WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.120 So, if you have a Bible, maybe you can turn back with me to Luke chapter 10, Church Bibles, 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:19.059 it's page 1041, to think about the Good Samaritan story, perhaps one of Jesus' most famous parables. 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:25.480 In many cultures, to hear that phrase, the Good Samaritan, even if we don't know anything 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:32.740 about the Bible, we understand that a Good Samaritan is someone who offers help to a stranger, 00:00:33.259 --> 00:00:44.960 not expecting reward, and it's an action that may involve risk and cost. I think in God's timing, 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:49.780 it's a wonderful parable to find ourselves in today. I think it asks really important, 00:00:49.780 --> 00:00:57.399 helpful questions for us. Who is my neighbor? How many of us are brand new to this city? 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:04.960 We literally do not know who our neighbors are, but we hope and pray that you will find a home and a 00:01:04.960 --> 00:01:09.760 welcome in our city, in our church, and indeed a place where you can show mercy and kindness 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:16.799 to the folks that you haven't yet met. It's also an important question for our society, 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:25.280 who is my neighbor? Because I'm sure I am not alone in recognizing how easy it is to build barriers 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:36.739 of politics or of culture or of race. And when we set up walls and we ignore people who are different 00:01:36.739 --> 00:01:42.640 from us, we can very easily limit our concern. I'm going to help the people who are like me, 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:48.519 the people who are like me. So it's a really important story for this purpose as well. 00:01:48.780 --> 00:01:55.200 It's also an important story for the great story of our lives, your life and mine. 00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:05.500 As Jesus calls us to practice justice and mercy and kindness for all people, for all kinds of people, 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:14.460 as a way to reflect God's character and in response to God's love in sending us Jesus. 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:23.020 And even before we get into the parable, I want to remind especially if you haven't been here before, 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:29.979 we find in this section of Luke's gospel, Jesus is on a journey. So that's interesting. 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:37.719 He tells a journey story while he is on a journey. Jesus is on the way to the city of Jerusalem, 00:02:38.239 --> 00:02:44.679 and he knows when he gets to Jerusalem, he is going to be killed on a cross. 00:02:45.859 --> 00:02:53.000 Part of God's plan to save sinful people. And he knows in Jerusalem, he will rise again, 00:02:53.000 --> 00:03:01.699 and he will return to the glory of heaven. But Jesus is on this journey to demonstrate the love 00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:09.340 of God and the mercy of God to sinful people, to bring eternal life to anyone who will trust in him. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:17.759 And he tells a journey story that has those exact same themes. He introduces us to a traveler 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:28.379 in desperate trouble. He introduces us to surprising mercy from the good Samaritan. So our story is 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:36.319 important for this reason too. It speaks to us about God's story. It speaks to us about the gospel. 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:44.299 It tells us about the mission of Jesus. So let's get into this famous story, and we'll look at it from 00:03:44.300 --> 00:03:52.020 four different angles. The first, let's think about love without limits. Okay, so at the center of this 00:03:52.020 --> 00:04:00.939 discussion that leads to the parable is the question, who is my neighbor? So the question is there in 00:04:00.939 --> 00:04:09.520 verse 29, this expert in the religious law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, who is my 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:18.780 neighbor? He already says he understands that God calls us to love God and to love our neighbor as 00:04:18.780 --> 00:04:26.019 ourself. And so why is he asking the question? He's most likely asking the question because many Jewish 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:33.639 teachers in the first century said, yes, you love your neighbor, but your neighbor is your brother. 