LutheranLectionary.org

Series C – Eighth Sunday After Pentecost – Sunday, July 10, 2016 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:29	the holy Gospel According to Saint Luke
0:31	chapter 10 verses 25 through 37. and
0:35	behold a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to
0:37	the test saying
0:39	teacher what shall I do to inherit
0:41	eternal life
0:42	he said to him well what’s written in
0:44	the law how do you read it he answered
0:46	you shall love the Lord your God with
0:48	all your heart with all your soul with
0:49	all your strength with all your mind and
0:52	you shall love your neighbor as yourself
0:53	and he said to him oh you’ve answered
0:56	correctly do this and you will live
0:58	but he Desiring to justify himself said
1:01	to Jesus and who is my neighbor
1:03	Jesus replied
1:05	a man was going down from Jerusalem to
1:08	Jericho and he fell among robbers who
1:10	stripped him and beat him and departed
1:13	leaving him half dead now by chance a
1:16	priest was going down that road and when
1:18	he saw him he passed by on the other
1:20	side so likewise a levite when he came
1:24	to the place and saw him pass by on the
1:26	other side but a Samaritan as he
1:29	journeyed came to where he was and when
1:31	he saw him he had compassion he went to
1:35	him bound up his wounds pouring on oil
1:37	and wine then he set him on his own
1:39	animal and brought him to an inn and
1:41	took care of him and the next day he
1:44	took out to denaria and gave them to The
1:46	Innkeeper saying take care of him and
1:48	whatever more you spent I will repay you
1:50	when I come back
1:52	which of these three do you think proved
1:55	to be a neighbor to the man who fell
1:57	among the robbers and he said the one
2:00	who showed him mercy and Jesus said to
2:03	him you go and do likewise this is the
2:07	gospel of the Lord in the name of Jesus
2:12	beloved Saints holy ones in the Lord
2:15	I have been looking forward to preaching
2:17	this text since before I became a pastor
2:20	and the reason why is because I’ve
2:22	suffered under really bad preaching on
2:25	this text the standard way in which this
2:28	is preached in some Churches kind of
2:31	goes like this you are the Good
2:33	Samaritan go find your neighbor in need
2:35	and go help him and get busy get crack
2:38	and get going
2:39	that’s kind of to miss the whole point
2:42	what we learned from Jesus when Jesus
2:45	first begins teaching in parables in the
2:48	gospel of Matthew is that well parables
2:51	are coded stories if you would you’re
2:54	looking for God you’re looking for us
2:56	you’re looking for making sure you’ve
2:58	got the right characters under the right
3:01	masks if you would and I would say
3:04	making us the Good Samaritan is well the
3:07	equivalent of making us Jesus
3:10	and that’s a grave error an exegetical
3:13	one exegetical error that leaves leads
3:16	to all kinds of well lack of comfort if
3:19	you would so we’re going to work our way
3:21	back through our text today and we’ll
3:24	see if we can straighten some things out
3:27	here’s how it begins Behold a lawyer got
3:30	to tell you anytime A Story begins with
3:32	the words Behold a lawyer you know that
3:34	what’s coming is going to be rather
3:36	interesting so Behold a lawyer stood up
3:39	to put Jesus to the test
3:43	so you can tell already we’ve got some
3:45	problems he’s going to put Jesus to the
3:47	test what does this tell you about him
3:48	does he really have faith in Jesus no
3:50	he’s a smart fella he knows the law
3:54	really well he’s decided to step up to
3:57	the plate to see if he can give Jesus a
3:59	black eye see if we can catch him in his
4:01	words that’s his motivation so he asked
4:04	this question teacher what shall I do to
4:07	inherit eternal life now generally we
4:10	have a rule here and that is especially
4:12	during Sunday school that there are no
4:14	dumb questions okay however this is one
4:18	of those this is a really dumb question
4:21	because an inheritance is a gift is it
4:24	not
4:25	when somebody bequeathes you an
4:28	inheritance writes you into their will
4:30	is it because you have earned that or
4:33	because they are gifting you so already
4:36	the question shows that well this guy
4:38	probably didn’t go to a good Law School
4:40	so teacher what shall I do to inherit
4:43	eternal life
4:44	and the all the Jewish guys went uive
4:46	this is not going to turn out well so
4:49	Jesus said to him and watch what Jesus
4:51	does here Jesus by the way knows long
