DIY Religion

It's great to see so many familiar faces and a number of new faces as well.

We do want to thank you for your partnership in the gospel across the Tasman.

Kiwis need your prayer. Sad Australians.

But we do very much value keeping updated.

We get the newsletters sent over every month or two.

And we do hear of news that's going on in Chatswood.

And occasionally people write letters and keep us in touch as well.

So it's lovely to keep in touch and hear all those things.

We do want to thank you for your prayers and partnership in the work of the gospel in Christ Church as well.

The work there is growing and developing.

And next year someone who's been working with us is coming over to Sydney to study at Moore College.

So the work really is progressing and we're starting to see ministry-minded people growing and being trained.

And God willing to return and further the work in New Zealand.

So thank you for your prayers.

Let's spend a moment praying as we look at God's word together now.

Heavenly Father we do thank you for your word to us.

We thank you that you are committed to us.

That you're committed to continue to speak to us through your word.

Lord that you've given us your spirit so that we may understand your word rightly.

We pray that you'd open our hearts and our minds.

That you would challenge and convict us.

Particularly what it means for us to follow Jesus.

And we pray that this might give honour and glory to your name.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Not sure if there's a video call.

What are you doing this weekend?

I'm putting up a retaining wall.

Doing it yourself?

No, I'm going to get some bloke in.

Oh come on mate, do it yourself.

She's pretty big job.

You'll be right.

You reckon?

We can knock it over in half a day.

Yeah.

Get a couple mates around.

Hey Josie!

Huh?

Give us a hand over for job Saturday.

Mate, you're dreaming!

Aussies.

No surprises there.

DIY.

It's in our DNA.

Well one thing about Aussies and Kiwis is they do like to have a bit of a go at each other.

And you can see there that it's not just sport.

You get maligned on New Zealand TV as well.

But one of the other similarities between Australians and Kiwis is their kind of DIY mentality.

You know, you can do it yourself.

We like to think that we can do it ourselves.

Not so long ago in New Zealand there were endless DIY reality TV shows.

I take it there was probably a similar kind of surge of them here.

Where there'd be TV shows about home makeovers and renovations and you couldn't escape them.

It seemed to be whatever channel you would turn to, these shows would be on.

And it was quite painful really.

I'm glad they've kind of got past that phase.

But all of us seem to have this DIY attitude built into our DNA.

And I don't think it's just blokes with their kind of handyman jobs.

You know, they like to build their own deck or put out their own fence or renovate their own bathroom.

Which takes months usually.

But I think it's more that we simply want our own independence.

We want our own block of land.

We want our own home.

We want our own financial security.

We want our own career.

And we may even think about working for ourselves so that we don't have to answer to anyone.

Or perhaps for some of us it may be that we want to create our own image and manufacture ourselves.

And so we create our own identity on our Facebook page.

Where we can present the way we would like people to see us to the world around us.

Well this way of thinking easily creeps into our thinking about God as well.

We want to choose how we relate to God.

You know, I want to do it on my terms.

And we can easily see it in our friends.

It's easier to see the faults in our friends, isn't it, than in ourselves.

When they say things like,

Well, I like to think about God as...

Or, I think God would let me into his heaven because, well, I'm a pretty good bloke.

Not like so-and-so down the road.

But do we actually notice it in ourselves?

It's easy to see the faults in others.

But do we take a good look at ourselves?

Those times when we start to compare ourselves to other people.

Thinking that we're better in some way.

Or when we look down on someone.

Wondering how they could possibly call themselves a Christian and talk like that.

Or act like that.

And it's usually...

We usually do that to make ourselves look better.

You know, I don't talk like that.

I don't act like that.

Aren't I good?

Well, here in this passage, in Luke's Gospel,

we meet someone who has this kind of DIY thinking about God.

And here Jesus is confronted by DIY religion.

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem

and he's teaching his disciples along the way about what it means to follow him.

