"god’s Mighty Mercy" Series

"God’s Mighty Mercy"

Luke 10:25-37

A sermon for 5/29/22

Last Sunday of Easter

Pastor John Bright

Luke 10 “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.”

Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You have to choose.

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We all know this parable – that’s the problem! It was in your children’s Bible and you were taught this parable in Sunday School and VBS – that’s the problem.

One Sunday School teacher was sharing this with the children in her class. She tried to share all the vivid details so that the children would enter into the drama. Then she asked them, “If you saw a person lying beside the road, wounded and bleeding, what would you do?”

One little girl broke the silence and answered, “I think… I would throw up.”😊

As I was saying, the problem we have is that we know this parable from our 21st century point of view. If we are unable to enter into the story Jesus is telling, as one of those who are standing there in the 1st century, we won’t get the point. Much of what I will share with you today is taken from the writings of Harry N. Wendt who helped me to understand the Middle Eastern culture around the parables in Luke’s Gospel. (The Parables of Jesus, 1997)

The set-up for this parable involves a lawyer who seeks to enter into a theological debate with Jesus. His focus is “doing something to inherit eternal life.” The lawyer stands up – this is an action that shows respect to the teacher, but the commentary shows his real purpose – to test Jesus. Any reader in the early church would immediately see his action as hypocritical. Actually, his question is pretty standard for a Jewish teacher and would elicit a list of “do’s and don’ts.” Everyone gave a pretty standard list – much like we give today when we are asked about how the Believer is supposed to live.

Jesus did what He usually did – answered a question with a question. Does this bother you like it bothers me? The lawyer’s answer is a standard creed in that day. It quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. This seems to be the right answer and Jesus tells him to keep doing those things. The lawyer is us – the Believers in this day – who may know it, but are we doing it? Now, the lawyers does exactly what we do – he asks Jesus about the limits. Sort of like us asking – what’s the least I can do and ok with God?

Right here, the lawyer get’s drawn in. He started off to test Jesus, but get’s drawn in – like what happens to me when I am working on a sermon.