4:56	gospel very well and he knows the
4:58	purpose of the law the purpose of the
4:59	law is not to save us purpose of the law
5:01	especially to somebody who is arrogant
5:05	is to show them their sin
5:07	you preach the law to the proud
5:10	You Preach Grace and the gospel to those
5:12	who are humbled by the law so this guy
5:14	is going to get the law Watch What
5:16	Happens so Jesus said to him well what’s
5:19	written in the law how do you read it
5:21	and he answered you shall love the Lord
5:23	your God with all your heart with all
5:25	your soul with all your strength with
5:27	all your mind that’s a lot of alls by
5:28	the way and you shall love your neighbor
5:30	as yourself
5:35	so let me ask you a question how are
5:36	y’all doing on the alls there
5:39	how’s the love the Lord your God with
5:41	all all and all
5:44	yeah right Ellen love your neighbor
5:46	perfectly as yourself
5:51	so that’s the guy’s answer and Jesus
5:54	says to him all right you’ve answered
5:55	correctly do this and you will live
5:59	do you think he’s doing it
6:01	no no and how do we know he’s not doing
6:04	it well other passages of scripture will
6:06	help us here Romans chapter 3 9-18 will
6:10	help us oh and by the way the fact that
6:11	he’s trying to trip Jesus up that tells
6:15	us he’s not loving his neighbor as
6:16	himself already right because Jesus is
6:19	not only his neighbor Jesus is his God
6:22	okay to tell you something about what’s
6:24	going on inside this guy’s heart Romans
6:26	chapter 3 verses 9 through 18 reads what
6:29	then are we Jews any better off well no
6:32	not at all we’ve already charged that
6:34	all you know it all means there by the
6:36	way
6:37	all tricky question all all both Jews
6:41	and Greeks that’s everybody are under
6:43	sin as it is written none is righteous
6:46	no not one no one understands no one
6:49	seeks for God all have turned aside
6:51	together they have become worthless no
6:54	one does good not even one their throat
6:56	is an open grave they use their tongues
6:58	to deceive the Venom of asps is under
7:01	their lips their mouth is full of curses
7:03	and bitterness their feet are Swift to
7:05	shed blood and in their paths are ruined
7:07	and misery in the way of peace they have
7:10	not known there is no fear of God before
7:13	their eyes
7:15	that’s describing all of humanity that’s
7:18	me
7:18	that’s you
7:21	so Jesus says do this and you will live
7:24	except for here’s a problem he’s not
7:26	doing it right the purpose of the law is
7:29	to show him sin and then comes an
7:32	amazingly awful and blind statement
7:35	the text says but he Desiring to justify
7:39	himself
7:42	Desiring to justify himself now I’m not
7:47	a mechanic in fact
7:48	um I’m quite impressed with people who
7:50	can actually look under the hood and
7:51	know what any of those things do right
7:54	if I were stuck on the side of the road
7:56	well I’m calling roadside assistance
7:58	okay but it always amazes me the guy who
8:00	can actually like open up the hood of a
8:03	car pull out his flashlight look around
8:06	and go oh there’s your problem right
8:08	there you know very impressive to me by
8:11	the way all right so let me point this
8:13	out the fact that it says he Desiring to
8:16	justify himself trust me as a theologian
8:19	I’m going well there’s your problem
8:21	right there okay this tells me a lot it
8:25	should tell you a lot and here’s the
8:26	reason why
8:27	the law was not given for this purpose
8:30	so that you can justify your self
8:34	several passages will bear this out via
8:36	cross-reference Romans chapter 3 19-20
8:39	reads now we know that whatever the law
8:41	says it speaks to those who are under
8:43	the law so that every mouth may be
8:45	stopped and the whole world may be held
8:47	accountable to God for by works of the
8:50	law no human being no not one will be
8:53	justified in God’s sight since through
8:56	the law comes the knowledge of sin
9:01	Romans chapter 3 19-20 explicitly states
9:04	that the primary function of the law
9:06	here is to expose our sinful condition
9:09	it also has a secondary function and
9:13	that is to get you to let me put this in
9:16	politely zip it
9:19	to shut you up you know when your kids
9:21	they’re just prattling on and on you go
9:24	right that’s what the law is telling us
9:27	to do right be quiet
9:30	you’re guilty
9:34	[Music]
9:37	right because what happens when we do
9:39	the but we usually say something really
9:41	stupid like
9:42	but I meant well my heart was good
9:47	no it really wasn’t because if your
