Note: I
apologize for the length of this sermon, but I could not make it shorter and
cover its meaning in proper depth.
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o Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to
thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was
confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty
years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it
to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it
was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a
mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God?
God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life,
verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath
concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be
given to them that believe.
23 And
he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed
are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired
to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those
things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 25 And, behold, a
certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to
inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What
is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And
he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this
do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself,
said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and
fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and
departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And
by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side. 32 And
likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came
and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil
and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took
care of him. 35 And on the morrow when
he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto
him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I
will repay thee. 36 Which now of these
three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (Luke 10:23-37)
The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy
faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee,
that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to
attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Gospel and Epistle text today deals with not only the acts of kindness and
charity expected of the Godly man or woman, but the terms of the law and of
grace as well. The Prayer of Collect makes reference to the 'heavenly
promises.' These are promises of grace that stand in contrast to the
condemnation under which we would all have fallen under the strict application
of the law. The law has exempted no one; however, we were justified by the
blood of Jesus Christ whose death on the cross paid our sin debt (if we have
claimed that justification and salvation). There was nothing worthy in us that
Christ should have paid our penalty, but He did so out of an uncompromising
love for those who would accept the promise of grace made available to us
through His act of sacrifice. Paul makes sound reference to the inability of
the law to save us, for we are incapable of perfect obedience. If we were
compelled to be the bloodline descendents of Abraham (as the law would require)
we could not come to God. But being children who have come to God through the
promises made possible in Christ, we are indeed the Children of Abraham. Now
let us look at the Gospel text and the opening question of the lawyer which
followed on a mysterious moment of Christ's teaching to His disciples:
23 "And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired
to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those
things which ye hear, and have not heard them." I am
continually amazed at the understanding of Scriptural truth that can occupy the
heart of one with little seeming formal education and, by contrast, the abject
lack of understanding that can exist in a mind of one that has received every
benefit of extensive studies in theology. Why is this so? I believe it may be
attributable to the fertile heart of the humble believer that accepts all that
God says without question or equivocation. There were many kings, prophets, and
even angels who sought to look into those things to which the disciples were
privy through a heart open to Christ.
Simply having a technical knowledge of the Law (Word of God) is not a benefit
to salvation. Even the devils know God's Word: and believe - but not unto
salvation: "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well:
the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19) A mental
ascent to the Word of God is never sufficient - it must be supported by a
complete heartfelt commitment to that Word. There happens to be a lawyer
in the midst (a man learned in the Scriptures) who desires to demonstrate his
superior intellect to Christ and before many witnesses.
25 "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him,
saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
First of all, this was a man who should not have had such a question, but
should have known better than his question suggests. Secondly, he had a motive
- his motive was to trip Jesus up with a seemingly simple question with complex
ramifications. Was his question a good one? No, it was devoid of understanding
of the terms of salvation and grace. "... what shall I do to
inherit eternal life." It is the same question asked by the
rich young ruler, by Mohammad, by Buddha, and by every other false religion.
The basis of the question is that salvation must be based on good works, or
personal merit, and not the blood of Jesus Christ. "But Christ has
not yet suffered" you may suggest. Yes, He was sacrificed from before the
foundations of the world were laid, and is the same Seed of Promise to which
Abraham looked forward for salvation. So, in reality, there is NOTHING we can
physically DO to be saved - we must believe (in our hearts) on the Lord Jesus
Christ only! Not a verbal ascent, but a heart conviction!
Perhaps this fellow was an excellent lawyer, but not one as accomplished as the
One whose Finger wrote the Law. Jesus now asks a profoundly simple and
meaningful question of the lawyer, and of you and me: " What is written in the law? how readest thou?"
First of all, in order to know God's Word, we must have read it first - study
and digest it; and, secondly, if we have read God's Word, do we understand it
aright? Do we allow scripture to explain scripture, or do we trust in our own
understanding? Jesus will play the lawyer's game - and win that endeavor by
telling a very famous parable. In fact, this parable is so famous that is major
character - the Good Samaritan - has become a part of our daily conversation in
describing a kind and generous person. The parable, among other things, relates
the fact that the DIRECTION we are going often depicts the condition of our
hearts as expressed in Psalm 1:1-3.
Before we begin the parable itself, I wish to remind you of what our Lord has
told us to do if we would be like Him."If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow me." (Luke 9:23) Where is Jesus headed when this
parable was related? He was going UP to Jerusalem (as was the Good Samaritan)
to give Himself a ransom for you and me. In the previous chapter, we read:
"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be
received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem," (Luke
9:51) Jerusalem was the Holy City, the City of Salem (Peace) and of God. The
direction Jesus was going was the same as the Samaritan, while that of the
priest and Levite were the opposite direction and they were going DOWN to
Jericho - a city on the southern frontier of Samaria. It is likely that the
Good Samaritan was from Jericho.
Due to their intermarriage with other races, the Samaritans were regarded with
hate and disdain by the Jews as a less-than-Holy people. Now the Lawyer has not
gained any advantage in his first question, so he presses his point with what
he hoped would present an over-sophisticated inquiry for Christ to answer.
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour
as thyself." This was a correct reading as to the 'wording'
of the scriptures, but the deeper meaning was lost to the lawyer as we shall
see. Jesus always gives credit where credit is due. "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live."
