Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/trinitybcnh/sermons/16092/luke-1025-42/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] All right, good evening, everyone. Turn with me in the Bible to Luke chapter 10. We are going to look at one of two episodes from the life of Jesus.

[0:18] And in Luke chapter 10, we're continuing our series in the gospel of Luke focused around a theme of discipleship. And as Pastor Nick mentioned two weeks ago, if you go on the internet or if you look around or if you go to a bookstore, there's tons and tons of books and conferences and blogs and training programs that focus on leadership development or developing teams that work well together. But what Jesus focuses on in these chapters in Luke that we're looking at is not so much leadership development as follower development. Now, in one sense, you could say Jesus actually does have leadership development in mind because his disciples are the ones who are going to be leading the church once he dies, rises again, and ascends to heaven. So he's going to hand it off to them and the Holy Spirit. But where he starts is he doesn't start by saying, disciples,

[1:26] I'm going to train you to be a great church leader. He starts by saying, I need to teach you what it means to be my disciples, my followers, what it means to follow me. You can't be a good leader unless you learn to be a good follower first, according to Jesus. So that's the section of Luke we're in. And the setting in which Jesus is teaching about discipleship is he's journeying to Jerusalem. So he's talking with his disciples as they take this long journey from town to town and city to city, all heading up toward Jerusalem. And Jesus teaches them in a lot of different ways.

[2:10] Sometimes he just sits down and talks to them. Sometimes he responds to their questions. Sometimes he sets an example for them in how he heals other people or how he relates to other people or models trust in God the Father through his prayer life. So Jesus is teaching his disciples as an ongoing process through all sorts of different ways. And what we're looking at tonight is two stories where somebody comes up to Jesus with a question. And we're going to see how Jesus responds to their question in Luke chapter 10. So we're looking at Luke chapter 10, starting at verse 25 to the end of the chapter. So I'm going to read that. And then we're going to just sort of go through these two sections. And then I'm going to ask, why are these two sections next to each other? So it's the story of the Good Samaritan and the story of Mary and Martha. Most of the time people take one or the other and teach on them completely separately, but they're right next to each other. So I also want to ask, why did Luke put them right next to each other? And what do we have to learn from them together as a package? So this is going to be, it's going to be a little bit like a sermon, a little bit like a

[3:26] Bible study. And if we have time at the end, I might take a couple of questions, but we'll see how the time goes. So let's read together and we'll go through it. And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him, to put Jesus to the test saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, what is written in the law? How do you read it? 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 neighbor as yourself. And Jesus said to him, you have answered correctly, do this and you will live. But he, the lawyer, desiring to justify himself said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor?

[4:17] 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. Now by chance, a priest was going down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was.

[4:51] And when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day, he took out two denarii, that's two days wages, and gave them to the innkeeper saying, take care of him.

[5:12] And whatever more you spend, I'll repay you when I come back. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the one who fell among the robbers? The lawyer said, the one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, you go and do likewise. Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Jesus and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. So we have two people, and they both come to Jesus with a question.

[6:18] The lawyer has a theological question. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Martha has a very practical question. Can you get my sister to help me?

[6:33] Now let's look at Jesus' response to both of them. So let's start with the lawyer. Right? The lawyer asked a good question. What must I do to inherit eternal life?

[6:43] This is a good question. It's a really important question. Jesus takes the question really seriously. But interestingly, Jesus doesn't give him a direct answer right away. Jesus doesn't say, believe in me, because I've come to be the savior of the world.

[7:01] Now, that's the right answer. But why doesn't Jesus say that right away? So he answers a question with a question. He says, well, what's written in the law? What's written in the Bible? How do you read it? Well, the man gives a good answer that shows he knows his Bible. Man says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That was the first and greatest commandment.

[7:28] As Jesus said in another place, in another conversation, Jesus said, that's the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. So the man is right on. They're the two commandments on which everything else in the law and the prophets, they hang on those two commandments, right? Loving God vertically, loving others horizontally. And that's the core of the moral law, right? What God calls us to embody and to live out. And so Jesus says, verse 28, Jesus says, you're right. Do that and you'll live. Now, there's a bit of a challenge there hidden in that verse.

[8:16] It's sort of like a student, if you're a college student and you go up to your favorite professor, let's say you're a junior in college and you say, how do I get into your PhD program?

