Because Jesus Is Returning . . .
"Be Loving - Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37"
We have been studying through Matthew 24,25 - with this overall theme . . . Because Jesus is returning and we don’t know when, how should we be living?
A soldier was finally returning from the Vietnam war. He called his parents from San Francisco to tell them the good news, he was being shipped home. "Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I have a favor to ask of you. I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me." "Sure," they replied, "We’d love to meet him." "There’s something you should know," the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."
"I am sorry to hear that son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live." "No, mom and dad, I want him to live with us." "Son," said the father, "you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own." At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him.
A few days later, however, they received a phone call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn’t know, their son had only one arm and one leg.
"If only we had known," I am sure they said over and over. If we had known it was our son, we would have welcomed him."
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good looking or fun to be around, or family and friends, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us all the time or make us feel uncomfortable. Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way, someone who loves us with an unconditional love, regardless of how messed up we are. That’s Jesus of course. But this morning we are looking at a story Jesus tells that reveals His expectations of us to love people just as He has loved us. Jesus tells us in this story that because He is returning and we don’t know when, be loving. He tells us this story, because He doesn’t want us to be like those parents, saying, "If only I had known."
- Read Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus says He expects us to be loving, to even the unlovable because He is returning. How can God expect that? How can God command us to love?
We learn in life that love cannot be forced. Beauty and The Beast teaches us that love has to be chosen to be love. So how can God command us to love? In John 15:12 it says, "I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you." The answer is in the meaning of the word. The word Jesus uses here for "love" is "agape." It is one of four words that were used to describe different kinds of love in the Greek culture. Interestingly, this words was the least popular and least used. Whereas "eros" referred to romantic love, "storge" referred to family love and "philia" referred to brotherly love or friendship love, "agape" referred to unconditional love. This love was not based on a feeling or natural attachment. This love was an action based on a choice. It meant something you did because it was right. In this sense you can love someone you don’t even "like." That’s the kind of love Jesus talks about here. In fact, this is what Jesus intentionally does for this Jewish lawyer. He paints a picture of love that requires the lawyer to imagine someone unlovable in his eyes. Now, this love is not necessarily devoid of emotions. It may and probably will involve the emotions, but it is not based on them or motivated by them. Interestingly, it is the word most often used to describe God’s love for us in Jesus (Jn. 3:16 or John 15:12).
In order to give us a fuller understanding of what Jesus is commanding in Matthew 25, I want us to visit another passage this morning. This passage is found in Luke 10:25-37. Jesus told this story too, and we know it commonly as "The Good Samaritan."
- Read Luke 10:25-37
- USA Today, April 21,2000 had this story, "Good Samaritans Still Navigate U.S. Roads." It portrayed several sacrificial and heroic deeds in American communities but also had some insightful remarks, like this one - "Who is a Good Samaritan? The definition has been watered down to the point where . . . it’s used to cover virtually any good deed or act of kindness." Later it says, "Today, people may be so familiar with the parable that they don’t really listen to it. Otherwise, why would they persist in applying the term to those who rescue a cat from a tree or give a neighbor a lift? Being a Good Samaritan means going out of your way to help a stranger in need, with no expectation of thanks or recognition." A close look at this story tells us even more what it means to be loving.
Being Loving Means . . .
I. I will help even if he acted foolishly (vs. 30)
The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was dangerous. It was even called "the bloody way." It was a steep and rocky road through desert like and mountainous terrain filled with robbers - some in gangs. It was foolish to travel alone - it was asking for trouble. When this guy got robbed and beaten, you could say, "he was asking for it - dumb move."
- But I always come to my own rescue when I act foolishly. Don’t you? And we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
- I still manage to tolerate myself after a foolish mistake - not because I like what I did, but because I know someday I’ll be better.
- 1 Corinthians 10:12 - "If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin."
II. I will help even if others don’t and pass by on the other side (vs. 31,32)
- Quite a few priests and Levites traveled that road. They had a cheap concept of compassion. It was mostly for ceremony and show. There could have been any number of excuses these guys gave for not helping the Samaritan.
- He was "unclean" (Samaritan and open wounds) and they were commanded to avoid the unclean.
- They were in a hurry to get to a ministry task.
- They were part of a crowd and needed to stay with them for their own safety.
- They weren’t really responsible.
- I am thankful for the ministry of Crossroads in this town. We support them as a church and they take care of a lot of needs in this community. But we have to be careful that we do not ignore specific needs of people saying, "Crossroads will take care of them. That’s their responsibility." I imagine that’s kind of what the Priest and Levite in this story were feeling.
