Who is My Neighbor
Are we interested in check boxes or changing how we live?
Before the sermon began, we knew what we were in for. Pastor Lee had a coat rack next to the podium with a red sweater hanging on it. The slide announcing the sermon title, "Who is My Neighbor?" coupled with the sweater, said we were in for some Fred Rogers-flavored stuff Sunday. We weren't disappointed.
The familiar theme music to the show played, and Pastor Lee took to the podium. She swapped out her coat for the sweater and began the message. "Grace and Peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ." That made me take a note. What does it mean to wish someone Grace and Peace? Peace, I get it, but what do we mean when we wish someone grace?
Grace
[ greys ]
Theology.
The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
The influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
A virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.
Also called state of grace. The condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.
From <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/Grace>
There is a lot more to it than that. I copied just the part under "theology." If you want to see the full definition, feel free to click the link and see it in its entirety.
We are wishing someone to be in the favor and love of God, to regenerate and strengthen that person. What an amazing thing to hope for someone else. Since we add "in the name of Jesus Christ" to it, it should be something we expect to happen.
12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
13 "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
John 14:12–14 (NASB95)
That little bit has nothing to do with the message from Sunday other than it struck me as Pastor Lee opened her sermon.
To begin, let's look at the word "neighbor" in the Greek from Luke 10:27, which is part of the scripture used for today's message, which we'll see in its entirety later.
27And he answered, "You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself."
Luke 10:27 (NASB95)
Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18
Greek Strong's Number: 4139
Greek Word: πλησίον
Transliteration: plēsion
Phonetic Pronunciation: play-see’-on
Root: neuter of a derivative of pelas (near)
Cross Reference: TDNT - 6:311,872
Part of Speech: adv
Vine's Words: Near (Adverb), Near (come; draw), Nearer, Neighbor
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
neighbour 16
near 1
[Total Count: 17]
neuter of a derivative of pelas (near); (adverb) close by; as noun, a neighbor, i.e. fellow (as man, countryman, Christian or friend):- near, neighbour.
James Strong, "Πλησίον," Strong's Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
The Greek usage also puts the article ho (Strongs 3588), giving it added importance. I like the literal idea of "close fellow," meaning whoever is near to me, those around me, or those I encounter throughout the day. Those are my neighbors. That's getting a little ahead of things, though.
She read the scripture at this point, so let's put that in now.
25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
26And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?"
27And he answered, "You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself."
28And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."
29But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
31 "And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 "Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 "But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 "On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.'
36 "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"
37And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
Luke 10:25–37 (NASB95)
Then Pastor Lee asked a question, "Who was the Samaritan?" Simply put, the Samaritans were the enemies of the Jews. You can read more about that HERE or look it up in your favorite search engine. The point is that Jesus used someone everyone reviled and hated as an enemy to demonstrate who was to be the neighbor of the young Jewish lawyer asking Him the question. For us, that means anyone we encounter is our neighbor.
Pastor Lee began telling a story about Fred Rogers in High School when a popular athlete in his school became ill and had to go into the hospital. Fred's mother arranged for him to be the one to take the young man's homework to him in the hospital. In that contact, the athlete and Fred began to see beyond the superficial and to the person behind the outward appearance. By the time the young man got out of the hospital, he had a different view of the "nerd" who had brought the "jock" his homework. That young man began to speak nicely of Fred Rogers at school, which turned his school days around. The point for us is that outward appearances don't tell us who the person is; we shouldn't shun or dislike someone merely by that outward appearance.
Pastor Lee focused on another question asked by the Jewish lawyer next, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Inheriting isn't anything we do. It is something that is done to us by someone else when they pass away. They decide to leave something to us, and we are gifted that thing as an "inheritance." Jesus' answer is instrumental, though, and it begins with God Himself.
25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
26And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?"
27And he answered, "You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself."
28And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."
