It'd be great if you can get your Bibles open at Luke chapter 10, if you haven't got there already.
And also the St. Paul's app has an outline for today's message, The Generous Life.
Historical study has revealed that Karl Marx, the self-proclaimed defender of the working class
and the working class public, never truly knew or had any relationship with a single member
of the working class public.
So far as researchers know, he never set foot in a flour mill, in a factory, in a mine,
or any industrial workplace in his entire life.
He lived a carefree, bohemian lifestyle, an intellectual lifestyle.
He knew poverty because of his lifestyle choices, but he always kept company with middle class
intellectuals.
When he created the Communist League, he made sure that working class socialists were eliminated
from any positions of power and influence in the organisation.
It is also clear for all his endeavours to be the social benefactor of humanity, he disliked
people.
And he continuously fought with members of his own family and circle of friends.
Marx lived his life in an atmosphere of verbal violence, quarrelling with everyone with whom
he associated with, with any length of time.
He worked hard, in fact, most of his life to become middle class.
He spent the last two decades of his life in a comfortable middle class homes.
And for the last 10 years of his life, he never had anything less than two servants.
Why do I mention that?
It's because it is so hard for humans to live up to what we champion intellectually.
It is so hard for us to live out what we hold to as being our belief system.
You know, it's not uncommon to love the idea of loving people than actually loving people
themselves.
Now, from a biblical perspective, our love for people is even more revealing.
Because it indicates the authenticity and the health of our relationship with God.
The spiritual logic is clear.
Love for God produces love for people.
And when you turn that spiritual logic around on its head, you can discern a love for God
by the existence of love for others.
That's the correlation.
And it's there in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
And so today we're entering into this new series called Generous God.
And it's going to carry us to the end of term.
And the basic idea is that God's generosity to us in Jesus Christ produces a life of generosity.
Or another way to put that, God's love for us produces a life of love.
Sacrifice produces sacrifice.
Now, when I say generosity, I'm not meaning exclusively or primarily money.
I mean generosity in all of life.
Money is but a means of transaction.
It's a commodity in the same way that my time is a commodity.
Some of us can be generous with finances but not generous at all with our time.
And not generous with our emotional life.
I'm talking here about generosity in all of life.
With times, talents, treasures, testimony, relationships, hospitality, forgiveness.
All of life.
A life of love.
Now, our text for this series is the travel narrative in Luke.
And it's called the travel narrative in Luke because Jesus is traveling.
Who would have thought?
He's on a journey with his disciples.
Starts at Luke chapter 9 verse 51 where Jesus resolutely, it says there,
he set his face to Jerusalem.
And it ends in chapter 19 verse 44 when we discover that Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem.
And all the way along he teaches his disciples what it means to follow him.
And he says some radical stuff.
What we discover in the travel narrative is through the stories Jesus tells
that he turns the thinking of the world upside down and inside out.
Hence the graphic we have in front of us of a wheat field that's upside down.
Not because we're in Australia.
It's because it's upside down.
The travel narrative of all these stories that Jesus tells is he messes with the value system
of the world in which we live.
And there's probably no greater story, more controversial story he told
than the story of the Good Samaritan that Nolene just read out for us just then in chapter 10.
So three points today.
The mandate for a generous life, the magnitude of the generous life,
and the motivation for a generous life.
You'll see that on St. Paul's app.
Open that up.
And Luke chapter 10, kicking off with verse 25.
The context of this story and the mandate for the generous life is where an expert in biblical law
asks Jesus what must he do to receive eternal life.
And we are told that he asked Jesus this question because he wants to trap Jesus.
He wants to trap Jesus because Jesus has been doing what they think he shouldn't be doing.
And that is welcoming people, welcoming sinners.
Jesus hanging out with people that he shouldn't be hanging out with.
And in their mind, he's disobeying the law.
Jesus is open.
He is friendly to sinners.
