Needed: A Few Good Neighbors

In this message centering on the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37, Chuck Swindoll calls believers back to the basics of Christian living: compassion. Drawing a parallel to Vince Lombardi’s famous "This is a football" speech, Swindoll argues that just as a football is central to the game, a "neighbor" is central to the Christian life. He warns that life often becomes myopic and self-centered, requiring a confrontation with Jesus’ teaching to broaden our world and assault our selfishness [4–6]. Swindoll sets the scene with a skeptical lawyer who attempts to entrap Jesus with the question, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" When the lawyer correctly summarizes the Law—love God and love your neighbor—he tries to justify himself by asking a second, technical question: "Who is my neighbor?" [7–9]. Jesus responds not with a definition, but with a story set on the dangerous, winding road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Swindoll contrasts the apathy of the religious elite (a priest and a Levite) who "passed by on the other side" with the shocking compassion of a Samaritan—a man belonging to a race hated by the Jews [10–13]. The message emphasizes that the Samaritan did not just see a victim; he "felt compassion," allowing his heart to break for a stranger. This internal feeling led to immediate, practical action: medical care, transportation, and financial provision [14–17]. Swindoll highlights Jesus’ brilliant twist at the end of the parable: He shifts the focus from the object of love ("What kind of person is my neighbor?") to the subject ("Which of these proved to be a neighbor?"). The sermon concludes with a look at Matthew 25, challenging listeners to see Christ in the faces of the "least of these"—the broken, the addicted, and the forgotten—and to become a church known for majoring on compassion [18–19, 21–23].

Message Key Facts:

• "This is a Neighbor": Swindoll opens with the story of Vince Lombardi holding up a football to his veteran players to get them back to basics. Swindoll applies this to the church, stating that we often need to point to a stranger and say, "This is a neighbor," to remind us of our core mission [4–5].
• The Lawyer's Motive: The text notes the lawyer stood up to "put Him to the test" (ekpeirazo). This was an attempt to entrap Jesus, not an honest inquiry for information.
• The Geography of the Road: Swindoll explains the phrase "going down from Jerusalem to Jericho." Jerusalem sits at 2,300 feet above sea level, while Jericho is 1,300 feet below sea level. This 17-mile road drops 3,600 feet through rocky, bandit-infested terrain, making the mugging in the story a realistic scenario.
• The "Oklahoma" Analogy: To help modern listeners understand the animosity between Jews and Samaritans, Swindoll recounts a time he compared traveling through Samaria to traveling from Texas to Kansas through Oklahoma. He humorously notes that some large men from Oklahoma confronted him later to clarify, "We ain't got Samaritans in Oklahoma".
• Hippocrates’ Medicine: The Samaritan treated the wounds with "oil and wine." Swindoll notes this aligns with ancient medical practices recorded by Hippocrates (4th Century BC), who suggested binding ulcers with wool and sprinkling them with wine (an antiseptic) and oil (a soothing agent).
• The Cost of Compassion: The Samaritan left "two denarii" with the innkeeper. Since a denarius was a day's wage and boarding costs were low (approx. 1/12th of a denarius), biblical scholar Darrell Bock estimates this would have provided for about three and a half weeks of recovery for the victim.
• The Shift in the Question: The lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbor?" (seeking to limit his responsibility). Jesus changed the question to, "Which of these three proved to be a neighbor?" This shifts the issue from the worthiness of the recipient to the character of the giver.
• The Restrictive Attributive: Analyzing Matthew 25:40 ("the least of these"), Swindoll notes the grammatical construction emphasizes the adjective. Jesus identifies Himself not just with "brothers," but specifically with the "least"—the afflicted, the special needs, and the outcasts.
• Mary Graham’s Insight: Swindoll shares a story of his friend Mary Graham feeding Joni Eareckson Tada (a quadriplegic author). It illustrates the reality of compassion: entering into the "sob of the soul" of another and realizing that helping them is simply doing what is right [14–15].

Message References:

• Luke 10:25–37: The primary text containing the dialogue with the lawyer and the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
• Deuteronomy 6:5 & Leviticus 19:18: The Old Testament laws quoted by the lawyer: "Love the Lord your God... and your neighbor as yourself".
• Matthew 25:31–46: Jesus’ teaching on the judgment of the sheep and the goats, emphasizing that serving "the least of these" is serving Christ Himself [21–22].

Message Speaker:

Pastor Chuck Swindoll