The GOOD SAMARITAN AND THE INN KEEPER

 

Based on an address given to the members of the Tasmanian House of Representatives and the members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council at the official opening of the Third Session of the Fiftieth Tasmanian Parliament, delivered on Tuesday August 16th in St. David’s Cathedral, Hobart.

TWELVE GROWS TO SEVENTY-TWO

¶ After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of Him,
two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to go.
Luke 10:1

Jesus’ followers had grown from His original twelve disciples to another sixty followers. As Christ prepared for His impending death which would occur in a matter of weeks, He addressed these seventy-two disciples giving them clear instructions on their first preaching expedition. But among this loyal band there was someone who had snuck in as a spy sent from the leaders of the Temple on a mission to find evidence to justify their bitter determination to murder Jesus! (Jerusalem’s religious leaders had been unsuccessful in their previous attempts to “catch” Jesus say or do something sinful. Note also Matt. 22:15; Mark 3:2; 12:13; Luke 11:53-54; 20:20; John 8:6.) This spy was described by Luke as a lawyer — not the “Yes your Honour” sort of lawyer, but someone who was probably an off-duty priest who would been called upon by enquirers coming to the Temple seeking clarification on how to truly obey GOD. And as the recently commissioned seventy-two disciples had returned from their preaching expeditions in the nearby towns and villages they reported the astounding results of their ministries there (Lk. 10:17). Jesus the Christ responded, “turning to the disciples he said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.’” This is when the intruding priest-lawyer made his move:

¶ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying,
“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
Luke 10:25-26

 

WHAT JESUS SAID TO THE SEVENTY-TWO

The lawyer-priest thought he was being clever setting what he thought was a trap for Jesus. But as he discovered, a person’s true intelligence is measured not just by what they know, but by the kind of questions they ask. His question to Jesus met with an immediate question from the Christ. The lawyer’s question was actually the best question anyone could have asked the Lord. Yet it soon became apparent that he himself did not even understand the question he was asking.

The concept of everlasting life was introduced into Jewish thinking in the writings of the Prophet Daniel

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:2

This is the question embedded into every human soul. It is asked in different forms (such as, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ ‘Is there a point to my life?’ ‘How can I be truly happy?’ ‘What happens to me after I die?’) and it is clumsily answered in even more forms (such as, ‘Life is all about the now…When you die you just go six-feet under and that’s it…God, if there is a god, just wants you to be good…). The lawyer-priest’s question was far more profound than he realised. As he asked it there were seventy-two people listening in on this exchange between this spy whose question was an attempted means to entrap Christ. Perhaps to his surprise Jesus immediately asked him a question which would soon lead to this priest-lawyer’s heart being exposed for all to see.

And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbour as yourself.”
And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
Luke 10:27-28

If Jesus had given the first half of His response to the religious-lawyer that may have been the end of their conversation. But the conjunction to the first half of His response — do this, and you will live — put the legalist on the back foot. Jesus had just exposed the very obstacle that was deep in his spiritually dead soul that was hindering him from obtaining the eternal life that he had originally enquired about. The lawyer had a head-knowledge of what God required of those who sought to live righteously when he cited Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18 in his answer to Jesus — but he did not have this as a heart-knowledge resulting in genuine compassion for others. Sensing the gaze of the seventy-two onlookers he now sought to justify himself.

¶ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbour?”
Luke 10:29

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?

The Jewish leaders had a very strict understanding of who God accepted and who God rejected. Obviously, they taught, God had accepted the Jews as His favourite – particularly Jewish men. Jewish women were sort of accepted, but only as second-class members of God’s people. This obviously also meant that unless a gentile (a non-Jew) converted to Judaism they could not be accepted by God. Therefore, God rejected all gentiles — and He especially rejected Roman gentiles — but He reserved His ultimate rejection for Samaritans!

When the lawyer-priest asked a question back at Christ, “Who is my neighbour?” he may have naively thought that he had asked Jesus a “Gotchya!” question. But Christ exposed the lawyer’s bigotry with a great deal of tenderness by telling one of His greatest parables not just to the priest-lawyer but also the seventy-two disciples who were listening intently to this dramatic exchange.