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:45.740 Your neighbor is your fellow Jew. Jesus, is that what you think? Should I just love the Jews because I am a Jew? 00:04:46.219 --> 00:04:57.419 That's what the religious leader is asking. And Jesus refuses to put limits on love. He refuses, first of all, 00:04:57.420 --> 00:05:07.439 to limit who we love. Okay, so Jesus in the first century, us in the 21st century, we live in societies where 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:18.400 the ugly scars of prejudice and of racism and of them and us attitudes are seen out there and in here 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:31.039 all too quickly. And what Jesus does is he uses the barriers, he uses the divisions to focus our attention 00:05:31.039 --> 00:05:41.379 on true neighbor love, which is costly. In two different ways, look at your Bible and look at verse 30, 00:05:41.379 --> 00:05:52.800 who is the person in trouble? Jesus said a man was going down. Where does he come from? We don't know. 00:05:53.060 --> 00:06:02.819 What is his background? We are not told. And that's the point. This man is every man. And so Jesus is saying 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:13.259 we are called to love and to meet the needs of anyone who has needs. Here's another way Jesus makes his 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:23.819 point. Who is the hero in the story? Well, it's not the usual good guys of the story. It's not the religious 00:06:23.819 --> 00:06:31.819 priest and it's not the religious Levite because they see the trouble and they cross the street and they walk 00:06:31.819 --> 00:06:43.240 on by. Rather, his usual bad guys, the enemies, it's the Samaritans. A Samaritan saw him and took pity on him. 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:53.680 So Jesus turns this usual story on its head to force people out of our comfort zones to say, no, we don't 00:06:53.680 --> 00:07:03.340 just show kindness to people who belong to our group. And remember, Jesus tells this story on the road to the 00:07:03.340 --> 00:07:12.759 cross. And that helps us perhaps when questions or objections come to our minds. Questions like, well, 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:22.420 why should I help this person? They're nothing like me. What do we see in Jesus? We see that Jesus' love 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:31.720 crosses differences. In his ministry, he cared for all kinds of people, friends, strangers, enemies, 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:40.500 his country, other countries. And in becoming human to save us, leaving the glory of heaven, 00:07:40.960 --> 00:07:47.480 that's the biggest difference of all. But Jesus crosses that difference so he can show mercy to us. 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:54.620 Maybe another objection. Well, I don't know whether that person deserves my help, so why should I help? 00:07:56.180 --> 00:08:03.020 Remember, Jesus is on his journey to the cross. And Jesus on the cross shows his love freely, 00:08:03.700 --> 00:08:14.660 knowing full well that we do not deserve mercy and love from God. Yet Jesus freely shows it anyway. 00:08:14.660 --> 00:08:21.200 And he asks us to do likewise. So Jesus refuses to put limits on who we love, 00:08:21.400 --> 00:08:27.320 but he also refuses to put limits on how we love. And this is challenging as well. 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:34.360 He wants us to take the second commandment really serious. The second great commandment that we find 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:41.440 in verse 27. If the first is love the Lord your God, the second great commandment from Leviticus 19, 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:50.200 love your neighbor as yourself. Now let's think about that for a moment. How do we love ourselves? 00:08:51.300 --> 00:09:02.060 Well, we care for our needs, physical, mental, social, financial. We are concerned for our own well-being. 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:12.719 We pursue our own happiness. We will spend time and effort and money to provide for ourselves. 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:23.560 We don't limit self-care. And Jesus wants to say to us, we shouldn't try to limit neighbor care either. 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:32.540 And he gives us a really radical demonstration in the Samaritan. So go back to your Bible and to verse 33, 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:44.179 and we find in this story, a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was, and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 00:09:44.219 --> 00:09:51.839 So here's where love begins. It begins with an emotional response. He sees needs. He refuses to walk away. 00:09:52.319 --> 00:09:58.240 He has compassion. But it doesn't just stop there. Oh, I feel sorry for you. 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:05.820 It moves beyond that, doesn't it? Verse 34, we see effort and energy being poured out here. 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:12.700 He went to him and bandaged his wounds. He poured on oil. He put the man on his donkey, and he brought him to an inn 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:21.480 so he could be cared for. And it doesn't just stop there. Verse 35, the next day he's back. 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:31.539 He's giving money, and he's providing for future care. Emotion, effort, energy, expense all come together. 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:40.159 Now, was he caring for a friend, someone like him? We're not told. Was he caring for an enemy? Again, we're not told. 00:10:40.420 --> 00:10:47.360 That's not what's in view. What's in view is sacrificial love and mercy. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:54.200 It's a challenging call, maybe because of our economic circumstances. 00:10:55.539 --> 00:11:01.360 Perhaps because we feel so time poor, and helping people is costly in that way. 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:08.500 Perhaps it's because of the emotional cost that we recognize the challenge of these words. 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:16.139 But as we seek to follow in the way of Jesus, this is the life of love he calls us to. 