When a religious lawyer, an expert in the law,

he comes up to Jesus with a question.

It's helpful if you've got your Bibles open in front of you.

Look at verse 25 in this passage.

Luke chapter 10, verse 25.

Luke 10:25

On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.

Teacher, he asked,

what must I do to inherit eternal life?

And initially, it looks like a pretty good question, doesn't it?

What must I do to inherit eternal life?

It seems to be a good question

because it picks up what Jesus has just been saying

in the previous chapter of Luke's Gospel.

I mean, this man has come to Jesus

and he's asking Jesus how he should follow Jesus.

And we saw last week that the disciples,

well, they haven't really understood what it means to follow Jesus.

They understand that Jesus is the Christ,

that he's God's anointed king.

But they've not understood Jesus' call

to follow him by denying themselves,

by taking up their cross and following him.

And so when this teacher of the law comes up to Jesus,

we should find ourselves on the edge of our seats

in anticipation when he asks,

what must I do to inherit eternal life?

I mean, it's a pretty good question, isn't it?

We want to know too, what's the secret?

What's the secret to following Jesus?

Can't you just imagine yourself asking the same question?

You see, we like things to be simple.

We like shortcuts.

You know, we all learn the back roads to miss the traffic,

to miss those busy traffic lights or intersections.

We always look for the shortest queue at the supermarket checkout.

But have you noticed that the shortest queue always takes the longest?

Whenever you get there, the other queues are always faster.

Well, this guy is no different.

He cuts to the chase and he says to Jesus,

okay, Jesus, give it to me straight.

What do I have to do to get to heaven?

Well, maybe it's just a bloke thing.

You know, don't give me all the details.

Don't bore me with the details.

Just give me the bottom line.

What do I have to do?

And Jesus knows this man is an expert in the law

and so he throws the question straight back at him.

Well, what do you think?

Says Jesus.

So it's a great technique, isn't it?

When you're having conversations with people,

it's hard to get to know someone if you're conducting a monologue.

It's good to ask questions and that's how you get to know someone.

And so Jesus asks him a question back.

Well, you know your Bible, or the Old Testament at least at this point.

And so Jesus asks him, so what do you think?

Well, look at verses 26 to 28.

What is written in the law, he replied.

How do you read it?

That's what Jesus says.

And the guy answers,

See, he seems to be spot on with his answer, doesn't he?

I mean, even Jesus confirms his answer and says,

Well, do this and you will live.

What must I do to inherit eternal life?

Well, the answer is simple.

Love God and love your neighbor.

But it does make you wonder,

Well, if he knew the answer,

why did he ask the question in the first place?

Love God and love your neighbor.

That's the secret to life.

That's the secret to life with God, eternal life.

And the expert in the law seems to have it nailed in one.

But then we're given a glimpse into the real reason

why this guy is asking the question.

And Jesus opens up the religious expert's heart.

He opens up his heart and exposes what's really there.

You see, look at verse 29.

But he wanted to justify himself.

And so he asked Jesus,

And who is my neighbor?

He wanted to justify himself.

See, at this point, it seems that all that's come before,

all that's already happened in this dialogue

between Jesus and this expert in the law,

it seems that it's all just a facade.

It seems that he was just trying to test Jesus

to somehow catch Jesus out.

That he wasn't really interested in Jesus' answer at all.

In fact, if we were reading carefully,

we would have noticed that back in verse 25.

Where he says, Luke tells us,

On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up

to test Jesus.

To test Jesus.

He didn't really want to know the answer.

He was trying to catch Jesus out.

To show him up.

Perhaps even to promote himself

as someone who knows the law pretty well.

And to do that at Jesus' expense.

To make Jesus look silly and promote himself.

Showing himself to be more knowledgeable.

But Jesus calls his bluff

and he turns the tables around on him

and exposes his heart.

And so the expert in the law pushes further

to justify himself.

