8.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• With the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus teaches us to ask the question: “Whose neighbour  can I be?”
• To be hospitable (the sixth qualification) means to love strangers.
• There are many kinds of strangers around us.
• Christ himself is the great Lover of strangers.
• By being hospitable, we will draw other people to Christ.
• An elder should show hospitality to
  - church members and
  - people outside the church.

8.2 – 1 Timothy 3:2←⤒🔗

^2. The overseer  then must be above reproach , the husband of one wife, temperate , self-controlled, respectable, hospitable .

© NET Bible

8.3 – Hebrews 13:1-2←⤒🔗

^1. Brotherly love must continue.

^2. Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.

© NET Bible

8.4 Whose neighbour can I be?←⤒🔗

“Who is my neighbour?”←↰⤒🔗

One day a Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” He asked this question because he knew that God’s law says he must love his neighbour as himself (Leviticus 19:18).

To answer his question, Jesus told a story. It is the story of the good Samaritan. A Jewish man was robbed and beaten, and left to die next to the road. A priest came down the road, saw the man, and walked on. Then a Levite came down the road, saw the man, and walked on. Last of all, a Samaritan came down the road.

The Samaritan saw the man and had compassion He bound up the man’s wounds. He lifted the man onto his own animal and brought him to a place where he could be cared for. He used his own money to do all of this.

After telling the story, Jesus asked, “Which of these three do you think became a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The Jewish  leader answered, “The one who showed mercy  to him.” Then Jesus said, “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:29-37).

“Whose neighbour can I be?”←↰⤒🔗

The Jewish leader had asked, “Who is my neighbour?” But Jesus turned the question around. The important question is not, Who is my neighbour? The important question is, Whose neighbour can I be?

The Samaritan saw himself as a neighbour of the man who was lying next to the road. He also chose to act as this man’s neighbour. Why? Was it because he knew the man? Or was it because they came from the same nation? No. The Samaritans and the Jews were two different nations who hated each other.

The Samaritan had only one reason to help this man: This man was a human being, just like he. So, he had compassion on the man. He chose to become part of the man’s life, rather than walking away.

Jesus says to each of us, “Go and do the same.”

8.5 Hospitable = Loving strangers←⤒🔗

In this lesson we are looking at the sixth qualification which is given in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. This is: an elder must be “hospitable.”

Remember that the New Testament was first written in Greek. The Greek word that is used here (1 Timothy 3:2) is the word philoxenos. The word philo means “love.” The word xenos means “stranger.”

When we look at the word in Greek, it is easy to understand what it means to be hospitable. It means to love strangers! This is exactly what the Good Samaritan did.

8.6 The strangers around us←⤒🔗

Already in Moses’ time, God said to his people, “And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34, NKJV).

In these verses God is speaking about foreigners (people who come to stay in a new country). He wants his people to show love and care to them.

But foreigners are not the only strangers around us. There are many other kinds of strangers. For example:

• the new family in the street;
• the stranger who sits next to you in the bus;
• the person who visits your church for the first time;
• the person who has no friends because he is poor or “different”;
• the child who has no family to look after her;
• the person who has been kicked out of her family, because of her Christian faith;
• people who spend their days in a hospital or prison, far from family or friends.

We can even say that every person is a stranger in some way. God created us to live with him, in a world that is perfect and without sin. But our first parents, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God. Since that time, the world has been a difficult place to live in. We are all like strangers, trying to survive in a world full of dangers and tears.

A Christian believer is even more “strange” to this world. We long for our real home, where we will live with God our Father and with Christ our Saviour. Together with the writer of Psalm 119, we say, “I am a stranger on earth” (Psalm 119:19, NIV).

8.7 A hospitable church←⤒🔗

Christ himself is the great Lover of strangers. He visited Samaritans, tax collectors, and prostitutes. He loved even Judas, his betrayer. Finally, he gave his life so that we, who were strangers and enemies of God, could be welcomed into God’s household.

In the 300 years after Jesus’ ascension, the gospel reached thousands of people. The church grew even while Christians were being persecuted and killed. How did this happen? Many people say that it happened because of the love that Christians showed to strangers.

In those days there were not many safe places for travellers to stay. So, Christians welcomed travellers into their homes. There were no hospitals or orphanages. So, Christians took care of the sick and the orphans. Prisoners did not receive good care. So, Christians visited and took food to prisoners.

Christians acted like the Samaritan in Jesus’ story. They saw the needs of the people around them. They opened their lives to all people, even if it cost their time, energy, and money. In this way they made the gospel visible.

We are still called to do the same. By being hospitable, we will draw people to Jesus Christ, the great Lover of strangers.

8.8 A hospitable elder←⤒🔗

Can you see why it is important that an elder is hospitable? If the elders of a church are hospitable, they will help the church to become a hospitable church.

First of all, an elder should show hospitality to church members. He must welcome church members into his home and life.

Think of how Jesus walked, ate, and lived with his disciples. The disciples learned many things just by living with him. In the same way, church members can learn many things just by watching the example of their elder: how he treats his wife, how he teaches his children, how his home is ordered, how he speaks about his own problems… But this will only happen if the elder’s home is open to them.

An elder should also show hospitality to people outside the church. In this way he will show them the love of Christ. It will also give him many chances to speak about the gospel.

The sixth qualification tells us that an elder’s home should be a place where all kinds of people are welcome. His life should be a life that is shared with others.