Helping the Helpless
Sunday, March 06, 2011
By Pastor James May
What is the most important question that any man can ask? A number of time, throughout God’s Word, we find those who have discovered what that question is and they voice that question. As I look over this congregation, I see a lot of people who have already come face to face with that all important question and many of you have received the answer. What question am I speaking about? Let’s look at our scriptures for today and you will find that question at the very beginning, and we will see the answer that Jesus gives.
This is an old familiar story, one that has been told in every Sunday School class and preached from the pulpit of every Christian Church that has existed since the foundation of the church over 2000 years ago. I don’t pretend to bring any special revelation but I do believe that every once in a while we need a refreshing of the lesson that Jesus taught that day.
So what is the most important question you could ever ask? Look with me and let’s see.
Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
There you have it – there is no more important question than, How can I have eternal life? Nothing else can ever be as important. There are a lot of questions in life that are important; who should I marry? Where should I live? What career should I choose? What school should I attend? But all other questions seem insignificant when compared to gaining eternal life. Every other question will eventually come to nothing, for all that we gain in this life, family, lands, houses, possessions, worldly wisdom and knowledge will all be left behind if it is not first found in Christ and given that breath of life from God Almighty.
This lawyer came to Christ to ask that great question, but when he came to Jesus, the lawyer wasn’t prepared to receive the answer that was given.
Luke 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Jesus knew the methods of the lawyer and instead of giving him a direct answer, he answered the question with a question in an attempt to get the lawyer to truly understand what was needed to gain eternal life.
Now the lawyer understood the question and began to give an answer, and it was a good answer, one that would hold up in any court of law in the land of Israel, after all, it was a direct quote from the Law and the Commandments that God himself had given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
The lawyer knew the law. He knew it intellectually; had every word of it memorized; but even though he knew the letter of the law; he had no real understanding of the spirit of the law.
Without Love as the guiding factor, mixed with grace and mercy; the law is nothing more than a cruel and condemning task master. This was a lesson that the lawyer was about to learn from the very lips of the Son of God himself; a lesson that he would never forget even though we are given no indication that it ever changed his heart.
Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
The lawyer spoke the word of Truth and in his own words the answer was found, but he didn’t recognize it when he said it. It’s all about Love; not the love of man, but the awesome Love of God! To Love God with all your heart and soul, and everything within you; and then to have that same Love for all men is the first and greatest step toward eternal life. Love drew Christ down to this earth to pay the price for our sin. Love held Jesus to that cross. Love drew salvation’s plan and resurrected Christ from the grave. Love, the most powerful force in all of creation and all of Heaven – Love is the key to it all!
Luke 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Jesus knew that the lawyer had spoke the truth, but just speaking the truth it isn’t enough unless you are willing to live according to that truth! Jesus knows the heart! He listens to the words but judges according to the heart and they must be agreement.
I know you’ve heard the statement that, “What you do speaks louder than what you say!” The actions of the lawyer says that he was insincere and only trying to appease his conscience. He had no real love for God, nor for his fellowman, and Jesus was going to show him that in a very clear way.
Luke 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
This is where the heart of most people exists – in a state of self-justification and without the true Love of God in action.
Many in the church don’t want to hear that there is sin in their lives. They would rather hear a message that makes them feel good and never brings conviction for sin or reminds them that they are not ready to meet God. Every man tries to justify himself as though everyone else was wrong, and he is the only one right. I should know because I know I’m right!
Churches across our nation are filled this morning with people who come to get a pep talk, a motivational speech, and to hear words of praise and comfort from the pulpit; and pulpits are filled with men and women who are quick to give the people just what they want to hear for fear of losing the crowd and then being relegated to the ranks of the irrelevant.
Yet where is the true love of God in this picture? There is nothing more here than the same picture that we see between this lawyer and Jesus. The questions that most of the church world seeks for are, “how can I get rich”, “how can I have a better life”, “how can I have a better relationship” or “how can I get the most out of life”? They love the scriptures that speak of an abundant life and of God’s provision, but they don’t want to hear about repentance for sin, commitment to take up the cross and follow Jesus or laying down their lives for the cause of Christ. They love the loaves and fishes but they don’t love the God that gives them. They love self more than God. They love the things of this world more than they love God. This kind of love only leads to destruction; never to eternal life!
True Love of God will lead us to ask the right questions and not seek to justify ourselves. True Love for God will bring us to a place where we compare ourselves to the God we love and then cause us to desire to change to become as he is. It’s all driven by love, pure love.
Jesus then began to give this lawyer a parable, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, as an object lesson on what happens in the heart of a man or woman who has the true Love of God that will bring us to a place to have eternal life.
Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Now when you look at this scene I want you to see past that man in the ditch, bruised, stripped, wounded and half dead. There is a deeper picture here and one that you won’t see with just a quick glance. Looking deeper you will see the significance of it all and you will see the pure Love of God in action.