And perhaps even to get a second chance

to test Jesus.

And so he asks,

Well, who is my neighbor then?

And Jesus replies with a story.

It's a parable.

It's a fairly familiar parable

to many of us, isn't it?

But as we read this parable,

it's crucial that we understand

who it is who is asking Jesus this question.

For Jesus knows this man's heart.

And so he tailor-makes this parable

to challenge him,

to hit him where he needs to be hit.

Now here this man is an expert in the law.

And so as the story unfolds,

we read of a man or hear of a man

heading down from Jerusalem to Jericho

and he's robbed and he's beaten

and he's left half dead.

And the first two characters we meet

is a priest and a Levite.

And what should we know about them?

Well, they're both religious experts.

They're both experts in the law.

Just like the man speaking to Jesus,

these two men both know the law.

But it appears they know the letter of the law

but not the essence of the law.

They've got knowledge

but they don't have understanding.

They don't understand God's character.

They don't have any mercy

or compassion for those around them.

You see, we're not told the exact reason

why the priest and the Levite walk past this man

just that they don't stop to help.

Although we are given a few hints in the direction.

And so we are told that this man

falls into the hands of robbers

who strip him and beat him

and leave him half dead.

And since the first two men knew the law of Moses,

they knew what the consequences would be

if they stopped and touched this man

if he was dead.

He's lying there half dead.

They didn't perhaps know

whether he was dead or alive

and so they erred on the side of caution

and decided not to get involved.

If they had have touched an unclean body,

a dead body,

well, they would have to go through

certain ceremonial rites

and they would be unclean for seven days

and it would be a lot of effort

on the third and seventh day

to go through cleansing kind of ceremonies.

And so it would have put them out

to do that.

And it doesn't seem the reason

these men didn't stop to help

was because they were on their way up to Jerusalem

and they didn't want to be unclean

and so not go to the temple.

That doesn't seem to be the reason

because it appears that these men

are actually coming from Jerusalem.

I haven't been to Jerusalem

but as my understanding is,

Jerusalem's on a mountain.

Jerusalem, hence Mount Zion

and the road from Jerusalem

winds its way down to Jericho

and so you would head down

from Jerusalem to Jericho.

And that's the way Jesus describes

this story.

And so in verse 30,

Jesus says,

a man was going down

from Jerusalem to Jericho.

And we also read that the priest

and the Levite do the same.

In verse 31,

a priest happened to be going down

the same road.

It seems that they're leaving Jerusalem

and going on the road to Jericho.

And so it's not that they've got the excuse

of going to the temple

that they don't want to be defiled.

It just seems an inconvenience.

It's,

and so they're not,

it's not that they're worried

that they won't be able to worship

at the temple,

but they still don't want to defile themselves

by helping this man.

See,

these two religious people

are proficient in the law,

but they don't want to put themselves out

to help someone in great need.

And so you can imagine them

even perhaps using God

as an excuse not to help this man.

I need to say pure

so I can serve God better.

Perhaps it's piety

that's got in the way.

And so they fail to love their neighbor

who is in desperate need.

But in doing so,

they're failing to love God as well.

See,

it's not those two commands

kind of a mutually exclusive

that we love God

or we love our neighbor

and we can take either route.

No,

as we love God,

we will act

as God does

to those around us.

With mercy and compassion,

we will love our neighbor.

How can we experience God's love

and fail to love those around us?

And so we're challenged

as these people refuse

to get involved.

And then Jesus,

well,

he throws in a bit of a googly.

Or if you're not into cricket,

it's called a rongan,

I think nowadays.

He brings in

an unexpected character.

And so enter stage left

comes a Samaritan.

Now there's no love lost

in Jesus' day

between the Jewish people

and the Samaritans.

And so if you remember

in John's Gospel

as Jesus meets

the woman at the well,

the Samaritan woman

at the well,

John gives us

a little editor's note

to say that

it was surprising

because Jews

don't associate

with Samaritans.

