Received. This manuscript is longer than can fit in a single response, so I’ll edit it in sequential chunks as requested.

For each chunk, I will:

Copy-edit for grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, and readability while preserving your voice.
Keep the existing headings, paragraphs, and structure.
Replace any non-public personal names (except pastors such as Pastor Jon/Pastor Mark and quoted individuals) with appropriate generic constructions.
Put all Scripture text (but not Scripture references) in italics.

Chunk 1

Love Your Neighbor

Luke 10:25–37

I’m just an innocent bystander.

Have you ever said that phrase?

I grew up going to a boys’ summer camp for fifteen summers. Every so often, roughhousing or wrestling would break out between a few of the boys, and if you didn’t want to be involved, you might say, “I’m just an innocent bystander.” Or maybe you’ve been at a barbecue recently, and a water balloon or water gun fight broke out. Not wanting to get involved, you quickly shouted, “Hey, I’m an innocent bystander!” When you say this, what you’re really saying is, “Whatever is going on over there, I’m not interested in getting involved.”

Of course, history helps fill out the definition of a bystander as well. You may have heard of the bystander effect. This is the idea that people are less likely to provide help to victims when other people are present. And in 2026, people may be more likely to pull out their phones to record a video than to provide meaningful help.

All of this points us to the question in our passage today. In light of the good news of the gospel, how do you respond to others in need? Today we explore the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. Luke has spent the last two chapters emphasizing the nature of mission and the importance of commitment. We have seen Jesus’ commitment to go to Jerusalem and walk the path of the cross.

How are we to live in light of the cross?

This brings us to our big idea for this morning:

Love your neighbor.

In light of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, how then do we live?

This brings us to our three points:

Examine your heart (vv. 25–29)
Show no partiality (vv. 30–35)
Show them mercy (vv. 36–37)

1. Examine Your Heart

In verse 25 we read:

25 “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’”

The encounter in our passage is between an expert in the law and Jesus. Already in the first century, lawyers were getting a bad reputation. Right from the beginning, the narrator tells us this lawyer is putting Jesus to the test. We immediately get a glimpse into the lawyer’s heart.

Let’s give the lawyer some credit where credit is due. He asks the right question: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He believes in eternal life, and he is concerned with his own salvation.

Jesus answers by pointing the lawyer to the Law.

26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

Jesus is not pointing the lawyer to the oral law but to the written Law, asking, “How do you read it?” The lawyer and Jesus begin from the same starting point—the Word of God.

Let’s take a closer look at the lawyer’s answer in verse 27.

27 “And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’”

Four aspects are named—heart, soul, strength, and mind. Simply put, this means loving God with your entire being.

Jesus then replies that the lawyer has answered correctly and says, “Do this, and you will live.”

Before we move on, it’s important that we slow down and consider these commandments, often referred to as the Greatest Commandment. The lawyer’s answer comes from Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19. Jesus also repeats these commandments in Matthew 22:37–39 and Mark 12:29–31. This teaching is repeated multiple times throughout the Gospels because it is foundational.

Love the Lord your God.

God is worthy to be praised. He is the Creator of the universe and everything in it. He provided abundantly for humanity in the garden, and yet humanity rebelled. It would have been perfectly just if no one had experienced salvation after the fall. Yet, time and again, we read of God rescuing His people Israel.

Moses could not live up to God’s commands. David fell into grievous sin. Israel, under its kings, wandered from God’s commands over and over again. None deserved mercy—only wrath.

No one can truly live up to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.”

Yet we also see that whenever Israel cried out to God, He showed mercy—not because He had to, but because He is a God of mercy. Ultimately, that mercy would be poured out fully at the cross as the atonement for sin.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

So Jesus replied to the lawyer, “Do this, and you will live.”

This is where the exchange takes an interesting turn.

As Philip Ryken writes:

“At this point, the lawyer should have prayed for grace. He should have fallen to his knees and said something like this: ‘Help me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. I cannot love God the way He demands to be loved, and I have never loved anyone nearly as much as I love myself. Tell me how a sinner like me can be saved.'”

But that’s not what happens next.

