Video teaching coming soon
There is no online teaching for this study yet, but the written notes and any available study resources are still below.
These are the original teaching notes from this passage.
Luke 10:25-42
Review…
- The Gospel of Luke…
- The focus of Luke is on the humanity of Jesus – showing Him as the perfect flawless man…
- Key Verse – Luke 19:10 – “The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.”
- Luke 9:1-62 – Sending out the Disciples / Who do men say I am / Pointing to Jesus…
- Jesus time had come – He began traveling south to Judea – His final trip to Jerusalem…
- The 2nd half of the book of Luke – chapters 10-18 – all takes place during this time frame
- Luke 10:1-24 – Sending of the 70 / return of the 70…
- Raising up an army – the work of sharing the Gospel was too much for only 12 men…
- So Jesus sent out 70 other disciples to preach the Good News – people need to hear!
- The harvest is ripe – people are hungry for the Word – but the laborers are few!
- The 70 returned with great joy – even the demons were subject to them in Jesus name…
- Jesus told them not to rejoice in their authority – but instead in their salvation…
- Then He thanked the Father for the simplicity of the Gospel!
Not good enough… vs. 25-37 (4 things)
- 1st – What must I do to get to heaven… vs. 25
- A certain lawyer stood up and tested Jesus…
- This is not a lawyer in the sense we think of today – he studied the Law of God…
- Lawyers were the Bible scholars of their day – they were well educated in the Word…
- This man was not asking Jesus to find an answer – he was looking to trap Jesus…
- He wanted Jesus to say something that he could then find fault with
- Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life…
- Perhaps offended by reports Jesus spent His time with sinners…
- The Lawyer may have wondered if Jesus would contradict the Law of God…
- Because according to the Law – salvation was based on keeping the commands of God…
- Speaking of the 613 commands of God given by Moses in the first 5 books of the Bible…
- Deuteronomy 8:1 – “Be careful to obey all the commands… Then you will live…”
- Times have not changed much – most still think you have to earn you way to heaven…
- It is commonly believed – if our good works out weigh our bad – we will be saved!
- Ask the average person why God should let them into heaven – ‘I’m a good person’…
- 2nd – Looking to the Law... vs. 26-28
- The Lawyer was trusting in the Law to save – so Jesus asked him – ‘what does the Law say’…
- The Lawyer knew His Bible very well – he quoted the two most important commands…
- Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
- Leviticus 19:18 – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself…”
- Thought there are 613 commands in the Law of God – they are all fulfilled in these two…
- Matthew 22:40 – “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
- If you love God – you are not going to use His name in vain / worship other gods…
- If you love you neighbor – you are not going to murder / lie / steal / or covet…
- If you constantly DO this (Present/Active/Imperative) – you will live…
- The lawyer had the right answer – but the question was could he live up to his words…
- No doubt the Lawyer thought he was a Godly man – because he knew God’s Law…
- But the Lawyers assumptions about salvation were flawed…
- It is not enough to know the commands of God – you must also always obey them…
- Most of us assume we are good people – not many if any of us would say we are Bad…
- We think because they go to church / because they own a Bible – we are OK…
- But salvation has nothing to do with how many times we go to church in a week…
- How many Bibles we own – or how many verses we have memorized…
- The standard of the Law is perfection – never sinning once – Matthew 5:48
- If the lawyer had a bad day – broke the law even once – he would fail to get to heaven…
- James 2:10 – “Whoever keeps the whole law, yet stumble in one point, is guilty of all.”
- How many sins does it take to keep us out of heaven – just one…
- Even if it’s just a little sin – a white lie – taking a little rice (our neighbor has extra…)
- Any sin – just one – makes us a sinner – and keeps us out of heaven!
- To God there is no difference between the worst sinner and the ‘holiest saint’…
- No one is good enough to get into heaven – all are sinners – Romans 3:23
- The Law is like a mirror or a measuring tape…
- The commandments of God were never meant to get us to heaven…
- They were given so to teach us we were not able to live up to God’s perfect standard!
- Galatians 3:24 – “Therefore the law was our teacher to bring us to Christ…”
- Like a mirror that can show you how you look – but cannot change your appearance
- Like a measuring tape – that tells how tall you are – but not help you grow
- The Law shows us we are sinners – but cannot help make us saints…
- Realizing that is the key to Heaven – because now we know we need help…
- It shows us our need for Jesus – only through Him can we be saved!
- 3rd – Explaining the law… vs. 29-37
- The lawyer wanted to justify himself…
- Looking for a ‘loophole’ he attempted to argue – ‘who is my neighbor’…
- According to Jewish tradition – not everyone was considered your neighbor…
- For instance anyone who was not a Jew – was not your neighbor / including Samaritans…
- Perhaps by that standard the Lawyer could have bragged he had lived up to the Law…
- Whenever we seek to ‘justify’ ourselves – we end up having to lower God’s standards…
- Since we cannot live up to God requirements – we change them to fit our lives…
- We look for people who are worse sinners than we are – so we look better!
- Then we assume because we are more ‘Godly’ than there are – we are a good person…
- But God does not grade on a curve – He has only one standard – His Word…
- And compared to God’s standard – all of us are in desperate need of Jesus!
- To answer the question – Jesus told the lawyer a story – ‘the Good Samaritan’…
- A certain man went from Jerusalem to Jericho….