And so the disciples

probably wouldn't have

thought twice

about calling down

fire from heaven

on the village

in chapter 9

that you looked at last week.

You know,

might have been doing

God a bit of a favor

to smite

a Samaritan village.

What would one village

less be?

And so it would have

shocked Jesus'

hearers

that a Samaritan

would be a hero

of a story.

It would be like,

you know,

a drug dealer

being the hero

of a story

or a pimp

or

insert,

someone that would

kind of add

shocking value.

It would be a surprise

that a Samaritan

would be the hero

here in this story.

And even the expert

of the law

who's stood up

to test Jesus,

he himself acknowledges

that it's the Samaritan

in the parable

who is the one

who acts rightly,

who acts mercifully

towards the half-dead man.

The Samaritan

who is considered

to be defiled

by Jews,

who's considered

to be a half-caste Jew,

he is the one

who acts in a manner

worthy of one

who would inherit

eternal life.

He acts in a manner

of one

who would inherit

eternal life.

And yet the religious

experts in the law,

the ones we think

would be on the inside,

they fail to act

as one who would

inherit eternal life.

See, the story

seems to be upside down.

Who is in

and who is out,

it's all back to front.

Surely the religious guys,

they should be in.

But no,

it's the Samaritan.

How could the Samaritan

get in

and the Levite

and the priest not?

Jesus is clearly showing

that it's not about

position or status.

It's not about titles

or roles.

Something else

is going on here.

This is no

sentimental story

that Jesus

is telling us about,

you know,

about how we should

be nice to our sister

or be good to your mother.

Nor is it about

being nice to those

who are nice to you.

You know,

I'll only lend my lawnmower

to the neighbour I like,

not to the neighbour

that I don't like.

You see,

Jesus is challenging

the very way

we view people

and the way

we judge people

around us.

Who are the needy?

Who can we act

mercifully towards?

Do we kind of

judge people

we look at

and decide

who we're going

to get involved with

and who not?

Who's going to be

less effort?

Who's more like us?

See,

it's interesting

as I came up

to St Paul's here

on Friday

afternoon,

I caught the train

here with the kids

to pick up a car

that someone

from St Paul's

was lending to us.

And I was walking up

from Chatswood Station

with my four children

around me

and there was a group

of about seven or eight

fifteen year olds

they looked

and they had bottles

of beer

and a cask of wine

and they were drinking

and carrying on

filling in their

school holidays

no doubt.

But I started to get

a bit concerned

about my children

and I didn't really

want them to be

near this group

of kids

that looked

like they were

looking for some

mischief to get up to

and smashed a bottle

and so I was

quite concerned.

I kind of didn't

really want anything

to do with them

particularly because

I had my children

with me.

And I was saddened

as I thought back

on it

and I thought

isn't it interesting

that I'm

quite concerned

about my kids

whom I love

and yet here are

some needy

teenagers

here in Chatswood

turning to alcohol

to fulfil

their felt needs

kids

and not even

realising

what their

greater needs

were.

Kids who needed

mercy

and yet didn't

even realise it

and here I was

stepping around

them

to go on my

way.

You see

there's plenty

of needy people

throughout our

community

not just

teenagers

but people

of all ages

and stages

people

who are half

dead

people who are

broken

people who

are without

hope in

this world

yearning for

something

better.

And that's

what Jesus

is challenging

this expert

in the law

about where

is his heart

really at?

How does he

view people?

Does he view

people the way

God does?

With compassion

with mercy?

Or are we

so busy

we just go

on our way?

But Jesus

isn't teaching

Christian moralism

here either

as if the way

to get to

heaven is by

being good

enough.

You know

you've got to

be a good

Samaritan to

enough people

to somehow

earn God's

favour.

If you help

enough people

then surely

God will let

you into his

heaven.

You see

that's confusing

the two questions

that the expert

in the law

is asking

here.

