The question of who is your neighbor was a hot topic in Jesus’ time. The Jews typically interpreted neighbor as another Jew like themselves. The man who asked Jesus the question, wanted Jesus to explain who was in or out of the circle of neighbors.
In a modern time event, a man in Oakhill, FL went to vacation in Miami, FL. He went to see the sights in Miami. One night he went out and got robbed and beat up by a gang. He was laying on the sidewalk bloody and a Seventh Day Baptist preacher walked by him. Then a Sabbath school teacher walks by him also in fear that the gang might get him too. Then a stranger, a bar owner with a Biden T-shirt on walked by him and stopped to help him. He didn’t care if he got the man’s blood on his clothes but put him in his car and drove him to the ER at the hospital. This stranger ended up paying the man’s ER hospital bill and also gave the ER his cell phone number to contact him if more money was needed. Your neighbor is ANYONE in need.
Most people think that the majority of people won’t just walk by but this happened in New York City. A lady was beaten for 90 minutes and her 30 neighbors didn’t help her even though they heard her screams. People think that the people we don’t know are our not our neighbors so we don’t have to help them. We must help everybody no matter who they are. It helps if we define our neighbors as someone we know and also as a stranger we don’t know.
**People Don’t Help Because:
1) People don’t help others as a neighbor because they don’t know them.
2) People think they will be used by the person and don’t believe the help they give them will be used wisely.
Many churches give food, groceries and clothes to help people but do not give them money. They don’t give them money so they will not be taken advantage of. One time a man was at my house asking for money to fill his gas tank because he said he was out of gas. I go outside and see his car is running so I didn’t give him any money. Notice the Samaritan didn’t give the money to the man he helped but gave it to the innkeeper. The Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself and he that gives to the poor, the Lord will pay him back. Don’t hide yourself from the poor.
3) People don’t help others as their neighbors because they are selfish:
You need to love your neighbor as yourself. Love them as you love your own body. Love yourself and lover others also. Help your neighbor and don’t be focused on yourself. Loving your neighbor will help you learn to better love yourself. So if you have a bad concept of yourself and are depressed, then love others, help others and it will lift you up. It will give you a sense of self-worth. When you behave like you love someone, you will eventually love them. Love your neighbor as yourself and don’t pass by them on the other side of the road. Three or four days later after Jesus taught this, He suffers and dies on the Cross for our sins. Jesus refused to let us die by the side of the road in our sins.
10/24/2020 Seventh Day Baptist Edgewater Pastor Keith “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself”
Posted : 25 Oct, 2020 06:51 PM
Oh boy!!
I would sure like to know the names of all characters involved!! When did all this take place? Who’s the victim?, Who’s the preacher who walked by? Who stuffed the T-shirt? How this story became known? Be really nice to have a context.
I’m sorry, but this sounds all together too convenient!
But never mind that. More importantly, the meaning of the parable was totally shredded!!
First of all, the parable Jesus told was in response to a question asked by a self-righteousness hypocrite inquiring about eternal life who just wanted TEST Jesus and to “justify” himself!
Sadly, too many people, even incompetent preachers have long ignored the parable’s real meaning as reveled in its actual context. They think the parable is simply about doing good. If that were the case, all you would have to do to do is find someone needing help—and help them and TADA you would have eternal life!!
To the contrary, Jesus’ parables, were told not to reveal but to conceal truths about salvation. In fact, ALL Jesus’ parables, concern salvation (eternal life).
Second, the parable isn’t about some sinner, who for whatever reason was wearing a Biden T-shirt and who ignores the pleas of unborn babies victimized by abortion but somehow, in an ironic twist of fate, he aids a different kind of victim.
For those who don’t know yet, Biden supports abortion (that means killing little babies). How an abortion supporter compares to the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable is enormously mystifying!!!
Third, the Good Samaritan didn’t abort a baby before saving another life.
Forth, nobody anywhere, at anytime could ever be as good as the parabolic Good Samaritan !! Nobody, that is, except Jesus. NOBODY loves ANYBODY >>ALL THE TIME<< No one loves anybody the same way he loves himself!!
Think I better copy the context of the parable for illustration.
I’m placing >><< marks around key words missed by the 7th Day Baptist who never responds to discussion on a discussion forum. My comments are placed in (—)
Luke 10:25-37
New International Version
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an >>expert in the law<< stood up to >>test<< Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what >>must I do<< to inherit eternal life?”
(KEY The “expert” wants to TEST Jesus by asking what “to do to inherit eternal life”)
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
(Since the man asked about deeds, Jesus refereed him the the law)
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with >>all<< your heart and with >>all<< your soul and with >>all<< your strength and with >>all<< your mind’ >>and<<, ‘Love your neighbor >>as yourself.’<<
(NO ONE CAN DO THIS!!! EXCEPT JESUS, no one, except Jesus, has ever loved a neighbor as themselves)
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “>>Do<< this and you will >>live<<.”
(Any sensible person, by now, would have agreed how far they’ve fallen short—but this fool still wants to JUSTIFY himself)
29 But he wanted to >>justify<< himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
(An expert in the law doesn’t know who his neighbor is even through the law is not ambiguous here!)
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.(G) 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan,(H) as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
(two denarii is a lot of money!! And the guy trusts the innkeeper to add any amount to the bill !)
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
(NOTE Jesus first introduces the “expert” to the perfect law but the expert, instead of confessing falling short of the law’s perfection, attempts to justify himself, EVEN THOUGH he didn’t understand the legal application of the term “neighbor“.
Obviously the object lesson of the parable was once again hidden from yet another self-righteous “expert”.
Please recall, the man’s primary objective was to “test” Jesus not about finding forgiveness)
I’m sure someone is going to ask about the goodness of the Good Samaritan. But please, before you embarrass yourself, look up the meaning of the word “parable”