Luke 10:25–28 (NASB95)
Note Jesus isn't telling His listeners or the young man anything new. He is quoting Old Testament scripture to them. At least the young man is quoting that, and Jesus is affirming it with Old Testament scripture (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, and then Jesus uses Leviticus 18:5 and Ezekial 20:11.) It is interesting to note that this young Jewish Lawyer isn't a lawyer as we think of today. This is a man well-read in the Law of God, meaning scripture. Jesus is quoting back to this man's words he well knows or should. But notice Jesus tells the man, "Do this and you will live," not "you will inherit." That difference is important, but how?
Inheriting is more of a check box, a thing you do, take possession of what you've inherited, and then go on with your life. Jesus' words here give the young man and us instructions for life. He says, "Do this, and you will live." It is a way of being, not a thing to be possessed.
The young man probably identified Jesus as having "won" that exchange because He answered him with Old Testament scripture that everyone listening nodded their heads to in agreement with Jesus. The young lawyer tried to trap Him again with his next question, but Pastor Lee said it had an unspoken component I'd never considered before. The young man asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Pastor Lee suggested that the real question the lawyer wanted to know was the unspoken part, "Who is it okay to hate?" If we look at verse twenty-eight from the lawyer's perspective, wanting confirmation of who he could ignore, hate, or treat poorly, Jesus' response takes on a new light when He tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.
As Pastor Lee moved through the parable, she asked another question, "Why did the Priest and the Levite move to the other side of the road?" Those should have been the people most likely to help the beaten man, right? She suggested it was fear and the unspoken question, "What will happen to me if I stop to help this person?" Instead, Pastor Lee suggested we turn this question around and ask, "What will happen to that person if I don't stop to help them?" That question has great implications for us if we come at helping others from the perspective of what if I'm the only help they could get?
This led to the question Jesus asked at the parable's end, "Who was the neighbor to the man?" The young lawyer answers, "the one who showed mercy," and Jesus confirms that. The Greek word behind mercy is exactly what you would expect, compassion, as in tender, either divine or human (Strongs 1656.) However, most instances of the word mercy in scripture come from a different Greek word, Strongs, 1653. The difference, I'm really not sure. I'll post both Greek definitions below with the one from the parable first.
Greek Strong's Number: 1656
Greek Word: ἔλεος
Transliteration: eleos
Phonetic Pronunciation: el’-eh-os
Root: of uncertain affinity
Cross Reference: TDNT - 2:477,222
Part of Speech: n n
Vine's Words: Merciful, Mercy
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
mercy 28
[Total Count: 28]
of uncertain affinity; compassion (human or divine, especially active):- (+ tender) mercy.
James Strong, "Ἔλεος," Strong's Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
This is the typical Greek word used for Mercy.
Greek Strong's Number: 1653
Greek Word: ἐλεέω
Transliteration: eleeō
Phonetic Pronunciation: el-eh-eh’-o
Root: from <G1656>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 2:477,222
Part of Speech: v
Vine's Words: Compassion, Compassionate, Merciful, Mercy
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
have mercy on 14
obtain mercy 8
show mercy 2
have compassion 1
have compassion on 1
have pity on 1
have mercy 1
have mercy upon 1
receive mercy 1
[Total Count: 31]
from <G1656> (eleos); to compassionate (by word or deed, specially by divine grace):- have compassion (pity on), have (obtain, receive, shew) mercy (on).
James Strong, "Ἐλεέω," Strong's Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
What's the difference there? I honestly don't know. Both seem to have a divine component, but the word used in Jesus' parable seems to indicate we are the instrument of God's mercy to the one we are ministering to. My reaction to that idea is that it is really a heart position as to why we are being merciful that matters. We can show mercy to someone for reasons that do not stem from compassion or love, but only those acts of mercy that truly emanate from the heart as loving kindness, are acts of divine compassion.
Pastor Lee closed with a quote from Fred Rogers and a question. The quote is this,
"The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings. Some people have many blessings and hoard them. Some have few and give everything away."
She asked this question, and I'll finish with it, "What sacrifices are you willing to make to be a neighbor?"
God bless and Godspeed.