Theme: The word is very near
Text: Deut. 30:10-14; Col. 1:15-20; Lk. 10:25-37
Read Deut. 30:11, 14 “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach… No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.”
This century has been widely acclaimed the information age because of the tremendous technological developments in this area. The Internet has made the most extensive library in the world accessible to everyone from the comfort of his or her home. Communication is almost instantaneous with the electronic mail and being informed is no longer a problem. However all the information technology cannot be compared in any way to God’s information process. His information process ensures that the word is very near and readily available in our hearts and in the world around us. This is because Jesus Christ, “the image of the invisible God”, created and sustains all things and His pre-eminence is visible in everything. God has called us to honour and please Him and recognize that He is all-sufficient. He has called us to keep His Word, which He has not hidden from us or which is beyond our reach. In the Old Testament the word came to the prophets and made them the bearers of a personal message from God to the people. It was by His Word that God made the world. When He said ‘Let there be…’ something new came into existence. The word then is the communication of what God has in mind. To receive God’s word and live by it is the way to find life. Have you ever said you would obey God if you knew what He wanted – if you knew His word? Have you ever complained that obedience is too difficult for a mere human being? These are unacceptable excuses since obeying the word is the reasonable and sensible thing to do if it is to be beneficial to us. The word is very near and clearly evident to all.
The word points the way to eternal life and the parable of the Good Samaritan begins with the question “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" We cannot do anything to inherit eternal life since an inheritance is something that is received because of a relationship. It is not something you receive because of what you have done. Like so many people in the world today, the lawyer in today’s parable thought of eternal life as something that could be purchased with good works rather than something that is freely given because of the grace of God. Eternal life is not about what we can do for God, but rather about what God has done for us.
This is because no man can keep the Law completely. Thus the Law cannot save us but it shows us that we need to be saved. There can be no real conversion without conviction and the Law is what God uses to convict sinners. The only person ever to keep the Law was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When Jesus asked the lawyer what was written in the Law he had no difficulty with the reply - "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 neighbour as yourself". Lawyers we know belong to the learned profession and he knew the Law. So Jesus advised him to go and put into practice what the Law demanded - what he already knew. The lawyer knew the Law but he could not apply it personally to himself and admit his own lack of love for both God and his neighbour. So instead of being justified by throwing himself on the mercy of God he tried to evade responsibility and justify himself by asking who a neighbour is. There is a story about four friends, one a businessman, one an architect, one a doctor and one a lawyer. They decided that if one of them were to die, those who survived would each put $5,000.00 in the casket before the burial so he would not go to the next world empty handed. The businessman died and at the funeral each of the friends while paying their last respects placed something in the casket. After the burial they began to discuss what they did. The Architect confessed that he felt that $5,000.00 was a waste so he placed $3,000.00 in the casket instead. The doctor also confessed that he had placed $2,000.00 in the casket. The lawyer however did not say anything. After some persuasion he replied. “Well, I collected the cash you put in the casket and left him a cheque for $15,000.00.” The lawyer was really learned and knew that the cheque would never be cashed. We need to know that God has made it possible for us to receive eternal life because of what Christ has done. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
The word leads us to right attitudes and an attitude of love always finds a way to demonstrate itself. A man who loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength will never take God’s name in vain. He will never place anyone or anything above God and he will remember the Lord’s Day and keep it holy. The lawyer, like many other people, thought he could or thought he loved God and his neighbour as the Law demanded but Jesus proved him to be wrong. If you love your neighbour as yourself, you would not lie to him. You would not steal his possessions. You would not cheat him in business. You would not violate his marriage. When you love your neighbour as yourself, you would never do anything to intentionally hurt him. Loving your neighbour means that you do for him whatever you would do for yourself. When you have a need, you would attempt to meet that need. When you have a hurt, you would attempt to heal it. When you have a responsibility, you would attempt to fulfil it. We do not have to be taught how to love ourselves. It comes naturally but we must be careful to keep self-love from becoming selfishness. We need to constantly remind ourselves to love others as we love ourselves.