And this scholar in this moment wants to expose Jesus as someone who does not respect the word of God.
That's his intent.
He asked Jesus, what must I do to be saved?
What must I do to be accepted by God?
And he expects Jesus as someone who's not taking God's word seriously to say,
it doesn't matter.
Look, in the end, we'll all get there.
In the end, it'll all be fine.
Just do some good stuff.
That's what he's expecting Jesus to say.
God will accept everyone.
But instead, it's Jesus who traps him.
And it's a good trap.
Never be afraid to be trapped by Jesus.
It will turn out for your ultimate benefit.
The law expert's heart is exposed by Jesus here.
And Jesus asked him, well, what does the law say?
And he gives Jesus a summary of the law.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength,
with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Which is great.
You know, like, it's much better for Luke not to have to record the entire law again,
the whole Torah, and put it in there.
He does a summary version, which is what the Old Testament does.
Deuteronomy 6, Leviticus 18.
Does a summary of the law.
Love God, love your neighbor.
What does it mean to, first of all, love God?
What does that mean?
Archbishop William Temple put it like this.
Your religion is what you do with your solitude.
There's a description of what it means to love God.
Your religion is what you do with your solitude.
In other words, where does your mind go naturally in the moment of quiet?
I know we don't allow ourselves quiet very much nowadays,
but where does it go in a moment of quiet?
In other words, where does it love to dwell?
Where does your mind love to dwell?
Is it God?
Is it his love?
Is it his characteristics?
Is it his attributes?
Is it his excellencies?
You know, when that moment where the TV's off,
and you're not scrolling through Facebook,
and you're not updating your life,
and you have, just, I need 10 minutes to consider the excellencies of God.
There's a go there, naturally.
That's what it means, according to Archbishop William Temple.
It means to love God, is that you are dwelling on him.
So do you love God?
William Temple says,
Where it goes is your real religion,
your real God,
your real faith,
your real salvation,
your real hope.
The first test
is love God so much
that he dominates your solitude.
Love him so much
that you are content in any circumstance,
because you will always have what you want the most.
So let me ask you,
anyone here pass that test?
Anyone?
Okay.
Let's leave that.
That's only 50% of the test.
One more to go.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
As yourself.
Meet the needs of your neighbor
with all the force,
all the joy,
all the speed,
all the power
by which you meet your own needs.
Be as happy for them
when their need is met
as when your own is met.
Is that it?
That's all?
Pretty simple.
Well,
when you see the law,
when you see what the law is after,
as opposed to,
I've obeyed that one,
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.
When you actually see
what the intent of the law is,
you go,
wow,
I'm starting to feel the force of it now.
It is brilliant
what Jesus does here,
because the law outlines
a way of life
that is right,
but the force of the law
helps me to understand
that I cannot do it.
The law is the way of life,
but it can't be the way to life.
That's the brilliance
of what Jesus does in this moment.
We should live this way,
but when you see the force of it,
you realize you cannot live this way.
And so Jesus traps us.
The mandate to live a life
of radical generosity
and love towards others
is so,
so crucial
that Jesus makes it,
in fact,
the test of genuine love for God
in Matthew 25.
Okay,
so that's the test.
That's the mandate.
And then we get to
grappling with the magnitude of it,
because this is essential.
What does this law expert do
as soon as he hears Jesus say this?
He immediately,
his natural inclination
is to put limits around it.
This religious expert
immediately wants to put limits.
Verse 29,
he wanted to justify himself,
and so he asked Jesus,
hang on,
when you say neighbor,
who is my neighbor?
I mean,
who do I really have to live like this with?
He wants to reduce the force
of the biblical law
so that it's reasonable,
so that it's doable.
You see,
the premise of his life
has always been,
God will accept me
because I am good.
I'm good enough.
So what's the minimum standard
that God requires?
And that's when Jesus launches
into his most famous story,
and the magnitude of the generous life
becomes very clear.
