Hope's Call

I did the bare minimum required.

I just scraped through.

You know, picture the builder who builds a project, a house or a work,

and only does it well enough to get the job done, to get paid,

but they don't build it so that it lasts.

It's the person that goes to work and they clock in on the dot.

But they only do enough in the day to not get fired,

and then they clock out as soon as they can.

It's the person that's fearful of getting in trouble,

so they just obey the letter of the law.

It's me, in my first degree, living by the motto,

P's get degrees, which says passing is enough.

Doing the bare minimum required.

That's definitely been me in the past.

Has that been you?

It's definitely easier in the moment to just do the minimum that's required

out of laziness or something like that,

but it's certainly not satisfying.

I regret not working harder on my first degree.

I'm sure the builder regrets putting the minimum effort when they have to go back and fix up,

you know, when the building falls down or when cracks start appearing.

It's the tech company that regrets putting out a product too early

and then having to recall and fix issues.

I wonder if we could use the same description of our lives.

If you're following Jesus, would you say that you are a bare minimum Christian?

I go to church.

I watch church.

I give some.

I have a Bible and I've read parts of it.

But serving Jesus, growing in godliness, being part of a community, being radically generous,

those things are hard and they're not for me right now.

The challenge that we see from the story of the Good Samaritan today

is that we can be tempted to give the bare minimum,

to narrow down what following Jesus looks like into a little easy-to-follow box

instead of seeing Jesus as Lord of our entire life.

The joy of Christianity is that Jesus has saved people

and he calls them to be radical disciples.

Not bare minimum disciples.

The call of hope in Jesus is that our discipleship and giving of ourselves

would reflect all that God has done for us.

So we're going to see this morning a picture of bare minimum disciples.

Jesus will give us a bad example and then he will give us a good example.

We're in the Gospel of Luke this morning in chapter 10.

Please have your Bibles open at home.

Be using the St. Paul's app.

There are notes in there so that you can take notes along as we go.

From Luke chapter 10, where he records an expert in the law getting up and testing Jesus.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

He asked in verse 25,

Jesus asks him,

Well, what's written in the law in the Old Testament?

How do you read it?

And the man replies,

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 neighbor as yourself.

Jesus said,

You've answered correctly.

Do this and you will live.

It's a pretty straightforward interaction.

Love God perfectly.

Love your neighbor perfectly.

And you will get eternal life.

Now, I say that kind of sarcastically because,

of course, this is impossible for us.

And it shows us why we need Jesus so much.

But the lawyer wanted to justify himself.

Maybe he's trying to protect himself from the claim that he doesn't deserve eternal life.

And this is definitely in the soul of each of us.

The desire to protect ourselves, to defend our actions.

To say,

Oh, look, I'm not that bad.

You know, I'm not as bad as other people.

Look, there's people that are far worse than me.

And this lawyer wanted to justify himself.

So he asks Jesus,

Well, who is my neighbor?

Father, give me a list.

You give me a list of the neighbors and I'll show you how much I have loved them.

Now, I know three or four lawyers.

And unlike the standard jokes about lawyers,

the lawyers I know are all very lovely people.

They're really great.

And this man, he might have been really lovely.

He may have been really great as well.

He may have been an upstanding citizen.

He may have been kind and compassionate.

But maybe he was just kind and compassionate to the people who fitted his definition of neighbor.

If you were like him,

if you were part of the same tribe as him,

if you were,

if you looked like him and smelt like him,

well, do you know what?

He would love you.

He would show compassion to you.

And so wanting to make sure that he was above that claim,

that he had not fulfilled the law,

he asks,

Well, who is my neighbor?

This is the desire to just do the bare minimum.

Limit the people I need to love, Jesus,

and I will love them.

You tell me who these handful of people are that are my neighbor,

and I can do that.

But in response,

Jesus tells us the famous story of the Good Samaritan.

And first of all,

he shows us the bad example

before he shows us the good example.

Have a look with me at verse 30.

In reply, Jesus said,

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho

when he was attacked by robbers.

They stripped him of his clothes,

beat him,

and went away,

leaving him half dead.

This man,

although not specifically stated here,

it's most likely that he was Jewish.

He's coming down from Jerusalem,

likely from the temple,

and maybe he had been worshipping God

and bringing sacrifices.

And as he's coming down,

he is waylaid by bandits.

He's beaten,

he's robbed.

And this is no fault of his own.