The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches about loving your neighbour as yourself. Your neighbour is anyone who needs your help. The parable is about someone who had gone through an experience that left him alone and in need. We all come across such people and if we are honest with ourselves we often offer no help. When we do offer to help it is often because those who need help appear to be wealthy or just like ourselves. To put this parable in a contemporary context let us look at what is happening in some European countries. The skinheads are noted for their hatred for foreigners and in recent times skinheads have killed foreigners in Germany. In one incident a group of skinheads threw a foreigner out of a moving train resulting in him losing both legs. In another incident they chased a foreigner and after catching up with him murdered him in a park near his home. What the parable of the Good Samaritan is saying is that if a foreigner were to come across a wounded skinhead, he should react by showing love and compassion. Showing love to someone you love is easy but showing love to someone who hates you requires an effort. In Jesus’ parable three people - a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan came across a man in need. The priest and the Levite ignored him, but the Samaritan had compassion on him. The priest looked on the victim with a total lack of concern. He had no time to get involved. The Levite looked upon him with curiosity. The Samaritan looked upon him with love and compassion. The difference in the three men is that one had his feelings touched, and he responded to those feelings. The priest and the Levite could justify their behaviour by saying that someone else would come along and that they were not responsible for the man’s condition. They could also justify themselves by saying that if the man were dead they would be ritually defiled and thus unable to perform their religious functions without going through the inconvenient procedure of ceremonial cleansing. An incident that many people found difficult to understand involved a girl who was brutally raped and murdered. During the investigations it came to light that another man was at the scene. When asked why he did nothing he simply replied that it was not his business and that after all he did not even know the girl. There are people all around us who are wounded and hurting. Some have been robbed or wounded by parental failure. Others have been left half-dead as a result of their own folly and choice of evil. Some have been damaged by false teaching or let down by so-called Christians. We come across them very often in our daily contacts and should use every opportunity to treat them as our neighbour following the example of the Good Samaritan.
We live in a world where casualties are bound to occur and the word points us to right actions to take – to show mercy. It is not enough to be concerned – we need to get involved. We need to do whatever it takes to take care of our neighbour just as we do whatever it takes to take care of ourselves. Even though the priest and the Levite ignored their responsibilities, the Samaritan did not. He immediately recognised the need of the wounded man and took care of him. He did not need any prodding, no visions, and no voices. Following his example our task is to look to God for guidance, to see genuine need, to have spiritual discernment, so that when we find ourselves alongside someone in need we can minister to that person in a way that glorifies Christ.
There was such a compelling power in the Samaritan’s heart that he couldn’t just stand still. He had to do something. A heart full of compassion always acts even when it means moving into situations where barriers have been erected. The Good Samaritan broke through the racial barrier, putting the priest and the Levite to shame by taking care of the victim. He gave freely of his own resources - putting the man on his own donkey, bringing him to an inn, paying and promising the innkeeper that he would pay any other expenses that would be incurred. Caring requires commitment and we can be sure that our Lord would not ask of us more than we can give, for he knows all our circumstances. We have often passed by those in need without even taking notice. As a motorist have we sped past accident victims without even stopping to help the injured people? It’s not always popular or convenient or cheap to follow the example of the Good Samaritan, but it is the right way to behave. Jesus Christ is the ultimate model of loving care. He cared even when it meant going to the cross. He cared so much that He was willing to be made sin with our sinfulness to fully pay the penalty for our sin. The least we can do is also care for our neighbours.
You cannot love God until you first accept His love. How can we say we love God if we reject the love He has shown in giving His Son for us? The proof of God’s love is the payment Christ made for sin when He hung on the cross in our place. Do you love God with the same whole-hearted love He has shown for you? Have you loved your neighbour as you love yourself? God wants to change our lives, but He cannot do so until we are honest about it. How can He remove a fear if we would not admit it? How can He deliver us from bitterness or lust if we deny it? Not until we come to God, as we are will we have the opportunity to leave differently than we came. If you were to come upon an accident scene what would be your reaction towards the victims? Would your decision depend on the way the victims were dressed, the car that was involved in the accident or the people that were involved. Or would your decision be dictated by love and compassion. The priest and the Levite lost far more by their neglect than the Samaritan did by his concern. They lost the opportunity to become better men and good stewards of what God had given them. They could have been a good influence in a bad world but they chose to be a bad influence. Let us have an attitude of loving service. When we are honest with ourselves we will notice that we identify with one of the characters in the parable. Do we identify with thieves who saw this travelling man as a victim to exploit so they attacked him? Or do we identify with the priest and Levite who saw him as a nuisance to avoid so they ignored him. Or do we identify with the Samaritan who saw him as a neighbour to love and help so he took care of him. Let us show love and compassion to those around us in need. What Jesus said to the lawyer, He is also saying to us. The word is very near. Let us “go and do likewise”. Amen!