There's a guy traveling down
from Jerusalem to Jericho.
We are to assume
in this story
that he is a Jewish man.
This man gets robbed,
he gets stripped,
he gets beaten,
and he's left for dead.
By chance,
a Jewish priest
comes wandering by.
Surely,
he will help.
The priest
couldn't be bothered.
He walks on the other side
of the street.
He didn't want to go near him.
Now,
a Levite comes along.
Again,
expert in the law.
Jewish man
comes along.
You would think
he's going to help
a fellow Jew,
but he can't be bothered.
Walks on the other side
of the street
and continues on.
And then along
comes the Samaritan.
And Jesus
telling this story
to a mainly Jewish crowd
and they would have gone,
Samaritan?
How dare he bring
a Samaritan
into this story?
Jews and Samaritan tensions
were incredibly deep
racial tensions
over a very long period of time.
The Samaritans
were despised
more than any other
people group to Jews.
And the majority
of Jews
in Judea
and Galilee
absolutely
detested
Samaritans.
And by the time
of Jesus
in first century
Palestine,
that animosity
between these two groups
had grown
to the point
over several hundred years
where there was
violence
and murdering
of one another.
Genocide even.
In villages.
What's the Samaritan
doing in Jesus'
story here?
The Samaritan
sees the injured Jew
on the side
of the road
and he goes
over to him
and he has
compassion on him.
He cleans him up,
treats his wounds,
puts him on his donkey,
takes him to a local motel,
checks him in,
hands over his credit card,
says,
I'll fix up
whatever the
expenses are
when I come back.
No limitation.
It's one of those
American Express
platinum black thing,
you know,
no limit.
Hands it over.
Go for broke.
This story
is socially charged.
It is offensive
for the Jew
to hear this story.
So imagine
I get an invitation
to address
a neo-Nazi
far-right
white supremacist
rally in Australia.
and I get up there
and I tell this story
about this
Australian SAS soldier
who's been blown up
on the side
of the road
by a bomb
in Afghanistan.
He's lying there
on the side
of the road.
He is
dying.
Australian
military medic
comes along,
sees the man,
walks on the side
of the road,
continues on.
Australian
army chaplain
walks by,
sees the man
and continues on
and leaves him
there to die.
But friends,
let me tell you
about the ISIS
terrorist
who came along,
saw the man,
treats his wounds,
picks him up,
puts him in his
Humvee,
takes him
to a medical
facility,
treat and end,
hands are over,
pays for all the costs,
but also
pays for his
military pension.
Do you think
they're going to
invite me back?
Do you think
I'm going to
get out of there
unscathed?
That's the context
of Jesus here
right in this
moment.
Remember,
this story
is the answer
to a question
and the question
is,
who is
my
neighbour?
What is the
bare minimum
standard
that God
requires of me?
And at the end
of the story,
Jesus
says to his
lawyer,
do that.
Do that.
Treat
your worst
enemy
like that.
Treat
the whole
range
of their
needs.
Live
and act
and love
and serve
and think
and sacrifice
like the
Good Samaritan
all of the
time.
Not part
of the time,
not just
most of the
time,
all of the
time.
Meet
the needs
of people
who belittle
you,
curse
you,
marginalise
you,
ridicule
you,
hate
you,
berate
you,
ignore
you,
demean
you,
would even
kill
you,
with,
love them
with all
the force,
all the joy,
all the speed
and all the
power by which
you meet your
own needs.
that is the
magnitude
of the
mandate
of the
generous
life.
And Jesus
will not
allow us
one moment
to limit
the force
of it.
Not one
moment.
And yet we
try to.
We try to
limit the
who,
we try to
limit the
when,
we try to
limit the
how much.
It's natural
for us to
want to be
generous to
people who
are like
us and
who we
like.
You know,
after all,
Steve,
charity begins
at home.
In most
cases,
it never
goes beyond
the home.