That man in the ditch is described as being half dead! Does that not describe the condition of the whole human race? When sin entered the picture and Adam fell in the Garden, he died instantly, but he was only half dead. His body of flesh, his mind and desires were still very much alive and stronger than ever, but his soul and spirit were dead! On the outward appearance there was life, but in the heart there was nothing but death and darkness. I believe that’s the true picture that Jesus is trying to portray in this wounded man by the side of the highway.
Most of the people you meet every day are half dead, wounded spirits, hearts that are dead to Christ, lying in the gutters of sin, dying but still alive, and they don’t even know their own condition. Satan has attacked, destroyed their eternal life, killed their relationship with God, taken the Love of God away and replaced it with the appearance of love that the world has to offer. They are left half dead; only to finish dying in this life and then to be forever half dead in the pits of hell itself where Jesus said that the soul would be forever dying but never die.
Luke 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
By chance – almost by accident – the priest came by. I believe that the steps of this priest were ordered by the Lord to bring him face to face with the greatest need that mankind has; the lack of eternal life and the true Love of God and their fellowman.
The priest represents the organized religions of man. Religions that have a form of godliness but lack the power of God’s Love to do anything other than appear religious. Is that not the condition of the church today? I hope that this is not your condition this morning! Do you appear holy, religious, righteous and yet lack the Love for God that you should have? Are you religious but self-centered and uncaring about the things of God? Can you come to church on Sunday and appear religious but then walk out and enjoy the things of this world that lead to sin? Be careful that you aren’t found in the same shoes as this priest who walked by, saw the need to help others gain eternal life by telling them about Jesus, but then turning away to go and do your own thing and forget about that lost soul that will spend eternity without God because you decided to pass by on the other side.
Luke 10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Then along comes the Levite who did the same thing as the priest. You see, it’s not just the duty of the priest to show the Love of God to the lost and dying, it is the duty of the Levite as well. The priests were those who were given the duty of presenting the sacrifice – preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world, giving himself for all men through his great Love, mercy and grace. The Levites were those whose duty it was to aid the priest in every way – these represent all of the ministries of helps and cover every member of the church. No one is exempt from the duty of spreading the Love of God; of telling men about Jesus; of leading them to eternal life through Christ. We all have that duty!
But the religious crowd that is self-centered and self-serving never chooses to get involved with preaching the truth of the Gospel. They are more concerned with having the best that this life has to offer than of obtaining or giving others a chance to obtain eternal life.
Luke 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Who was this Samaritan in this parable? He was a man of Samaria, in the northern part of Israel, where he was looked upon as an outcast and unworthy to be called a Jew. He wasn’t part of the “in crowd” of the religious circles. But this Samaritan had more of the Love of God and fellowman in him than all of the priests and Levites of the religious system put together.
Who was this Samaritan? He is a representation of Jesus Christ himself, who came from among the Jews and yet was rejected, outcast and condemned by his own countrymen. Yet in his great Love, he came to mankind who was lying and half-dead in the ditch.
Jesus came to heal the broken hearted, bind up the wounded spirit, set the captive free, lift us up out of the miry clay, and then to give us all that we need to obtain eternal life through his own sacrifice and offering.
Luke 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Jesus came to you and I when we were lying in the gutters of sin. He poured in the oil and the wine – the anointing of the Holy Ghost and healing power of the Blood of Christ. He picked us up, brought us into his own kingdom and is ever with us to provide our every need.
Luke 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
What did Jesus tell the church to do before he departed and ascended into Heaven? He gave us the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel, beginning at home, then spreading out to the whole world. That great love for people that is found in Christ is now passed on to us to show that love to all men. We were given the presence of the Holy Ghost as an earnest of our inheritance, a small part of that glory that is to come, and then we are told, “Freely you have received; now freely give!” Whatever we give up in service to the Lord and to our fellowman for the cause of Christ, Jesus has promised to give us much more in return.
The Pure and Perfect Love of God must shine through us and be extended to a lost and dying world. They must see Jesus in us and through us.
Luke 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
Jesus now pinpoints the issue with the lawyer – you make the call! You, Mr. Lawyer; You, Mr. Righteous Man; You, who seeks to justify yourself and still have an uncaring heart for your fellowman and no love of God at all – tell me – Whom do you think has the key to eternal life?
Luke 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
At such a powerful example, the lawyer could only give one answer. He had to speak the truth. All excuses and all of his own reasoning had been stripped away and now he had know that he lacked the Love of God that was needed to obtain eternal life.
It was time for a change – either change or forfeit the life that he sought after! Whether he changed or not, we don’t know, but the chances are that he never did.
What about you and I? We have come face to face with the Lord this morning through this parable and Jesus is speaking to us right now. Do you have the Love of God, that love that constrains you, binds you to Christ and makes you desire to be with Jesus more than anything in the world; that Love that makes you want to be like Jesus? Do you have that same Love for your fellowman as Jesus has for you? Do you have that same love for others as you do for Christ?
That’s the key that opens the door to eternal life, not only for you, but for everyone you meet. Use that key, let the Love of God shine through to others around you. Tell them about Jesus; let them see the Love of God in you through the actions you take.
Is the Love of God in You? Are you giving it away? Has this message spoken to you?