- The suggestion is this man was a Jew (from Jerusalem) perhaps on a business trip…
- The road down to the Jericho runs through steep canyons – deserted dessert…
- About this time – 40,000 men who had worked on the 2nd temple – were out of work…
- Most had became robbers and thieves – many of whom prowled this pass…
- It became known as the ‘way of blood’ because of how many died there…
- The man was robbed of his money – stripped of his clothes – and beaten half to death…
- As he lay there dying – 3 men happened to come by and see him…
- 1st – The Priest…
- A spiritual leader of Israel – a representative of God to the nation of Israel…
- Jericho was the home to no less than 12,000 of the Priest and Levites…
- They would have to take regular trips to Jerusalem to serve in the Temple….
- The priest was likely returning from his duties at the Temple when he saw the man
- One would assume he would have rushed to the aid of his fellow Jewish brother…
- Instead he crossed over to the other side of the road to completely avoid the man!
- Leviticus 21:1 – “Tell the priests to avoid making themselves ceremonially unclean by touching a dead [body]…”
- The man was ‘half-dead’ – if he became all dead while the priest helped – unclean…
- The Priest was unwilling to get dirty in an effort to help someone in need…
- I have met many ‘Christians’ who choose to stay as far as they can from sinners…
- To them church should be a ‘social gathering’ for Godly people just like them…
- But the church is not for social club for saints – it is a hospital for sinners…
- We cannot be afraid to go and get our hand dirty – sinners need our help!
- Not that we join in with them – we need to be careful not to fall back into the world
- But we reach out to them – showing them the Love of Jesus!
- 2nd – The Levite…
- After the Priest passed by – a Levite came and saw the man lying on the road…
- The Levites were the assistants of the Priests in the Temple of God…
- As a servant of God – you would assume he would be willing to help…
- He looked longer than the priest – but in the end he also passed by…
- Perhaps he thought – maybe the men who attacked are still around…
- If I stay to help – I might become a victim as well – let someone else take the risk!
- * I John 3:17 – “Whoever… sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
- Too often in Christianity we leave the work of the Gospel to others…
- We know there are sinners out there who do not know the Lord…
- We know there are people who are sick / in prison / have nothing to eat…
- But we think to ourselves – if we help what will happen to us…
- If I go to the hospital – maybe I’ll get sick / if I go to a prison – maybe I’ll be hurt…
- If I give to those who are in need – maybe I’ll not have enough for myself…
- So we leave the work for someone else to do – let them carry the burden…
- Selfishly thinking only about ourselves – and ignoring the needs of others!
- 3rd – The Samaritan…
- After the reign of King Solomon – Israel divided into 2 nations – Northern & Southern
- The Northern Kingdom was conquered by Assyria in 722 B.C – II Kings 17:23
- Assyrians took the Israelites and scattered them to other conquered countries…
- Then took captives from other countries and placed them in Israel…
- Wild animals began to kill the foreigners in the Land – II Kings 17:26-27
- So Assyria allowed some of the Priest to return to teach the people about God…
- This mixed people/religion – became the ‘Samaritans’ of the New Testament…
- They became the bitter rivals of the Jews – each hated the other – John 4:9…
- The Samaritans even once defiled the Temple with human bones at Passover…
- An enemy of the Jewish people – saw this Jew and had compassion on him…
- He bound his wounds (oil/wine) – carried him to an inn – and paid for his stay…
- When he left he told the owner he would pay all expenses for the man’s recovery!
- All because the Samaritan did not see an enemy – in love he saw a neighbor…
- If the world would hear and understand this truth it would be a much nicer place…
- To realize that color / race / creed make no difference – everyone is our neighbor!
- And just as God loved us – we are called to love each other!
- John 13:34 – “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”
- Jesus asked – which of these 3 men was a neighbor to the wounded man…
- Jesus story forced the Lawyer to become his own judge…
- The Lawyer had to answer – ‘the one’ who showed mercy…
- Still showing his ‘hate’ for the Samaritans – not willing to even mentioning their name
- So Jesus showed that the Lawyer he did not love his neighbor…
- In fact the lawyer broke both of the ‘key’ laws – he also did not love God…
- * I John 4:20 – “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
- Therefore he was not a good enough to get to heaven – he had not lived up to the Law…
- When we really understand what God’s standard – we see just how sinful we are…
- Go and do the same…
- The question was what would the Lawyer do next – did he see his need for Jesus…
- * James 1:23 -“For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance.”
- Often we listen to God’s word – we attend Bible studies and are ‘convicted’…
- We agree with what we hear – we see our need to change – but then we go home…
- And we go right back to the way we used to be – forgetting what we saw…
- But we are not good enough – so the question becomes – what can we do to be good…
- 4th – How to be good enough… vs. 38-42
- Jesus came to the house of Mary and Martha…
- Martha was busy doing many things – Mary her sister sat at Jesus feet and listened to Him…
- Martha – feeling like she was doing ‘all the work’ – demanded Jesus tell Mary to help
- Jesus answered – Martha you are worried and troubled about many things…
- But Mary has chosen the good part – and it will not be taken away…
- Mary knew that more important than anything else – was to sit at Jesus’ feet!
- Being good enough is not about what we do – it is about knowing Jesus!
- We all want to be good enough – we want to live godly lives…
- So we run off to work / then to church / back to spend time with the family…
- Rushing around – so busy – with no time to spare –no time to sit at Jesus feet…
- But God is not looking for us to be busy – He is looking to spend time with us…
- Righteousness does not come from our busy lives – it comes from knowing Jesus!
- So take the time – make the time – to be good enough – sit at Jesus feet!