And Jesus
won't let us
limit it here.
The Samaritan
reached across
an enormous
racial and
cultural barrier
to help
a natural
enemy.
We also
tend to
limit the
when.
It's
very
typical
to be
generous
to people
and
situations
when
we
think
it
isn't
their
fault.
When we
think they
deserve
our
generosity.
And Jesus
won't let us
do that
either.
You know,
a natural
disaster,
it wasn't
their fault,
it happened,
they're destitute
because of
that,
let's be
generous
towards
them.
we're
generous
when we
think they
deserve it.
The Samaritan
here would
have
absolutely
believed
that the
guy
along the
side of
the road
deserved
what he
got.
He's a
Jew,
he deserves
to be in
the gutter.
He's a
member of
an oppressing
group,
and he
still
helped
him.
So
imagine
I
decided
at the
age of
53
to take
up
parkour.
And I
decided
for my
first
attempt
at this
that I
was going
to
move
as quickly
as I
could
from
this
side
of the
street
to the
other
side
of
the
street
via
the
rooftop
of the
church
building
the
trees
and the
power
lines.
Obviously
I didn't
make it
very far.
I'm
on the
middle of
the road
or probably
actually just
at the
end of
the
building.
I've
got
multiple
fractures
on my
limbs
and
I'm
not yet
electrocuted
but that
was the
next thing
that was
going to
happen
to me
and I'm
lying
there.
Do you
think in
that
moment
I
would
do
anything
to
love
myself?
You
would
all
say
rightly
so
idiot.
What
was he
thinking?
What was
he
thinking?
And in
that
moment
are you
going to
I'm
not going
to read
the
ambulance
he's
getting
what
he
deserves.
Do you
think I'm
in that
moment
going to
lie
there
and go
no
don't
call
an
ambulance
I
do
not
deserve
to have
my
fractures
healed
and my
blood
put back
in
I
don't
deserve
it.
I
am
going
to
pursue
the
meeting
of my
needs
in that
moment
with all
the
force
and all
the
joy
and all
the
speed
that I
possibly
can
in that
moment.
I'm
going to
do
that
for
myself
even
though
I'm
an
idiot.
Jesus
won't
let us
limit
the
when
he
won't
let us
limit
you
only
meet
the
needs
of
people
you
only
meet
the
needs
of
people
when
you
think
they
deserve
it
because
there's
a
single
person
in
this
room
who
only
meets
your
needs
when
you
think
you
deserve
it.
If
Jesus
decided
to
only
be
generous
with
his
blood
to
those
who
deserve
it
he
could
have
saved
himself
a
trip.
We
also
tend
to
limit
the
house
it's
the
excuse
that we
can't
afford
to
help
people
it's
noticeable
that
Jesus
puts
the
story
of
the
good
Samaritan
on
a
particular
stretch
of
road
not
just
any
stretch
of
road
it
was
well
known
dangerous
road
it
was
referred
to
as
the
bloody
way
it
descended
from
Jerusalem
around
about
3,000
feet
above
sea
level
down
to
Jericho
down
to
200
feet
below
sea
level
a
windy
narrow
road
through
cliffs
and
crags
imagine
the
scenario
of
walking
through
the
darkest
alley
in
the
worst
part
of
the
worst
city
without
street
lights
that's
the road
that this
Samaritan
is on
why did
the priest
and the
Levite
walk past
why did
they walk
past
because
they were
smart
that's
why
they
were
smart
they
could
see
that
the
man
was
not
yet
dead
what
does
that
mean
it
means
the
robbers
are
still
here
somewhere
they're
close
by
and
they
would
risk
everything
to
stop
stopping
would
be
fatal
when
the
Samaritans
stop
he is
risking
absolutely
everything
he puts
no limits
on his
generosity
at
all
and
when
we
do
when
we
do
we
are
saying
that
we
can't
afford
to
be
generous
with
our
time
and
talents
and
treasures
without
some
of
the
burden
of
that
coming
back
onto
us
and
Jesus
says
yes
that's
exactly
right
that's
what
generosity
is
he
says
if
you
can't
afford
to
help
if
you
can't
afford
to
help
if
you
can't
afford
to
help
then
you're
not
helping
enough
you're
not
loving
your
neighbor
we
can't
put
limits
on
the
generosity
on
this
story
or the
mandates
of the
Bible
to
live