- Psalm 38:11 - "My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance."
There are some people that society allows us to ignore, but the One who died for me tells me to love them just like He loved me."
III. I will help even it takes time (vs. 33)
- This must have been a major interruption for this Samaritan. He was on business of some kind. This wasn’t a road people walked for pleasure.
- There is always time for what we think is most important. The question is what is most important?
- To love the way Jesus tells us to may require you to miss a meal, a party, the big game, a movie, buying something, in order to help someone.
IV. I will help even if it costs money (vs. 35)
I saw this in Reader’s Digest,
- On the last day of school, children were bringing gifts to their teacher. The florist’s son brought the teacher a bouquet. The candy store owner’s son brought the teacher a pretty box of candy. Then the liquor store owner’s son brought a big, heavy box. The teacher lifted it up and noticed that it was leaking a little bit. She touched a drop of the liquid with her finger and tasted it. "Is it wine?" She guessed. "No," said the boy. She tasted another drop and asked, "Champagne?" "No," said the little boy. "It’s a puppy!"
- The Samaritan gave the innkeeper the equivalent of two day’s wages and a blank check or credit card.
- I gotta tell you. This hit home this week with me. The same day I was writing this part of the sermon, I had just gotten off the phone with Discover Card. It was the 12th day in a row I was dealing with the repercussions of having someone fraudulently use our credit to the tune of several thousand dollars. And so I sat there and thought. Would I be willing to leave my credit card with an innkeeper to be used at the discretion of some stranger I had stopped to help? That’s taking an awfully big chance.
- But I know God took bigger chances on me.
- 1 John 3:17 - "But if anyone has enough money to live well, and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help - how can God’s love be in that person?"
- If you spend your money to help people - to help strangers like this guy who just got what he deserved after all - people will look at you. They will say, "what a waste of money." You could have bought stuff with that. And you can say, "Yes, but I also know that Jesus has it all scheduled for burning, and how high a rating do you place on something you burn?"
V. I will help even if he’s not like me (vs. 30 33)
- To be sure, Samaritans and Jews were enemies - and it went back a long ways. It would be something like Ethnic Croats and Serbs today. On top of that, this guy is not easy to look at. He has open wounds. I don’t want to look at him, let alone touch him.
- And so Jesus picks this combination to illustrate His point. Our neighbor is not just someone we like or someone like us. It is that person we do not like and plan to avoid.
- We have social barriers to contend with. People with certain handicaps perhaps, AIDS, income levels, religious persuasions or lack thereof, difficult personalities. They aren’t to be barriers to God’s love through us. In Christ, there are no distinctions anymore. We are all one in Christ.
VI. I will help even if it’s dangerous
- The Samaritan ran a real risk of getting hurt or killed himself. Love is a risk. But when we get hurt, there is always the healing of God available.
- The risks of loving people may be physical, social, economic, emotional . . . but we are called to take risks by the one who risked all for us.
Conclusion:
- Ephesians 2:8-10 - "God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."
Why is it so important to Jesus that we love others . . . that we love more than just our friends and family - more than just those we naturally love? Because when we do, we show evidence that we have been touched by the love and grace of God ourselves. We prove we begin to understand just what incredible love God has shown to us.
Romans 5:6-8 -"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While were were still sinners, Christ died for us.."
Ephesians 4:32 - "Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."
The issue in Matthew 25:31-46 is not "are you good enough" but "have you been touched by God’s love?" If you have been, you will desire to love others.
If Christians don’t extend this kind of love to people . . . if the church isn’t a place where people receive this kind of love, then where?
Ken Medina
If this is not the place where tears are understood, where can I go to cry?
If this is not the place where my spirit can take wing, where do I go to fly?
If this is not the place where my questions can be asked, where do I go to seek?
If this is not the place where my feelings can be heard, where do I go to speak?
If this is not the place where you accept me just as I am, where do I go to be free?
If this is not the place where I can try and grow and love, where do I go to be just me?
You are God’s people. This is the body of Christ. If this love doesn’t come form here, then where?
Notice one more thing. Back in Matthew 25, what were the "goats" punished for? It wasn’t for what they did. It wasn’t for murder, lying, immorality, for hating people. It was for what they didn’t do. It was for indifference. With God, it isn’t just about avoiding the bad stuff, but doing the good stuff, motivated by a heart that has accepted the good stuff from God in Jesus.
Those rejected and punished said basically, "If only we had known." Jesus says in this story, "Now you know. Go love Me." Jesus is coming back . . . So be loving!
