03.06.16 Notes (GoodNews Week 9)

#GOODNEWS Week Nine
The Gospel of Luke
Pastor Kris Freeman
Revolution Church

Luke 10:25-37 (NLT)
The Most Important Commandment
25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”[a] 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Parable of the Good Samaritan
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[b] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[c] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

“We just decided to try kindness as a strategy.”
- Danielle Strickland, The Salvation Army

The Gospel of Luke:

• Written by a Gentile (non-Jew) physician who also wrote Acts, written around 65 A.D. approximate
• Luke learned all he could and shared with us
• Detailed, longest Gospel in words, one-third of the book is full of unique stories found nowhere else
• Tells the Great Commission AND the Ascension, and seems to continue in the Book of Acts (a sequel)
• Jesus is: The Promised Messiah, Son of God, a Servant, God’s grace revealed, and the Lord at God's right hand

The Good Samaritan is a Parable that began with a legitimate question from a lawyer challenging Jesus.

“Who then is my neighbor?” - Limited obedience vs. Absolute trust - This is not a question of “who” but WHY .

The story:

• Jews and Samaritans were enemies, prejudiced, hatred
• Road from Jerusalem to Jericho was 17 miles south to avoid going directly through Samaria, called “The Bloody Trail” - often thieves hid in caves and attack victims
• Man left for dead, a Priest and a Levite (Jewish religious authority) looked but passed by. The Samaritan helped.
• Doctored, transported, paid for his room and extras

Jesus: “Who then was neighbor to this man?”

“You cannot build a reputation on what you are going to do.” - Henry Ford

FOUR TRUTHS

1. You best neighbor is your own ATTITUDE .
2. Your attitude will determine who/how you SERVE .
The lawyer couldn’t even say “Samaritan” - this story wasn’t about the victim, it was really about the servant!
3. How you serve may determine WHERE YOU GO .
4. Your failure/enemy is your greatest OPPORTUNITY.

“You might be the professional, but I was their neighbor.”

Leadership is the servant step of taking what is the best of God and working it out on a daily level in the lives of others.