In this sermon, Pastor Tim explores Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan and what it means to love your neighbour and show some mercy!
We are in a new series here at Manly Life: Parables of the Kingdom!
- So far we have looked at the Hidden Treasure, the parable of the sower and the parable of the talents…
- The kingdom is valuable, the kingdom grows in good soil, the kingdom expects us to use the gifts and resources God entrusts us with…
- (in case you missed the last 3 weeks)
And we have been saying, the Kingdom of Heaven was Jesus main message.
- Jesus, as the Son of God… came to inaugurate the long promised reign of God on earth…
- Where God as King comes to restore and redeem his people…
- And so we understand his miracles and teaching and compassion all as signs of the Kingdom of Heaven breaking into earth.
- And in that context the parables act as these memorable stories told by Jesus to explain what the Kingdom of Heaven is like!
- And what citizens of the Kingdom of heaven do…
And today is about, in the Kingdom, how do we see and treat people?
So I am going to read Luke 10:25-37
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?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Now, before we get stuck in to looking at this parable and thinking about mercy…
- I wanted to say a quick word on the phrase “Eternal Life”…
- Afterall this amazing story about who is my neighbour and mercy comes in response to the question
- “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
- And for some of us… Jesus answer about showing mercy, in fulfilment of following the law to love God and our neighbours…
- Might come as a bit of a shock as we have always believed that to inherit eternal life, we must put our faith in Jesus.
- And that is true… As Peter says in Acts 2 “everyone who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
So what is going on here? Do we inherit eternal life through being good merciful neighbours, or do we inherit eternal life by trusting in Jesus?
- Well I think some of this tension comes down to how we interpret the Greek words “eternal life.”
- And I want to suggest that it is probably better translated “the life of the age to come.”
- So yes, this is everlasting… and so don’t worry, we who follow and trust in Jesus will have everlasting life…
- But what Jesus is interested in here… is how do we enter into… inherit… the life of the age to come?
Are you with me? Because this is a bit technical, but so important to understanding the Kingdom of Heaven.
- And I should mention that in the Gospels, the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life are regularly used to describe the same thing…
- Let me give some examples… all in the same chapters…
- Mark 10:17: “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” v. 23: “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”
- Matthew 7:14: “Narrow is the road that leads to life.”
- v. 21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven.”
- Matthew 25:34: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the Kingdom.”
- v. 46: “The righteous to eternal life.”
So this story of the Good Samaritan… and indeed the Kingdom of Heaven is about the age to come… what it looks like when heaven colonizes earth…
- There is the present age… given to decay and evil
- But the Age to come or eternal life… or the Kingdom heaven… is the time when God restores his creation and there is justice and healing…
- It is future, because we do not see it in full until Christ returns…
- But it is present now in this age… because of Jesus, his church and his followers.
So, teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life… what must I do to enter into the age to come now? Teacher, what must I do to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Right? I don’t want to be loose with this…
- But that is the context of this parable about showing mercy.
- Because everything in the gospels is about the Jesus bringing the life of the age to come… into this present age.
- And then his followers bringing that Kingdom of healing and mercy and reconciliation into the world too!
- So what do we do to inherit… or enter into the age to come, right now…
- And surprise, surprise, it is going to look like radical mercy and compassion and seeing the humanity in everyone, not just our own tribe or tongue!
So what is the context of this remarkably famous parable?
- This is a comment from Jesus on the OT command to “love your neighbour as yourself.”
- We find that in Leviticus 19, which is all about good neighborly relationships…
- Comes in a question from a Jewish theologian asking who is my neighbour?
- What is clear is that amongst Jesus’ people, the idea of neighbour did not extend to everyone… certainly not the gentiles…
- I wonder for us as we think about who we owe kindness or love to, do we mainly think about it in terms of our own country, or our own ethnicity, or our own friendship groups only?
So who is my neighbour? (next slide)
In the story… a man is going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho…
- In his day, this road was rudimentary and rough… and not just rough because of stones…
- About seventeen miles long, descending through craggy limestone hills… perfect terrain for bandits and thieves to set upon unsuspecting travelers.