9:49	heart was good you wouldn’t have sinned
9:51	don’t sit there and say but my
9:53	intentions were right
9:54	that’s not gonna help here so the
9:57	purpose of the law is to get you to be
10:00	quiet
10:00	you’re guilty and it’s good that you be
10:03	quiet because God has something
10:05	comforting to say to you
10:07	and that’s the gospel
10:09	other passages Galatians 5 15-16 says
10:12	this we ourselves who are Jews by birth
10:14	and not Gentile Sinners yet we know that
10:16	a person is not justified by works of
10:19	the law
10:20	through but through faith in Jesus
10:22	Christ so we also have believed in
10:25	Christ Jesus in order to be justified by
10:28	faith in Christ not by works of the law
10:32	because by works of the law
10:34	no one
10:36	not even one person will be justified
10:39	and Justified there is a very important
10:42	word and it means to be declared
10:45	righteous found not guilty no one is
10:47	going to be justified before God by The
10:50	Works of the law you see this lawyer
10:52	went to a really bad law school thinks
10:55	he’s going to be able to justify himself
10:57	Galatians 3 10-14 also says all who rely
11:01	on works of the law well they’re under a
11:03	curse for it’s written cursed be
11:05	everyone who does not abide by all the
11:08	things written in the book of the law
11:09	and continue to do them continuously
11:12	that’s my translation of what’s going on
11:15	in the present tense verbs there
11:17	so now it’s evident that no one is
11:19	Justified before God by the law for the
11:22	righteous shall live by faith
11:25	but the law is not of Faith rather the
11:28	one who lives who does them shall live
11:30	by them Christ he has redeemed us from
11:32	the curse of the law by becoming a curse
11:34	for us for it’s written cursed is
11:36	everyone who is hanged on a tree so that
11:38	in Christ Jesus The Blessing of Abraham
11:40	might come to the Gentiles so that we
11:43	might receive the promised Spirit
11:44	through
11:46	faith
11:47	right
11:48	parting shot in our cross references
11:50	Galatians 2 20-21 I have been crucified
11:54	with Christ the Apostle Paul writes it’s
11:56	no longer I who live it is Christ who
11:59	lives in me and the life I now live in
12:01	the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
12:04	God who loved me and gave himself for me
12:07	I do not nullify the grace of God for if
12:09	righteousness were through the law then
12:12	Christ died for no purpose
12:15	you see he Desiring to justify himself
12:19	has missed the whole point of the law
12:23	right and unfortunately there are many
12:26	today who are attempting this same feat
12:29	you might as well try swimming to Hawaii
12:33	you ain’t gonna make it right
12:36	going back to our text he Desiring to
12:38	justify himself that’s his motivation
12:41	for saying what he’s saying now
12:43	said to Jesus who’s my neighbor and you
12:47	can almost kind of see the Swagger in
12:49	the question well who’s my neighbor
12:50	right
12:53	all right and this is where it gets
12:54	really interesting so Jesus decides to
12:57	whip out one of his Parables and this is
12:59	a Zinger
13:01	we’re going to unpack this but first
13:03	let’s read the parable itself and then
13:04	we’ll work our way back through it Jesus
13:06	replied A man was going down from
13:08	Jerusalem to Jericho he fell among
13:11	robbers who stripped him beat him and
13:14	departed leaving him half dead now by
13:16	chance a priest was going down that road
13:18	and when he saw him he passed by on the
13:20	other side so likewise a levite when he
13:23	came to that place saw him pass by on
13:25	the other side but a Samaritan as he
13:28	journeyed came to where he was and when
13:30	he saw him he had compassion he went to
13:33	him bound up his wounds pouring oil and
13:35	wine on him then he set him on his own
13:37	animal brought him to an inn and took
13:40	care of him and the next day he took out
13:42	to Daenerys gave them to The Innkeeper
13:44	saying take care of him and whatever
13:47	more you spend I will repay you when I
13:49	come back
13:50	so there’s our story
13:53	now let’s work our way through it
13:56	a little bit of geography here I’ve
13:59	never been to the Holy Land but I’ve
14:00	traveled there often on the via the
14:02	Internet and looked at places using
14:04	other people’s vacation photos it’s a
14:06	very inexpensive way to take a vacation
14:08	just want to let you know that okay and
14:10	I know from other people’s vacation