 

WHEN HE SAW HIM, HE HAD COMPASSION

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luke 10:30 ESV

In the original Greek of Luke 10:30 it describes the man (anthropos) with a little Greek work tis which means a certain man. He is not identified as a Jew, or a Greek, or a Gentile. We are not told what his skin colour was. We are not told his age. We are not told his social-class. We are not told what his Muttersprache (mother-tongue) was. He is identified by Christ with the identity that is common to all people because the Greek word anthropos is also the Greek word for human being – male or female. People do not need another identifying label to be immeasurably valuable other than the one we all share — human being.

This person was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho even though he was heading north. In one sense he was going down because Jerusalem is 2,500 feet above sea-level and Jericho, in the Jordan Valley, is 800 feet below sea-level. But in another sense, Jews regarded Jerusalem as the holy City that was the dwelling place of God on earth. Yet just outside the precincts of this supposedly holy territory was a stretch of road leading to Jericho that had become notoriously dangerous due to the thieves and robbers who preyed on its travellers. The lawyer was expecting Jesus to answer his question of “who” was his neighbour but instead Christ answers the question that the lawyer should have asked.

 

WHEN THEY SAW HIM, THEY DID NOT HAVE COMPASSION

Christ’s story begins a with a priest travelling down that same road. This was probably more pointed that us modern readers might immediately appreciate. The lawyer, who was probably a priest, could have injected at this point in the story by pointing out that since the man was “half dead” this gave justification for the priest to avoid such a man since a priest was not permitted to have contact with a dead person while on temple duty. But the priest in this story is not travelling to Jerusalem. He was clearly off-duty because he was travelling down the road to Jericho. And even the next character in this story had no excuse, because he too was travelling down this road.

WHEN THE SAMARITAN SAW HIM, HE HAD COMPASSION ON THE JEWISH MAN

The scandalous twist in Christ’s story comes when He describes a Samaritan — a Samaritan — as the righteous hero! This Samaritan was a businessman. He had places to be and people to see. Yet, despite his pressing commitments he stopped to tend to this severely beaten and wounded man – who was probably a Jew! He disinfected the man’s wounds by pouring wine over them. He cleaned away the blood from the many gashes the man had suffered and then applied oil to man’s wounds to stop the bleeding and reduce the swelling to enable the healing process to begin to mend. And while he could have thought that he had now done enough, he then placed the man on his donkey and carried him to an inn (which were themselves often dangerous places and would not have batted an eye-lid to extort a visiting Samaritan) where he remained the night taking care of the beaten man and then took from his purse two denarii to pay the inn-keeper the equivalent of two days wages for him to care for the beaten traveller – and promised to pay whatever else was needed when he returned.

HE ENTRUSTED THE INN-KEEPER TO CARE FOR THE HURTING AND BROKEN MAN

Jesus asked the lawyer-priest which of the three showed compassion for the abused man (Luke 10:36). The story that Jesus told not only answered the lawyer’s question- Who is my neighbour? It answered the greater question embedded in the lawyer’s original answer which he had cited from Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” The question the priest-lawyer should have asked was not the Who is in? and Who is out? question, but, How can I obey Leviticus 19:18 by truly obeying this command to love my neighbour?

And while Jesus highlighted three characters in this story, there is a fourth character who is worth considering especially considering the audience to this exchange was the seventy-two disciples who would go on to become the founding members of the redeemed community—theChurch—that Christ was about to establish.

Each of the characters in this story reveal something about God’s heart for people. The Priest character represented heartless religion that was all about outward show and the approval of people. The Levite, who served within the Temple as assistants to the Priests represented the religiously devout who take care of the day-to-day things pertaining to a worship service and its ceremonies, yet are so caught up in their religious duties that they no longer truly see hurting people who need their care. The Samaritan was a member of what the Jews considered to be justifiably the most despised people on the planet. There are striking similarities between the Samaritan and Jesus. But it is the inn-keeper who should catch our attention. He is the one to whom the Samaritan entrusted the care of the hurting man. It is to him that the Samaritan promises the necessary financial and material provision necessary to care the hurting and broken man. The inn-keeper represents the Church.

It seems that the seventy-two gathered disciples certainly did get the point of Christ had just taught. The Who is my neighbour? question was answered and acted up when the Church embraced Gentile converts into Christianity and in a very literal application of what Jesus taught, they literally set up hospitals to care for the literally wounded people they came across. 

