Sabbath: Love and the Law
Read for This Week’s Study: James 2:1-13; Mark 2:16; Lev. 19:17-18; Rom. 13:8-10; John 12:48.
Memory Text: For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment
(James 2:13, NASB).
We know the story well; the question is, How well has it sunk in?
First a priest, then a Levite, going from Jerusalem to Jericho, encountered a man lying half dead in the road. Though both just finished their religious duties, neither was, apparently, able to link those duties with any sense of obligation to the injured soul, and so each kept walking. Finally, a Samaritan, a half-pagan, happened by, took pity on the man, bandaged his wounds, and paid for his stay at an inn where he could recover. He also promised to pay the innkeeper for anything else the man might need (see Luke 10:30-37).
Jesus told that story in response to a question by a lawyer about eternal life. Rather than tell the lawyer,Try harder!
or Do more!
-Jesus painted a picture of love in action. That is, we are to love even in potentially dangerous or unpleasant circumstances, and we are to love even those we don’t like.
Though it’s not easy, and often goes against our nature, true love involves a substantial amount of risk and calls us to tear down barriers that separate us as people, both outside and (especially) inside the church. This week we’ll see what James has to say about this crucial truth.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 1.
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In my attempt at missions and in my experience with others trying to evangelize me, I have found that one of the greatest barriers to communication is denominational walls which are built in my mind and in the minds of others. It seems that when we buy into a particular dogma, whether it is true or not, we tend to develop resistance to any truth outside our perceived area of truth.
I have also found that if I will allow myself to be involved with the Spirit of Truth rather that just my dogma, I can communicate with greater ease with those of other dogmas and, as I am able to receive truth and give due respect to the other person, that person is more able to respect me and to receive truth from me.
When the humanly devised barriers come down, truth is more easily assimilated by all.
Don, You are right. We need to humble ourselves the more to allow the holy spirit to teach us more so as not to limit ourselves to knowing further truth.
Some years ago I met a drug addict on my way to church who asked me for some money to buy food. I offered to pay for his lunch at the LLU cafeteria. As he was picking the items for his lunch, he discovered to his dismay that this was a vegetarian place. He got so distraught that he started cursing me in front of everybody. I was speechless; I paid for his lunch and left without saying a word; I was so embarrassed. Is there something else I could have done?
That is hard to take, trying to help someone in need and then have them show no appreciation. But when one considers that Christ sacrificed all to die if you were the only one, and the rest of the world showed no apprciation, it sort of makes our experience with indifference, lack of appreciation or even hostility
seem insignificant. Keep on truckin' and passing out loaves and fishes.
You are only responsible for your actions, not for the responses of others. Sometimes we do all that we know to do, and do it in the best way we know, and that is still not going to satisfy some. Give it to God, and if there is something else you could have done, He'll let you know.
Thanks for the love that you showed.Keep on doing good
Indeed love needs to be put in action. We should love those we don't like. That is the only way we can reflect Christ's character. Come to think of the memory text of this week. It motivates us to work towards achieving God's character. The fact that mercy triumphs over judgment should make us do acts of love.
Many of us today simply Wear Christianity as a badge. We profess that we are sons and daughters of God yet do not practise the simple basics that would truly define us as one. Love in action does not come naturally because we fail to understand God's love for us in the first place. Most times it becomes a danger as this beautiful deed is not practised at home. We look at others who are not of the faith as those who will not get eternal life and tend to think highly of ourselves. I believe the Good Samaritan surely would have thought that if he were in the same situation, he would have liked the person passing by to help him...... So basically, he practised loving others at home..... If that weren't true, then he wouldn't have had it in him to offer the help that he did so naturally. Love to be that beautiful.....needs to come form our heart.....needs to be sought every morning at the feet of Jesus....because God is Love.......the more we behold we become. No longer will my local church be empty, because people will be drawn in as they would want to become a part of it. For love to be manifested simply, it has to begin within me.
The story of the Good Samaritan is rich in meaning. Keep in mind that Jesus was talking to the Jewish leaders. To have the good guy be a Samaritan was about like going into the deep south in the 1950's and telling an all white church that he is black. Now a good example today might be Christ going into a fundamentalist church and making the good guy a gay man. Or maybe I'm pushing the envelope too far for some of you, so let's make the gay guy the one who gets robbed and beaten up. The summary is Christ is answering a continum of two questions. First He is asked a question by a lawyer, "What is the law?" Jesus answers with what is really the summation of the 10 commandments, love God first, and then love your neighbor.
then the lawyer asks a more probing second question with "who is my neighbor?" Our neighbor is anyone around us who is in need of help. Jesus is giving an example of a man laying in a ditch, robbed, beaten, bloodied and left to die. And it is in a place known to be dangerous. So we have a couple upright christians strolling by who don't lift a finger to help. One even walks to the other side of the road, to numb his biting conscience. He knows what he needs to do but quickly passes on. Along comes a guy you are prejudiced against, who stops and not only helps the poor dude, but pays someone to nurse him back to health. Then Jesus asks a rhetorical question of "who was the neighbor here?" The lawyer has no alternative but to answer with" the one (put in your own person or people you really don't like) who had mercy on him." Jesus then says, Go and do likewise." So the bottom line is, law keeping is being merciful to others.