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:24.799 I wonder if anybody has heard of Daryl Davis. I love this guy whenever I come across him. He started 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:31.620 a foundation called the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism. Fair. Foundation Against 00:11:31.620 --> 00:11:39.580 Intolerance and Racism. He is a black American Christian who describes his life as one of following 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:47.639 the light of Jesus. And following the light of Jesus has led Daryl Davis to some very surprising 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:59.200 places. He has taken it upon himself to actively make friends with white racists from the Ku Klux Klan. 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:11.660 And because of his love and his kindness in the name of Jesus, 200 white racist Klan members have left 00:12:11.660 --> 00:12:19.360 that organization and have left a life of racism behind. And listening to Daryl Davis this week, 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:26.460 he said this, he said, it is hard, that's an understatement, it is hard to love those who hate you, 00:12:26.460 --> 00:12:36.320 to respect in the face of disrespect, to treat fairly those who abuse power to hurt you, 00:12:36.820 --> 00:12:44.800 to listen to others when their ideas are hurtful. But to show love and kindness, 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:58.479 that's what can stop the toxic cycle of racism. That's one example of love without limits following 00:12:58.479 --> 00:13:05.159 the teaching of Jesus. Here's another angle, here's another way to think about this parable. 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:16.399 Let's think about mirrors of mercy. Because this story can help to remind us about God's design for 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:26.679 your life and mine. So we are introduced to an expert in the law. That doesn't mean he was a lawyer in 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:34.519 court, that means he was a religious expert. He knew his Old Testament inside out. So he knows 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:45.639 the story of creation in the book of Genesis. He knows people were made in God's image to know and 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:54.879 to enjoy loving relationships, to know and enjoy love from God and with God, and to love others in the 00:13:54.879 --> 00:14:03.059 world. And as Adam and Eve were made in the image of God and placed in the Garden of Eden and lived in 00:14:03.059 --> 00:14:08.219 perfect love, in perfect love, they were entitled to, while they were obeying, to eat from the tree of 00:14:08.219 --> 00:14:12.819 life. So the theme of eternal life is there as well. So the question he asks in verse 25, 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:23.139 what must I do to inherit eternal life, in a sense takes us back to that deep longing for the life that we 00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:31.919 were made for. Not just a quantity of life that lasts forever, but a quality of life, enjoying God's love, 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:41.699 and living in a world of love. Jesus asks him about the law, and he knows these two great commands that 00:14:41.699 --> 00:14:47.079 have been there from the beginning. With all of our energy, with all of our being inside and out, 00:14:47.199 --> 00:14:58.139 love our God and love our neighbor. Then the parable answers the question, how do we do it? How do we love 00:14:58.139 --> 00:15:06.460 our neighbor? And Jesus wants to make the point that the way that we show love is the love that is full 00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:14.139 of mercy. To go to the end of the story, which of these three men was a neighbor? The expert replied, 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:22.980 the one who had mercy, and Jesus told him, go and do likewise. Mercy sees that is need, 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:37.700 feels that need, and acts to help the person in need. And if we do that, we are mirroring God's mercy. 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:47.879 The light of love that God shines on us is full of mercy. He sees our need, and he responds in love, 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:54.679 and he sends his son. How do we know that God is a merciful God, that he shows his love by mercy? 00:15:54.960 --> 00:16:04.000 Because Jesus is the son of God, and Jesus was sent from God, and Jesus is the perfect image of God. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:12.860 You want to know what God is like? Learn about Jesus. And Jesus shows us what it looks like to truly love 00:16:12.860 --> 00:16:25.519 God, and to truly love other people. And how did Jesus love other people? He shows mercy. Jesus came 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:35.279 on a mission of mercy. He actually told us that in Luke chapter 4. You can turn back to Luke chapter 4, 00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:42.700 and Jesus, the first time he publicly preaches in the gospel of Luke, he reads this, and he says, 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:50.440 this is what I've come to do. The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:58.379 good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for 00:16:58.379 --> 00:17:08.539 the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. This is mercy from God. 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:19.220 And if you read Luke's gospel, every time Jesus heals someone, it's mercy. Every time a demon is driven out, 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:26.839 every time an outcast and a sinner is called to be a friend of Jesus, every command to love enemies. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:36.240 Even when Jesus wants to go to a Samaritan village and they reject him, when Jesus refuses to destroy 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:47.539 that village is mercy. To look at Jesus is to understand what mercy looks like. And Jesus is on 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:55.799 this journey of mercy, because he's on the way to the cross, to be a loving sacrifice, to meet your 00:17:55.799 --> 00:18:04.400 deepest need and my deepest need, to pay for our sin, our sin that separates us from the God of love 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:16.440 and from God's love. We need to be forgiven. And only Jesus can forgive us. And so in this parable, 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:23.040 when Jesus says, here is the good Samaritan, you go and do likewise, what he's saying to us, 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:31.680 he's saying to us, you are to be mirrors of my mercy. You have received mercy, now reflect that to 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:37.880 others. To care for people in need is to reflect the love that Jesus has shown to us. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:45.940 I was thinking about this this morning. Jesus doesn't include any details by accident in his 00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:50.680 stories. There's a detail that he could have left out, because the story would still be powerful, 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:55.860 wouldn't it? If the man was going down from Jerusalem and he was attacked by robbers and he was left half 00:18:55.859 --> 00:19:01.459 dead, and straight away the Samaritan came and helped him. There'd be a wonderful power in that. 00:19:03.379 --> 00:19:07.839 Jesus didn't need to include those first two characters, did he? But he chose to. Why? 00:19:09.419 --> 00:19:15.699 He chose to remind us that religion without love, religion without mercy, it's no good. 00:19:16.639 --> 00:19:24.759 It's no good. The parable begins in a very ordinary way. Lots of people knew that the road from Jerusalem 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:30.720 to Jericho was dangerous. It then becomes very surprising, because when religious figures show 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:36.240 up in stories, you expect them to be heroic, and to be full of kindness, and to act for God. 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:43.680 But they choose to look after themselves, perhaps afraid of attack, perhaps the fear of being unclean. 00:19:44.579 --> 00:19:49.059 Maybe they were off duty. Maybe they felt they were late for much more important work. 00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:55.899 And then Jesus introduces that really shocking twist. Maybe the people thought, okay, the religious 00:19:55.899 --> 00:19:59.799 leaders aren't going to be the hero, but a regular Jewish guy, he's going to be the hero. But no, it's a 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:06.500 Samaritan. It's an enemy. It's an outsider who keeps the law of love, who acts as a mirror of God's 00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:13.980 mercy. And the point Jesus wants to make is that knowing the law is not enough. Knowing the Bible is 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:23.819 not enough. Knowing the truth that God is a merciful God is not enough. Do you, do I know the mercy of God 00:20:23.819 --> 00:20:35.559 and the God of mercy? Is this your story? That Jesus saw me in my spiritual need? That his heart was moved 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:46.759 all the way to the cross to pay the ultimate price to rescue me. Do you know that mercy? And if you do, 00:20:47.019 --> 00:20:58.579 and if I do, do I show the mercy of God in response? Am I ready to make sacrifices? Am I ready to take 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:04.799 risks? Am I ready positively to cross the street to the other side? Because that's where need is. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:10.680 Because that's what Jesus did. And he wants us to follow his example. 00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:20.940 This week I discovered something interesting about Vincent van Gogh. In 1889, van Gogh, not for the first 00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:29.299 time, checked himself into a mental hospital, a sanatorium in Provence. He found himself penniless. 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:37.720 He found himself sick. He was the epitome of the tortured artist. And as he was making his way to 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:44.819 that hospital, he couldn't get there by himself. And so he had to be helped on his way by two fellow 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:50.720 travelers. Well, in that hospital where he stayed for a few months, he had two rooms. One was a small 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:57.400 bedroom. One was an artist's studio. And in that studio, he would draw and paint the landscapes 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:04.700 outside. But he would also, many times from memory, copy down famous paintings that he'd seen 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:14.500 in the past. And one of those paintings in that hospital was the Good Samaritan that had been painted 00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:23.400 by a chap called Delacroix. But that