- So the people listening to Jesus story would have been familiar with this scenario of a man being set upon, beaten up, robbed and left for dead…
So a priest and Levite wander on by…
- These were the guys responsible for the worship, sacrifices and temple in Jerusalem.
- They were expected to maintain high standards of purity and they would have known well, the instructions of the law when it came to showing mercy and care!
- Ones like Leviticus 19:18 “love your neighbour as yourself.”
- Or in Hosea 6 where it says “I (that is God) desire mercy!”
- But they see the wounded man by the roadside, and kept away from him, passing on the other side…
- Maybe there is a bit of self preservation at play here… could the robbers still be around… best to keep moving…
- Or maybe they just felt too busy or important to stop and do something practical for a person in need…
Next comes a Samaritan… who were possibly the Jews least favourite people.
- So Samaritans lived in central Palestine between Jewish Judea in the south and Jewish Galilee in the north.
- They were semi-pagan and semi-Jewish… and had violent clashes with the Jews through the ages…
- So given the background of mutual hatred, its easy to appreciate the controversial nature of Jesus introducing a Samaritan into his story.
So Jesus goes out of his way to show the Samaritans kindness…
- We are told “his heart went out to him.”
- And his compassion and mercy are expressed in practical action… he binds the mans wounds and anoints them with oil… he put him on his donkey…
- And he takes him to an inn, personally caring for him and then generously paying the innkeeper to house the wounded man while he recovers.
- The suggestion being that the 2 denarii given over, would pay for over 3 weeks of accommodation.
- And he promises to pay even more, if need be!
Now all of this story is given to a question regarding the definition of “neighbour.”
- I assume the questioner is hoping Jesus would limit the scope of who our neighbour is
- So we find two holy men who fail to see the humanity of the wounded person in their way…
- And the distinctly unholy Samaritan who shows mercy.
- Jesus asks which of the three characters to have been neighbour to the man who was mugged.
- The theologian answers “the one who had mercy on him.”
- Jesus having made the point that there are no limits on who our neighbour is gets very blunt…
- “Go and do likewise.”
So, if we are to inherit eternal life… if we are enter into the age to come… the Kingdom of Heaven now…
- What does all of this mean for our understanding of who is my neighbour….
- And what does it mean to be a merciful person?
Well clearly for you and I, followers of Jesus… his is a Kingdom of mercy…
- I was thinking this week about how Jesus two most famous parables are???
- Prodigal Son, which is about God’s mercy
- Good Samaritan, which is about our mercy.
- In the kingdom we are to reflect the King…
- We are to reflect God’s character.
- We may never image God more in the world than when we show mercy.
Jesus after all says in Matthew 9:13… I require mercy, not sacrifice…
- The Priest and Levite were good at religious duties and sacrifice… but their hearts were far from God…
- Why? Because their lives were far from mercy.
- Jesus says in the sermon on the Mount… “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy!”
- In the parable… the Samaritan gets the Kingdom of Heaven!
- Go and do likewise.
So what is God asking of us here?
- I think of Jesus other interaction with a Samaritan in John 4 – the woman at the well who has had multiple husbands…
- It is a startling interaction because…
- She is a Samaritan who Jews like Jesus would normally never interact kindly with
- She is a woman who a man like Jesus would normally never have a public conversation with
- She is a thoroughly immoral person with whom a religious leader like Jesus would normally never associate with.
Maybe there is a model for how we need to cross boundaries to show mercy here… with people whom we would normally never be expected to have kind associations with?
- Stop.
- Talk to people.
- Show interest in them.
- Offer practical care or a listening ear.
You see in the Kingdom of heaven, that is breaking into this present evil age…. All kinds of barriers get broken down.
- And I don’t know about you… but as I get to know Jesus
- I get more shaped by his radical mercy and kindness..
- It has a way of growing our hearts so that we stop. Listen. Show interest. Offer practical care or a listening ear.
Last week I spoke about William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army.
- A 120 year old organization now, that has consistently preached the gospel and shown mercy to those down on their luck.