Instead, we read in verse 29:

29 “But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’”

Instead of admitting his sin, the lawyer tries to justify himself. As John Piper writes, “Self-justification is the opposite of faith and the opposite of love.”

The lawyer wants to know: Have I met the standard?

Instead of asking for grace, his question reveals a desire to narrow the scope of the law. In asking, “Who is my neighbor?” he reveals the true condition of his heart. He knows the law, and he knows he does not keep it. By asking this question, he attempts to make self-justification possible by placing limits on those he is required to love.

Understanding the heart begins with understanding our instinctive reactions.

Think about your workplace for a moment. Imagine a time when you were brand new to your job or career. You probably wanted to do the right things so you could continue to grow and develop in your field. Some of you may have wanted to prove yourselves to your boss.

Now imagine that, during your first year, you make several mistakes. Your boss calls you into the office, sits you down, and spends an hour walking through each mistake in detail. You interrupt and double down on defending yourself, insisting, “I did the right thing.” Maybe you even storm out and resign.

Now imagine the same situation, but instead you remember what Paul Tripp calls, within the overarching biblical narrative, “fresh starts, new beginnings”—the grace of God.

Remember: Abraham, David, Jonah, Peter, and Paul all experienced fresh starts after their sin.

You look in the mirror and say, “I am not what I should be. I actually can’t meet the standard.”

In that workplace example, by the grace of God, your response becomes calmer, more measured, and more thoughtful. Instead of defending yourself, you thank your boss for the feedback and continue seeking opportunities to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.

The point is this: to understand your heart, begin by examining your instinctive reactions, then take the time to consider what you’re reacting to.

As Tim Keller writes:

“Pull up your uncontrollable emotions by the roots, and you’ll often find your idols clinging to them.”

For the lawyer, his reaction is to Jesus’ command to carry out the Greatest Commandment and his uncertainty about whether he is actually doing it.

Chunk 2

How can we make this personal?

Start by examining your own heart in three ways.

First, remember that the lawyer got some things right. There is eternal life, and his answer regarding the Law is correct.

Do you ask, “What must I do to be saved?”

Eternal life is real. If you are someone who does not think in light of a real eternity, I plead with you: eternal life is real, and eternal separation from God is real. There is no neutrality here.

Second, do you believe that you can earn eternal life through good works?

Does this sound familiar?

“I’m a good person. I do good deeds. I volunteer. I serve my community. I help others. God is just—I’ll be okay.”

We cannot earn our salvation. Isaiah 64:6 says that our righteous deeds are like filthy rags. Don’t put your hope in your own works.

The good news is the incredible gift of grace for those who have put their hope in Christ. Christ has already done all the work. Put your hope in Christ, our only hope in life and death.

Finally, you may believe in eternity—but do you live in light of eternity?

Examine your heart. Does your eternal hope shape your work decisions, your family decisions, and the way you spend your time each day and each week?

If not, start small. Evaluate your schedule with your spouse or a close friend. Make it specific if you can. Have you ever mapped out how many hours you spend each week and how you spend them?

How we spend our time is often an indicator of our hearts and what we treasure.

2. Show No Partiality

Let’s now turn to Jesus’ answer to the lawyer’s question: “Who is my neighbor?”

You may be asking yourself at this point: the lawyer asks, “Who is my neighbor?” but Jesus seems to answer a different question—”Who proved to be a neighbor?”—and then answers with, “The Samaritan.”

Why?

Because the lawyer was trying to place limits on the command. Some people, he assumed, counted as neighbors, while others did not.

Once again, Jesus is not after a checklist of works that will justify us. He is after our hearts.

“Do this and you will live” is not a call to works-based righteousness. Rather, Jesus calls the lawyer—and us—to become the kind of people who are good neighbors.

We read in verse 30:

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.”

This was a treacherous road with many places for robbers to hide. It had a reputation for danger.

The traveler falls among robbers and, after a brutal attack, is left half dead and naked on the side of the road.

We read in verses 31–32:

31–32 “Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”

Both the priest and the Levite were among the religious leaders of the day.

Some commentators have suggested that the priest wanted to avoid ceremonial defilement. Others think he feared being robbed himself. Still others suggest he was simply too busy.

