Superman

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Luke 10:25-37 (ESV) 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 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.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 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. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 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.”

The Power of the Script

• Entertainment is not the ultimate goal; stories actually do something to us.
• Superman's real tension isn't just "Who am I?", but “How do I know who I am?”
• Is he a conqueror based on his biology, or a protector based on his experience?
• When the script you've been handed contradicts your life, you have to verify what is true.
  

Jesus and the Lawyer

• The lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life.
• In the first century, this meant securing a place in the Age to Come (God's Kingdom on earth).

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Seeking a Map

• You don't earn an inheritance; you receive it based on your identity.
• The lawyer wants Jesus to draw clear lines to verify who is “in” and who is "out."
  

The Rule of Three

• First-century Jewish storytelling relied on a familiar three-part hierarchy: Priests, Levites, and Israelites.
• The lawyer expected the third person in the story to be the everyday hero who looked just like him.
• Instead, Jesus makes the hero a Samaritan—the ultimate outsider, heretic, and enemy.
• The true neighbor was the one who actually acted like a neighbor, regardless of his background.
  

Nouns vs. Verbs

• We often treat identity as a static noun or a label we wear to feel safe.
• We use these labels as fortresses to hide inside and avoid doing the real work.
• Jesus teaches that a critical component of our identity is actually a verb.

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The Danger of the Ticket

• Modern Christianity often treats the Gospel like a ticket to Heaven, placing us in a waiting room.
• Jesus isn't inviting us into a waiting room; He is inviting us into a way of life.
• The danger isn't thinking we are what we do, but thinking we can “be” something without ever doing anything.
  

The Gospel Reality

“Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning.” - Dallas Willard

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