August 18, 2010
HE WAS ACTING LIKE A DONKEY
Luke 10:25-37
David Penuel
Central Truth
In this well known passage Christ establishes the standard for love, mercy, kindness, and compassion. I live in constant violation of this standard. I cannot possibly justify myself.
Key Verse | Luke 10:29
But the expert, wanting to justify himself . . . . (Luke 10:29a, NET)
Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii 1 10:35 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Dive Deeper | Luke 10:25-37
In second grade I ran with a rough crowd. I learned to cuss listening to Run DMC on a Walkman at recess. One day, I called a classmate an inappropriate name, and the teacher heard me. As scolding commenced, I spoke up and tried to justify myself by arguing that the boy was acting like a donkey. Why else would I call him that specific name. (Have you guessed it yet?) It was a brilliant and quickly woven defense, but my teacher was no fool. She understood the context and the tone and knew I was guilty. I ended up writing sentences that day—lots of sentences. She told me that if I had been honest with her, she might have forgiven me. Burn!
Today's passage is all about justification and the question of how a person inherits eternal life. Jesus affirms the standard of Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 and then an expert in the law, wanting to justify himself, asks, “And who is my neighbor?” It's as if he actually thinks he has a chance of fulfilling God’s requirements!
As I learned in second grade, he should have been honest instead of seeking to build his case. He should have said, "Wait, I can't love God perfectly, and I can't love others the way I love myself. I haven't done that, and I won't in the future. I live in constant violation of this standard. I am sinful and headed for punishment." He should have cried out for mercy and forgiveness like the tax collector in Luke 18:13.
Justification does not come to us because we learn to follow the example of the Good Samaritan. It comes by admitting that we are more like the robbers and those who passed by. We live in constant violation of God’s standard and are only justified when we admit our failure and become more like the man lying on the side of the road. We need pity, care, and the gift of justification that comes from the one who alone is fit to be called good. (Romans 3:21-28, Romans 5:15-19, Galatians 2:15-21)
Discussion Questions
1. How have you acted like the robbers or those who passed by?
2. What are the common ways you tend to justify yourself (comparison, technicalities, good outweighing bad, etc.)?
3. When is the last time you genuinely cried out for mercy from God?
4. Did you look up the passages from Romans and Galatians? How deep and wide is your understanding of the gift of justification and your appreciation for it?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What would you do if you saw someone injured on the playground?
2. What did the first two people who saw the injured man do? Why do you think they passed by? What did the Samaritan do? You may not always get to help someone who is physically injured, but everyone needs help sometimes.
3. What are ways you can help people around you by showing them God’s love?