Showing Kindness to Others – Luke 10:25-37

By David Woods

Read Introduction: (Note: This intro suggests that the lawyer may have overheard Jesus’ words to his disciples in Luke 10:1-24 and felt they had not done enough to gain eternal life.  Therefore, he poses the question of verse 25 to Jesus.

Read Luke 10:25-29

     While the lawyer’s question may sound like the start of a theological question concerning how one receives God’s grace, Jesus turned the dialogue into a discussion of the heart problem of the lawyer – prejudice.

Discussion:“Have you ever been the victim of prejudice?” (p. 11)  How did this happen?

Discussion:Define prejudice.  What is it?  What is it not?

Discussion:Is it always easy for us to see prejudice in ourselves and in others?  Why or why not?

(Case study: why do many Americans refer to any Hispanic-looking person as a “Mexican”?  It is my opinion that such distinctions may betray an anger and disdain toward illegal immigrants that has morphed into prejudice (distrust, dislike, etc.) toward all Hispanic-looking people.)

Discussion: Compare Luke 10:27 to 1 John 4:7, 12, 16. Can we determine who is and is not a true Christian by 1) their love for God and 2) their love for others?  Why or why not?

Discussion:If we answer “yes” to the previous question, doesn’t this lead us to teach a “works” salvation – that your loving deeds make you right with God?  Why not?

(I would suggest that a “yes” answer does not necessarily lead us to teach a “works” salvation.  See the lesson comments on verse 28 as a hint to why I suggest this.)

Discussion:Why did the lawyer need clarification on who his neighbor was?

Read Luke 10:30-37

Discussion:Shouldn’t the priest and Levite keep themselves ceremonially clean?  Why or why not?

Discussion:Can our emphasis on holiness of life and separation from the world cause us to ignore people in need?  How and/or why?

Discussion:The Samaritan gave the innkeeper the equivalent of two day’s wages for the common worker.  Was it really necessary for the Samaritan to do this?  After all, hadn’t he saved the man from certain death and hadn’t he shown tender compassion by binding up his wounds?

Discussion:To what extent must we show love to our neighbor?

(Possibly give some examples and draw a graph on a board to gauge what different students think the extent of our love should be.  However, please note that this question is a misdirection.  The point of the lesson is, as the lesson comments on verse thirty-six say, that we should be asking instead, “Are you being a neighbor to those whom the Lord puts in your path?”(p. 7))

The key to this whole lesson is found in the comments on verse 36.

Read Luke 10:36 comments

The lawyer’s prejudice kept him from even naming the Samaritan as he admitted who was truly the neighbor to this man in need.

Discussion:How does prejudice cause us to look at and treat other people unfairly?

Discussion:Respond to this statement.  “Unchecked prejudice warps our entire psyche.”

The lesson I hope you will take home with you from this lesson is:

Big Idea:The true Christian is marked by his/her genuine love for all people.

We tend to place all kinds of arbitrary standards by which we measure people’s spirituality.  Are they dressed right?  Do they say the right words?  Etc. Etc.  The true measuring stick by which Jesus says we should measure our own spirituality is our love for God and our love for others.  We are not saved from sin by our loving deeds for others, but if we have been saved from sin our lives will be characterized by genuine love for all people.

Discussion: “Brainstorm about ways we can identify prejudice.  List ways we can overcome those prejudices.” (p. 11)