It's a total accident.

He could not be blamed.

It was just misfortune.

But good news,

salvation comes.

Verse 31,

a priest happened to be going down the same road.

And at this point,

we can be expecting the priest is going to help out.

He's a compassionate guy.

And when he saw the man,

he passed by on the other side.

So to a Levite,

yes,

great,

a Levite.

He's going to help him out.

When he came to the place and saw him,

he passed by on the other side.

How did this priest and this Levite

happen to be on the same road?

It's as if God has brought this priest

to this very spot

to help this man,

to go and see what his needs are.

And then a moment later,

when the Levite arrives,

they can both help him.

Maybe they can carry him to an inn,

to a hospital.

Maybe one can stay with him

and guard him

while the other goes off

to get medical assistance.

And Jesus tells this story

as if God has brought both of these men

to care for this person.

But they both willfully refuse

to give aid.

And it's far worse

than if they had just found the man.

But Jesus uses their identities

and the location

to show what a bad example they are.

In Jesus' story,

both the man who was attacked

and the priest and the Levite,

they're coming down

from Jerusalem to Jericho.

Jerusalem,

this is the capital city of Israel.

It's up high.

It's the location

of where the temple is,

whereas Jericho lies quite low.

The purpose of the priest

being in Jerusalem

would have been

for offering service to God.

He would have been

working in the temple.

He could have been

bringing sacrifices.

He could have been

praising God,

singing holy psalms

and prayers.

And in the midst

of worshipping God

and bringing sacrifices,

he had not learned

how to make a sacrifice himself.

He had learned

the same message

as the lawyer

to love God

and to love his neighbour,

but he did not act upon it.

The Levite acted similarly,

although not central

to the work inside the temple.

they both had been

near to God,

but had not

become like God.

Both of these men

were bound

to help the beaten man,

and yet

they came close enough

to see him

and yet

passed him by.

They've

slowed down

at the site

of a car accident

with people crying out

for help.

There's no one around,

but they have

driven off.

Charles Spurgeon,

the great preacher,

suggested that the reason

that they hurried on

and didn't help

was because they had

too many great excuses.

I've got a quote

from Spurgeon.

He said,

I never knew a man

to refuse

to help the poor

who failed to give

at least one

admirable excuse.

For instance,

the priest and the Levite

were both in a hurry.

The priest had been

away for a month,

away at Jerusalem

from his wife

and dear children,

and he naturally

wanted to get home.

If he lingered,

the sun might go down.

It was an awkward

place to be

after sundown,

and he could not

expect him to be

so imprudent

as to stay

in a lone place

with darkness

coming on.

He'd spent a very

laborious month

in the temple,

and you do not know

how exhausting

he had found it

to act as a priest

for a whole month.

And if you did,

you would not blame him

for wanting to get home

to enjoy a little rest.

Besides,

he'd promised

he'd be home

at a certain hour,

and he was a man

of punctuality,

and would by no means

cause anxiety

to his wife

and children

who would be

looking for him

on their house stop.

The thieves

might be back again.

They were scarcely

out of hearing,

and after a month's service,

the priest would have

had some fees

in his purse,

and it was important

not to run the risk

of losing the support

of his family.

And he might be

wounded too,

and then there would be

two people

half dead,

and one of them

a valuable clergyman.

Really,

philanthropy would suggest

that you take care

of yourself,

as you could not

possibly do any good

to the poor man.

And then the man

might die,

and the person

found near the body

might be charged

with the murder,

and it's always awkward

to be found alone

in a dark spot

with the corpse

of one who was

evidently suffered

from foul play.

Moreover,

he could pray

for the man.

All these powerful

reasons put together

made him content

to save trouble

and leave the doing

of kindness

to others.

This is a big list

of excuses.

It may have made you

smile a little bit

at the poor excuses

that the priest

may have given.

But you know what?

That's me.

All I need

is a small excuse

to justify

not helping someone.

They're fine.

Someone else

is going to help them.

You know,

I can hear the Levite

coming.

He's going to help them.

Somebody else will do it.

I don't need to do it.

But hope

in the gospel

calls us

to radically

love others.

Jesus contrasts

the story

of the priest

and the Levite

with a good example.

One they wouldn't

expect

to see help from.

So this is our third point

this morning.

This is the good example.

From verse 33.

But a Samaritan

as he travelled

came where

the man was.

And when he saw him

he took pity on him.

