원고는 곧 올립니다.

 

Loving God‘s Way: Luke 10:25-37

KCCBR Combined Worship

1-30-11

Br James Szolis

Luke 10:25-37

    Our Church theme for this year is based on 1 Peter 1:22. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, (NKJV)

As I thought about preaching for today and prayed, I was led the passage on the Good Samaritan. If we look closely at the parable of the good Samaritan, we can get one very clear message from God. We can see that love that pleases God has to come from a pure and faithful heart and be followed by action. We come to church to learn from God through the preaching of His Word. But when is the process of learning over? It should not be over when the sermon is over.  The process of learning is complete when we actually apply the sermon when the opportunity presents itself in our life. We may be weak sometimes, but our weakness makes room for the power of God. We just need to pray and ask God to help us in our weaknesses, doubts, and fears. Loving our neighbor is not an option and since sometimes this might be hard for us as Christian‘s we have realize the importance as well as the meaning of faith in our life.

Let‘s look at the passage:

  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.’”
   In verse 25, we should pay attention to where it says, ＂tested Him.” And in verses 25-27 we see an exchange between Jesus and one considered to be an expert of the law. His motive does not appear to be to learn from Jesus, but more to see if He knows the answer to his proposed question as well as wanting  to justify himself. His question was, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus answered his question with His own question, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” Now, why didn‘t Jesus just answer the question right now by telling the parable? I thought about that…Jesus was now confronting an expert in the law. Being aware of that, He wanted to show that knowing what God’s Word says alone does not mean that we truly have pleased God. We can memorize verses and quote the chapter and verse perfectly word for word, but can that alone please God? So Jesus answers the scribe’s question with a question and in turn Jesus gets him to answer as he did in verse 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.’”
  Not only did the scribe answer Jesus, but he answered in such a way that was in line with what Scripture teaches. Maybe at this time the scribe was quite proud of himself. But outward knowledge that produces no inward change and desire to obey is only a work of the flesh. 

Jesus responded in verse 28: And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
      Ok, now that Jesus had the scribe answer His question, we can see where Jesus is going (as far as teaching) this expert in the law. Jesus said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” That‘s where the problem arises.  Standing before Jesus is an expert in the law who knows clearly what the Scripture says. Jesus tells him his answer was correct. But what else did Jesus say?….do this and you will live.” Ah Oh! Problem is that the scribe cannot do it because he does not have faith in Christ (even though he may think he can). His efforts in pleasing God his whole life have been outside of faith and rooted in self-righteousness and man-made religion. Jesus said, do this and you will live.” He was used to ＂doing.“

   Ok, moving on… Just as Christ would display His love on the cross indiscriminately for all men, God expects the same for those who love Him. Jesus‘ love at Calvary was unconditional and intended for every person in the world. Our road from Jerusalem to Jericho is our pathway on earth. In the parable we are about to look at, the road to Jericho was known to have robbers and bandits that would surprise people and attack them as they traveled that road. Before we get there, think about your road to Jericho in your life right now. How are you being attacked? Picture Satan as the thief and the robber. Also think about Jesus and how He Himself is the good Samaritan who has rescued us. Jesus not only knew the love that God the Father required, He would take it to it‘s extreme in the future (speaking from the time beyond this passage). And because He did do it, we can live and have eternal life. Think about that as Jesus moves on to teach this expert in the law what loving God and your neighbor truly is.

  But, the scribe didn’t think too much about what Jesus meant when He said, do this and you will live.” He responded by evading the truth of his inability to keep the law and wanting to be justified, he asks Jesus a question. But according to God, you are not justified by hearing the law and knowing it, rather by doing it. Sand it is by doing it, Jesus said he could live. 

  So, comes verse 29:  29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
He should have told Jesus that he has tried to keep the law, but it was too hard to do. But he wanting to be justified extended his efforts by asking that question.   Maybe after hearing Jesus‘ answer, he felt as though he might be able to carry out what Jesus said. 

  Before we actually look at Jesus’ answer to the question, “And who is my neighbor?” , let us go to Galatians 2:16. knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

  The scribe has limits to loving his neighbor because he truly does not love God. If he loved God, he would not only hear what He says, but have faith in what He says and therefore have the ability to -  ＂do this” as Christ said.  Seeking to be justified in self-effort was the way of the scribes and Pharisees - ask Jesus! Time and time again Jesus rebuked them for this false idea. But in his mind, he was already thinking about performing, …about doing it! Jesus lays out what loving your neighbor is in a story and in the end, it was something he would not be able to do,  because he did not have faith but trusted in himself and his own righteousness and it helped to puff him up being… ＂an expert in the law.” Romans 8:3-5 says, 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

  As much as an expert as he was, without faith, he would be condemned for trusting in himself.

  Jesus begins his answer of who his neighbor is:  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.

    This was road with many bends and turns which was about 17 miles long and was notorious for being dangerous. So, right away the scribe is familiar with what Jesus is speaking about. It doesn’t say who the certain man was, but what is important is what follows this verse after the man is beaten and left for 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. If anyone should pay attention to the priest and the Levite today, it is us as Christians. Now let‘s not lose sight of the question the scribe asked Jesus- And who is my neighbor? The scribe should immediately feel guilty after he hears verses 31 and 32. They both saw the man and knew that he was hurt and they knew just as well as the scribe that God said to love not only Him but also your neighbor. But, they could not have seen this man as their neighbor. This is a parable. But knowing how judgmental the religious leaders were, we can imagine that these two had possibly concluded this man’s suffering was a result of God’s judgment on Him, or fearing he might be dead, possibly did not want to be unclean by touching his body. Whatever their thoughts were, we know one thing- they passed by on the other side. Instead of showing mercy, they left him for dead. And they themselves claimed to represent God!

 

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.’

Ok, now Jesus really exposed the scribe and the rest of the religious leaders’ standards. Their standards in loving their neighbor had limits based on judgments stemming from their religiosity. Their love was conditional and without mercy. Their love wanted to stone an adulterous whom Jesus had mercy on. Their love sought kill Christ and his followers. Their love sought to condemn everyone who did not follow the law and traditions to their standards even though they could not keep God‘s standards. 

   The Samaritan did not judge the man, but he loved the man. He did not pass by on the other side. If the man was a Jew, it would not stop him from helping him. Without detailing this parable to a great extent, as defined in the way Jesus told the story, the Samaritan made every effort to insure this man could make a full recovery. 

  That is Jesus’ answer to the scribe’s question, “And who is my neighbor?”
Now, the scribe, standing before Jesus ready to justify himself realizes that the standards that Jesus set were higher than his. At this point the scribe should have been pleading for God‘s mercy.

   Again, Jesus asked a question in verse 36: So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” The scribe now has to answer. 
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

And it get’s back to really what Jesus said in verse 28 which was:do this and you will live.” But this time Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”

 Jesus had to give this expert in the law a lesson on what really was required to inherit eternal life. The scribe was not familiar with mercy, but filled with self-righteousness. Jesus presented a Samaritan greater than a priest and a Levite. The Jews looked down on them because of the racial impurity, but Jesus exalted the Samaritan because of his mercy and love. God is holy and has all knowledge, yet He also is merciful.

   As we think about our theme this year of loving each other fervently with a pure heart let us be reminded of God‘s mercy and love in our lives. As we each travel on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, Satan, who is a thief and a robber attacks us in our life. He also wishes to leave us for dead. He wants to leave us stranded and hopeless. But just as that Samaritan came to the rescue in today’s passage, Jesus wants to come to rescue us. His blood is sufficient to cover our bruises and cuts and to raise us up to eternal life. We have to confess our sins and repent. The scribe asked what he should do to inherit eternal life. He was also thinking of what he could do and not about faith in God. We cannot do anything by ourselves to inherit eternal life. Grace is the only hope we have exercised through faith in Christ.

   But, we love God because He first loved us. And what is required then as God’s children? It gets back to what Jesus told the scribe- Love God and your neighbor. Now we know the standard. Now we know that there are no conditions in loving our neighbor. Now we know that instead of judging and hating, we have to be merciful and loving. 

 You see sometimes we can become much like the scribe in today‘s passage knowing well of what God says to do. The problem then comes in the part where Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.” Why then do we go right back out there and fail?  We can find the answer by seeing why the scribes and Pharisees failed. Matthew 5:20 says, For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

 The answer of pleasing God always rests in our faith. Without faith in Christ, we keep failing. We can exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees only by faith in Christ Himself! Our victories in life as Christian‘s can be found each time our faith is fully in Christ. We are not the world. We are Christians. The world’s love is conditional and unstable. If we are going to love God’s way we have to listen and do what Jesus said in today’s passage. Let’s pray!