New Hope Bible Chapel
Feb 15
  • This I Know
  • Tears Of Joy
  • Reckless Love
  • Luke 10:25–37 NKJV
    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.’ ” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” 29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 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. 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. 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.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
    Introduction:
    The event before us today is quite familiar to many. Yet, it get’s confused with a similar event, in Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18, which all give an account of the same story, yet not the one before us today.
    Let’s look at one of them:
    Mark 10:17–22 NKJV
    17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
    So this event, as I said, is recorded by all three of the synoptic authors.
    But, the one we are looking at today, though similar, is quite different.
    And the reason it is different is because it involves a different man (a Lawyer of the law) who is trying to tempt Jesus.
    Now lest we forget, Jesus knew what he was up to and crafted his parable to point out the defect of this “godly, lawful” man.

    I. Peeling back the facade of religion.

    As Christians we don’t think about our own religious peculiarities.
    We may not even know we have them.
    Religion is expressed when our standards prevent us from being the hands and feet of Jesus.
    Religion will cause us to only fellowship in certain circles.
    Religion will also cause us to think unloving toward certain people.
    So, let’s look at two areas where religion hinders.
    A. Religion qualifies love.
    Many Christians practice a form of religion that sets boundaries in their lives.
    These boundaries are set and the individual who practices them, does their very best not to cross those lines.
    In the case of the Lawyer, he could not love the Lord his God with all his strength, because his religion was stopping him from seeing the God man standing right before him.
    If only he could get past his own boundary in the law of Moses, and see that the very law he was hiding behind was the one causing his blindness.
    We Christians must also see past our self imposed religion to see the Jesus in others and move in love toward them.
    In the parable, this was the problem with the Priest and Levite.
    They could not love as the law prescribed because they were hiding behind their religion.
    It will always be impossible to practice agape love if our religious ways stop us from seeing the truth.
    If Jesus is the way the truth and the life, and His reflection is to be seen in others which we are bound to acknowledge according to Matt 25:45, how dare we allow religious practices to prevent us?
    Secondly -
    B. Religion qualifies commitment.
    Many don’t even realize that they are caught in this web.
    They are those that have compartmentalized their faith practice to one Sunday morning per month, or one Sunday morning per week, or every Sunday, prayer meeting, and Bible study; Because they are more spiritual than others.
    They are those that do not commit to anything outside of the prescribed boundaries.
    Many Christians today compartmentalize their faith into religion and secular.
    Church time is for God, play time is for me.
    If my religion is practiced during these prescribed times, then my other time is all mine and off limits to God.
    I believe this is why we see Christians today acting like the world Monday through Saturday, and acting like a saint on Sunday.
    Let’s look for a moment at this lawyer.
    He comes to Jesus to tempt Him, but unable to do so, finding Jesus giving the perfect lawful answer, attempts to prove his own righteousness.
    What do we think about this lawyer?
    Is he really spiritual?
    Is he really a righteous man?
    Obviously we know the answer because the narrative fills in the gaps.
    He is a weasel trying to trick the Son of God.
    What he cannot see is that this person, the teacher, is the very Son of God.
    His religion has qualified his commitment.
    He will not commit to Christ because the law stops him in his tracks.
    And I say to you, that if anyone continues to hold to their religion over faith, they will never be able to move to the next level of commitment.
    Just like the lawyer was commited to his religion and could not commit to Christ, you and I must not allow our religion to derail our own commitment to Christ and His work.
    This is why love and commitment cannot be controlled by a religious system, otherwise they will not reach into the very places man hides.

    II. Dealing with our own prejudice.

    A. God is no respecter of people.
    Notice if you will that the Lawyer when asked by Jesus who was neighbor to the wounded man, did not say, the “Samaritan” as Jesus taught but, “the one who showed mercy”.
    How easy it would have been to just say the Samaritan, but as we have seen so many times, the mouth reveals the heart.
    This is what Jesus said in -
    Matthew 12:34 “... For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
    Is it so that our own prejudices stop us from even speaking the truth?
    How can we possibly justify ourselves before an Holy God, by respecting some and not others?
    Are we not all one in Christ?
    Are we not all created in the image of God?
    Are we not called to love our neighbor as ourselves?
    And so if we, like the lawyer withhold the words of truth, does it not also affect our witness for Christ?
    Do we not engage in a simple gospel discussion because of our own prejudice?
    Do we shun certain people and so never enter into their lives?
    Do we save the gospel for those that will come to the church, for those that meet the threshold of acceptance, that look right, act right, think right?
    James 1:27 NKJV
    27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
    James makes the point that the practice of our faith must reveal a heart for the marginalized in our society.
    Because Jesus always went to the marginalized.
    Secondly -
    B. God does not respect status or position.
    When the lawyer approached Jesus he simply asked what he needed to do to obtain eternal life, and Jesus simply pointed him back to the law.
    The lawyer knew it well and summed it all up in one great command, “love God with your entire being, and your neighbor as yourself”.
    Sometimes, people think they get a pass from God because of their position or status amongst the masses.
    The Biblical record however, shows something different.
    When Sampson, a judge of Israel, betrayed his Nazarite vow by allowing Delilah to cut his hair, he lost the Holy Spirit’s power in his life. He was subsequently abused and incarcerated by the Philistines and had his eyes taken out.
    When David committed adultery and murder, God sent the prophet Nathan to publically hold him accountable.
    When Moses, the leader of Israel and beloved law giver, sinned by striking the rock a second time when God said speak to it, He was forbidden to enter the promised land and dies in the wilderness alone.
    When Simon Magus thought he could buy the power of the Holy Spirit, he was banned from having it at all.
    Is it any wonder that in these modern times of ours, people in positions of authority believe they are above the law?
    There is an old saying, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
    The lawyer thought he was above others because of his position, in fact this was the problem with the entire Sanhedrin. They thought they were above Jesus and the law.
    What about you, do you think that because you are an American citizen that you are better than an illegal alien?
    Oh my! I can’t believe he just said that!
    How about you who are wealthy, do you think you are better than some poor guy out on the street corner begging for money?
    Do you look down on those that are in prison, or disdain those that perpetrate violent crimes, or act indifferent to those less fortunate than yourself?
    You see, I’m not speaking about law and justice, I’m speaking about human value and worth.
    If you like what the Samaritan did in the parable but can’t get beyond the fact that he represents the illegal alien, the Somalian, the confused trans kid, Chuck Schumer, Donald Trump, or Jefrey Dammer, you will never break free of your religion to reach people for Christ.
    Because yes, He died for them also!
    Conclusion:
    In this parable Jesus taught that the Priest and the Levite both received equal condemnation by the Lord, for placing their religion over compassion for a fellow human being.
    He also allowed the Lawyer to chew on the reality of just what a neighbor looks like.
    My question to you is this…
    Will you allow your prejudices controlled by your religion to dictate how you will love people as Jesus commanded?

      • Luke 10:25–37NKJV

      • Mark 10:17–22NKJV

      • James 1:27NKJV

  • Nothing I Hold Onto
New Hope Bible Chapel
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