Love Mercy and Live!

<p>Read Text Luke 10:25-37</p><p>The Big Question:  What must I do to inherit eternal life?  </p><p>First the question:  how would you respond? Confess, repent, believe, and accept? </p><p>This story revolves around two things: the big question, and the lawyer’s attitude.</p><ol><li>The lawyer is in a critical mood.  </li><li>As are other religious leaders the closer they get to Jerusalem.  </li><li>And so are the Samaritans from chapter 9.</li></ol><p>The reply from Jesus focuses on God’s law for the lawyer!</p><ol><li>The dialogue centers around two Bible verses from the law of Moses: Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.  </li><li>Two verses from two different places that show the study of the law was careful and the man was intelligent.  </li><li>As the two face each other, Jesus commends him and tells him to do that to live: </li><li>in other words he ought to be treating Jesus as he himself wished to be treated and not be taking a superior position. He fails to love his neighbor standing in front of him</li></ol><p>So not wanting to give in to the compassionate shaming, he tries to justify himself, by asking who his neighbor is.  </p><ol><li>The parable is among the best known, but only appears in Luke. </li><li>He describes loving your neighbor as being a merciful attitude, not keeping a set of rules and laws, </li><li>Such as purity laws of not touching unclean things</li><li>Priority of status and position among the people</li><li>The powerful impact of this story is the rejection that the Samaritans have for Jesus from 9:53</li><li>The care comes from compassion, not regulation. </li><li>It is a loving rebuke when he asks, who showed mercy?</li><li>See Matthew 9:17 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.””</li><li>Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”</li><li>The loving of neighbor is closely re