He went to him

and bandaged his wounds

pouring on oil

and wine.

Then he put the man

on his own donkey

brought him to an inn

and took care of him.

The next day

he took out

two denarii

and gave them

to the innkeeper.

Look after him

he said

and when I return

I will reimburse you

for any extra expenses

you may have.

The Samaritan

was as different

as the priest

and the Levite

were similar

to the wounded man.

They were enemies

of the Jews

because they had been

part of God's people

but they had been

separated to the north

and their country

had been filled

with Gentiles

and other people's gods

and they worshipped

God differently.

And yet

the Samaritans

seized him

like the priest

and the Levite did

and took pity on him.

He doesn't ask

why are you injured?

He doesn't ask

well what have you done

to get out of this situation?

There's no inquiry

into his faith.

There is no questioning

of his political viewpoints.

He sees the wounded man

and he takes pity.

Although the wounded man

had no way

to repay him

the Samaritan

went over

and cared for him.

He doesn't say

I'll help you

as long as you pay me back.

There is no contract

or deal

just

compassion.

He bandaged

his wounds

poured on oil

and wine.

He risks the thieves

coming back

and his own life

being in danger.

He does it

at significant cost

to himself.

He pours on oil

and wine.

He puts the man

on his donkey

and he has to walk.

He gives the innkeeper

money.

He cares for this man

as best as he could

in the situation.

And then he takes him

to the inn

and at this point

he could have just left

but he stays

to take care of him

and then the next day

he gives the innkeeper

money

to continue

to care for him

until he comes back.

Jesus asks

the lawyer

verse 36

which of these three

do you think

was a neighbor

to the man

who fell into

the hands of robbers?

The expert

in the law replied

the one who had

mercy on him.

The strange thing

is that the priest

and the Levite

really were his neighbor.

They're from the same

family group

the Israelites

the Jews

and yet they didn't

neighbor him.

And it's as if

the lawyer can't say

the word Samaritan

because it's like

a dirty word

in his mouth.

So he doesn't say

it was the Samaritan

it was the one

who had mercy

on him.

And when

we see the word

neighbor here

by Jesus

the one who was

a neighbor

Jesus is almost

using it like a verb

it's not just

describing how

close they are

but it's describing

what he did

neighboring someone

caring for them

and loving them.

And so Jesus

encourages him

and us

to go

and do

likewise.

Jesus calls

the lawyer

and he calls

us to live

a life

of radical

discipleship.

In his life

and his death

and his resurrection

Jesus has showed

us what it looks

like to love

other people.

And as we read

this story

from Jesus

we see the

Samaritan

be compassionate

and generous

and help

the wounded man

and we can think

that Jesus

is putting himself

into the story.

You know

the Samaritan

man

well that's

Jesus

but

our

Saviour

Jesus

is so much

better

than even

this good

example.

The wounded

man could not

be blamed

for his

situation

it was just

an accident

but you

and I

we stand

condemned

for our

actions

because we

are dead

in our

sins.

We have

from our

first moments

been attacking

ourselves

and attacking

other people

and even

when Jesus

comes to

us

we have

resisted

him

and

rejected

him.

The

beaten

man

did not

ignore

the

Samaritan

but how

many times

have we

refused

the help

and healing

of our

Lord?

The

Samaritan

man

happened

to come

across

the wounded

man

and yet

Jesus

came to

earth

with the

only intention

of saving

us.

He didn't

take a

risk of

running

into

thieves

he knew

he was

going to

be attacked

and stripped

and crucified

and laid

in a grave.

What the

Samaritan

man gave

was generous

but it is

not comparable

to all that

Jesus has

done.

The Samaritan

man gave

wine and

oil.

Jesus

gave his

own blood.

The Samaritan

man gave

two coins

but Jesus

gave up

heaven

to take

on flesh

so that

we might

have

all of

the blessings

of our

inheritance

from God.

You

who know

the love

of Jesus

and the

hope of

heaven

you are

called

by Jesus

to have

practical

love

and kindness.

To have

a radical

discipleship

that will

love what

God loves

and that

says even

to an

enemy

you are

my neighbor

and I

will neighbor

you.

I will

care for

you.

I will

love

you.

I don't

think

though

having

enemies

really

stops

me

from

loving

people.

I don't

actually

know if

I have

any

enemies.

Most of

us don't

live in

that kind

of world

but I

think

the biggest

enemy I

have is

not a

person

or a

group

of

people.