[8:28] And the professor says, well, you got to be better than all the other students who apply. Do that and you'll get in. And then you want to say, well, but how do I be better than all the other students who apply, right? So there's a little challenge there. And the lawyer realizes that he's not quite comfortable to leave it there. So he says, okay, we got to define this.

[8:52] Love God. Love God. Okay. Love your neighbor as yourself. So who exactly is my neighbor? What precisely does that mean? I need to know exactly how I can fulfill this requirement.

[9:09] And it says he wanted to justify himself. Means he wanted to know that he was right. He wanted to be confident that he would make it. And Jesus responds with one of his most famous parables, right? The story of the good Samaritan, right? So how does the story begin?

[9:35] Jesus begins the story, a man telling about this man who's going down this road, Jerusalem to Jericho. This was a treacherous road. It was a mountain road that Jerusalem was high in the mountains. Jericho was low in the valley. And you would go down this road. And there were all these hairpin turns.

[9:50] Even the road now that goes from Jerusalem to Jericho, that's now a paved road that cars can take. It's like, it's got all these twists and turns. If you're not used to driving on that kind of road, you don't want to drive on that kind of road. And back then it was notorious as a dangerous road to travel. But that was the only, that was the way to get there.

[10:13] If you needed to go from one place to the other, that's the road you had to take. And this man, what happens to him? He falls among robbers. They beat him up. They leave him half dead.

[10:27] Right? Immediately you hear that and you think, oh no. Right? It arouses a sense of pity. Like, what a terrible tragedy. What a terrible thing. What's going to happen to this man?

[10:41] And then the next two verses, you see these two guys come by. A priest and a Levite. Religious leaders. Who were supposed to be, who were supposed to, who would have known the law better than anyone else.

[10:53] And what do they do? Well, they don't do anything to harm the man, but they also don't do anything to help the man. And as you hear, you hear this story, right? This man is beat up, half dead.

[11:09] And these two guys come and you think, maybe the priest will help him. Oh, no, he doesn't. Maybe the Levite will help him. No, he doesn't. And you also realize that, again, they don't do anything to harm him, but they don't do anything to help him.

[11:26] And, you know, the point under there is loving your neighbor as yourself means more than not harming them. Right? Loving your neighbor as yourself doesn't mean, doesn't just mean don't do anything bad to people.

[11:43] It also means to actually, actively do good for them. Verse 33. This is the climax of the parable.

[11:56] It would have been very surprising, and I'll explain why in a minute. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. Now, Jesus was talking to a lawyer, that is, a Jewish teacher of the law, a scholar of the law.

[12:15] And Samaritans and Jews, for the most part, they hated each other. At the very least, they kept their distance from each other.

[12:26] They lived in separate cities. They believed different things. They had different temples. And the Jews thought the Samaritans, they don't understand the law.

[12:38] Right? They, they, they're wrong about a lot of these things. And there was a lot of distrust. So, when a Samaritan comes along, you think a Samaritan comes along, what's a Samaritan going to do?

[12:52] The Samaritan is going to beat this guy up and finish him off. That's what they might have expected. But what does he do instead? He has compassion. And his compassion leads him to action.

[13:07] He goes to him. He doesn't stay distant. He goes to him. He binds up his wounds. Probably gets himself bloody.

[13:19] Right? Because what's he going to use to bind up his wounds? I mean, pours on oil and wine. He uses his own resources. Puts him on his own animal, which means he would have walked the rest of the way from Jerusalem to Jericho.

[13:34] Because only one person could fit on an animal, usually. Brings him to an inn. Takes care of him. Pays the innkeeper two days' wages up front. I mean, that's 40% of your weekly paycheck.

[13:46] Okay? Just imagine, right? 40% of your weekly paycheck. You're giving that away. And one shot. And he says, I'll pay you more. If you need more to take care of him, I'll pay you what you need.

[14:02] Question at the end. Verse 36. Which of these three prove to be a neighbor? Now, you see, the question the lawyer asked Jesus is, who is my neighbor? That is, who, how exactly, you know, how do we limit this command so that I know I can fulfill it?

[14:19] And Jesus doesn't answer his question directly. He flips the question around. He says, who was the neighbor? The man says, who is my neighbor? And Jesus says, well, no, who acted like a neighbor to someone else?