Today, we can recognise that Jesus is the Antitype (Ultimate Expression) of the Good Samaritan. He still finds the hurting, lost, confused, abused, beaten, and broken of this world along life’s highways and brings them to His various “inns” (local churches) for us to care for them. He still ensures all the necessary resources will be made available to His Church for this to happen. I rather like to hope that in this story the Jewish inn-keeper was moved by the compassion of the Samaritan and became his co-compassionate representative in much the same that our church should similarly be representatives of Christ’s great compassion for all people too.

 

CHRIST’S CHALLENGE TO THE LAWYER WAS ALSO HIS CHALLENGE TO THE SEVENTY-TWO AND STILL HIS CHALLENGE TO US!

Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?”
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Luke 10:36-37

May God give us the grace to be such a local church for the hurting and wounded of this world to find the healing for their aching souls that only Christ can provide!

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE PRODIGAL FATHER

Does anyone know what the word prodigal means? Perhaps most people assume that it means: “wanderer”, or “rebel”, or perhaps even “backslider” or that it only applies to sons. This seems to be based on the story that Jesus told in Luke 15 to which most Bible Publishers assign the division title - The Parable of the Prodigal Son. But the word prodigal does not occur in this parable. Interestingly, there are three lead characters in this shocking and famous parable: the father and his two sons. One of these was genuinely ‘prodigal’, and, as Tim Keller points out, it was neither son! To appreciate what Keller means we might need to take another look at what the word prodigal actually means. It comes from the verb prodigious which means remarkably great in extent, size, or degree (New Oxford American Dictionary). It is a word often used to describe an author who regularly writes books - John Grisham is a prodigious author. A prodigal person is therefore, prolific, extravagant, excessive, and, lavish. Keller points out that even though most people ascribe this to the wayward son in the parable, it is more appropriately a designation for the lead character in the story, the father!

Jesus told this parable to grumbling Pharisees and scribes who resented that Jesus was welcoming “tax collectors and sinners [who] were all drawing near to Him” (Luke 15:1-2). Christ tells these religious folk three “lost” parables - the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The twist in the last of these parables comes at the end when it is revealed that it is not the formerly wayward son who was lost, but the upright, dutiful, rule-keeping, son instead! The older son seems to be representing those who were keeping the Heavenly Father’s Old Covenant, while the formerly wayward but repentant son seems to be representing all those who have turned to the Heavenly Father in faith and repentance and accepted the New Covenant of God’s grace and forgiveness.

And the younger of them said to his father,
‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’
And he divided his property between them.
Luke 15:12

But it becomes clear from Christ’s parable that the Father loves both boys dearly (revealing His love for both Jews and Gentiles). The father’s deep love for both of his sons was also tinged with the hope that each of them would return that love toward him, but initially, neither did. This tells us a lot about who the lead character in this story represents. God the Father is immeasurably loving and kind toward each of us and, like the father in this parabolic story, He too longs for each of us to return that love to Him.

The demand by the younger son in Christ’s story would have been shocking and scandalous to Jesus’ original Jewish audience. No Jewish father would have tolerated such perfidiousness from their son! But not only does the father grant his younger son’s demand, he actually also divided his property between the older and younger sons! The father had given away everything he had to his two sons! 

Initially, the listener would have been given the impression that it was the younger son who had rejected his father. But by the end of the story they would have learned that it was both of the father’s sons who had rejected him, yet it was the younger son who had turned to his father in an acknowledgment of his guilt and shame and sought his father’s forgiveness.

Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had
and took a journey into a far country,
and there he squandered his property in reckless living.
Luke 15:13

While his wayward son was off breaking his father’s heart and trashing their family name, the father was ever hopeful that his son would soon realise the truth – that he was loved, cared for, nurtured, and provided for by his loving father – and always had been. Sometimes it takes the wayward to hit rock-bottom before they look up.

Things got so bad for the younger wayward son that he stooped as low as he could go just to survive. Again, in a shocking twist, he got a job feeding pigs (Lk. 15:15)! This was something no-self-respecting Jew would even countenance! Yet it was at his lowest point that the wayward came to his senses and realised what a fool he had been. He was prepared to return to his father and plead for him not to accept him back as a son, but as a hired-servant (Luke 15:18-19). Ironically, this was already the self-perceived status of his older brother.