14:12	photos and from Google Earth and what I
14:13	know of the holy land that Jericho is
14:16	well not at the same elevation as
14:19	Jerusalem Jerusalem is quite higher up
14:21	in elevation than Jericho itself and the
14:24	road from Jerusalem to Jericho
14:26	historically is known to be a
14:28	treacherous road and you Journey down so
14:31	you Jerusalem’s up here Jericho’s down
14:34	here and that road lots of winding
14:36	curves and switchbacks and things like
14:38	that and if you’ve ever seen video of
14:40	people on a tour in the Holy Land in a
14:43	bus while they’re on that road they note
14:45	the fact that the absolute feeling of
14:47	Terror while they look outside of their
14:49	bus window and they can’t see any road
14:51	all they see is Ravine and Cliff right
14:53	okay so keep this in mind the going down
14:56	Parts important so a man was going down
14:59	from Jerusalem to Jericho he fell among
15:01	robbers which was common that back then
15:04	who stripped him beat him departing
15:06	leaving him half dead now by chance a
15:09	priest was going down that road which
15:13	direction was the priest heading
15:16	he was heading to Jericho from Jerusalem
15:19	which means he’s probably finishing up
15:20	his Priestly duties there in Jerusalem
15:23	and heading home
15:25	well
15:27	that being the case keep this in mind
15:29	the law can always accuse you but the
15:32	law will never help you obey it
15:35	the law will never lift a finger to help
15:37	you at all
15:40	so here the law the man visibly
15:42	representing the law sees there in the
15:45	road
15:46	a guy stripped naked
15:49	a little bit of garment theology going
15:51	there half dead bleeding maybe he’s dead
15:53	you know don’t can’t tell from the
15:55	distance right
15:57	and what does the law do
15:59	nothing
16:01	keep in mind you know the law very
16:04	specifically says that if you touch a
16:06	dead body you’re unclean and there’s a
16:08	whole cleaning ritual that you have to
16:09	go through right
16:11	and well back then Jews might be willing
16:14	to become unclean for their cousin
16:16	but they may not be willing to become
16:19	unclean for a perfect stranger so what
16:21	does the law do
16:23	mocks sachets over to the other side of
16:25	the road and passes by at a safe
16:27	distance in order to not become unclean
16:30	a levite when he came to the place we’ll
16:33	just imagine he’s heading up to
16:34	Jerusalem saw him for the same reasons
16:38	passes by on the other side
16:41	all those Bound by the law are incapable
16:44	of showing Mercy are they not
16:47	so now the story gets really interesting
16:50	but a Samaritan the text says let me
16:53	help you out here I don’t know if you’ve
16:55	noticed it but on the news racial
16:57	tensions in the United States seem to be
16:59	well boiling over again
17:02	I haven’t seen stuff like this since I
17:04	was a kid
17:06	in the days when they had forced busing
17:08	and forced segregation desegregation in
17:11	the schools I remember that when I was a
17:13	kid and the racial tensions were high
17:15	well they’re running high again right
17:17	now
17:18	and you’ve got people who are white
17:20	hating black people you have black
17:22	people now racially hating and showing
17:25	Prejudice towards white people so let me
17:27	kind of give you an example of what the
17:29	words Buddhist Samaritan mean in the
17:30	context of somebody talking Jew to Jew
17:33	at this time all right this would be the
17:35	equivalent of well Jesus tells the story
17:38	there was a white cop
17:40	and he’s telling this story to somebody
17:42	who’s into the black lives matter
17:44	movement
17:46	right
17:48	or you can say well but a and then you
17:53	could say African-American and it’s in
17:55	the context of talking two guys who are
17:57	in the KKK
17:59	that’s what we’re talking about here
18:00	this is salacious
18:02	and who is this Samaritan by the way
18:06	the Samaritan is Jesus Jesus is hiding
18:10	in the mask of the Samaritan in this
18:12	story and the details make that
18:14	perfectly clear so Jesus in The Story
18:17	covers himself
18:20	well
18:21	in a hated racial
18:24	character a Samaritan
18:27	and that’s important the Samaritan is
18:29	not bound by the Mosaic Covenant he’s
18:32	free to help
18:33	so a Samaritan as he journeyed came to
18:37	where he was and when he saw him I know
18:40	your text says he had compassion I think
18:42	a better way to render the Greek word
18:44	there is his guts were wrenched
18:47	coming around the bend he sees