You see

the parable

that Jesus

tells here

is in

response to

the question

who is

my neighbour?

It's not

the complete

answer to

what I must

do to

inherit eternal

life.

See we've

already been

told the

answer to

that question

we're to

love God

and love

our neighbour.

We're to

love God

and love

our neighbour

and Jesus

is just

illustrating

this point

over here.

We're to

love God

and love

our neighbour.

And so

Jesus

he turns

the table

on the

expert in

the law

because the

religious

lawyer he's

come up to

test

but instead

it's Jesus

who puts

him to

the test

and tests

his heart

and his

heart is

exposed by

Jesus

and it's

found to

be rock

hard

lacking

compassion.

This man

probably did

well at

Sunday school

as a boy

but he's

failed to

understand

the purpose

of the

law.

I mean

he probably

would have

considered

himself as

someone who

loves God

but Jesus

is showing

him that

if he can't

do the

easier thing

of loving

his neighbour

then how

is he

possibly

going to

succeed

in the

more

difficult

thing

of

loving

God

with

all

his

heart

with

all

his

soul

with

all

his

strength

with

all

his

mind

surely

it would

be easier

to help

a half

dead

man

than

to

love

God

in

that

way

and

if

he's

missed

the

mark

by

so

much

when

it

comes

to

loving

his

neighbour

how

has

he

gone

when

it

comes

to

loving

God

surely

it's

impossible

to

meet

such

a

requirement

and

I

think

the

challenge

is

there

for

us

if

we

are

struggling

to

love

our

neighbour

how

are

we

going

in

our

commitment

to

God

to

love

God

to

that

extent

with

all

our

heart

with

all

our

soul

with

all

our

strength

with

all

our

mind

it's

a

pretty

big

ask

isn't

it

and

if

we're

honest

with

ourselves

we

feel

the

same

burden

you

know

I

know

that

I

don't

love

my

neighbour

to

the

extent

that

Jesus

is

challenging

me

here

and

it

doesn't

take

too

long

to

look

at

myself

to

realize

well

I

fall

way

short

in

my

love

of

God

with

all

my

heart

soul

strength

mind

and

it's

not

just

a

matter

of

coming

along

to

church

here

on

Sundays

to

get

a

bit

of

a

pep

talk

to

keep

us

going

for

the

coming

week

so

that

we

can

try

and

do

better

we

can

be

nicer

to

more

people

we

can

be

more

committed

to

God

this

week

perhaps

and

ironically

the

answer

lies

on

the

lips

of

the

one

who

initially

came

to

test

Jesus

you

see

Luke's

very

clever

in

the way

he

presents

this

account

the

initial

question

that

the

expert

in

the

law

asks

Jesus

was

what

must

I

do

to

inherit

eternal

life

it's

a

strange

question

really

isn't

it

I

mean

what

can

you

do

to

inherit

something

well

nothing

in

fact

it's

what

the

other

person

does

that

entitles

us

comes

through

the

death

of

the

person

from

whom

you

inherit

and

so

what

must

I

do

to

inherit

eternal

life

it's

a

strange

question

what

are

we

to

do

we're

to

follow

the

one

who

has

his

face

resolutely

set

towards

Jerusalem

we're

to

trust

in

the

one

who

has

his

sights

firmly

fixed

on

the

cross

that

lies

ahead

of

him

we're

to

follow

the

one

who

is

going

to

lay

down

his

life

so

that

those

who

trust

in

him

can

inherit

eternal

life

see

it's

not

what

we

do

that

allows

us

to

inherit

eternal

life

it

is

the

one

we

follow

who

earns

life

for

us

through

his

death

and

resurrection

and

so

Jesus

challenges

the

religious

expert

to

act

mercifully

to

those

around

him

and

he

exposes

his

own

heart

when

it

comes

to

his

neighbor

but

also

