Young Life Campaigners Teaching Notes Jesus Through the Eyes of The Good Samaritan - Luke 10.25-36 The Text: Luke 10:25 37 25 On one occasion a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. Teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 26 What is written in the Law? he replied. How do you read it? 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. 28 You have answered correctly, Jesus replied. Do this and you will live. 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? 30 In reply Jesus said: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of 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. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, 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, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins 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. 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. Intro The set-up Our goal is always to learn more about Jesus. To fall more in love with him, and let him change our lives. Look for what Jesus is saying about life and about himself and about you Today he is dealing about a testy person. The kind of guy that just bugs you with all his nitpicking. Maybe for you it s a teacher or a coach. Who was or is the most nitpicky person you have met so far? Let s read the first paragraph of the story together. 1
Our story opens with a lawyer in a discussion with Jesus 25 On one occasion a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. Teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Do we know the lawyer s motive for asking the question? Actually he is trying test Jesus about his view of life. It says he was an expert in the law. That would be the law of Moses in the Old Testament You ve probably heard the story. God gave Moses the 10 Commandments. Why? To box you in? kill your fun? No! Does a mother let her little kid go outside and play by himself? Sure if there is a fence. God s laws are given in love to protect us and provide for us Originally these lawyers were real students of Old Testament laws But over time they took it upon themselves to decide what the law meant Sort of reinvent the laws For example the law said keep the Sabbath day holy. Rest. Don t work. 6 days you work. Day 7 is for you These lawyer guys decided that meant you can spit on a rock on the Sabbath. But you can t spit in the dirt, because that might make mud and you could use the mud to make bricks and that would be work. And you can t work on the Sabbath So a certain lawyer - an expert in the law - stood up to test Jesus. He asked Jesus, What must I do to inherit eternal life? That would be like one of you saying What do I have to do to follow this Jesus? Do you think he really wanted an answer? Jesus doesn t appear annoyed at the question. How does Jesus answer the lawyer s question? He turns around and asks another question. Jesus does that a lot! Basically he said, You are a lawyer, what does the law say you have to do for eternal life? Well the lawyer does answer that question and is right on with his answer. 2
What was the lawyer s answer to Jesus question? Look at verse 27 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. Every Jewish person on the planet knew this answer Look at the story How did Jesus respond? You have answered correctly, Jesus replied. Do this and you will live. Remember the lawyer is trying to test Jesus and make himself look good What is the lawyer s next response? Who is my neighbor? In answering that second question Jesus teaches one of His famous parables A parable is a story Why do you think Jesus always told stories? You can usually find yourself in a Jesus story People like stories because you remember a story better than a list of facts. So, let s read the story Jesus told 30 In reply Jesus said: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of 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. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. In our story we have 4 characters who are they? Underline them in your text Man / Priest / Levite / Samaritan A quick look at each one 1. A man What do we know about him? He was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. 3
We know he was robbed and beat up and left half dead Three people came by, saw him, and reacted. 2. A priest What was his reaction to the injured man? Walked on the other side of the road and passed by 3. A Levite Who were the Levites? - Religious leaders They fulfilled a lot of the organizational functions of the Jewish temple but not priests. What was the Levite s reaction? Ever had a similar reaction? So a guy is hurt and people ignore him? How do you feel about the way these 2 guys reacted to the injured man? Do you know people in your life who, like this guy, have been beat up by life? Maybe it s their home life Maybe they didn t make the team Who do you know that is beat up right now? And the people around them seem to ignore them. Almost like walking around them? What s your response? Do you tend to walk on the other side of the street? Would you like to be like the 3 rd person who came down that road? Let s read But a Samaritan, 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, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins 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. 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. 4
4. The Samaritan Do you know who the Samaritans were? They were half breeds. Part Jewish and part something else Samaritans were hated by the Jewish people of that day It says the Samaritan saw the man and took pity on him Did he stop with just taking pity? No! What did he do? Went to him / bandaged his wounds / poured ointment on his wounds / put him on his own donkey / took him to an Inn / gave the innkeeper money / promised to come back and pay the final bill. In telling them this story, what was Jesus trying to tell the lawyer? Tell us? Your neighbors are all the people around you Some of them are hurting This is a call to really care for them beyond just pitying them Life with Jesus is not just about saying, I love you Jesus. It s about living out that love not only to Jesus but those around you Summary of all of this: Love God Love People Have you ever been a good Samaritan? Have you ever had someone be a good Samaritan to you? Ask God to show you who in your life, in your school, he wants you to reach out to I want to pray and act as a good Samaritan to Go around the room and pray for each other And then remind them - the names stay in this room. 5