Love, the Lawyer and the Samaritan

Sermon on Luke 10:25-37 - Lords Day April 27th, 2025 - Trinity Reformed Church
The lawyer was trying to trap Jesus . He thought that Jesus had come in conflict with the Word of God. Self righteous lawyer questions Jesus and Christ turns it around on him. Jesus convicts the conscience of the lawyer. The lawyer saying "who is my neighbor" is a guilty conscience. He may have been limiting his neighbor to other Jews. They would have thought they didn't have to love gentiles, or the Samaritans. The woman at the well in John 4 was surprised Jesus talked to her because she was a samaritan. Jesus is teaching us to love our enemies. Samaritan has become synonymous with helping those in need. But people in the Bible didn't see them as people to love. This is the shock of the parable. Jesus just says he is a "certain man" doesn't say whether he is rich or poor, his ethnicity, etc.

V31 - a priest (a man of God) is the first to come by but passes him by.

V32 - a Levite - He came and he looked. And passed by on the other side. Levites were also men of God who helped the priests. Levite seems he did a little more investigation but still did not help the man.

V33 - A samaritan - he had compassion - a hated samaritan is the one who loved his neighbor. This would have been hard for them to hear.

V36 - Who do you think was neighbor to him? He who showed mercy v37. Love is an action. He didn't care about anything other than he was a person in need. This is love.

Have you really loved your neighbor?

V33 splagchnizomai: to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)

“And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