INTENTIONAL LOVE SESSION 4. The Point. The Bible Meets Life. The Passage. The Setting GET INTO THE STUDY. 5 minutes

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1 GET INTO THE STUDY 5 minutes DISCUSS: Draw attention to the picture on PSG page 50 and ask Question 1: When have you been glad someone checked up on you? GUIDE: Refer group members to The Bible Meets Life, PSG page 51 to the author s list of accidental discoveries that have shaped parts of history. SAY: Even though happy accidents like these may happen occasionally, we can t approach the Christian life that way; following Jesus is an intentional act of obedience. GUIDE: Introduce The Point on PSG page 51: Go out of your way to love others. PRAY: Begin the Bible study with prayer. Ask God to help us be willing to go out of our way to help others even those who are different from us. SESSION 4 INTENTIONAL LOVE The Point Go out of your way to love others. The Bible Meets Life Anyone can be nice, and the world applauds random acts of kindness. Random acts of kindness are a good thing, but they are not enough. It s easy to be nice and kind when we feel like it, but the needs of others are not always convenient. When we go out of our way to help someone or build a relationship, we are living by the higher standard Jesus calls us to: a standard of love that goes the extra mile. The Passage Luke 10:25-37 The Setting The time of Jesus earthly ministry was drawing to a close. Therefore, Jesus determined that it was time for Him to journey to Jerusalem, where He would suffer, die, and rise from the dead (Luke 9:51; see vv ,44). During this journey, an expert in the law (a scribe) approached Jesus, asking Him what he (the scribe) must do to inherit eternal life. 52 Session 4

2 Luke 10: Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 26 What is written in the law? he asked him. How do you read it? 27 He answered, 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. 28 You ve answered correctly, he told him. Do this and you will live. KEY WORD: Love (v. 27) The complete devotion of one s entire being to God, not only in feelings, but in the actions of one s life toward God and other human beings as well. Verse 25. Our love for God is tied to our love for others. This passage includes one of the most well-known stories in all the Bible: the parable of the good Samaritan. Jesus used this illustration after He was asked by an expert in the law who his neighbor was. The parable has several applications for life; it teaches us there is a perfect love we should strive for, prejudices should be avoided, anyone with a need is our neighbor, and love is shown by action. 1 The passage begins with an expert in the law addressing Jesus with a question. A Jewish expert in the law in the day of Christ was an expert in Old Testament law and would have been called on to interpret it in various situations. The experts in the law (also known as scribes or lawyers ) were most commonly associated with the Pharisees. His concern at this point was, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Another way of wording this is, What must a person do to enter the kingdom of God? 1 (see Luke 18:18,24 25). This was a common question among the Jews. We can assume that since he stood, he was showing at least outwardly respect for Jesus. Yet while the lawyer s question appeared to have been a legitimate one and outwardly he appeared to demonstrate respect toward Jesus, Scripture tells us that his real motive was to test Jesus. It is not hard to envision this as the religious leaders of Jesus time did not trust Him and were wary of His teachings. STUDY THE BIBLE Luke 10: minutes SUMMARIZE: Before reading the passage, refer to The Bible Meets Life and The Setting on page 52 to establish the context of the passage. READ: Ask a group member to read Luke 10: Commentary 1 to explain who the expert in the law was and what his true motive was in questioning Jesus. GUIDE: Call group members attention to the three qualities that our love for others should have (PSG, p. 53). We love others unreservedly. We love others sacrificially. We love others proactively. SUGGESTED USE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 23 53