generous
lives
and
so
my
final
point
is
what's
the
motivation
for
this
generous
life
at
the
end
of
the
story
Jesus
says
go
and
do
likewise
so
yeah
so
the
law
expert
is
was
that
is
that
it
you
kind
of
want
to
guilt
me
into
doing
stuff
is
that
is
that
is
that
what
Jesus
doing
here
you
know
guilt
motivation
by guilt
is
basically
the
approach
of
religious
and
secular
motivation
for
everything
religion
says
you
must
live
a
generous
life
because
a
holy
book
command
you
to
it
if
you
want
to
get
into
good
books
with
God
then
you
need
to
live
a
generous
life
that's
religion
secularism
says
that
you
must
do
it
because
you
have
so
much
and
they
have
so
little
and
it
will
give
you
a
sense
of
meaning
in
life
and
the
world's
a
mess
so
you
got to
do
something
about
it
guilt
and
in
this
story
there
are
two
very
moral
and
religious
people
who
do
nothing
the
priest
and
the
Levite
do
nothing
the
irony
is
both
the
priest
and
the
Levite
in
first
century
Judaism
had
the
job
of
distributing
financial
assistance
to
the
destitute
that
was
their
job
they
did
it
six
days
a
week
that
was
their
job
even
people
who
would
normally
spend
their
day
helping
other
people
can't
keep
the
mandate
of
living
a
generous
life
in
other
words
morality
guilt
legalism
will
take
you
somewhere
but
it
won't
take
you
far
enough
so
I
want to
ask
you
having
just
gone
through
this
story
already
does
anyone
here
right
now
feel
guilty
about
the
poor
in
our
society
does
anyone
here
feel
guilty
about
not
doing
enough
I
see
lots
of
head
knobbing
around
the
room
and
those
who
are
not
sure
whether
they
should
or
not
stop
it
stop
it
stop
feeling
guilty
because
it
won't
take
you
anywhere
near
where
jesus
wants
you
to
go
guilting
the
good
samaritan
this story
of the
good
samaritan
is not
about
guilt
so if you're feeling guilty
it's not the response Jesus wants from you
Jesus is not trying to make the lawyer feel guilty
Jesus has put something in this parable
that points to a different motive
the key to the parable
is to understand which of the four characters in the parable
does Jesus want this lawyer to understand he is
which of the four characters is Jesus saying to this lawyer
you are that person in this story
most people read it as if the lawyer
Jesus wants the lawyer to be the good Samaritan
that's not what Jesus is doing here
and I'll get to it in a moment
he puts the lawyer on the side of the road as the dying man
that's who he is
he puts the hated Samaritan in the rescue chopper
the hated Samaritan in the rescue chopper
the Jewish lawyer was meant to ponder
not what he needed to do for eternal life
but what has been done for him for his life
that's what he needed to understand
he needed to see that his life was ebbing away
that he could not save himself
what if his only hope
his only hope
was an act of free radical grace
from an enemy who owes him nothing
what if your only hope in life
is an act of radical generosity
from someone who owes you nothing
but rejection
you see Jesus isn't giving this Jewish scholar
a to-do list
he's actually giving him a dynamic
not a to-do list
a dynamic
a grace dynamic
that can change his heart
it's not until this lawyer sees
that he is the one
on the side of the road
bleeding out
unable to save himself
but saved by an act of grace
by someone
who he has rejected
is he then able to be
that person to others
in other words
he will never be
a good Samaritan
until he has received grace
from the good Samaritan
and where would he get
something like that
notice how Jesus turns the story around
at the end
let me point out to you
the lawyer starts off
by asking
who is my neighbor
but at the end of the text
Jesus asks
which of the three
was the neighbor
he uses his language
and reapplies it
not who
who
who was the neighbor
but who was the neighbor