Jesus doesn’t tell us why.

The second man, a Levite, can be thought of as a priest’s assistant. His specific role isn’t the point.

The point is that not one, but two religious men had an opportunity to help.

This would not have been lost on the lawyer, who moved in the same circles as priests and Levites.

As Jesus does repeatedly throughout the Gospels, He is directly confronting the religious establishment of His day.

Then we encounter the Samaritan.

Verse 33 says:

33 “But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.”

The Samaritan does several concrete things to help the wounded man.

Notice that compassion is not easy.

Compassion is not quick.

Compassion is not without cost.

There are three main observations from these encounters: proximity, origin, and limit.

Let’s consider each one.

First, proximity.

All three men encounter the wounded man while traveling along the same road.

The priest and the Levite both move to the opposite side and avoid him.

Notice the progression:

They see the man.

They recognize the man.

They avoid the man.

So who is your neighbor?

Your neighbor is anyone you encounter as you go through life.

Your neighbor is the person next door, someone you meet during your commute, or the families from your children’s school.

Second, origin.

Although Jesus doesn’t explicitly identify the wounded man as Jewish, that is probably implied.

Either way, this is not simply a story about one Samaritan helping another Samaritan.

It is the story of a Samaritan loving another person—whoever that person may be.

There is no concern for family background.

There is no mention of ethnicity.

To show no partiality means that loving your neighbor and showing mercy extends to anyone you encounter.

Now skip ahead for a moment to verse 37.

If you have any doubts about how shocking the Samaritan’s role would have been to the lawyer, notice that he cannot even bring himself to say the word “Samaritan.”

There was deep hostility between Jews and Samaritans.

Instead of saying “the Samaritan,” the lawyer carefully answers:

“The one who showed mercy.”

Third, limit.

Look at the Samaritan’s actions. He approaches the man.

He binds his wounds.

He pours on oil and wine.

He places him on his own animal.

He brings him to an inn.

He personally cares for him.

His generosity grows step by step.

Then, in verse 35, as he prepares to leave, the Samaritan tells the innkeeper:

35 “Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.”

“Whatever more you spend.”

What an incredible picture of generosity without limits.

It is easy for us to love people we like or people who are like us.

The gospel calls us to love people we don’t like and people who are not like us.

In Matthew 5:44, Jesus teaches, “Love your enemies.”

Jesus is teaching about the heart.

Love those in your proximity.

Love regardless of origin.

Love without limit.

3. Show Them Mercy (vv. 36–37)

At the close of this exchange, we come to verses 36 and 37. Jesus asks the lawyer:

36 “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Notice the verb do. It appears both in verse 28 and in verse 37.

Verse 28: “Do this, and you will live.”

Verse 37: “Go, and do likewise.”

It is the same verb, and it is in the present tense, describing an active, ongoing pattern of life. This isn’t something you do once and then move on. It isn’t merely something you did in the past that continues to have future effects. Rather, this doing is continual, and it is required of every disciple of Jesus.

Remember the innocent bystander?

For disciples of Jesus, there is no such thing as an innocent bystander. Our hearts should be open wide, ready and looking for needs we can meet.

Let’s consider what it looks like to be a good neighbor.

Sometimes the negative helps us better appreciate the positive, so let’s first ask: What does it look like to be a bad neighbor?

When my wife and I lived in East Mt. Airy, our neighbor across the street owned a lawn care business. To be honest, I didn’t have a very good rhythm for mowing my lawn—and it wasn’t even a large yard. Sure enough, whenever it had become somewhat overgrown, my neighbor would offer to mow it for a fee.

I developed a habit of avoiding my neighbor.

Really, what I needed to do was simply mow my lawn—but that’s a different sermon.

Here’s a contrasting positive example.

Tom and Bree Hsieh (“Shay”) got married after college and made a commitment to live at or below the median income of the nation. They decided to move into the inner city of Pomona, California, and live among the materially poor.

