the real Jews, not that the blood Jews are the real heirs of Abraham. On the other hand, the inner meaning of this parable is that you yourself must be a neighbor to those who have suffered the same. This is clearly shown in verse 36.
The lawyer was focusing the question on himself by asking Jesus who was my neighbor in front of him. But in verse 36, Jesus shifts the focus of the question to the robber, asking who will be the neighbor of the robber. In other words, the fundamental concern of this parable is that the person in trouble is not the lawyer's neighbor. Through this parable, Jesus is saying that when we are in a difficult situation, we must first become neighbors to those in need, rather than seeking help from others (neighbors).
Today, many people who lead a religious life think that someone will do God's work even if it's not me, so they often dismiss the work of revival and evangelism as unrelated to themselves. But it is not. God is telling us through today's text that we must be in a position to work for revival and evangelism. When we do our best in our places, our churches, homes, and our lives change. The church, home, and life of a person who never wants others to be there does not change.
We should try to be meaningful to all who need us, no matter who we are (priests/Levites/Samaritans). In other words, rather than looking at who will be of my help, I should think about who I can benefit from first. Then our lives will change. Our lives are changed when we do our best in every area of life we find ourselves in. For the restoration of the church, the restoration of the family, and the restoration of life, we must first take the lead. At that time, God blesses us to enrich our lives. (Proverbs 11:24) We should always be someone who helps and prays for someone before we seek help. This is God's way. When we live according to this God's way, our lives will be transformed into a blessed life. Life doesn't suddenly turn around all at once. When you live diligently following God's method every day, your life will be radically changed.
The real meaning of today's text is whose neighbor we are to live. We need to be neighbors to others and to be meaningful to others. God blesses these people. God wants us, not others, to take the lead in His work. He wants us to challenge the things we cannot do on our own for the Lord's kingdom with faith in God's power. In other words, He wants us to abandon the human way (Exodus 4:10) and follow God's way.
God will bless our lives if we realize the meaning of these words and work hard as someone's neighbor on a daily basis. In other words, you will grant good luck to these people. Good fortune is usually given to those who are prepared to live diligently according to God's will. This is because luck is valuable and meaningful only to those who are usually prepared with complete faith.
Now, I bless you in the name of Jesus that God's blessings always be with you by living according to God's will, that is, thinking about who I will be of help rather than thinking about who will help me.