[14:32] And the lawyer says, the one who showed him mercy. And Jesus says, go and do likewise. Now, what's the point of this story? Why does Jesus respond the way he does, right?

[14:43] The lawyer knows a lot about the Bible. The lawyer's got the right answers. He can ask tricky questions. He can do the whole theological debating thing. And he thought of himself as someone who had obeyed God's commands and who, he's coming to Jesus saying, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life?

[15:02] I think I'm good. And if Jesus had just said, well, believe in me, he would have thought, okay, well, I'll love my neighbor. I'll love God.

[15:12] And I'll believe in Jesus too. And I'm good. I've done everything good. But Jesus says, no, no. Here's what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.

[15:23] It means to show costly mercy to someone else who's from a different race and a different social class and who's dirty and bloody in the middle of the road in a dangerous part of town and to pay for their expenses yourself.

[15:41] Jesus is pushing him. He's saying, I want you to actually get out there and do this. That's why he says, go and do likewise. I want you to actually get out there and love someone like this. Because you know what?

[15:53] If you actually try to go out and love someone like that, if you go out and spend time with people who are sick or in a mess and have all kinds of problems and need all kinds of help and have been beat up and have had all these calamities, then you know what you realize?

[16:13] You realize, man, I don't really love my neighbors myself because pretty soon I come to the end of my resources.

[16:25] You sort of, it makes you realize that if you really try to do that, you realize how far you fall short. And then if the lawyer realizes how far he falls short and says, now what must I do to inherit eternal life?

[16:47] I don't know. I haven't fulfilled all the commands. I need God's mercy. Then Jesus can answer him, believe in me because I've come to be the savior of the world.

[16:58] And then that'll make sense. You see that? Jesus is showing him the mercy God requires so that he can receive the mercy that God offers.

[17:12] He's doing the mercy that God offers. He's doing the mercy that God offers. Is what he's doing with this story. Now, next story. We have Martha.

[17:26] The story is about Martha and Mary, but Martha is really the main character in the story. She's the one who comes to Jesus with a question. Martha is not asking a theological question. She's asking a very practical question.

[17:37] She's saying, don't you care, Jesus? I'm doing all this work by myself. I need some help. Now, Martha was doing some good things. She welcomed Jesus into her house. She's an example of hospitality.

[17:49] She was engaged in much serving. That's a good thing. Hospitality and serving, but it says she was distracted with her serving. She was running here and there in a flurry of anxiety and forgetting the most important thing.

[18:04] What's the most important thing about showing hospitality? It's being attentive to your guest. It's not all the things. It's not how clean your house is or how well cooked the food is or all those other things.

[18:19] It's being attentive to the person that you're welcoming into your house. And Jesus is saying, Martha, you're forgetting the most important thing.

[18:32] And Jesus' answer to Martha, again, would have been surprising, like his answer to the lawyer. Right? I mean, we might think Jesus would say, okay, why don't you take turns? Right?

[18:43] You and Mary, you take turns. Right? That's how we try to be fair about things today. Right? In the culture Jesus lived in, people would have been inclined to say, well, Mary, you're a woman, so you should go into the kitchen and wash the dishes and let the men have the theological conversations with the teacher.

[19:07] And Jesus actually is saying, no, I care. I want women to learn too. I want women to learn the truth about God.

[19:19] And I'm going to invest time in teaching them. You know, and we see this, right? Now, it's true. Jesus' 12 apostles were male. Right?

[19:30] And Jesus affirmed the importance of male leadership in the church, I think. But we also see Jesus had a group of women who followed him. And he invested time in teaching them and training them and equipping them.

[19:44] And that was not the norm in his patriarchal society. So Jesus valued women as his followers along with men.

[19:57] So listen to Jesus and sit at his feet. Right? That's what Jesus is inviting Martha to do. So here's these two stories. Right?

[20:08] They seem to be pretty separate from each other. They seem to have two different points. But they're right together. And so I want to end by saying, why does Luke put these stories right together? What can we learn from them as a package? Let me close with two or three things.

[20:21] One, discipleship. Right? That's the focus of this teaching series. And that's the focus of this section of Luke. Discipleship includes both giving to others and receiving from God.

[20:37] It includes both showing mercy in practical and even sacrificial ways. And it includes listening to Jesus' teaching.

[20:49] That is, taking in the Bible. And the lawyer has a lot of Bible knowledge and a lot of intellectual skills. And Jesus says, no, you actually need to show mercy in concrete and practical ways to people who are suffering.

