But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”  In reply, Jesus said to him, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers …  (Luke 10:29-30).

Christ is risen!  This changes everything: he is making all things new!

As we continue in the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection, of his defeat of and triumph over Sin, Death and Hell, a new sermon series begins: Won’t You Be a Neighbor?  And our kick-off Scripture is likely a familiar one, what we now call the Parable of the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37.

It’s always wise to see what prompts Jesus to tell a parable.  Here, it’s a double challenge.  Luke tells us that a certain religious expert wanted to test Jesus: what must I do to inherit eternal life? (The test is whether Jesus agrees with the expert!)  When that doesn’t end with a clear “win” for the expert, he doubles down: “Desiring to justify himself,” Luke tells us, the expert asks, “Who is my neighbor?”

But let’s back up to the expert’s first question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus replies, “What do you think the Scriptures say about this?” and the expert answers, “Love God and love your neighbor.”  Jesus gives him an A (so who is really testing who, here?) and says, “Do that and you will live.”

Here’s what we often overlook: why does the expert only press Jesus on the second part of his two-part answer (Love God + Love your neighbor)?  Does he think he already has Part One fully covered – after all, he is “an expert in the Law.”

The expert is pretty confident he knows who God is; he wants some more clarity on who his neighbor is.  But Jesus shows that the expert is confused about God and neighbor.   By thinking he can bypass the love-God part (“Got that covered”), the expert isn’t going to get the love-neighbor part right, either.

How does God love his neighbors (religious experts and all of us included)?  Jesus tells this parable to show us.

How do we typically respond when we encounter someone in as bad shape as the man who fell among thieves?  We look away, we hurry on, we wonder about our safety, we assume it was the poor man’s own fault, and so on.

What does God do when he comes upon us in our well-on-the-way-to-totally-dead-unless-someone-intervenes condition?  By sacrificing himself for our ultimate good.  

Let’s return to the expert’s first question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Actually, we cannot “do” anything to inherit something.   Inheritance is a gift, not a reward or payment, and it runs along family lines.  

“So,” Jesus is asking the expert, “are you a member of God’s family?  If so, your inheritance is secure!  Quit worrying about your inheritance! And do you think membership in God’s family is something you deserved, earned or achieved?  No: just like the wounded man, you were dead in your sins and transgressions.  But now, you’re alive in God’s family because of how God “neighbored” you when you were utterly helpless.”

“So: are you going to live as a member of the family, and treat your neighbors the way God treats his?  Has God had mercy on you?”

“Go and do likewise.”  

What are some ways God has treated you like the Good Samaritan treated the wounded man?  Could you name one or two small-but-specific ways you could now “go and do likewise?”