People Care for People

English

People care for people

Luke 10:25-37

I should have started this series of messages about what happens when Jesus is in charge with this sermon. I'm quite sure Jesus would have. Zack Johnson told me, "This is such a main thing about our Christian faith. Get this and you'll get all of it!" So here's today's message: We find true life when we love our neighbor as ourselves. This love is a love that flows naturally out of our love for the God who loves us as he loves himself. This message points us to the most important piece of evidence that shows the world that Jesus is our Lord, that he is indeed "in charge". We'll look at Jesus' own application of what his half-brother James called the "Royal Command." James said that when we obey this command from Jesus, genuine religion will flow forth, religion that James said always includes care for those in distress like orphans and widows.
We'll be guided by the story that is probably the most famous one Jesus ever told, The Good Samaritan. Two questions gave rise to the story: 1) what do I have to do to live the life God made me to live and 2) who is the neighbor I am called to love. Let's look at how Jesus answered these significant questions with a story:

#1: The Way Most People Think They Will Find Their "Lives" (The Lawyer's Question)
V.25: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" The lawyer was not the same as a lawyer in our day. This lawyer was an expert in the "Torah", the laws of God found in the five books of Moses. So, he would have had a very positive understanding of God's law because he believed that all God's laws were given "so that it may go well" (Dt 5:33) with those who obeyed them. In fact, the idea of "eternal life" that the lawyer asked about does not just mean a life that goes on and on and on eternally. That kind of life could be hell instead of heaven. Eternal life is life as the eternal God means for it to be lived. It is life that God alond can give. It is life with God at the center – a life of "shalom". The lawyer knew that.
However, I'm quite sure that in asking this question the lawyer only meant, "Who gets to go to heaven?" That's because, since the book of Daniel had been written centuries before Jesus, people had been debating what Daniel meant when in wrote in 12:2: Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to everlasting contempt. So, he wanted to know who goes where after death.
If you look at the debates in Jesus' day, you'll see that most were quite confident that Gentiles were going to hell. Many had serious questions about more liberal Jewish people. But all agreed that the hated Samaritans would never have eternal life. With that in mind, what did this lawyer expect Jesus to say? Notice in v.25 that he was testing Jesus. He probably wanted to make sure that people saw Jesus as the uneducated Nazarene this man thought He was. Perhaps he thought Jesus might say, "Everyone gains eternal life. That's why I spend time with people like tax collectors and Gentiles." I imagine the lawyer was ready to pounce on whatever Jesus might say and try to prove him wrong.
But one thing is sure: The lawyer was quite sure that he had eternal life. "If anyone has it, I have it." He knew the law. He taught others the law. And he surely thought he kept the law better than anyone else. "Others might be in danger of hell", he probably thought, but he could not have imagined that he was. He was like many people in our day. He was sure that others in this world are far worse than he was. I've heard it so often, "I know I'm not perfect but I'm not as bad as... (you can fill in the blank)... Hitler, those liberals who are ruining our country, those conservatives who have no heart, those gang bangers, etc. etc. Maybe the lawyer thought Jesus would flatter him by saying, "Sir, you need not worry about that. If anyone alive has eternal life, it surely is you!"
But Jesus did not say that.

#2: Life according to the Maker of Life (The "Royal Command")
As he did so often, Jesus answered the lawyer's question with a question. Remember that the man was an expert in the law. So, Jesus asked, "How do you read what God has said in Torah?" And the lawyer answered correctly, "Love the Lord your God with all being; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
The experts in the law identified 613 laws in the books of Moses. But, all those specific laws could be boiled down to 10, they were all applications of the 10 Commandments. And, those 10 Commandments could be boiled down further to one "Royal Law" (as Pastor James called it in Js 2:8), a law that contained two parts, i.e., love for God and love for people made in God's image. Were you aware of that? The first part of the 10 Commandments tell us how we are to love God with all our hearts, souls, strength, and minds. And the second part tells how to love our neighbors as ourselves. You see, a life of love according to God is not simply a matter of having loving emotions. No, a life of love is demonstrated by loving actions.
Jesus said to the lawyer in v.28, "You've got it! Live that way and you will live a life of shalom."
Do you see the brilliance of this? The lawyer had minimized the meaning of eternal life to being only, "Who gets into heaven?" But, Jesus probed the deeper meaning of eternal life, i.e., experiencing life with God in such a way that his commands direct our lives. A life of shalom that flows from being right with God – that's what eternal life is fundamentally about. God made us to be people who love God with our whole being and then love all those who come across our paths as we love ourselves.
Some are troubled that Jesus didn't say, "Eternal life comes by faith not works." That's what Jesus told Nicodemus in Jn 3:16. But, in this situation, Jesus was was identifying the real evidence that a person is walking with God. This law of love is the way OF life but not the way TO life. Jesus isn't talking about how a person is saved but of how a saved person is to live.
Still, the lawyer tried to insist that he surely had done enough to earn eternal life. In v.29, he "tried to justify himself. How could he think he could do that? He hadn't loved everyone perfectly and he knew it. There were even people – like Samaritans – that he hated. So, he tried to make Jesus look bad by asking a very familiar question: "Jesus, you can't love everyone. Everybody knows that. So, who must I love?"
This man was still trying to hold onto his self-righteousness: "Hey, I'm alright. I'm a religious person so I surely will gain eternal life." The fact is that true life with God doesn't begin until you acknowledge you not really living. Real life, the life of God, is impossible until you see that real love, the love the Bible calls you to and that God made you for, is impossible on your own. And instead of arguing with the lawyer, Jesus punctures all his defense mechanisms and taught him – as he still teaches us – with a story.