I

think

when

it

comes

to

God

but

Jesus

isn't

asking

this

guy

to

do

something

that

Jesus

himself

is

not

doing

so

here

in

these

chapters

of

Luke

we

started

last

week

looking

at

Jesus

journey

to

Jerusalem

he's

heading

to

Jerusalem

to

suffer

to

be

rejected

he's

heading

to

the

cross

where

Jesus

will

act

mercifully

towards

us

by

taking

God's

wrath

upon

himself

the

wrath

that

we

rightly

deserve

and

as

we

follow

Jesus

we

act

towards

those

around

us

towards

our

neighbors

in

the

same

way

that

God

acts

towards

us

in

his

son

Jesus

with

mercy

it's

interesting

that

this

parable

has

become

known

as

the

parable

of

the

good

Samaritan

because

as

you

read

through

the

passage

doesn't

even

mention

the

word

good

in

the

whole

passage

I

don't

know

if

you've

noticed

that

it's

unhelpful

having

headings

in your

Bible

isn't

it

he

should

have

been

called

the

merciful

Samaritan

he

acts

mercifully

he

acts

as

God

acts

towards

us

we

are

to

love

our

neighbor

in

the

way

that

God

has

shown

his

love

for

us

greater

love

has

no

man

than

to

lay

down

his

point

in

Luke

Jesus

is

heading

to

Jerusalem

and

is

calling

his

disciples

to

take

up

their

cross

and

follow

him

it's

not

going

to

be

an

easy

road

and

here

we

sit

on

the

other

side

of

Jesus

death

and

resurrection

we

can

look

back

and

see

and

understand

Jesus

death

and

resurrection

in

the

way

the

disciples

couldn't

so

we

should

understand

more

clearly

shouldn't

we

how

we

should

follow

Jesus

that

we

should

take

up

our

cross

and

follow

him

it

is

the

same

path

that

we

will

take

until

Jesus

returns

to

take

up

our

cross

and

to

follow

him

but

we

can't

do

it

ourselves

can

we

this

isn't

DIY

religion

there's

nothing

we

can

do

to

inherit

eternal

life

except

follow

Jesus

loving

God

with

all

our

heart

with

all

our

soul

with

all

our

strength

and with

all

our

mind

and

loving

our

neighbour

just

as

God

does

with

compassion

and

with

mercy

with

a

desire

to

care

for

them

and

to

see

them

following

Jesus

and

inheriting

eternal

life

and

so

Jesus

has

his

face

resolutely

set

towards

this

goal

towards

laying

his

life

down

so

that

we

might

gain

life

what

is

your

heart

resolutely

set

on

set

on

following

Jesus

whatever

the

cost

set

on

loving

those

around

you

acting

mercifully

towards

them

dealing

with

their

needs

dealing

with

their

greatest

need

of

knowing

God

and

following

Jesus

themselves

well

let's

pray

that

God

would

open

our

eyes

to

see

those

around

us

who

need

his

mercy

and

particularly

need

to

hear

about

what

it

means

and

what

it

looks

like

to

follow

Jesus

so

let's

pray

and

ask

God

to

help

us

do

that

heavenly

father

we

do

thank

you

we

thank

you

that

you

do

challenge

us

that

you

do

rebuke

us

even

though

it

hurts

we

pray

that

you

give

us

eyes

to

see

those

around

us

to

see

those

around

us

that

we

need

to

act

mercifully

towards

people

who

are

broken

people

who

are

half

dead

people

who

reject

you

give

us

the

words

to

say

give

us

the

opportunity

to

say

them

help

us

to

care

for

people

and

have

concern

for

people

that

we

would

love

them

that

we

would

have

compassion

on

them

that

we

would

act

mercifully

towards

them

and

we

pray

that

through

this

that

your

name

would

be

glorified

and

that

people

would

know

what

it

looks

like

to

follow

Jesus

and

we

pray

this

in

Jesus

name

Amen