Samaritan

Neighbor Day 11 The Neighbor Who Wounds

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 10:25-37
Luke 9:51-53
Luke 4:14-30

Neighbor, Day 11

“The one who showed mercy…” 

I read “wounded” and my heart reels.

I know wounded.
I know slowly retreating to care for the deep cuts and sharp blows I’ve endured.
I know sprinting away from the lashes against me.
I know wounds so deep they begin to look healed on the outside, but still throb and gape.
I know wounded, friend.

I bet you do, too.
But no one knows wounded quite like our Jesus. 

In Luke 10, Jesus tells a fictional story about a Jewish traveler attacked by robbers and left for dead.

Wounded. 

Two men passed by the nearly lifeless body, a priest and a Levite, both religious and both the same race as the wounded man, but they didn’t stop.
They saw him, and they chose to look away.

Wounded. 

Then a Samaritan man enters the scene.
The original audience of the story possessed the context to understand this Samaritan man was wounded, too. But, like so many of us, his wounds weren’t visible.

At the time Jesus told this parable, Samaritans and Jews had a long-standing rivalry, spanning hundreds of years. Due to the mixed Assyrian and Jewish genealogy of Samaritans, Jews resented Samaritans’ “impure blood line” and often treated them like trash.

We know from a true story in Scripture that Jews and Samaritans never interacted with one another (John 4:9), and even Jesus wasn’t received by Samaritans when He was heading into Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51-53)

We don’t know the kind of ridicule this Samaritan endured from Jews, but undoubtedly, the hatred seething from the Jewish community cut him deeply.

Wounded.

Yet, we see the Samaritan man, wounded by the Jews, breaking barriers of racism by caring for the physically wounded Jewish man.

We’ve all been wounded.
Maybe, like the Jewish man, we’ve been physically and emotionally wounded from abuse.
Maybe, like the Jewish man, we’ve been spiritually wounded by “religion” and people in leadership positions who’ve told us we’re too dirty and too damaged to be worth helping.
Maybe, like the Samaritan, we’ve been wounded by society, or racial and economic barriers.
Or maybe we’ve been wounded by something else….
friends, family, business deals, jobs, the government. 

But Jesus?
He was wounded by it all. 

He took on the sins of the world when He suffered on the cross,
eventually dying from the extreme torture He endured.
He was wounded physically and emotionally.

He was wounded by the religion bearing the same name as His nationality,
and He – who IS God – was killed by the religious people who claimed to worship God.

Jesus knows wounded, friend.

He knows the sharp pains piercing our hearts by betrayal. (Luke 22:3-6)
He knows the hurt embedded in us when grief becomes part of our story. (John 11:32-36)
He knows the rejection of people who have loved us and known us for our entire lives. (Luke 4:14-30)

Jesus knows wounded.

Because Jesus knew wounded so well, because He allowed Himself to be wounded beyond recognition, so badly He eventually died …

We don’t have to live a wounded life.
We have hope.

So, what do we do about the people who hurt us?
What do we do with this story about a wounded man loving another wounded man?
How do we love those who have wounded us?

Mercy.
Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. 

The Samaritan had every excuse to ignore the beaten man on the side of the road. This Jewish man had spent his entire life scoffing and scorning Samaritans, believing they were a lesser people, unwanted by God. And even if he didn’t believe it, his people did.

No one would’ve been surprised if the Samaritan kept walking.

But mercy.

Mercy isn’t just the Samaritan’s compassion, but the forgiveness he displayed toward a man he could’ve left for dead.

Mercy is the forgiveness God offers to us, even though we deserve death.

Mercy is hard, isn’t it?
I get a knot in my stomach just thinking about loving the people who inflicted my deepest wounds.

Friends, I cannot go on without emphasizing that forgiveness and even love are completely possible while still maintaining strong boundaries.

Sometimes, you can love someone best by enforcing boundaries, and forgiveness does not mean boundaries must be removed or even lowered. Abusive and toxic relationships can cause some of our deepest wounds, and we can forgive abusers while still protecting ourselves.

I want to be “the one who showed mercy”. (Luke 10:37)
I want to live ready to show compassion and offer forgiveness to people who have wounded me. I want to love my neighbors, even the ones who have wounded me.

Merciful love is going to take all of me, and all of you.
It’s going to take all of our strength.
But it’s worth the struggle because of
Jesus, the One who showed us mercy.
If He can be merciful to us, surely, with His strength, we can extend mercy to others.

We, too, can be . . . the ones who show mercy. 

