 | Full Text Sermon | Notes on the Text | Alternate Sermon Ideas | Prayers & Readings | Sunday July 12, 1998 ~ Luke 10:25-37 On Not Getting It ! Today's scripture lesson tells a familiar story. So familiar in fact, people who have zero knowledge of the bible have heard of the main character. Is there anybody who has never heard of the Good Samaritan? Tonight Show host, Jay Leno from time to time sends people out to ask questions about the bible of people on the street. (You will find some of the exchanges under Biblical Illiteracy in the Illustration Database.) One question was, "Do you know who the Good Samaritan is?" The answer was, "He was some guy who did a good deed." "Oh", the reporter says, "I see. Do you know anything else about him?" "Yea," the man answers, "I think they named a hospital after him." The reporter continues, "Did you know he was also a character in the bible?" "No," the man says, "I wouldn't know about that." The problem with familiar stories is that we tend to skip to the end and tune out. "Oh yea... The Good Samaritan... God wants us to have mercy... Time for a nap!" But don't tune out just yet. Let's wrap our minds around this scripture lesson in a way that will yield wonderful new insights into an old tale! The lesson in our scripture is an amazing drama that contains much more than the simple injunction to be a "Good Samaritan" The plot involves: + The Lawyer, +The Teacher, +The Setup and + The "Gotcha!" This is one of those wonderful stories you've seen at the movies or on TV where the experts and professionals try to set up a little guy for a fall and the underdog turns the tables and makes a fool of the pros! Well, maybe that is a wee bit of a stretch, but this is just one of the countless times when Jesus, the simple teacher from Galilee, has the experts totally nonplussed. He cuts through hypocrisy and nitpicking with such precision that his detractors are left speechless. It was that way ever since his twelfth year when Mary and Joseph found him sitting in the midst of the "experts" at the temple listening and asking questions. Even then, Luke reports, "...all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers." The episode in our scripture reinforces a message Jesus tries to convey to religious people and religious leaders over and over again throughout the Gospels. A message that will finally cost him his life. In plain English that message is: "You are not getting it! God is not interested in religion and its rules and regulations, but in a relationship of love with Him and that you should live in that love with each other!" Let's engage the story. + The Lawyer A brief story will help us understand what Jesus was dealing with. The scene is a college classroom. "What are the requirements to pass the class?" Bradley was in the process of irritating another one of his college profs with his, "front row seat, first question of the semester" ritual. Without fail, at the first meeting of every class he enrolled in, "Summa Cum Laude" bound Bradley would ask the same questions. The professors all knew what was coming. They would give the requirements for passing the class and wait for the next question. "And what do you have to do to get a B?" Then... "And what do you have to do to get -- [ask your folk to fill in the blank] -- an A?" You've been in class with a Bradley, right? The professor would roll his or her eyes and rattle off the answers with a look that said, "This kid isn't interested in learning -- it's the grade points he's after." Jesus is confronted with a sort of a Bradley, although a more insidious one, in the person of a trained expert in the law of Moses. The "Lawyer" as the scripture calls him, isn't interested in learning about eternal life from Jesus at all. The language points out clearly that this expert in Jewish religious law was trying to set Jesus up. He figures a carpenter's apprentice from Nazareth will make a fool of himself and possibly even incriminate himself by attempting to answer such a weighty question as... "What do I have to do to go to heaven?" The lawyer is one of a multitude of religious professionals who would just as soon see Jesus removed from the scene. People are gathering to him like ants to a pile of sugar. They are experiencing the hope, joy, healing and love of God without going through the religious bureaucracy of the day. The lawyer comes up with a question a lay person of the day wouldn't want to have to answer in front of the "experts". His question is all the more sneaky because it is asked with feigned deference. "Teacher...," the lawyer begins his interrogation -- as though to a recognized teacher of the law. It is intended to put Jesus on the spot. +The Teacher Jesus answers a question with a question. But his question is a stealth missile that goes directly to the arrogance of the lawyer. He likely gets the feeling that Jesus is yielding to his knowledge. "What is your take on the law," Jesus asks-- what do you say is the key here?" The lawyer can't resist. His answer in part quotes Deut. 6:5 along with Lev. 19:18 "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." The whole exchange could end here. "You're right," Jesus says, "Do this and you will get to heaven." But the lawyer wants to continue. [*See note on v.29] "Okay... who is my neighbor?" He wants to draw Jesus further into legal religious definition. The question of who is a neighbor provides the possibility that Jesus will make some kind of mistake. He is, however, about to have the rug pulled out from under his self-righteous feet! + The Story Jesus draws the lawyer onto his turf. He tells a story. He is one of the great story tellers of history. With easy to understand, simple stories, Jesus was able to put people directly in touch with the truth and love of God. This familiar story of the Good Samaritan needs no amplification. You know it well. The story draws the lawyer into the corner he originally intended to back Jesus into. The good guys in the story (orthodox, Jewish believers of position) don't do good. The bad guys (half-breed Samaritans) do good. The traditional neighbors are not neighborly, while the non-neighbors are neighborly. It is not so clear to us... a Samaritan, a Jewish