3 THE POINT Go out of your way to love others. Commentary 2 to provide explanation of the lawyer s response to Jesus, and why this was such an important concept for Jews: Love God with all of your heart, soul, and strength, and mind (Deut. 6:5). Love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18). DISCUSS: Question #2 (PSG, p. 53): What is the connection between loving God and loving others? Alternate: How does love for God prompt us to love other people? TRANSITION: In the next verses, Jesus responded to the lawyer s question who is my neighbor? with a story. The lawyer called Jesus Teacher. Jesus was referred to by this same term on many occasions in the Gospels. Jesus also referred to Himself as such (see John 13:13 14). Verse 26. As He often did, Jesus responded to the question by the lawyer with a question of His own in return. What is written in the law? he asked him. How do you read it? Jesus question showed the lawyer that his answer was found in Scripture. The lawyer was no doubt trying to justify himself by obeying the law and was trusting in his own good works. It is implied that Jesus, however, was attempting to lead him to a righteousness that was superior to what he could acquire on his own by being obedient to the law. 2 Verse 27. The expert in the law answered Christ s question well by responding that we must love God with every part of ourselves: heart, soul, strength, and mind. This means we must devote ourselves entirely to God and love Him above everything and everyone else. And second, we must love our neighbors as ourselves, which is more easily done if we first love God more than we love ourselves. The expert in the law actually referred to two Old Testament verses here. The first to love God completely is from Deuteronomy 6:5, which is also part of the Shema. The Shema is a prayer prominent in Jewish history and tradition that expressed the Jews faith and belief in the one true God. The liturgy consists of the core passage of Deuteronomy 6:4 9, as well as Deuteronomy 11:13 21 and Numbers 15: A devout Jew would have known the Shema and recited it twice a day traditionally as the first thing in the morning and as the last thing before retiring at night. The second Old Testament verse to love our neighbors as ourselves is from Leviticus 19:18. Verse 28. Jesus responded positively to the lawyer. You ve answered correctly. But then Jesus followed with a very difficult command: Do this and you will live. In this brief statement, Jesus appeared to be saying that to do this (to love both God and neighbor) produces an obedience to all God s commands, even to the gospel, which Jesus at that time was preaching. Eternal life depends upon keeping the commandments of God. Therefore, every person desiring eternal life must either keep God s commandments perfectly (an impossibility for 54 Session 4

4 sinful human beings), or accept Christ, who kept God s commandments perfectly. By saying these particular words, we can assume that Jesus intended to elicit an admission from the man that he had not kept God s commandments perfectly, and as a result inquire about how he might gain the strength, knowledge, or ability to do so. However, as we will see in the next verse, this is not how the lawyer responded. Luke 10: But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? 30 Jesus took up the question and said: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. KEY WORDS: Priest (v. 31) a class of male Jews descended of Aaron who were in charge of the sacrifices, offerings, worship, and maintenance of the temple. Levite (v. 32) descendants of Levi, the lowest of the three orders in Israel s priesthood, whose role was to assist the priests in their duties at the temple. Verse 29. We fail to love when we are indifferent to others. The lawyer responded by attempting to justify his actions to Jesus with the question, Who is my neighbor? He changed the course of the conversation by asking Jesus what the meaning and extent of the word neighbor was in the law. He mentioned nothing more about loving God, but questioned the second part of the command about who his neighbor was because it depended on how Jesus defined that word. The lawyer made some mistakes in this question to Jesus. One error was in thinking that he had fulfilled the law of loving God with all his heart, soul, strength, and STUDY THE BIBLE Luke 10: minutes READ: Ask a group member to read Luke 10: GUIDE: Use the KEY WORDS on page 55 (PSG, p. 54) to provide background information about the priest and the Levite. OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: Instruct group members to create a list of the people who live on their street or in close proximity to them. Ask members to write their names and details they know about their neighbors. After they finish this part of the exercise, ask them to grade themselves by giving one point for names of neighbors and two points for each bit of information they know about them. (Note: you may want to give a prize to the person with the highest score.) Then ask the following questions: Do you know where your neighbors go to church? Do you know the spiritual condition of your neighbors? Do you think your neighbors would call on you if they had a need? 55