- But I was thinking this week, where in Australia is the church in this generation standing up and showing mercy.
- And I don’t mean changing your profile picture to show solidarity
- Or giving a few bucks to charities that are doing the work of mercy.
- Where is mercy changing the world… ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven… pushing back against the darkness and the indifference…
In 1997, a youth Pastor from a large church in Brisbane was concerned about a bunch of his year 12 finishers heading down to schoolies on the Gold Coast.
- Amidst the fun and letting your hair down…
- The week of partying was notorious for binge drinking, illicit drug use and sexual assaults…
- So Andy turned up and started serving the High School leavers with a bunch of volunteers from his church.
- He soon realized that calling himself a chaplain didn’t get him far… but if he had Allen’s Red Frogs to give away, they would let him into anywhere.
- And so Reg Frogs was born…
- The next year, the mayor called him and asked if he could bring more volunteers and more Red Frogs… to get alongside schoolies who found themselves in trouble.
Since then the Red Frogs has grown every year… with young adults from Australian churches descending on schoolies to show mercy and kindness to their peers…
- 25 years on… 3,600 volunteers go to serve the 70,0000 schoolies in 15 different locations each year…
- Walking them home when they get too smashed… cleaning up the mess they make
- Listening to distraught schoolies who’ve made big mistakes
- Cooking pancakes the morning after to hung over 18 year olds…
- And showing that a huge amount of life and fun can have besides having to get totally drunk.
- To the point where the main stage of music and DJ’s on the Gold Coast is run by the Red Frogs. With many kids coming to faith…
- At last years schoolies alone, 7221 calls were received to the Red Frogs hotline asking for help.
To volunteer you have to belong to a local church, pay your own way and be willing to not judge people but to show them mercy and kindness.
- And to have a heart to help others by cleaning up vomit, listening to people and show practical care by doing things like cleaning up trashed apartments…
- They now give out 24 tonnes of Allen’s Red Frogs a year and their mission is to have a generation safeguarding a generation from harm through serving and showing mercy!
- They are now in all the main universities, schools and major events…
One recent festival patron wrote…
“I ATTENDED A MUSIC FESTIVAL LAST WEEKEND AND IT WAS THE MOST HORRIFIC NIGHT OF MY LIFE. IF RED FROGS AND PARAMEDICS WEREN’T THERE I WOULDN’T BE HERE EITHER TODAY. I STUPIDLY CHOSE TO TAKE AN MDMA PILL FOR THE FIRST TIME THINKING “I’LL BE FINE WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN”? 30 MINUTES LATER MY EYES ROLLED INTO THE BACK OF MY HEAD AND I STARTED HALLUCINATING. I COULDN’T SEE BECAUSE MY VISION WAS SO BLURRY SO I WENT STRAIGHT TO THE RED FROGS TENT. I SPENT OVER 7 HOURS THERE, VOMITING AND PANICKING JUST THINKING I WAS GOING TO DIE. THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT I WAS FED FOOD AND WATER BUT WHEN I GOT UP I HAD A SEIZURE. THE PARAMEDICS TOOK CARE OF ME THEN BUT IF NEITHER OF YOU GUYS WERE THERE I WOULDN’T BE ALIVE TODAY.”
Sounds a bit like the story of the Good Samaritan… and Jesus challenge to go and do likewise…
So finally, how do we practically be good neighbours?
- I think mercy costs… and in a selfish, individualistic world, that’s why we don’t see a lot of mercy.
- Mercy costs…
- It cost the Good Samaritan in Jesus story…
- He stopped at his own personal risk to his safety when the robbers could have still been nearby.
- It cost him reputationally to be helping someone who his people never normally helped.
- It cost him financially to bind up his wounds and anoint him with oil…
- It cost him to put him up for over 3 weeks in an inn and to offer more help if needed.
- Mercy costs…
To be a Red Frog or to help at the Manly Salvation Army… or to pay someone’s medical bills
- Or to miss a meeting because we stop for someone
- Or to pay for someone in needs schooling or medical bills
- It costs us…
- But we may never be more in the image of Jesus in the world than when we show mercy!
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”