[21:06] Because I need to teach you some things that you're only going to learn as you seek to love your neighbor as yourself by showing mercy to people who are in need.

[21:19] When you take that command seriously, you will eventually be humbled and realize you're not going to be able to justify yourself anymore.

[21:31] You're going to be humbled by that. And so you'll be in a place where then you can understand the mercy that God is offering. Okay? So Martha, on the other hand, Martha's on the other end.

[21:44] Right? Martha's doing a ton of serving. She's really active. She's doing hospitality. She's serving and doing all kinds of activity. And Jesus says, but you also need to receive.

[21:56] You can't just be giving all the time. You need to give and receive. So that's what we see in these two stories. We need to give to others and receive from God.

[22:07] That's what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The lawyer needs to know it's impossible to love God without loving people. Martha needs to realize it's impossible to love people without loving God and putting him first.

[22:22] So that's the first point. Second, discipleship is not a one-size-fits-all package. Okay? Jesus responds to the two people in two different situations with two different prescriptions.

[22:36] He's like a wise doctor. Right? A wise doctor doesn't just give the same prescription to anybody who comes and says, I'm feeling some pain. Take some Tylenol. Right?

[22:46] No, a wise doctor actually realizes that different conditions need a different medicine. Now, the goal is the same. The goal is that the lawyer and Martha would become mature followers of Jesus.

[22:59] The goal is the same. But isn't Jesus so wise? Jesus doesn't say, you know, what the lawyer probably would have wanted is something that he thinks he can do well.

[23:15] Right? A Bible training program. Go to seminary and then you can inherit eternal life. And the lawyer would have thought, oh, yeah. I can read and study and learn and be an expert.

[23:30] I'll be good. No, Jesus tells the lawyer to do something that's really hard for him. Go and serve someone in need. In the way that the Samaritan did.

[23:42] Someone who is your natural enemy. Like the Samaritans and the Jews had enmity with each other. And Jesus says, go and serve someone like that.

[23:53] A hard thing. And yet through that hard thing, Jesus is going to, if the lawyer takes him up on that, Jesus is going to teach him what it means to be a follower of him. And with Martha, Jesus also tells her to do a hard thing.

[24:08] Jesus doesn't just say, okay, Martha, I'll find you some help. I see you're stressed out. I'll get you someone else to help you. Jesus says, no, no, no. Martha, your priorities are misplaced.

[24:19] You need to sit and listen to Jesus. And for some people, that's the hardest thing to do. Is to stop serving and simply listen to Jesus.

[24:32] And abide in him and receive from him. Because receiving is also a humbling thing. Just like loving someone sacrificially can be a humbling experience because it's really hard to do.

[24:44] Sitting and listening to Jesus is a humbling experience because we say, I need to receive from you. So what would Jesus say to you?

[25:00] Are you more like the lawyer? Maybe you have a lot of Bible knowledge. You like theological debates. You can ask some tricky questions and you know some right answers.

[25:11] And Jesus says, spend some time on the road to Jericho where people are beaten up and bruised and hurting. And learn to love them by showing mercy.

[25:23] And that's what will make you a mature disciple of Jesus. Because as you seek to show mercy to others, you'll be humbled to realize the mercy that you need from God.

[25:36] That you're actually, spiritually speaking, you'll realize that I am actually like that man who's beaten up and lying in the middle of the road and needing help. And that's actually my condition before God.

[25:49] And Jesus comes like the Samaritan and gives of his riches and saves us and brings us home. Or are you more like Martha?

[26:04] Are you distracted with a lot of serving? Are you just going and going and going and active and you just can't stop? And sometimes you might not even realize it, but you might be interrupting other people who are just trying to listen to Jesus because you're like, your life is so crazy and chaotic.

[26:22] And you've probably added your own expectations into the legitimate responsibilities that you have. And you have these high standards that some of them God probably doesn't even care about. Like exactly how clean the house is every single day.

[26:36] Right? Or whatever. I don't mean to pick on house cleaning. Right? It's God bless you, all you who keep a clean house. And we try to as well. But, but, right.

[26:47] But sometimes we add on these expectations to ourselves that actually God doesn't have. And so we get ourselves all stressed out and anxious. And Jesus says, you need to stop and listen to me.