5 THE POINT Go out of your way to love others. Commentary 3 on this page and page 57 to provide further explanation concerning the priest and the Levite, and suggested theories that might explain why they refused to stop to help the injured man. GUIDE: Refer group members to PSG page 55 and point out that every day we encounter people who are injured and bleeding on the proverbial roadside. We can always find an excuse for apathetically passing them by: It s none of my business. I wouldn t know what to say. I ve got enough problems of my own. Someone else is better equipped. At the bottom of any excuse we offer is a simple failure to love. This is the dirty truth of indifference it is not an attitude of neutrality; it s an outright denial of the call to love others as God loves them. 56 Session 4 mind. Even when we are in the act of worshiping God, it is difficult to do this; and much more so in the stress of daily living. Another error in the lawyer s thinking was that it was possible to fulfill the command to love God totally while not loving his neighbor. If we can choose who our neighbors are (for instance, only those who are easy for us to love), then we can all fulfill the law. But if we have a broader definition of the word, it is much more difficult and we all will fall short. Scripture states that if we say we love God but hate our brother, we are liars. How can we love God, whom we have not seen, and hate our brother, whom we have seen (see 1 John 4:20 21)? Verse 30. Jesus told the lawyer a parable to answer his question and show him the full extent of who a neighbor is. The parable was a simple story, but a powerful one. A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Although the man is not described in any detail, the Jewish audience would naturally have assumed him to be a Jew. Jerusalem sits approximately two thousand five hundred feet above sea level; Jericho, which is seventeen miles to the east, is about eight hundred feet below sea level. The route between the two cities was a treacherous road that was infamous for crime, so it probably wasn t surprising to the lawyer or the others listening that Jesus set the illustration on this particular road. Thieves hid in locations provided by the natural landscape that made it easier to rob individuals as they passed by. People usually traveled this road in groups for protection. The man in the parable had obviously made a bad decision to make the trip alone, and as a result, the robbers took all that he had, beat him up, and left him for dead. 3 Verses As the parable continues, first a priest and then a Levite both categories of Jewish religious officials pass by the injured man on the road. Both the priest and the Levite obviously would have been expected to stop and assist the injured traveler. But instead of doing so, not only did each of them pass by the man without stopping, but both went to the other side of the road as they passed in order to totally avoid the injured traveler. Many theories have been suggested as to why the priest and Levite would not have stopped to help the injured man. It may have been that these men did not want to defile themselves by touching what they presumed to be

6 a dead body, as Old Testament law commanded. Others have speculated that these two did not stop to assist the injured man because each of them feared being attacked by the robbers themselves. However, the parable does not specifically imply these or any other motives for their lack of concern toward the injured man. Since both men are fictional characters, it would be pure speculation to try to determine their motives for not stopping to assist. However, both of these men, a priest and a Levite, would have been expected to practice mercy and kindness. They certainly would have been expected to offer assistance to this individual, a fellow Jew, injured to the extent that he was half dead. Yet they neglected their duty in order to avoid the situation because they did not want to get involved. This same mindset is prevalent today. It is always easier to find an excuse for not helping another person than it is to get involved. Like us, the priest and the Levite might have thought of one or more of these excuses: I m on my way to and don t have time to stop ; There s probably nothing I can do to help at this point anyway ; or I ll just pray for him. Luke 10: But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, Take care of him. When I come back I ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend. 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? 37 The one who showed mercy to him, he said. Then Jesus told him, Go and do the same. DISCUSS: Question #3 (PSG, p. 55): When are you tempted to pass by on the other side? Alternate: What are some common justifications Christians use today to avoid helping those in need? TRANSITION: In the next verses, Jesus shocked His audience by describing an act of compassion for the injured man from the least likely person the audience would expect. STUDY THE BIBLE Luke 10: minutes READ: Read or ask a group member to read Luke 10: GUIDE: Refer to KEY WORD on page 58 for background information about Samaritan. 57