Tom worked for EarthLink and received a large financial payout when the company went public. He described how many employees immediately spent thousands of dollars on new “toys.” Because Tom and Bree had already decided what their standard of living would be, they viewed their wealth differently. Instead of focusing on the opportunities wealth afforded them, they remained focused on the opportunities that inner-city poverty afforded them.

Within a short time, the Hsiehs had two meaningful opportunities to open their home. First, they welcomed an undernourished and struggling high school senior into their family. Their investment of $30,000 to address the student’s academic, physical, and emotional needs paid off when the student graduated from high school healthy and thriving.

Later, their next-door neighbors—a family of five—fell into serious hardship. The environment they were living in, including regular heroin use in the home, was taking a heavy toll on the family’s young children. Seeing the situation, Tom and Bree invited the family to live with them.

Although it was challenging, Bree reflected, “It was amazing to be a family together,” and their young daughter said, “It was hard, but if you let it happen your heart gets bigger and there’s room for more people, so it’s really worth it.”

How can you make this personal?

I want to give you three practical ways you can love your neighbor and show mercy today. This list isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a good place to start.

Don’t worry—these are quick and highly practical.

First, join the Citylight Skill Bank.

What is the Skill Bank?

At Citylight, we have a staff member who directs our mercy and compassion ministries alongside Pastor Paul. The Skill Bank is a way for Citylight attenders and members to share the gifts and abilities God has given them. As needs arise in the community, our staff helps connect people with opportunities to serve.

There are forty-five different skills you can indicate.

Did you know that last week volunteers handed out more than 900 freeze pops and bottles of water at the Manayunk Arts Festival?

Two weeks ago, a group of women prepared more than fifty frozen meals for meal trains to care for people in our church and the broader community who were walking through difficult or transitional seasons.

Others have volunteered to provide lawn care for one of our compassion partners, Life Turning Point in Germantown.

If you’re not already in the Skill Bank, sign up today by visiting citylightphilly.com/skillbank, or simply write “Skill Bank” on your Connect Card and drop it in the orange box. Our staff will follow up with you this week.

Second, pray for divine appointments.

Pray for opportunities to show mercy in both word and deed as you go about your daily life.

And don’t be an innocent bystander.

Commit yourself to respond, even when it costs you time or money, by loving others with the love of Christ in tangible ways.

When you see these opportunities, be bold enough to move toward them.

This past week, twenty international college students visited Philadelphia with one of the mission organizations Citylight supports. The team prayed for divine appointments to share the good news of the gospel with people attending the FIFA Fan Festival and events connected with the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Several of those international students are worshiping with us this morning.

Praise God!

Third, share the story of God’s mercy with others.

In addition to showing practical mercy and compassion, this passage directs our attention to the God who has lavished mercy upon us.

Do you have three people who don’t know Jesus with whom you regularly interact?

Have they heard about the mercy you have experienced in Christ?

Do you pray for them regularly?

If you’ve been around Citylight for any length of time, you’ve heard this referred to as “your three.”

One practical next step is to begin praying for one of your neighbors as one of your three.

And don’t just pray.

Ask how they’re doing.

Ask whether there’s a practical way you can help or serve them.

Like the Good Samaritan, we are called to love our neighbors and show mercy.

Yet, as remarkable as the Samaritan’s actions are, there is a greater Samaritan.

We were completely dead in our sin on the side of the road.

Our condition was far worse than that of the traveler.

We were not half dead—we were spiritually dead.

We had no way to pay the penalty for our sin.

Jesus didn’t merely heal us.

He brought us from death to life by giving us faith in Him and granting us an inheritance that is imperishable.

Jesus poured out grace and mercy without limit at the cross.

He didn’t simply say, “I’ll cover the cost of the inn.”

He said, in effect, “Whatever it takes, I’ll pay it all.”

If you’re here today and you haven’t put your hope in Jesus, there is good news.

This offer of love is for everyone.

I would love to talk with you after the service if you would like to know more about Jesus.

If you desire to turn from your sin and place your faith in Christ, there are helpful next steps on your Connect Card.

The prayer doesn’t save you.

Only Jesus saves.

Because of Christ’s work on the cross, love your neighbor.

Do this with your whole heart.

Show no partiality.

Show mercy.

Let’s pray.