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Captivating Day 9 Longing To Be Loved: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
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The Questions

1) Why does Scripture emphasize these were Samaritans?

2) What can be learned from the Samaritan woman’s response?

3) What can we learn from the response of the Samaritans who came?

John 4:39-41

39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what he said.

Original Intent

1) Why does Scripture emphasize these were Samaritans?
Jesus was an Israelite and they hated Samaritans. In 722 B.C. the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell. When that happened, the Assyrians moved in to the area and over time married some of the remaining Israelites. The Southern Kingdom Israelites felt those who married outside of the Israelite people were traitors to their faith and saw them as not true Israelites. These people were known as Samaritans. Due to this hatred, Israelites never associated with Samaritans and went out of their way to travel around Samaria as needed. Jesus is setting a very important and well-known cultural example in this encounter. He is showing the world that He did not only come for Israel, but for the entire world, Jew and Gentile alike.

2) What can be learned from the Samaritan woman’s response?
In the verses immediately before this passage, there is a story of Jesus interacting with a woman who was trapped in her sexual, adulterous sins. He stepped beyond culture and race telling her exactly who she was, what she had done, and then extended hope. In spite of who she was as a social outcast, He still showed her loving compassion and offered her hope. He even revealed to this women that He was the Messiah the world had long been waiting for. The Samaritan woman’s immediate response was to leave behind her water jug and run back into town, excitedly telling everyone she could find about her encounter with the promised Christ. (verse 39) She couldn’t contain the Good News she had learned. Because she was bold enough to share Jesus, despite being an outcast, others came to faith for themselves.

3) What can we learn from the response of the Samaritans who came?
When the woman who had experienced dramatic life change approached the Samaritans with the news of Jesus, they were faced with a decision. Either they could listen to what she shared, welcoming and believing it, or they could ignore her and move on with their lives. The Samaritans not only believed her, but went with her to meet Jesus for themselves. They invited Jesus to spend time with them, teaching them, and learning from Him and because they did, many more believed in Jesus. This would have been a lesson to Jesus’ disciples that His Gospel is for everyone, not only the Jews. It would be a lesson they likely would have recalled often after Jesus ascended and their work in spreading the gospel to the world began.

Everyday Application

1) Why does Scripture emphasize these were Samaritans?
Although we may not live with the Samaritans cultural and socioeconomic differences exist with sharp distinctions within our own society. Our culture, much like the culture in Jesus’ day, tends to separate people from each other for a variety of reasons. Society views one group of people as better or more valuable than another. Whether it’s gender, race, sexual orientation, or even just stereotyping, western culture lends itself to assigning value based on what society deems “best”. Just as Jesus set the example of reaching beyond His culture and His people in radical ways, we are called to do the same. We are called to reach beyond people who are like us to love those all those who need Jesus. Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” (Luke 6:32) No one is exempt from needing Jesus and people will never hear about the freedom He brings if believers are unwilling to follow Jesus’ example and reach beyond our comfortable borders to love those society deems as outcasts or unworthy of the Good News.

2) What can be learned from the Samaritan woman’s response?
This woman, who was an outcast due to her life choices and public sins, still chose to run with eagerness and share the Good News of Jesus with those who had shamed and rejected her. Like her, we all have sins and choices we aren’t proud of. We can choose to run and hide, ashamed of our past, or step out despite it, embracing the forgiveness Jesus has provided. This woman chose to boldly share because what she had learned was too good to be kept to herself. The woman’s transformation had been radical because Hope had made all the difference. When we surrender to Christ, He changes us, making us new, and giving us a story of hope to share. We are never the same after a true encounter with Christ! We should not be able to contain the Good News of who Jesus is and we should run boldly to share it! If you’ve never shared your story, we would be honored to give you that platform at Faces of Grace. Our editors will even help you put words together to allow you to share how Jesus has made you a new creation! Email us at facesofgrace@gracefullytruthful.com for more information.

3) What can we learn from the response of the Samaritans who came?
When just one person surrenders to Jesus they can choose to be a spark or they can choose to hide it. The Samaritans ran to Jesus and brought Him back to others. They chose to acknowledge they had more to learn. When they did, they not only introduced others to the hope of Jesus, but they grew in their understanding by spending time with Him. Just like these Samaritans, we must spend time with Jesus getting to know Him better. Our daily time with Jesus cannot be replaced by anything else. There are things Jesus can only do in and through us when we sit and read His Word under the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Out of the overflow of our intimacy with Jesus, others will see Him. It is His work in us, that only He can accomplish, that shines brightly, beckoning others to also surrender to Hope. When we choose to spend time with Jesus, we will never be the same and neither will the world.