Read Luke 6:36-38. If you really want to find what counts most in the judgement read Matthew 25:31-46.
Tom, there is some additional information in that story that probably should be added although it really doesn't change the essential lesson for us to learn.
First is that the story of the good Samaritan was the end result of a lawyer's attempt to trap Jesus as was the daily business of the Jewish leaders. After the lawyer answered Jesus' question about what was written in the law and Jesus saying that he had answered correctly and that the lawyer should do what the law says Luke goes on to say, "But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" (Lk. 10:29 NKJV). Ellen White in the Desire of Ages makes a rather interesting statement that after Jesus spoke of the priest who passed on the other side and the Levite who ignored the man's need of help says, "In their action, as Christ had described it, the lawyer saw nothing contrary to what he had been taught concerning the requirements of the law" (Desire of Ages, p 500). Speaking of the priest and Levite she says, "Trained in the school of national bigotry, they had become selfish, narrow, and exclusive" which also was the lawyer's problem to the extent that at the end of the story, "The lawyer would not, even now, take the name Samaritan upon his lips" (abid.)
So the story involves more than just how to treat someone in need. Jesus was also trying to straighten out a very wrong Jewish perception of themselves as the chosen people of God. Perhaps we can stand to learn the same lesson especially when we consider the message to the Laodicean church that describes us as a rather arrogant snobbish church who thinks it has everything and that we are more like the praying Pharisee in the temple who, "prayed thus with himself,`God, I thank You that I am not like other men-- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess'" (Lk. 18:11-12 NKJV).
What I need to learn is that there are far better people out there than I am and that just because I am a Seventh-day Adventist doesn't make those other people any less important in God's eyes than I am (see Rom 12:3; Phil 2:3-4).
Thanks, Tyler for finishing the story. There are folks in the church who call an entire group of people abominations, so I suppose they think they can follow the lead of those pious ones and just pass by, if one of "those people" are in need.
Can someone please tell me where to find that the man was a
half samritan. Thanks
Faith, the lesson says, "a Samaritan, a half-pagan" which was exactly what Samaritans were. After the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem some of the Jews were left behind and they mingled with the surrounding nations and adopted many of their customs. It was so bad that by the time of Nehemiah the returning Jews refused to allow them to help in the rebuilding of the temple. That is the reason the Jews of Christ's time despised them so much.
Thank you Tyler
Today's message for me was to do simple acts of kindness in Godly love. To fulfil the needs of others, wether it be food, clothing, shelter, or a listening ear, words of encouragement and could it even be , a ham sandwich, or even cigarettes of an elderly neighbour that can't go out. when we are trying to help someone, should we be telling them what is right or wrong for them on the first encounter? Sometimes it is obvious to know how we can help, but on other occassions it would be better to simply ask "How would you like me to help you"?
Who is our Neighbour.... The modern example is the Ebola victims in Africa. I applaud the people who went to Africa to care for them at risk of their own lives. And the nurses and doctors who do not call in sick but went to work to care for those in the US.
Tom & John,
I appreciate your comments.
It's very dangerous spiritually to see others as 'better' or 'worse' than we are.
Jesus sought to teach that we are all valuable in God's sight. There is no better than or worse than. We are to minister to others as though they are our family. Difficult as it may be to accept, we are all family.
Often we think of doing good to others in terms of big things. Ministering to those who're recognized as the needy in church, social media, the news and even from groups involved in philathropic callings but Jesus calls us to minister to those around us.
He calls us to minister to the very ones we think aren't worthy because they're not recognized by the masses. These people would include our family members, converted and unconverted, our neighbors, children and young people under our influence, the discouraged, depressed and there are so many more I can't name them all.
The Spirit of God leads us to such people when we sincerely desire to do God's will and share Christ in a genuine way.
Nanci
You are absolutely right. Jesus calls us basicslly to "brighten the corner where we are" and it doesn't neccessarily take a big bank roll to do it.
A meal for someone who is hungry, a listening ear and help for the less fortunate. That may mean I need to spend some of the time I would at the shopping mall, instead at some place that passes out loaves and fishes to those in need. And guess what, I'll have some extra cash to help out because I will save what I would have spent if I was at the mall. Like you there are so many possibilties I can't name them all.