7 THE POINT Go out of your way to love others. Commentary 4 on this page and page 59 to provide further background about the Samaritans and to further explain the animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans. Use these questions to guide your search of the Bible Commentary: 1. Why did Jews and Samaritans hate each other both racially and religiously? 2. How did the Samaritans come to exist in the first place? 3. What was the relationship between the Samaritans and the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem? 4. Why did this make Jesus reference to a Samaritan s stopping to help the injured man so shocking to His audience? GUIDE: Refer to the KEY WORD (PSG p. 42) for information about compassion. Highlight that this is an attitude of mercy that comes from our inward parts and should characterize the Christian s life. KEY WORDS: Samaritan (v. 33) Considered half-breeds by the Jews, from intermarriages between the remnants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and Gentile foreigners imported by the Assyrians after Samaria s conquest. Compassion (v. 33) The Greek term is related to the noun for a person s inward parts, the seat of one s emotions. It is an attitude of mercy toward others that should characterize the Christian s life. 4 Verse 33. We are commanded to love even when it is costly or inconvenient. While this parable easily could have been used to illustrate the hypocrisy of the religious leaders in that day, Jesus probably surprised those listening by saying that a third man who passed by stopped to help the beaten traveler and this man was a Samaritan. Today, this story lacks the power it had in Jesus day because we lack the cultural context that would have made it so scandalous. Jews and Samaritans hated each other both racially and religiously. When the Northern Kingdom of Israel (also known as Samaria) fell in 722 BC, the Assyrians deported the most prominent citizens of Israel throughout the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians brought non-jews into the region of Israel and these people inter-married with those Israelites remaining in the land. Thus, in the eyes of the people of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, the people of the north were half-breeds. When the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile, the Samaritans at first attempted to join the Jews in the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. When their offer of help was refused, the Samaritans then did what they could to hinder the rebuilding of the temple. The Samaritans eventually built their own temple on Mount Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC. So, the despised Samaritan would have been expected to detest the Jewish man and not give another thought to passing him by. The injured man was from a different nation and had different beliefs from this Samaritan; in addition, there was the mutual animosity the Jews and Samaritans shared for each other. So, although the Samaritan was the last person who would have been expected to have helped the injured Jew, the Samaritan had compassion on the injured man when he saw the situation. He did not stop to think: Is this man my neighbor? Should I stop to help him? He simply saw a need and acted. 58 Session 4

8 There is no doubt that Jesus purposefully chose to use an outsider, and a man from a hated group of people, to be the hero in this story. He wanted to make the point that being a neighbor to someone is not dependent upon any parameters set by man. So in an extreme irony in this illustration, the two religious men failed to help a fellow Jew who was severely injured while a man viewed as an adversary had compassion on him. 5 Verse 34. The Samaritan s compassion led him to give of his time and resources to aid the injured man. It appears that the Samaritan carried his provisions along with him, as was often the custom at that time, because he bandaged the wounded man s injuries and poured olive oil and wine the closest things to medicine in those days on his wounds. The oil would have helped soothe the pain of the injuries and the wine would have served as an antiseptic for the open wounds of the beaten traveler. The Samaritan then put the injured Jew on his own animal (some translations refer to the animal as a donkey) and walked with him to the first inn he could find, where he even took time to stay with the injured man overnight. Verse 35. The next morning, the Samaritan continued to care for the man by giving two denarii to the innkeeper and instructing him to care for the injured man. The denarius was a coin in the Roman currency system that equaled a typical day s wage. It has been speculated that this amount would have paid for up to two weeks lodging for the beaten man so he could recover fully. Furthermore, the Samaritan promised that if the innkeeper was owed any additional money for his time or trouble beyond that amount, the Samaritan would repay it upon his return. It appears that the Samaritan thought that the innkeeper might possibly withhold what was necessary to restore the injured man to health if he had no promise of being repaid. So he ensured this would not happen by promising to cover any future costs the innkeeper might incur. The Samaritan gave his time to assist the injured traveler, along with his wine, olive oil, animal, and money. He freely gave of his personal resources to help someone in need with no thought of receiving anything in return. Commentary 5 for insights into the Samaritan s care for the man who had been beaten, robbed and left for dead: Note that he gave with no thought of getting anything in return. He bandaged his wounds and provided remedies to ease his pain and discomfort. He placed the injured man on his animal and took him to a place where he could rest. He gave money out of his pocket to provide for the man s stay and promised to pay the bill if more money was needed. DISCUSS: Question #4 (PSG, p. 57): When have you seen someone take risks or make sacrifices to demonstrate care for someone in need? LEADER PACK: Distribute Item 4: Good Samaritan Retold. Before class, recruit four volunteers to read the following script. 6 Verse After finishing the parable, Jesus did not actually define who a neighbor is. Instead, He asked the lawyer a very simple question that provided something more than the answer the expert in the law had expected: Which of these three do you think proved to be a 59