#3: Evidence of the Life of God (THE Story)
You heard the story when I read it from vv.30-35. But, you already knew the story. It's a story known to churchgoer and non-churchgoer alike. Underlying Jesus' story is the beautiful theology that genuine love for God will always flow into us showing love for people. If you do not love people, then you do not really love the God whose likeness all people bear. Therefore, you will know that you are alive to God, i.e., you will experience the eternal life of the eternal God, when you love people. If you are alive to God:
1) You will count it your calling, even your privilege, personally to show God's love to people – Jesus tells us that the two men who ignored the man in need were a priest and a Levite (the priests' assistants). Ironically, these were the very people charged with the responsibility to administer the money given in the synagogues to meet people's needs. But, it's obvious that these men were care-givers by profession – not by hearts' conviction. If the man had shown up at the temple, they would have given him forms to fill out and then decided if he was qualified to receive any help.
Note this: Those sorts of systems are very important. Ask our partners in addressing homelessness, like the Door of Hope, and they will agree with me. So, I want you to know that the people of Israel had established good systems to help people in need. And we have some of those systems at LAC too. So, when you leave church today, you will surely see the same people you see almost each week asking for money. How do you know what to do? Well, treat them as people. Always respect people as people. But, in situations like what might be professional panhandling, I recommend you send them to our community center to meet with our people who are there to help meet needs. If the people have a real need, those in need will come. And, we will begin what is often a long journey of walking with them. If not, they will not come. (Now, back to the story.)
It is clear that these men who administered the benevolence funds did not care personally for those in distress. They administrated the benevolence fund – but they did not personally love people. We all know that politicians all over the world do the same. They argue for laws to help the poor – but have no relationships with the poor personally. In church, the pastor can preach a sermon about caring for the poor but then ignore a person in desperate need. Or, a regular church member can see a person in need and say, "Oh, we have pastors who care about such things." Let me say this clearly: When you are alive to God, you will love to show God's care when you identify genuine need like this man on the Jericho Road had. In fact, the more you do it, the more you will love to do it. It's evidence that the God who loves people is working in your life.
2) You will not limit the kinds of people you are willing to help – It's natural to want to help those you like or those you know. And, it's good and right to extend love and help to those close to you. But Jesus fashions the story to emphasize that God's heart is for all people. When you walk with God, you will know it because your heart will become like his! The protagonist in the story, the Samaritan, loved a man who was, by ethnicity, his enemy.
I can imagine the excuses we could make as to why we shouldn't stop and show love to this man:
• "It's his own fault. He shouldn't have been on this road anyway. Didn't he know this is the 'Road of Death'? He's not a worthy recipient of any help."
• "I don't know the man. I mean, if he was a part of my synagogue, then I might do something."
This is the kind of excuse that has kept some churches from helping people in distress. Some say, "It was only in the OT that God's people were to help those who were outsiders. That was just for the theocracy (a nation ruled by God) of Israel. But, we're not a theocracy. So, in the NT, the church is only to help those inside the church!" Let me tell you – no nation in this world is a theocracy but every church in which Jesus is Lord is a theocracy. He is in charge here. And he tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves and he tells us that our neighbor is any human being who bears the image of God – including those who have done some dumb things. When you know God and seek to please God, you will reach out to hurting people like the Samaritan did simply because they are people. That's the command here. It's unmistakeable.
3) You will seek to meet needs whenever you have opportunity – Showing God's love in practical ways will become a priority in your life. I'm sure that the priest and Levite were busy men. If this man on the road had already died, then touching him would have defiled them in such a way that they couldn't have done some of their religious duties for a while. They were busy men! They had important work to do. And, I imagine their families were waiting for them...
How much of a priority should the love of neighbor take in our lives? May I remind you that all of the laws of God boiled down to their basic essential is: "Love the Lord your God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself." We can do lots of good stuff as individual Christians and as a church, but if we miss this, we miss the heart of the matter. Jesus said so often. In Mt 25:31ff, Jesus tells us that on the last day, he will gather together those professing to know him. And, when we gather, Jesus is going to sort out the real followers from those who have faked it. How will he know the real from the false Christians? Jesus says that those who inherit the kingdom will say this is how we can know that we are his: "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Then the righteous will say, "Lord, when did we do these things?" Jesus, the King, will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