Priest and a Levite are all rather foreign to us. But... then as now, most everyone has their prejudices. It would be as though an Ayatollah told his Moslem congregation a story about "The Good Jew" and the indifferent Moslems -- or Nelson Mandella telling a story to his constituents about "The Good Afrikaner" and the inconsiderate Africans -- or a Priest in Northern Ireland telling about "The Good Protestant" and the uncaring Catholics. + The "Gotcha!" The point of the story is crystal clear. The neighbor we are to love is the one who is in need of our love. The Priest doesn't get it! The expert bible teacher doesn't get it! The unlikely, despised Samaritan gets it! Now here's the "Gotcha!" The lawyer must either admit in front of the crowd that the Samaritan in the story is the one who "gets it" -- or he himself doesn't "get it!" "Gotcha!" Isn't it wonderful! The message is clear and it is simple. Loving God with heart, soul, mind and body is simply saying, "The way to eternal life is to love God with all you've got -- and to love the one who needs your love just as much as you love yourself!" Here's the problem. This kind of love -- the kind that leaps over intolerance, bigotry and social class -- is Divine love. Deep down, when I look at myself, I know there is way too much of the person who would "pass by on the other side" in my own heart. Jesus' "Gotcha!" gets me too. [Apply It] Can you see yourself in the story? It is comfortable to hear this story from the perspective of one who "sides" with Jesus. But, can you see yourself in any of the characters besides the Good Samaritan? Ask yourself, "Can I keep this commandment that leads to eternal life?" It is clear that the love I need -- for God, for neighbor and indeed even for myself -- has to come from God. It is a love I see in Christ and a love which I gain from Christ when I offer my life to Christ! Paul gives the key in Romans 5:1: "...God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." v. 25 Lawyer is "no-mi-kos, " an expert in the Mosaic Law. For our folk, this might simply be, "An expert Bible teacher" The lawyer stood up to "test" Jesus. The word for "test" is intense -- "ek-pi-rad'-zo" -- "to test thoroughly or scrutinize -- to examine closely in order to prove". The language suggests this is much more than an honest question. The lawyer's agenda was clearly to entice Jesus into a public error with respect to the Law of Moses. v. 29 The lawyer's wanting to "justify himself" may not be just in the strict religious sense of "I need to know who my neighbor is so I can keep the commandment that leads to life." It may also carry the meaning "he wanted to make himself right" in the eyes of all the people who were listening to Jesus teach. v. 30 The distance from Jerusalem to Jericho is about 17 miles. It led through rugged, bleak, rocky terrain which was notoriously dangerous to travel in Jesus' time. People would normally not travel the Jericho road alone. vv.33-36 The Samaritan crosses prejudicial barriers -- not because of an outward expectation , but because of inner feelings. The word translated "took pity" "splagchnizomai" -- lit: "To have the bowels yearn" -- to take pity, have compassion. Calls to mind Paul's use of the term in Col. 3:12; "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies -- "splagchnon". The Samaritan acts out of godly compassion. vv.36-37 Jesus' question forces a choice the lawyer would rather not have to express... Indeed, he does not say "The Samaritan..." but "The one who showed mercy." If this were a Samaritan victim and a Jewish rescuer, the story would be more acceptable. Jesus forces examination of prejudices with this story. "We've Heard Good Things About You!" - Colossians 1:1-14 "It is really great to hear how well you are doing!" The Apostle's heart is made glad by the progress of the church at Colossae. Their reputation is that they are people of faith, love and good works. What a relief.! Corinth is filled with division and corruption, Galatia is struggling to remain truly Christian and Thessalonica has people quitting their jobs and sitting around waiting for the Lord to return. Now comes news of a church that is doing well. Mark it down. A church that pleases the Apostle's heart is pleasing to the heart of God. And a church that is pleasing to the heart of God will have a reputation that draws people to its fellowship. Ask your folks... "Have you any idea how powerful a church's reputation is?" Some churches are known for division and fighting. Others are known for power struggles. Still others are known as the church of a particularly family. Explore with your people the characteristics of a church that pleases the heart of God. (To say nothing of the pastor!) Here are the things that gladden God's heart
- the marks of a faithful church: Paul then goes on to say he is praying that they will grow in two ways: In Knowledge and in strength. Knowledge so that they will bear fruit and strength so that they may endure when times get tough. It will take our prayers and our commitment to faith and love to develop a reputation whereby others will say... "We've heard good things about your church!" A Call To Worship (Based on Psalm 25) L: Let us
reach out with heart and soul to the Lord. A Prayer of Dedication The gift You seek most of all O Lord, is the gift of our love. As we brings our gifts today, may we have grace to offer our hearts, our minds, our bodies and our souls to You. And as we give all to You, we discover that in the giving we are receiving more than we can imagine. May the mystery of our love for You and Your love in us, bring true peace to our lives and to the world around us. Amen. A Prayer of Confession O Lord God, full of mercy and compassion, give us courage today to see ourselves in the mirror of Your Son Jesus Christ. We confess that we fall so short of all You have made us to be. Give us grace, O gracious Lord, lest we be overcome by the truth of our shortcomings. Give us understanding, O Lord of truth, that we might receive and grow in the redemption so freely offered in Jesus our Savior. Amen. A Responsive Benediction L: You have
come to receive the truth of God.
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