[27:00] Because that is the way you're going to get your priorities straight. Jesus says, abide in me. My words abide in you. And you'll bear much fruit as my disciples. So both of these stories show us the truth of the gospel.

[27:17] Right? The Samaritan is a picture of what Christ has come to do for us. And when we seek to show mercy to others, we realize the kind of mercy we need from God. And we learn about the gospel that way.

[27:30] Mary and Martha, we see that we just need to depend on Jesus. Our life comes from him. Our life comes from abiding in him. So that's what I think we can take from these two passages.

[27:46] Let me take five minutes. If you have questions or comments. I'll take a couple questions or comments before our closing song. If there are any.

[27:58] On these two passages. So just raise your hand if you have something. And then we'll. Move on in just a couple minutes.

[28:10] Karen. It's called. Having a Mary's Heart in a Martha's World. Having a Mary's Heart in a Martha's World.

[28:22] Great book. I haven't read it. But there's a recommendation for it. Elizabeth. Do you think there's any gender implications.

[28:36] In these two stories. Where. Now I'm really going to. Say. Politically incorrect stuff. Where women are constantly serving.

[28:47] Serving. Serving. The necessity of home. Serving family. Children. Cooking. Groceries. You know. Laundry. The whole work. And men. And men.

[29:01] Probably don't. Aren't into that. Serving category. As much. So I'm wondering. Are there gender implications.

[29:12] What do you think about that? That's a great question. Are there gender implications. In these stories. Are women. Constantly serving. Serving. Serving. Especially in the home. Or with children.

[29:24] And. Is that maybe less true of men? Okay. Great question. I love Q&A. Because it's. Yeah. Sometimes I'm like. I need to think more about that question.

[29:35] So. Here's what I'd say. I think. That there. There may be. Some common patterns here. From. In these stories. I wouldn't want to say.

[29:47] This is. Always true for all men. And always true for all women. That's not what these. Stories are teaching. They're particular examples. But. There might be something. In the story about Martha. That might be.

[29:58] Particularly applicable. To many women. Right. Anxiety. You know. A sense of. I have to. Always be serving. So.

[30:09] This is part of why I say. And Luke actually. Interestingly. Luke. In the gospel of Luke. And in the book of Acts. Luke often. Pairs together. A story about. A man. And a story about a woman.

[30:22] And. So you see that. For example. In Acts. With. The story of Aeneas. Who's a disabled man. And the story of Dorcas. Or Tabitha. Who's the. Woman who is serving. And how Jesus restores.

[30:34] Both of them. And works powerfully. In both of them. And here. I think you see Jesus. Speaking to this man. Who has his. His issue. And a woman. Who has hers. So. So.

[30:46] So. I think. I think the reason Luke is giving us these pictures. Is not to say that all men are like the lawyer. And all women are like Martha. Which. I don't think that's what you're saying either. But. But it's to give us pictures of different kinds of people.

[31:00] You know. That's what I think is so amazing about the gospels. Is. We see pictures of all different kinds of people. Who have all different kinds of issues. And some of them. You'll be able to relate to.

[31:12] More easily than others. And some of them you'll be like. I see myself there. And I think it's powerful because. We don't just have in the Bible. We don't just have. Like a law code.

[31:23] Like a list of rules. That are just sort of general. And have no specific. Pictures. But I think what we see is pictures of discipleship. And. So.

[31:35] So I. I think you may find that you relate to. Some of them more than others. And they're. And they're both men and women for that reason. But. I wouldn't want to go any further than that.

[31:48] Any other questions? Peter. And you were looking at. The parable of the Good Samaritan. Did you come to it.

[31:59] Thinking. That the takeaway. That Jesus intended for his heroes. Was that for the hero. To. To. To identify with. The person who was. Half dead. And in need of salvation.

[32:12] That. It struck me when you were preaching it that way. Because I always took that parable. To. To be more or less. A condemnation of Israel. A condemnation of the priest. And the Levite.

[32:22] It's not coincidental. That the man who asked the question. Would have been an interpreter of the law. And. You know. Is that something that you thought about. Is that something. The way you've always interpreted that parable.

[32:33] When you're preparing for the sermon. Did you see this in a new way. Or did you. You're aware of the. Kind of the Israel component to it. And just focus on this other end. I'm just wondering how. Because you know. The parables are quick.