4) You will find shalom in sacrificial serving and giving – Remember that Jesus is speaking of eternal life -- so the Samaritan's way of life is eternal life. Remember that. Jesus' story meant that this is the way to experience life to the full. You see what the Samaritan man did in vv. 33-35: He felt compassion. He touched the man. He provided specific care. He used what medicine and resources he had without regretting the cost. He personally lifted the man onto his donkey, took him to an inn and spent two months wages to care for him. He gave to the point that some of the man's burden fell on him. It cost him time, strength, and money. And it was for a sworn enemy! Some would say, "He gave until it hurt." I think Jesus would say, "No, he gave and, in it, found real life."
Let me ask you: What would it take to motivate you to live life this way? I think it will only happen if you know deep down that someone who owed you nothing has saved you. Someone saved you only because he loved you. Only when you experience that will people like you and me get up and treat people like this Samaritan treated people. You need to be stunned by the fact that someone you once rejected loved you so much that he saved you. You won't be a neighbor like Jesus calls you to be a neighbor until you are awestruck by the fact that Someone was a Neighbor who rescued you from death.
Let me put it this way: When you have been saved by the grace of God, you will love your neighbors as yourself. That's what happens when Jesus is in charge of your life. You begin to love others as Jesus loved you. The love that flows out of a heart that has been touched by God's grace is always radical love.
What are we to do after we have received God's eternal life? Jesus says that we are to meet the needs of people simply because people are people. Even if they don't believe what we believe. Even if we don't like their politics. We are to do it in such practical ways and with such sacrificial love that it will astonish people. People will have to come and visit this church simply because they have to make sense out of people who show so much love. The love true Jesus-followers are commanded to show will make no sense to people until they hear about Jesus. Then they will get it. They will see we follow the King of the universe, the King who gave his life to meet the needs of those who put him to death!
V.36. I can almost see that lawyer swallowing hard as Jesus forces him once again to answer his own question. He can't bring himself to say, "The Samaritan." That filthy word would have stuck in his throat. But neither can he deny the moral force of this story so he said, "The one who had mercy on him."
"Go and do likewise," Jesus told him. Now we see it: "Love your neighbor as yourself" means love those whom God brings across your path. The love Jesus calls for is a love that never asks "Who?" but only asks "How?". "Go and do likewise!" It's not a suggestion. It's the royal command. And it's from Jesus himself.
You don't need me to tell you that our church would be turned upside down if we all practiced this kind of love. It's impact would be far more world changing than enacting new legislation. We won't be able to keep people out of the church, parking problems or not, if each of us lives the way Jesus taught us to live in Luke 10. Do this: Come to church each week with a goal of looking for needs you might meet instead of asking what you will get out of being in church! And leave church with the same commitment. So much pain and distress would be relieved if only God's people would live with a desire to love as Jesus loves. The lonely elderly, those hurting from broken families, those struggling to recover from difficult marriages, those who are victims of unemployment... I could go on and on. No matter where you look, in this world need is there. Love like that of the Samaritan needs to be shown everywhere to all people. You and I are the ones Jesus sends into this world to love people.
The rest of the story: Can you imagine this Jewish man waking up in the inn and discovering that a man had saved his life? Then, the innkeeper says that his rescuer would be coming that afternoon to check on him. The Jewish man waits in great anticipation. What will this man be like? Will he be my rabbi? A Jewish leader? Then, his rescuer comes in and the Jewish man sees... he sees a Samaritan! Does he hate the man who saved his life? Does he say, "Put me back on that street to die!"?
I tell you that he will be grateful. And, when he someday sees another man who is in trouble, he will help as he was helped. The one who has been saved by love will show love to others.
And maybe the most powerful thing is that Jesus taught this as he was on his way to a cross to love us in just this way to give his life for people who are dying. As Paul would write, "While we were sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus turned this story from a piece of fiction into fact. The lawyer thought he had earned eternal life and soon discovered that he was far from it. He'd never loved this way. He was dying spiritually. He needed someone to love him as this Samaritan loved. And Jesus did. Jesus loved him.
Jesus loves you too. Have you asked him to save your life? When you do, you'll know it because you will be so grateful that you will love others as Jesus loves you. That's what happens when Jesus is in charge.

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:1-3

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor