Sermon: The Demands Of Real Love

Sermon: The Demands of Real Love

Scripture - Luke 10:25-37 “One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Introduction: In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus gives an expert of the Law, a profound lesson on the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. This was not a new concept, but one the Lawyer needed to hear again. As Our Father, God calls us to love God and to love God’s children. Acts 17:26 states that God made us all, “And (God) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;” We are brothers because we are children of a common parent. To be a true child of God, is to be a true brother to God's children. If children of God are created in the likeness of God, we can do nothing better than demonstrate His likeness, learn the character, the nature of our Creator and then allow that understanding to shape our conduct. Our lesson today, gives insight into real Love as revealed by Jesus. I am always amazed to see those in Scripture and in life, who are willing to question Jesus and his word without any intention of learning and submitting to his word. This expert of the Law knew the message of Deuteronomy 6:6-8 “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sit in thine house, and when thou walk by the way, and when thou lie down, and when thou rise up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” And also Leviticus 19:17-18 “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord.”

From a child, the lawyer was taught that loving God and loving people was the heart of God’s message. The lawyer in the lesson who wished to make trial of the skill of Jesus in solving the intricate and puzzling question as to how to obtain salvation. Jesus’ answer was simple, Love God and Love People and you will live!

Look at the people involved in Jesus’ story. The lawyer treats the wounded man as a topic for discussion. The Suffering man is just another statistic. Thieves, powerful and numerous treated the man as an object to be exploited. The priest treated the man as a problem to be avoided. The Levite treated the man as an object of curiosity. Only the Samaritan treated him as a brother, a person to be loved and cherished. From the story, we learn three principles about brotherhood and loving our neighbor. First, the lack of love is often easy to justify, even though it is never right. Secondly, our neighbor is anyone of any race or creed or social background who is in need. And Finally, love means crossing the street, acting to meet the need. Wherever you live, there are needy people close by. There is no good reason to ignore our brother and refuse to help.