18:51	what looks like a corpse you can just
18:54	see him it’s like he drops everything
18:57	and he immediately runs to him
19:00	checks to see if he has a pulse
19:03	looks him over to find out where he’s
19:05	bleeding what’s going wrong right
19:07	he says this
19:09	he binds him up binds up his wounds
19:12	pouring on oil and wine
19:16	and he set him on his own animal and
19:18	brought him to an end and took care of
19:19	him a little bit of note here there’s
19:22	just wisps hints of the Incarnation here
19:25	because you know over and again at
19:27	Christmas time we have pictures of Jesus
19:31	you know in his mother’s tummy riding
19:34	into Bethlehem and going to the inn and
19:37	there’s no room for them at the end
19:39	right
19:40	kind of a wisp here of the Incarnation
19:43	went and bound up his wounds brought him
19:45	took care of him took him to an inn to
19:48	take care of him next day took out to
19:50	daenery I gave them to The Innkeeper
19:52	saying take care of him
19:55	and whatever more you spend I will repay
19:57	you when I come back
19:59	this begs the question who is this guy
20:01	lying beaten
20:04	half dead naked
20:07	having everything taken from him on the
20:10	road to Jericho
20:11	who is it
20:13	it’s you
20:15	it’s me
20:18	this is how Jesus finds us
20:20	and the reason for this is simple
20:22	because this goes all the way back to
20:24	Adam and Eve in the garden
20:25	and the deception of the devil
20:28	the robbers are well it’s the devil and
20:30	his demons
20:32	all of humanity was in Adam when
20:34	Humanity fell and disobeyed God
20:38	and this is our state before God
20:41	bloodied beaten robbed naked
20:46	right totally helpless totally
20:49	unconscious and what does Jesus do
20:52	he finds us in this state and what does
20:56	he have on us
20:57	Mercy Grace compassion
21:01	he picks us up
21:03	and he brings us to the end
21:05	and where is this Inn
21:09	it’s right here
21:11	This Is the End
21:14	who’s The Innkeeper
21:16	that’s me
21:17	your pastor
21:20	and every faithful Pastor who preaches
21:22	the gospel
21:24	and I can tell you this as The Innkeeper
21:28	that two daenery I that Christ has given
21:30	me
21:32	that’s his word his body and blood
21:36	the Waters of baptism
21:39	it’s more than enough to bind up your
21:41	wounds
21:42	it’s more than enough for me to be able
21:44	to care for you and nurse you back to
21:46	health
21:49	what a merciful kind and gracious savior
21:53	we have and notice here he says and when
21:56	I come back even alluding to Jesus’s
21:58	second return
22:00	when I come back
22:01	I’ll repay you
22:06	see the story isn’t primarily about you
22:09	doing anything first this is about what
22:12	Christ has done
22:14	for you
22:16	and the wonderful thing about this is
22:19	because we are saved by substitution
22:22	Christ becomes our substitute dies in
22:25	our place
22:26	when Jesus goes to the cross
22:29	and Jesus allows himself
22:33	to be handled by the robbers
22:35	who strip him naked beat him senseless
22:39	nail him to a cross
22:42	and there he dies
22:44	for you and for me
22:51	it’s an amazing story when you think
22:53	about it
22:55	it’s all about grace mercy compassion
22:59	true love and notice how love springs
23:02	into action
23:05	it’s one thing to say well I love you I
23:07	care about you it’s a whole other thing
23:08	to show it with action and God
23:11	demonstrates his love for us in that
23:14	while we were yet
23:17	bruised bloodied beaten unconscious
23:20	sinners
23:22	Christ dies for us
23:26	so then Jesus asked this question which
23:29	of these three do you think proved to be
23:31	a neighbor to the man who fell
23:33	among the robbers
23:36	and the attorney can’t even say the word
23:39	Samaritan
23:41	you can almost see him answering with
23:42	gritted teeth
23:44	the one who showed him Mercy
23:48	right
23:50	Mercy
23:52	and then Jesus says to him
23:54	you go
23:56	and you do likewise
23:59	and this per fits perfectly with Jesus’s
24:01	new command of the New Covenant
24:04	as I have loved you
24:07	love one another
24:10	how has Christ loved you
24:13	by having mercy on you by forgiving You
24:17	by binding up your wounds by not
24:20	retaliating I for an eye tooth for a
24:23	tooth but instead taking all the blows
24:27	so that he can serve and love
24:30	and so as Christ has loved us
24:33	so we are called here by this text to go
24:35	and do likewise
24:37	and love everyone else
24:39	in the name of Jesus
24:41	amen

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