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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Screenshot Day 10 The Outcasts

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 10:25-37
Ezra 4:1-16
Nehemiah 6:1-14
John 4:1-43

Screenshot, Day 10

I have a confession to make.
For many of my growing up years, though I never realized it until recently,
I battled with prejudice.
I wasn’t racist; I didn’t consider myself better based on skin tone.
But there was a part of me that did think that I was better than another.
Nationality aside, if someone else believed differently than I did, I viewed them as inferior.

I took great pride in my country, was very patriotic, and loved America. I still do.
But, I subconsciously thought America was far superior than all other nations.
I felt it was acceptable to look down my nose to those who lived elsewhere.

Even as I write, I am so ashamed of myself for ever thinking that.

Is America a wonderful country? Yes.
Am I thankful for the unique freedoms being an American affords me? Absolutely!
But I am no better than any citizen of another nation; we are all made in the image of God and on equal footing before Him. (Genesis 1:27)

This biblical, wide-spread equality is something the Jews of both Old and New Testament times didn’t understand. They endured an age-long struggle with the Samaritan people, which finally culminated with the Jews being un-willing to speak to anyone of Samaritan descent.

We see trouble beginning to brew in 2 Kings 17:24-28 when people of all different nations and backgrounds were placed in the land of Samaria which had first belonged to the Jews. Before long, these foreigners began to intermarry with the Jewish people and, because they served false gods, raised children who believed in a faith-mixture culture blending Jewish belief and traditions with rampant false religious teachings. Trouble between two cultures escalated as the Samaritans sought to halt the Jews’ project of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. (Nehemiah 6:1-14).

The Jews’ continued hatred towards the Samaritans becomes quite evident in the New Testament when we discover that Jews didn’t even speak to Samaritans (John 4:9).

Imagine the surprise (and outrage!) of the Jewish people when Jesus not only spoke to Samaritans, treating them as equal to the Jews, but even went so far as to make a Samaritan the “good guy hero” of one of His stories!
This would have seemed completely outlandish and inappropriate.
But Jesus did it anyway, and I’m glad He did!
He taught us a valuable lesson which is oh-so-relevant to today.

In Luke 10:25-37 we read the parable of the Good Samaritan, a story Jesus told about a man who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Both a priest and a Levite (people who should’ve known better, as people of God!) walked by on the opposite side of the road.
Their agendas were too important.
Their appearance too high of a priority.
And heaven-forbid they break a sacred law by touching blood in order to love a stranger!
A poor, suffering man in the street wasn’t worth sacrificing any of these.

Then came a Samaritan, believed by the Jews to be good for nothing and full of evil (John 8:48).
But, in Jesus’ carefully crafted story, it was a Samaritan who saw the poor man, had compassion on him, treated his injuries, and then set him up in an inn.
The Samaritan displayed intentional compassion, going far out of his way to provide for his needs.
In the end, it was a Samaritan whom the Lord held up as an example for us, saying, “Go, and do likewise”. (Luke 10:37)

I don’t know about you,
but that is convicting to me!

How often do I first jump to see the differences between myself and another rather than our common similarity?
Whether it’s a difference of nationality, beliefs, clothing, appearance, or culture, often our first impulse is to hold tight to prideful arrogance, rather than see others as fellow image bearers of God, worthy of my care and compassion.
Just as the priest and Levite did in Jesus’ story.
Countless justifications stop me from radically loving another.

What a timely question for us to ask ourselves with all the turmoil between countries, between people of different backgrounds, among immigrants, and gender wars!
Are we living lives of love, treating others as Jesus would have us to?
As the Good Samaritan did?
Or are we acting as the priest and Levite: too good, too important, and too busy to be bothered?

Our ultimate example of this kind of radical love is Christ.
Jesus boldly shared the story of the Good Samaritan with a crowd of Jews, and then lived His life to match it!

At the end of His life, nailed to a cross for crimes He didn’t commit, the story of the Samaritan was exemplified to the nth degree.
We were the Samaritans; you and I were the outcasts.
We chased after false gods, living contrary to God’s holy standard.
Yet, Jesus, He bled and died for us, showing us ultimate compassion, love, and care.

What about you?
How will you become like the Good Samaritan, like Jesus, today right where you are?
How are you being called to go beyond the borders we tend to erect for ourselves?

Who is different than you, and how can you love them better today?

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Screenshot Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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