YES, YES, YES the Holy Spirit will lead us to such people when we sincerely desire to do God's will and share Christ in a genuione way. And like a stone cast into a lake, it can have a rippling effect beyond just where you cast the stone in. "Jesus is longing for the manifestation of himself in His church." page 69 Christ Object Lesson
Nanci, when you say, "It's very dangerous spiritually to see others as 'better' or 'worse' than we are" I will not argue with you but simply let you argue with Paul who said, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself" (Phil. 2:3 NKJV).
We more often than not tend to lift ourselves up in our own eyes and think we are better than someone else so what you say in the second paragraph is where we should actually be, "Jesus sought to teach that we are all valuable in God's sight." That is the point I was attempting to make even though I apparently failed to do that.
Teacher’s Edition, makes this statement: Being like Jesus is not an end in itself …. (see full context below)
I take issue with that statement, I believe that restoring us to the image of God is the prime imperative of the Gospel message as expressed in the Everlasting Covenant of love:- I will be your God and you will be My people and I will dwell with you.
1Jn 3:1-2 Behold what manner of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (2) Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He shall be revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Rom 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers.
1Co 15:49 And according as we bore the image of the earthy man, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
2Pe 1:4 through which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord Spirit.
2Co 6:16 … For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
"Being like Jesus is not an end in itself and certainly not a means of salvation"
I agree being like Jesus is not the means of salvation.
I believe being like Jesus is the meaning of salvation!
Hey Shirley,
I agree totally with your comments on 'Christlikeness', the Holy Spirit transforms us into the likeness of Christ as we surrender to Him. We are children of God so we will reflect Him as we serve Him with our whole hearts.
I don't have the adult Sabbath School lesson, but I have to agree with the statement made there also. Remember at the end of time Christ said many would come to Him and say, haven't I done this and that in your name, but He will reject them? Matthew 7:21-23. These people had a 'form of godliness' while denying the power of God to make deep spiritual changes in their lives 2 Timothy 3:5.
The sinister thing about all of this is, we as humans look on the outward appearance, only God sees the heart. We often misjudge each other by appearance and achievement. Neither of these, I must add, lead to a pure heart that truly reflects Christ 1 Samuel 16:7.
That's why I believe,just looking and acting like Christ isn't an end in itself, there must be a transformation that is deeper than 'good behavior' and we aren't good judges of who really has been transformed and who hasn't. That's why Jesus warns us in Matthew 7 about judging each other Matthew 7:1-2.
Hi Shirley and Nanci,
Perhaps the author of the Teacher's Edition should have said that "appearing to be like Jesus" is not an "end in itself" because, presumably, we could appear to be like Jesus while not having the heart of Jesus, as you suggest, Nanci.
On the other hand, I agree with Shirley that being truly like Jesus, which includes a heart like His, is, indeed, the object of salvation. That's the transformation that God wants to work in us.
Can someone help me to understand how... "we are to love even in potentially dangerous or unpleasant circumstances,..
Where I stay there is rampant mugging at twilight and down. Stumbling upon a body laying dead,unconscious or helpless along corridors and narrow walkways with wallets and other items all around is no news.
Sincerely speaking, if I happened to be going home from work, and from a distance I see a body laying helpless on a walk way that i was to follow; will it not sink in me that danger is looming around and that I should avoid that path? Will I also not thank God for allowing me to see and sense danger? Has not God given us reason and good judgement to avoid "potentially dangerous" situations? Should we tempt God by blindly walking into danger that He has allowed us to see and even avoid Matt.4:7? Where is the place of Wisdom when exercising love? someone help me please.
Victor, your question was so interesting, I hope this helps some.
When looking at Jesus and how He dealt with dangerous situations where He wasn’t safe, we see how we can respond in similar situations. Jesus came to this earth to die, but He was to die in God’s time, not before, not after. So when His life was threatened or His surroundings were unsafe what did He do?
In Matthew 2:13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Jesus was too little to speak for Himself, so the Angel of the Lord told Joseph, get out of here, they’re going to kill the baby. So Joseph obeyed and Christ lived not only as our example but in the fullness of time He became the sacrifice for our sins.
John 7:1-3 7 "After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him."
When the priests were plotting to kill him, he left the area and went to a place where He would be safe because it wasn’t His time to die.
John 11:53-54 So from that day on they plotted to take his life. Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
Again with plots against His life, Jesus protected Himself by leaving the area.
Luke 4:24-28 in the synagogue when Christ spoke, the people were enraged to the point of trying to kill Him on the spot, He passed through them to avoid death at that time.
Jesus didn't needlessly place Himself in danger. He avoided it. When it was His time to die for us, He then stood the test. He loved the Priests and Pharisees, but He didn't place Himself in a position to be harmed by them BEFORE His time, in the name of love.