in other words
which of the three
was neighborly
and the law expert
can't even bear
to say the word Samaritan
but he gets out
the one who had shown mercy
what's the point of this story
who is the good Samaritan
who is neighborly
to those in need
who is the neighbor
to those
who
who's been rejected
by others
but is
the neighbor
to
the one who needed
a neighbor
the Christian faith
says it's Jesus Christ
the core of the Christian faith
the gospel
says that
every single human being
like this law expert
is a self-justifier
we are all
self-justifiers
whatever it is
that we set our heart on
to justify ourselves
and to feel worthy
and good and acceptable
ultimately
is the thing
that controls us
it drives us
it's caused us
to do anything for it
and make us miserable
because that thing
whatever it is
and for some people
it's religion
whatever it is
will never
ever deliver on its promises
it will kill us
for instance
power will only
cause us to want
more of it
and the fear of losing it
the more power we have
the more insecure
we will feel
have a chat with
Vladimir Putin
about that
if we set our hearts
on power
in order to be significant
power will ultimately
control us
and enslave us
you see
if it's not God
whatever it is
that you set your heart on
if it's not God
it will beat you up
and it will fill you
with fears
and discouragement
and failure
and the Christian faith
says that
Jesus Christ
God the Son
the creator of all
that is
the author of life
itself
the one who owes us
nothing
except us
experience
nothing
but rejection
from the humanity
that he has created
Jesus Christ
came into the brokenness
of our road
and had compassion
on us
the word compassion
is there in verse 33
and verse 34
not literally
translated in English
in every translation
but it's there in verse 33
and verse 34
and it's a word
that's used
more often
than any other word
in the Bible
to describe
Jesus' emotional life
Jesus knew
that to come to us
on the road
to rescue us
wasn't to risk
his life
it was in fact
to give his life
as the good Samaritan
came down the road
and lifted up
his enemy
onto his horse
so Jesus
came down
to us
and pulled us
up to his place
I keep going back
to this verse
again and again
and again
but I just want to say
it one more time
for today
2 Corinthians 5 21
God made him
who had no sin
to be sin for us
so that in him
we might become
the righteousness of God
didn't just deal
with our sin
but lifted us up
if we see Jesus
as the good Samaritan
the one who has
radically
generously
neighboured you
it will change
you forever
it is the dynamic
and the only dynamic
that begins
the process
of changing us
as people
who overflow
into radically
generous lives
the evidence
that we have been
radically
neighboured
loved
mercy
of Jesus Christ
generous life
to our neighbours
everyone
is the evidence
that we have been
radically neighboured
only when we see
the true neighbour
do we become
true neighbours
in such a way
that our actual neighbours
must look
to the true neighbour
to come to grips
with what they are
experiencing
in radical
generosity
from us
only then
I wonder
are you still
feeling guilty
are you still
feeling guilty
if you are
then
do
what Jesus
wants you
to do
with that guilt
what did
Jesus
want
the law
expert
to do
with his
guilt
he wanted
him to
feel the
weight
of sin
and expectations
he wanted
him to see
that his
goodness
was not
good enough
that his
generosity
was not
good enough
he wanted
him
to run
to Jesus
with his
guilt
until we
are crushed
by the
mandate
and the
magnitude
of
generosity
that God
requires
from us
until we
are crushed
by that
we will
not be
humble enough
to receive
the mercy
and the
generosity
that he
offers us
in Jesus
a generosity
offers us
in the
not good
Samaritan
but the
great
Samaritan
Jesus
Christ