Gtcotr/ss021223
Luke 10 NKJV
25 ¶ And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 “Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 “Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
33 “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
34 “So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 “On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
36 “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
If you were to drive through any city in the United States and you would most likely find a major thoroughfare named “Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.” Some may have no idea as to why there are so many streets named MLK Blvd or MLK Dr. They are everywhere! Why?
Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He entered Morehouse College at the young age of 15 where he favored studies in medicine and law until his senior year when he decided to enter into the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After graduating with his BA in 1948, he went on to Crozer Theological Seminary and graduated with a Divinity Degree in 1951, and on to Boston University where he received a doctorate in 1955.
Dr King was the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on public transport and move to the back of the bus in 1955. He was chosen to lead the protest and the boycott. He told those gathered at the protest:
“We come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.”
Dr King also led the famous “March on Washington” in 1963. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, a sad day for all Americans.
Dr King is rightly credited with holding our nation together during one of the most tumultuous times in America by advocating a peaceful approach to achieving civil rights for all people without regard to their race, culture, custom, or color. He had a dream, a dream for which he lived, a dream for which he died, and a dream for which he is remembered today: He said so many things worth us remembering and working towards. Here are but a few: (Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church - https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/martin-luther-king-jr-quotes)
“We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.”
“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
“We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.”
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
“It is always the right time to do the right thing.”
In recognition of February being Black History Month in America, I salute Pastor Martin Luther King Jr for his contribution to the civil rights movement, and for his lasting legacy of peaceful protests against those things that divide us as a nation, as a community, and as brothers and sisters in Christ. May we all take a lesson from history today.
One more quote from Pastor King:
“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'”
Back to our text for today …
Luke 10
25 ¶ And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus was very plain. He revealed the truth that Your neighbor is not the person you may need; your neighbor is the person who needs you.
It is always the right time to do the right thing.
Jesus is still saying to us today: “Go and do likewise.”
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