It

is

busyness.

It

is my

own

time

that

stops

me

from

being

compassionate.

I don't

think I

have

enough

time

to

show

love

to

people.

Back

in the

1970s

a study

was done

at

Princeton

University

based on

the story

of the

Good

Samaritan.

They

wanted

to

investigate

why

people

did

good

things.

And

they

went

to

Princeton

Theological

Seminary

just

next

door

and

they

found

a

group

of

people

studying

to be

ministers

people

who

are

keen

to do

good

things

and to

share

Jesus.

They

set up

a study

with

these

people

and

they

were

told

to

prepare

a

brief

talk

on

the

parable

of

the

Good

Samaritan

just as

I've

done

today

to

prepare

the

talk

and

then

to

walk

to a

nearby

building

to give

a

talk

and

by

random

chance

they

were

told

one

of

three

things

they

either

had

a

lot

of

time

to

go

to

the

building

and

give

the

talk

some

had

to

leave

now

but

they

weren't

rushed

but

the

third

group

they

had

to

go

now

you

have

no

time

you

have

to

rush

so

you

can

go

and

give

the

talk

on

the

parable

of

the

Good

Samaritan

but

between

where

they

were

and

the

building

they

had

to

go

and

give

the

talk

at

there

was

a

corridor

and

they

placed

a

person

in

that

corridor

a

person

who

was

sick

on

the

ground

and

in

need

of

help

and

to

get

past

these

men

would

literally

have

to

climb

over

this

person

what

do

you

think

would

happen

do

you

think

these

people

who

were

training

to

be

ministers

of

do

you

think

that

they

would

stop

well

60%

of

these

people

did

not

stop

people

studying

to be

ministers

of

God's

word

who

had

just

sat

in

this

part

of

the

Bible

the

good

Samaritan

60%

of

them

did

not

stop

and

the

most

significant

variable

was

how

much

time

they

had

of

the

people

who

did

stop

to

help

the

stranger

over

60%

of

them

were

in

the

first

group

who

had

plenty

of

time

of

those

who

weren't

rushed

40%

of

them

stopped

but

of

those

who

were

rushed

to

go

and

give

the

talk

on

the

Good

Samaritan

only

10%

of

them

stopped

they

they

they

they

had

sat

in

God's

word

dwelt

on

this

part

of

the

Bible

and

we're

going

to

go

and

encourage

people

to

do

the

same

thing

but

only

10%

of

them

stopped

when

they

were

rushed

for

time

how

damning

is

that

and

how

true

is

that

of

you

and

of

me

now

the

shutdown

period

of

COVID

has

showed

me

that

I

am

just

too

busy

and

if

my

default

position

in

life

is

busyness

then

this

study

suggests

that

I'm

not

going

to

have

time

to

respond

to

God's

call

to

radical

generosity

and

to

love

other

people

if

we

are

going

to

live

a

life

worthy

of

Jesus

death

and

resurrection

to

live

a

life

worthy

of

what

we

have

been

called

to

it

will

cost

the

cost

we

usually

think

is

of

money

and

there

is

wonderful

things

that

we

can

be

supporting

the

food

drive

the

narrow

bri

fund

supporting

Sam

and

Sally

low

in

the

gold

coast

supporting

them

we

usually

think

about

the

cost

in

terms

cost

our

time

let's

not

be

bare

minimum

Christians

but be

willing

to

sacrifice

time

in

our

lives

so

that

we

can

love

our

God

and

that

we

can

love

our

neighbours

with

our

soul

our

strength

and

our

mind

let me

pray

dear

heavenly

father

we

thank you

for our

Lord

Jesus

and

for

this

parable

of

the

good

Samaritan

Lord

father

we

thank you

for the

reminder

about

how

much

Jesus

has

done

for

us

and

all

that

he

paid

so

that

we

could

be

brought

into

your

family

father

we

ask

that

we

would

not

be

like

the

priest

and

the

Levite

in

this

story

that

we

would

not

just

walk

on

by

when

we

see

people

in

need

father

help

us

to

respond

to

your

call

to

be

radical

disciples

to

give

of

our

money

and

to

give

of

our

time

because

you

have

given

us

every

moment

we

have

in

our

lives

help

us

to

love

you

and

to

love

our

neighbors

with

every

single

second

that we

have

Lord

Amen

ัu

I

want

to

grow

heart

and

fear

to

win