T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
350
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS
Outline and Exposition , B. B. S utcliffe Points and Problems H omer A. K ent For the Children A llison A rrowood
Lesson material is based upon outlines of International Sunday School Lessons, copyrighted by the International Council of Re ligious Education; used by per mission. thereby. But no man ever attained this standard! Neither can anyone of himself reach such perfection. That is why all must have the righteousness of Another. The whole tenor of the Gospel is to the effect that man can only obtain eternal life by the right eousness of Christ. By pricking the lawyer’s conscience, our Lord was leading him to see his own insuf ficiency. 2. "But he, willing to justify him self, said unto Jesus” (v. 29). The Lord had answered the lawyer but he refused to be silenced. He sought a way out of the trap he had set for himself. Thus he attempted self-justi fication which prompted Jesus to use an illustration. H ow like human nature which likes to flatter itself with its own sufficiency! Convicted of sin and realizing that he is con demned in the sight of God, man still seeks to vindicate himself. The Revised Version is a better translation: “But he desiring to justify himself.” The Greek word is so translated in Luke 5:39, 8:20, 10:24, 23:20 and 23:8. Man will do anything rather than to admit that he is a sinner and in need of a Saviour. 3. "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves" (v. 30). Note how perfectly this story fits into the actual geo graphical and historical situation. For one thing, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho is emphatically “ down,” a descent of some 3600 feet in a little over twenty miles. Then, the region between Jerusalem and Jericho was, and still is, notorious as a hideout for bandits. Moreover, Jericho, in Christ's time, was a city set apart for priests and Levites, so they very naturally ap pear on thé road in Jesus’ account. The. incidents related by Christ were true to life! and nowhere is the story called a parable.
Here is valuable material for all ages.
represented by the priest, or religious ceremonies, represented by the Levite. Both were powerless to render aid be cause of their complete lack of inter est in the poor Samaritan. But another came to the place where the needy one lay, saw him, had compassion on him, bound up his wounds, ex changed places with him, and made provision for his needs. All of this he did without any question as to his identity or worth. True, love goes out to all neighbors without asking who or what they may be. A neighbor, then, from the Scriptural standpoint, is one whose heart goes out to anyone in need even as the love of God goes out to every human being. It would have been as consistent for the lawyer to have asked: “Who is my God?” as to have inquired: “Who is my neigh bour?” III. T h e P recept of L ove (Vs. 36, 37) After Jesus’ revelation to him through this account, the lawyer ac knowledged that the Good Samaritan was undoubtedly the true neighbor. “ Go thou and do likewise,” said the Lord. Thé lawyer was given another chance. He had not lived up to the light he had, nor had he been obe dient to the truth he understood. Care must be taken that we do not misunderstand. The burden of Scrip tural proof is to the effect that one cannot show true love to another human being unless he first shows love to God. Loving oùr neighbors is not the way to eternal life: it is not the Gospel of salvation. But Jesus knew how to show up the sin of a man’s heart, and our lawyer in this lesson, stands revealed as one with no love of God in his heart. Points and Problems 1. "This do, and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:28). These words evidently mean that if a man’s life measured up perfectly to the law quoted by the lawyer, he would be justified
LESSON FOR OCTOBER 7 Love For God And Love For Man LESSON MATERIAL: Luke 10:25-37. GOLDEN TEXT: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself’ (Luke 10:27). Outline and Exposition I. T h e A bsence of L ove ( L u k e 10:25-29) The lawyer’s question in verse 25 revealed his ignorance—eternal life cannot be inherited; his state—he was without that life; his pride—he thought he could do something to ob tain it; his legality—he believed he could by 'his' own works merit salva tion; and his selfishness—he sought material gain. Hence, he was without love, which is the very essence of the eternal life he professed to be seeking. Jesus’ countering question (vs.' 26- 29) met this lawyer on his own ground, that of the law,' which “to do is to live and to fail to do is to die.” The lawyer’s reply (v. 27) in dicates that while he was familiar with the letter of the law, he was not obeying it (cf. John 13:17). Jesus said, “This do,”—love both God and man with entire self-forget fulness, “and thou shalt live.” But the lawyer, although he had not been condemned, was “willing [or wishing] to justify himself.” The mere recita tion of the law brought guilt; he wished to clear himself so he tried to divert Jesus by the insincere inquiry: “Who is my neighbour?” He revealed clearly that whatever love he had was valueless, a mere legal obligation— not the spontaneous outgoing of God’s nature, which is love, through him (cf. 1 John 3:16; 4i8). II. T h e P ic tu r e of L ove (Vs. 30-35) Our Lord points out to this lawyer what neighborly love really is. It is outside of and beyond either religion,
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