The father in this story again did something completely unthinkable to any betrayed Jewish father – he ran to meet his perfidious son! And to make matters worse for the Pharisees and scribes, the father gave his son five symbols of love and acceptance: (i) An embrace; (ii) A kiss; (iii) a robe; (iv) a ring; and, (v) a pair of sandals. The younger son had taken the time spent in the long journey home to rehearse what he would say to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants” (Lk. 15:18b-19a). Despite his repeated rehearsal of this plea, all he was able to say when eventually reached his father was, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  But this was enough. It expressed his repentance and contrition. And with that abbreviated plea for forgiveness instigated not by words but attitude and action, his father ran to him, welcomed him, and restored him. Since this father is a portrayal of our Heavenly father it reveals a treasure-trove of insights of what He is like as well.

The fact that the father, despite having given away all he had as a premature inheritance to his two sons, was able to recover financially in a relatively short period of time – so that he could put on a lavish (prodigious) celebration feast for the return of his formerly wayward son, should tell us a lot about our heavenly father. Just as the father in this story was generous, gracious, merciful, optimistic, loving, kind, and diligent, so is our Heavenly Father. 

There is, though, a warning in this story, which is embodied by the attitude of the older son. He treated his father as his master, his employer. His relationship with his father was purely functional requiring him to dutifully serve his father. This older son deprived himself of his father’s love and ended up the way of all father-deprived children. He became angry, resentful, judgmental, and bitter. This older son represents all that is bad about the Old Covenant. 

The older son was angry. He was angry at his father. He was angry at his brother. The father was grieved when his younger son betrayed him. But the father was also grieved that his older son would not eat a meal with him. The prodigal father loved to celebrate. He enjoyed music, dancing, feasting, happiness. The return of his repentant younger son gave him the reason to once again celebrate because their relationship had now been restored. The fact that the father and his younger son were now reunited had never meant that there was no room in the father’s heart to celebrate his relationship with his older son. In fact, he had longed for his older son to celebrate this with him. And this should once again teach us something about God our Heavenly Father that is worth us celebrating together this weekend.

This is why Tim Keller says that this parable of Christ reveals something gloriously magnificent about our Father God, that He is, in the best sense of the word prodigal, our Prodigal Heavenly Father! 

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE KIND OF CHURCH THAT SUPER SUCCESSFUL CHRISTIANS REALLY NEED TO JOIN!

 

Spare a thought for those people who are often overlooked by churches—and if they are Christians—they frequently struggle to even find a suitable church where they can deepen their relationship with Christ. Often we think of those who struggle with life as those who are “down and out” and blighted by impoverishment, or destitution, or ill-health, or family breakdown, or poor mental health. But surprisingly, even those who are seen as super-successful because of their wealth, social stature, public acclaim or amazing achievements, are actually struggling with loneliness, emptiness, and poor mental health — even if they are a Christian. These super-successful Christians are CEOs of large companies, or world-class or national sporting champions, or internationally renowned performing artists, or A-lister actors, or media personalities, or highly sought after professionals such as surgeons or barristers. They often pay a high price for their success, including, long work hours, constant stress, public criticism, extended time away from their families, fierce competition, and strained marriages. These pressures are exacerbated by their constant travel associated with their work which also makes them vulnerable to exhaustion and extraordinary temptations. This is why these super-successful Christians need to join the kind of church that can provide them with the kind of support, counsel, and accountability that every Christian needs. Here’s how a church can become this kind of church.   

¶ For consider your calling, brothers:
not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,
not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
First Corinthians 1:26

 

WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN FINDS IN BELONGING IN A CHURCH

Based on what Jesus said in John 13:34-35, you can not consider yourself a follower of Christ – a Christian – and not belong to a local  church. The establishment of the Church was the central the furtherance of Christ’s redemptive mission (Mtt. 16:18; 18:17). When the apostle Paul wrote his explanation of the gospel to the Romans in which he explained how someone could become a Christian, he concluded with a “Therefore” List in Romans 12:9-21. His Therefore List includes 27 things every Christian is expected to do since repenting and putting their faith in the Saviour. None of them, and I repeat none of them, is possible without belonging in a local church.

As a church we pray a lot for the hurting, lost, lonely, and broken to come to Christ and find salvation, forgiveness soul-cleansing and healing, acceptance, and restoration. We rejoice that over and over again God has answered our prayers. We have welcomed into our church family many people who had formally lost hope and who had thought that their life no longer mattered to anyone. But each of these converts to Christ would tell you that this is no longer the case. They have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit who has  transformed (and is transforming) them into a new identity as a son or daughter of God the Father. They have also found unconditional love and acceptance from, and in, our church family. Many these trophies of God’s grace would testify that their lives had hit rock bottom before they turned to Christ. But for many super-successful Christians, this is not their story.