[32:44] They're short little. Yeah. So. You know. You don't think of them as being very nuanced. And yet. I see two very different messages. You know. That I think are both there. Yes. So.

[32:54] So. Peter's question was. Is the parable. Is the parable intended to. Help us identify with the man in the road. Or is it also a. A challenge.

[33:06] Or even a. A rebuke. To. The lawyer. As a representative of the people of Israel. Because it's the priest and the Levite. Sort of representing the leadership of Israel. Who neglect the man in the road. So.

[33:18] I do think. The priest and the Levite. I think Jesus is. Probably meaning to. For the lawyer to see. Hmm. I'm sort of like this priest and the Levite. I have all this knowledge.

[33:28] But I probably haven't done. I probably haven't loved my neighbor as myself. Even if I haven't harmed my neighbor. You know. I haven't been malicious toward them.

[33:40] I actually haven't actively loved them. In the way that the Bible's calling to. I mean. Love your neighbor as yourself. Means. Be as eager. And. Use as much time and energy.

[33:51] To. Meet the needs of your neighbor. As you would of your own. So be as. I mean. There's all kinds of implications. From love your neighbor as yourself. Be as excited. For somebody else. When they.

[34:02] Get into grad school. And you're. And. And. The grad school that they want. And you don't. Now. That's hard. Right.

[34:13] Or. Or. Or like. Be as excited for someone else. When something really good happens for them. And. And maybe that's. Something that you really long for yourself. That's hard. It's hard not to grow bitter.

[34:24] Right. And sometimes. It's right. To lament. And say. And call out to God. And. And pour out our. Our weariness. And our. Our struggles. And the hard things we're facing before him.

[34:35] That's right. We don't need to just deny that. But. But Jesus is sort of saying. Rejoice with those who rejoice. And mourn with those who mourn. I think that's. And another application of love your neighbor as yourself. So.

[34:45] It's a really challenging command. When we really take it to heart. And. When we really take it to heart. We see that we don't live up to it. In the way we ought to. So. As to.

[34:56] Is the parable primarily focused on rebuking. Israel. Did you kind of learn something new. When you prepared for this. Or did you realize that these two things were there. Or did you kind of think. Oh. I'm kind of now changing the way that I think about this parable.

[35:09] I think it's. Yeah. That's a good question. I've. It's. This is. So. I would say. So. This is a sermon that I. That has been. A few years in preparation. In the sense that. There's been different times.

[35:19] When I've reflected on this parable. And different things have come out to me. So. So. It's. I think this parable is a really rich parable. Right. In one way. It's just.

[35:29] An amazing picture of what it means to love your neighbor. In another way. It's a picture of what Christ has done for us. In another way. It's a rebuke and a challenge. To those of us who are like the lawyer. And.

[35:41] I think all those things are there. So. I think. I think there's all. All those are legitimate applications of the parable. All right. One last question. Samuel.

[35:56] Who's sincere? You mean the lawyer or Martha? Who's sincere? That's a good question.

[36:07] So Martha. I think is sincere. She just really wants her sister to help her. Right. I don't think Martha's faking anything. I think Martha's just like. I need some help here. Get her to help me. Why is she just sitting here?

[36:19] The lawyer. The lawyer is probably sincere too. Right. He wants eternal life. He sincerely believes that he's. He's pretty good. And he's on the right track. And he wants.

[36:29] Sort of Jesus stamp of approval too. But I think what you can see in these parables. In these interactions. You can be sincere. But you can be sincerely wrong. And Jesus challenges both of them.

[36:43] Not because they're insincere. But because. Their. Their perspective is. Twisted and distorted. And that's.

[36:54] I mean. Isn't that true for all of us? You can be totally sincere. And you can have a. Just a twisted view of things. And what Jesus has come to do. Is. To.

[37:05] Straighten that out. And show us what's real. Let's pray. And then we're going to close with a song. Lord.

[37:16] Thanks for. This time to. Look into these passages tonight. Thank you for. Thank you for the. The wisdom. That you show to us. And how you responded to these two questions.

[37:26] Thank you for the. Challenges that you give us. We pray that we would take to heart. This message Lord. We pray that we would. Receive from you. And abide in you.

[37:38] And we pray that we would. Show mercy. And love our neighbor as ourselves. And in doing that. To realize. More. Deeply.

[37:49]  The mercy that you've shown to us. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.