Subject Eighty-four

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

1. How the law evaluated eternal life
   1. One day a lawyer came to ask Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This means that someone who stood on the position of the law and represented the law was considering the price of eternal life.
   2. The Lord Jesus asked him, “What does the law say?”
   3. Based on the law, he said that in order to receive eternal life he must pay the price of twofold love. Love toward God includes four all’s, and love toward men contains only one as. The four “all’s” and one “as” should be emphasized when preaching the gospel. We know that men can neither love with all, nor love as. These four all’s and one as defeat everyone. If you are in a store shopping and see that the prices are too high, you will be scared away because you cannot pay the price. All you can do is window shop. The law evaluates eternal life with these four all’s and the one as. You must pay the price with all of your spirit, soul and body. To love with all your heart (the spirit), your soul, your self (the soul), and your strength (the body) means to love to the uttermost. In addition to these, you must love others as yourself. If you can pay such a high price, then you can inherit eternal life.
   4. The Lord replied, “If you do these, you shall receive eternal life.” It was as if the Lord were saying, “Do not think the Christians do not care for their behavior; rather, they are the ones who care for their behavior the most. But the question is: Can you do it?”
   5. Did the Lord mean for man to do it himself? If He did, He would be asking man to build a heavenly ladder to go to the heavens by himself, which is definitely an impossible task. Although the Lord said, “You do this,” it was not that He intended man to do it, for He knew that man could never do it. Therefore this is not a matter of paying the price, but a matter of evaluation. The logic here is very deep. After reading this portion of the Bible, some would kneel down before the Lord and ask the Lord to give them the strength so that they could measure up to the four all’s and one as. They have misunderstood the words of the Lord, because the Lord meant for them to understand that the higher the price, the less man is able to pay. For example, in the figure $1,000,000 there are six zeros. If you have six or even sixteen zeros with the number one in front, how can you pay the price? So this is not a matter of paying the price, but a matter of evaluation.
2. The condition of man
   1. The lawyer found out the evaluation of eternal life, and the Lord also confirmed his evaluation was correct. But he wanted to justify himself. All those who try to justify themselves from the standpoint of the law are self-righteous. Therefore he asked, “Who is my neighbor?” The law says that I should love God; on that point I am clear. But in order to love my neighbor as myself, I need to know who then is this neighbor. So the Lord gave an answer.
   2. The Lord’s answer shows him that what he needs is not a neighbor for him to love, but a neighbor to love him. He did not know himself, thinking that he had the strength to love his neighbor, but the Lord showed him that he was only a desolate sinner, needing a neighbor to love him.
   3. Therefore the Lord told him a story: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho...” This man was one who left the ground of peace, the dwelling place of God, Jerusalem, and was going down. Anyone who tries to keep the law by his own good behavior is going down. Jericho is a cursed place, so he fell among robbers. The robbers here speak of the law and those who stressed the law. Strictly speaking, the law itself is not the robber. This one who was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho depicts the lawyer. The lawyer beat others with the law, and he stripped them of their clothing, which is to strip them of their good behavior. Before the law, man’s good behavior is but filthy clothing and is unable to cover the body. To beat a man until he is half dead is to sentence him to death. Although he (the law and the lawyer) does not send you to Jericho (hell) now, he has already sentenced you and is waiting for you to perish eternally.
   4. Can such a one, already beaten until he is half dead, love others and pay the price for eternal life? The Lord Jesus meant to let him see that the evaluation of eternal life is so high and the condition of man so low that it is impossible to obtain eternal life by the law.
3. The uselessness of religion
   1. Now there came a priest, a religionist. The priest was also on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho. Even the religionists, pastors, and so-called priests are departing from God and going downhill.
   2. The priest was walking on the same road and having the same problem as that man, so he passed by and went on his way. If the priest is helpless in his own situation, how can he help others? So religion and the religionists cannot give man eternal life.
   3. There are two classes of people in religion:
      1. The priests were those ministering to God.
      2. The Levites were serving people, such as those involved in humanitarian efforts. The Levites were walking on the same road with the others. Do not think that serving humanity is going upward; actually it is also going downhill. The Levites are also useless to that man who had been beaten.
4. The deliverance of Christ
   1. The Samaritan is the Lord Jesus. He came to the place where the wounded man was. In Greek, the word journey indicates that the direction He walked was different from that of the previous three. The direction of this Samaritan was different from that of the previous three; He was coming from the opposite side. Toward the end of John 8, the Jews considered Jesus as a Samaritan. The Lord Jesus was the despised Nazarene. Today He is coming to the place where you are.
   2. The Lord Jesus was moved with compassion.
   3. The Lord Jesus poured oil and wine upon his wounds. The oil speaks of the Holy Spirit, and the wine speaks of life and blood. The Lord Jesus was moved with compassion, and as the Holy Spirit He came to touch, enlighten, and comfort him. Then He poured wine upon the wounds. Wine is made of grape juice, which is the blood of the grape and its life. So here the wine signifies the Lord’s blood and His life. The oil is to moisten or to anoint, and the wine is to give healing and strength.
   4. He set the wounded man on His own beast. Here the beast symbolizes the way the Lord Jesus worked on this earth. To mount His beast is to behave in the way the Lord Jesus worked, that is, to serve God like the humble Nazarene.
   5. Then the Lord brought him to an inn. Here the inn speaks of the church. The church is an inn on the earth for men to receive the supply.
   6. The Lord took out two pieces of silver and gave them to the host for taking care of the wounded man. Here the silver signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit to the responsible ones in the church, so that they may use the gift to take care of the saved ones.
   7. Besides the silver, there were the extra expenses. Such extra expenses speak of the care out of love, for which there will be compensation when the Lord comes back. Silver is the gift, and for the care out of this gift there will be no reward when the Lord returns. Only the care out of love will be rewarded at the coming of the Lord. These seven items are the elements of the Lord’s salvation.
5. Conclusion
   1. The lawyer asked the Lord, “Who is my neighbor?” The Lord replied that he needed a neighbor to love him instead. The lawyer thought that he had the strength to love others, but the Lord said: “You are just a pitiful person. You need someone to love you.”
   2. “Go and do likewise.” The Lord’s real intention was not that he would go and do it likewise. Instead the Lord wanted him to realize that by doing it, he was not the Samaritan, but the wounded man. It is impossible to obtain eternal life by our own behavior. Do it, and you will realize that you cannot make it; you need someone else to have mercy on you. Only the everlasting Lord is our neighbor. We need Him to love us.