But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?But he, desiring to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
4 sermons cite this verse
… But then the guy, verse 29, wanted to justify himself. So he asked Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Now, can you see yourself in this setting? We ask God a question. He gives us an answer. We try to get him to slice it up a little bit thinner. We try to get it right down to the, okay, give me, crystallize it down to the very, very core thing so I can make sure I do that thing. Instead of saying, I got it and I want to live in the spirit of it, this guy said, can you make it as specific as possible? And so Jesus told this story. A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. So he's only got half to go. We don't know how long he's got. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. …
… But he wanted to justify himself. So he asked Jesus, and who is my neighbor? That's an interesting reply. Who is my neighbor? Do you think that the expert in the law had a neighbor he didn't like? Do you have any hard-to-get-along-with neighbor stories? I've had a few neighbors who bug me over the years. Neighbor issues abound. Countries fight with countries. People like us dislike people like them. Politicians bicker, coworkers quarrel, and family members squabble. We've got neighbor issues. Why? Because like the expert in the law in Luke 10, who was trying to justify himself and prove that he was an all-around very good guy, we are, in truth, fallen, flawed, and frail people. We have problems with each other. We're a mess. We're sinners. It's true whether we admit it or not. We need help and repair. We need a good Samaritan, don't we? If you're tired of living in neighborly conflict, in discord with people in your life, pay close attention. You may not be able to solve the tension in your life, but you have a friend and a savior who cares and who can. …
… neighbor as yourself. And Jesus said to him, you've answered rightly, do this and you will live. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor exactly? Then Jesus answered and said, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him what? Half dead. Now by chance, a certain priest came down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, which I hate that they got to go ahead and tarnish my name like that. A Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. …
Do this and you will live. But wanting to justify himself, the lawyer asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? Jesus replied, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him for half dead. Now, by chance, a priest was going down that road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, while traveling down the road, came near him, and when he saw the man, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. then he put the man on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper and said, take care of him and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend. …