9 THE POINT Go out of your way to love others. Commentary 6 on page 59 and this page for insights into Jesus question to the lawyer: Which of these three do you think proved to be neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? GUIDE: Refer group members to PSG pages to the things we can do to practice the same type of intentional acts of love and mercy that the Samaritan did for the man in need: Be people of awareness. Be people of compassion. Be people of margin. DISCUSS: Question #5 (PSG, p. 58): What can we learn from Luke 10:25-37 about becoming a more welcoming group? Alternate: What obstacles stand in our way of actively showing love to our neighbor in need? neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? The answer was obvious, of course, and there was no proper response for the lawyer based on the evidence other than the man who had shown mercy. Although he had wanted to test Jesus, he could not give any other answer after hearing this illustration. It is interesting that although it was obvious to the lawyer who the true neighbor was, most likely because of his Jewish prejudice, he could not bring himself to say, the Samaritan. So although that would have been the most natural way to answer Jesus question, he instead replied, The one who showed mercy to him. In speaking the truth, the lawyer was in effect calling attention to his own mistaken idea that his neighbors only included those people that he loved or cared about. The parable revealed his own prejudices and no doubt affected him with regard to his own duty as a neighbor now that he understood that a neighbor was anyone he came in contact with who had a need. Because of Jesus illustration, the expert in the law could no longer justify his former way of thinking. Furthermore, Jesus words to the lawyer indicated that the expert in the law was asking the wrong question. Instead of being concerned about Who is my neighbor? the lawyer should have been asking himself How can I be a good neighbor? After the lawyer s response, Jesus did not lecture him on his mistaken thoughts on neighborliness; in fact, He only said a few words: Go and do the same. In other words, the lawyer was to act like the Samaritan in this parable and meet the needs of others he came in contact with, no doubt in the process of doing so finding that neighbors can be found in surprising places! 1. Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol. 24 in The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992), 455. DO: Encourage group members to take a few minutes to complete the activity titled Be Kind on PSG page 58. Share responses. 60 Session 4

10 LIVE IT OUT We might accidentally stumble upon a situation that requires our help, but none of us is going to accidentally love and serve someone else. We only do this with intention. We should gear our lives so that we are ready to intentionally take advantage of opportunities God brings our way to express His love to others. > > Get to know someone. How intentional are you when you come to church? This week, intentionally seek someone out who you aren t familiar with and ask them a few questions to get to know them. > > Trim your schedule. How much margin is in your life? Evaluate your finances and schedule, and cut back so that you have room to meet the needs of others God brings your way. > > Encourage someone. Who is one person in your life you know is struggling, but to whom you have been indifferent? Schedule a time to sit down and have coffee with that person this week. Do everything you can to help this person and show him or her the intentional love of God. LIVE IT OUT 5 minutes GUIDE: Emphasize The Point: Go out of your way to love others. REVIEW: Review Live It Out (PSG, p. 59); (see text to the left). Encourage each group member to follow through this week with at least one of the applications. WRAP IT UP GUIDE: Remind group members none of us is going to accidentally love and serve someone else. We should gear our lives so that we will be ready to intentionally take advantage of opportunities God brings our way to love others. PRAY: Father, help us to show intentional love and to take opportunities You bring our way to express Your love to others. Free additional ideas for your group are available at BibleStudiesforLife.com/AdultExtra 61