Some of the godliest people I know are also super-successful Christians. In my experience, the statement by Christ about a rich person finding it difficult to accept that they are spiritually bankrupt, corrupted by sin, and in need of the Saviour, has been verified over and over again (Mark 10:23). Nearly all of these super-successful Christians were Christians before they became super-successful. As such, they have been discipled into the virtues of humility and teachability which they have continued to cultivate. Most of them are very committed to their local churches and have become accustomed to making sacrifices in their careers in order to maintain their walk with Christ and service within their church. They have found immeasurable value in belonging to their local church.

 

WHY EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO BELONG IN A CHURCH
– EVEN THE SUPER SUCCESSFUL

These benefits of a believer belonging in a local church include:

• It is their spiritual ‘home’ where they can be nourished, fed, relax, learn, and connect with their church family.
• It is their refuge, a haven, and a sanctuary, where they are safe.
• It is their reminder that they are not alone, and the GOD cares for people who are different, and so should we.

Because a local church is like:

• a garden, a green-house, a plant nursery – for propagating and planting (Psalm 1:3; 92:13).
• a birthing clinic, a hospital, a hospice, and a clinic where new souls are birthed, wounded souls are healed, and those souls ready to depart are reassured (Matt. 10:6-7).
• an inn, a hotel, a retreat (Luke 10:34-35).
• a dispensary of spiritual medicine, care, relief and counsel.
• a meeting-place, an introduction agency where new friendships can be forged, and a place of significant relationship-life-moments (marriages, baby dedications, water baptisms, and funerals).

Each of these aspects of the local church satisfy a deep longing within every human soul to belong. And belonging to a local church provides several unique blessings compared with belonging to any other group. But I have discovered that often the super-successful are very lonely. They can find it difficult to trust people. They are often left wondering, “If I was not so successful, would any actually like me?” This is why some super-successful Christians even find it difficult to join a church. And as a result they miss out on something that Christ has designed to be immeasurably precious for His followers. Could we be the kind of church where those constantly in the public eye could find a refuge and dispensary for their soul?

 

HOW A CHURCH CAN SUPPORT THE SUPER SUCCESSFUL

I remember hearing the C.E.O. of the world’s largest public company, who was a Christian, being interviewed about the challenges he faced in leading a company with a ninety-billion-dollar annual turnover and one-hundred-and-seventy-thousand staff. His week regularly involved flying to several continents for face-to-face meetings with managers and government officials. It was ordinary for him to get home late on a Saturday night. He made it his habit to attend his local Presbyterian church. He was asked by the interviewer what he needed from his church. His answers can be divided into two categories and it is these categories that I will conclude with what other super-successful Christian needs in their church:

 For a Church-

• Treat a super-successful-Christian as a brother or sister-in-Christ, not as a celebrity.

• Don’t assume that they are doing well just because they are successful in their role.

• Pray for them as you would for any brother or sister-in-Christ.

• Don’t try to seek “a favour” from them.

For a Pastor-

1. Do your job well — work at each of the aspects of pastoral responsibility especially preaching. This involves continually improving your level of preparation, presentations, and delivery.

2. Do not treat the super-successful as “trophies” — don’t name-drop that you are pastoring so-and-so when talking with other pastors.

3. Reach our pastorally to the super-successful —  catch up with them. Invite them to dinner, or coffee, or breakfast near where they work. Listen to them and ask how they would like to be prayed for. Enquire how their devotional life with the Lord is going with very specific questions as “What did you read in your Bible this morning?” or, “Where are you up to in your Bible reading?” 

4. Protect them spiritually — by praying privately for them and ensuring that their spouse and children are being pastorally cared for as well.

If you are a super-successful person, I hope that will come to accept the assessment of Jesus Christ about the dangers of neglecting the condition of your soul because you have been distracted instead by your success (Mark 8:36). And so doing, I also hope that you will come to apply what Jesus Christ taught was the solution to an empty and dark soul — surrendering to Him as your Saviour (Matt. 11:28). And if you are a super-successful-Christian who has not yet found a church-family to join, I hope that you find church that adheres to principles above led by a pastor who is committed to the above four principles of pastoring – because that’s the kind of church every super-successful Christian really needs to join.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.