Yes, sounds simple, but impossible to obey without that love which the
commandments demand! As is the habit of most lawyers to defend and justify
their position, this lawyer responded: "But he, willing to justify
himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?" So Jesus will
provide an answer that I pray the lawyer understood with his heart. Has the
question ever arisen in your mind as well? It has in mine, but the answer I
give myself has never been as expressive as the one Christ gives.
"And Jesus answering said, A certain man
went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him
of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." This Jew was going DOWN from Jerusalem (the
City of Peace) to Jericho. When we go out from the place of God, we are always
going DOWN. Just as Naomi, her husband, Elimelech, and two sons, Mahlon and
Chilion, left the House of Bread and Praise (meaning Bethlehemjudah) to go down
into the cursed land of Moab and lost all but her daughter-in-law Ruth. They
left the place that God would bless and went into the place that God would
curse. It didn't turn out very well for them, did it? We always meet with hidden
dangers when we go out from the will of God. This Jew from Jerusalem fell among
thieves which were so common to this hilly, desert stretch of road. They not
only took all that he had, but fairly beat him to within a inch of his life.
Satan will do that to us when we forsake our Lord. And Satan, too, will leave
us either dead, or half dead. The man may be semi-conscious, but he is
certainly unable to arise and help himself. So he lies there waiting fore
mercy. There is nothing he can do to deserve mercy, but he has no choice to
await what mercy might come.
If he was able to see, he may have had a rise in his spirit when he spotted a
priest coming down the road. Surely, there would be no better possibility of
help than from a man in the service of God. 31 "And by chance there came down a certain priest that way:
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side." But
wait! The priest does not even slow down, or inquire of the man's condition. He
has been cleansed in the Temple and does not wish to defile his hands with
blood. So his most important thing (to himself) is his petty personal concerns.
No time to save the life of a dying fellow Jew. Next, the injured Jew sees
another coming DOWN from Jerusalem - a Levite whose duty is in the service of
the Temple and also ritually cleansed at the laver. See, if one man will not
help, God will send another..... "32 And
likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came
and looked on him, and passed by on the other side." Oh,
well, at least the Levite "came and
looked on him." Perhaps he was touched by the breeze of
pity, but not a breeze of such strength as to open his sails and move him to
compassion. He continued going DOWN to Jericho. I wonder if the hurt Jew
learned something that day about feigned religion and unmoving faith? He might
see even more of the same in the modern churches of our day.
But God often supplies our needs from the most unexpected of sources. When we
are stripped of our raiment, robbed of our possessions, and lying on the side
of the road bleeding and bruised, what could be worse than having one we might
consider our enemy of such low estate as a Samaritan coming by to find us
there? That might seem the final straw, right? Wrong! 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him." The
Samaritan came to where the wounded man lay in his own blood. Did not Christ
leave the Ivory Palaces of Heaven and come down to where we lay by the road,
wounded and dying in our sins? He SAW the wounded man just as Christ saw us as
we wandered about as a toddler. The Samaritan did not ask, "Are you Jew,
or Samaritan? Instead, he met the requirements of the Commandment quoted
earlier by the lawyer - he had compassion and love for the wounded Jew. Though
His race is an heavenly race, Christ does not ask, "Are you Jew, Gentile,
African, Asian, or Caucasian - he looks at the inward heart and not the outward
appearance.
34 "And went to him, and bound up
his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought
him to an inn, and took care of him." What did the
Good Samaritan do? 1) He went to the man where he lay just as you and I are to
go to the place of need to help others. 2) He bound up the man's wounds just as
the Lord has bound up our wounds from sin and healed us. 3) He poured expensive
oil and wine into the man's wounds. Jesus gave us the last drop of the wine of
His blood for our healing, and the oil of the Holy Spirit to be a continual
balm of health to us. 4) The Samaritan provided the wounded Jew with his own
conveyance and walked himself. Jesus gave us His own righteousness as our
conveyance while He died on the cross for us. 5) The Samaritan brought the man
to an inn and cared for him even more. Jesus continues to heal and sanctify our
sinful natures.
Well, it seems that the Samaritan has gone beyond the common expectations in
helping the man, but, wait, he does even more. Jesus has gone all of the way
for us. He never stopped short once he "set his face to go to
Jerusalem." He went ALL the way, and still does. 6) "35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two
pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and
whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee."
Jesus paid for our temporary upkeep on earth as we await the glory of His
Coming again, and He SHALL come again for us. The True Church is His Innkeeper
for us until He returns as promised.
Jesus has presented a beautiful picture of the Gospel in action to the lawyer,
but I fear he failed the test. 36 "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour
unto him that fell among the thieves?" Jesus has proven
Himself more than a neighbor - more than a brother - He is "One who
sticketh closer than a brother." The lawyer MUST admit that the
Samaritan was neighbor to the Jew, but he cannot bring himself to so much as
say the hated term, Samaritan - so he answers -" He that shewed
mercy on him." This is an insincere, but correct, answer. If the
lawyer can bring himself to love as the Samaritan has loved, he will stand
brightly in the kingdom of Heave - but CAN he? Can you? Take the counsel of
Christ and live: " Go, and do thou
likewise."
