Tuesday Devo
Scripture Reading:
Luke 10
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.’ ”
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?”
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 walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
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.’ ”
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?”
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 walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
Commentary from the ESV Study Bible:
10:28 You have answered correctly. There is nothing wrong with the lawyer’s answer. do this, and you will live. Knowledge of “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” is insufficient. One must “do this.” Jesus is about to show the lawyer that he falls far short of following these commands.
10:29 Desiring to justify himself reveals the lawyer’s insincerity. who is my neighbor? An improper question, because the lawyer was trying to exclude responsibility for others by making some people “non-neighbors.” A more appropriate question would be, “How can I be a loving neighbor?”
10:30 Jericho. The route of the Jericho road, still visible today, included long stretches of rocky terrain that made it a useful base of operations for robbers. The road descended (down) about 3,200 feet (975 m) from Jerusalem to Jericho along this 18-mile (29-km) route.
10:31 priest. A descendant of Aaron who had priestly responsibilities in the Jerusalem temple. passed by on the other side. A tangible way of describing his unwillingness to love his neighbor.
10:32 Levite. A member of the tribe of Levi but not a descendant of Aaron and therefore not a priest. The Levites assisted the priests.
10:29 Desiring to justify himself reveals the lawyer’s insincerity. who is my neighbor? An improper question, because the lawyer was trying to exclude responsibility for others by making some people “non-neighbors.” A more appropriate question would be, “How can I be a loving neighbor?”
10:30 Jericho. The route of the Jericho road, still visible today, included long stretches of rocky terrain that made it a useful base of operations for robbers. The road descended (down) about 3,200 feet (975 m) from Jerusalem to Jericho along this 18-mile (29-km) route.
10:31 priest. A descendant of Aaron who had priestly responsibilities in the Jerusalem temple. passed by on the other side. A tangible way of describing his unwillingness to love his neighbor.
10:32 Levite. A member of the tribe of Levi but not a descendant of Aaron and therefore not a priest. The Levites assisted the priests.
Study Questions:
- On Sunday, Clayton gave us four good questions that are answered by this parable. First, it answers for us, "Who is my NEIGHBOR?" The very question suggests that some are neighbors and some are not. For most Jews, a "neighbor" was another Jew. Samaritans and Gentiles were not neighbors. They were enemies. Most of us tend to think and live this way. We are more likely to spend time with, be friends with, and help people that look like us. Have you ever given any thought to intentionally spending time with people that don't look, think or even vote like you? How might this start to shift your perspective? Could it grow your capacity for love and grace?
- This might be the reason the religious people in the parable would've avoided helping the Samaritan... they did the math. It just wasn't worth the trouble. The truth is, grace doesn't do math. Jesus leaves the 99 to find the one; that's bad math. If we are to be like Jesus, the answer to this question is that anyone in need is our neighbor. They are the ones we are supposed to love and serve. No matter why they got there or what bad decisions they made. When it comes to your thought process and whether or not you should help people that are struggling, are you tempted to do the math? Do you first consider what poor decisions got them into this mess? How do we retrain our hearts?
Pray:
- That you would love and care for people that are nothing like you.
- That you would never do the math.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
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