guy painted with really dark colors. But when van Gogh painted it, 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:31.539 really light colors. And art historians have puzzled and asked questions about why. And nobody's 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:42.000 particularly sure. But one thing that we can be sure of, whenever you and I experience mercy 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:53.359 on the journey of life, it is as if light shines in the midst of darkness. And that's what Jesus calls 00:22:53.359 --> 00:23:02.619 us to be and to do as Christians. Let me encourage us never to underestimate those small acts of kindness 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:10.139 and mercy. Remember Jesus said, even if we give a cup of water to someone in Jesus' name, there's reward 00:23:10.139 --> 00:23:19.339 for that. Never underestimate what God can do as Christian people like us look to show kindness to 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:28.220 others. Because I know for a fact that for some people here today, your story is that you're a 00:23:28.220 --> 00:23:39.839 Christian in part because someone chose to pour mercy and love and kindness out on you. And God uses people 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:48.240 and God uses kindness and mercy to open people up to salvation. And so may we be mirrors of mercy 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:55.400 and we see many more come to faith. Here's another thing that we recognize from this parable. 00:23:56.440 --> 00:24:03.160 Jesus teaches about religion with relationships. The conversation with the lawyer and Jesus asks 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:11.940 the identity question, who is my neighbor? Which really becomes, am I a neighbor? Is my life defined 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:19.240 by love for God that shows itself in love to others in response to God's love for me in Jesus? 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:30.320 Because Christianity is a religion of relationships. This call to right living that we receive is social. 00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:39.340 It's never just a private religion. Here there is this call to do good that does not place limits on 00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:47.139 rank or race or class or background because God shows His love widely. 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:54.699 If you have time to read the Old Testament laws, you will find that God emphasized care for the poor 00:24:54.699 --> 00:25:01.240 and the needy and the immigrant to show justice and mercy within society. That's what we should do 00:25:01.240 --> 00:25:08.660 for people who bear the image of God. And so this lawyer, who's an expert in the law, he needs to see 00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:17.980 you express your love for God as you express your love for your neighbor. Those two religious leaders 00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:23.339 who closed their eyes to need, they were not showing love for God, nor were they showing love 00:25:23.339 --> 00:25:33.779 for their neighbor. Especially when we remember at the center of the Christian faith stands a loving Savior, 00:25:34.500 --> 00:25:42.299 who is ready to journey from the glory of heaven, to be born in a stable, to go on a journey in His life 00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:51.179 that involves suffering and death, to obey that great command to love His Father with all of His life. 00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:58.500 And that second great command to love His neighbor as He completed the Father's loving plan to save sinners. 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:06.880 And the wonderful thing is we receive the love of God through Jesus, we become children of God. 00:26:07.620 --> 00:26:14.600 We enter into the family of God. We have these new relationships. And as we understand that new 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:24.740 identity, Jesus intends then that right actions will follow, that love and mercy will follow to friends, 00:26:24.899 --> 00:26:35.099 to strangers, and even to enemies. As we close, I have one last angle to think about this parable, 00:26:35.099 --> 00:26:45.579 and it's that we need salvation from the Great Samaritan. To go back to our lawyer, notice that in verse 25, 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:57.199 he begins the question, what must I do? What effort must I put in? How must I earn this eternal life? Verse 29, 00:26:57.200 --> 00:27:11.059 he wanted to justify himself. We could describe his attitude of one of moralism or salvation by works. 00:27:11.840 --> 00:27:24.100 And Jesus wants to show him and us that it just doesn't work. Maybe you have tried salvation by works. 00:27:24.099 --> 00:27:32.679 I know I have. And you have discovered perhaps that frustration. Maybe on your good day, you feel a 00:27:32.679 --> 00:27:40.500 level of pride. Then you have a bad day and you feel despair. It never gets us closer to God. And Jesus, 00:27:40.699 --> 00:27:49.639 because He loves us, wants to show us that we cannot save ourselves. And so Jesus, because He loves this 00:27:49.640 --> 00:27:58.240 lawyer, He pushes him to think about the law. Do you really love God with all your heart and soul and 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:05.800 mind and strength all the time, all your life, in every moment? Do you really love your neighbor with 00:28:05.800 --> 00:28:11.900 the same time and energy and effort as you love yourself? Do we love the way God intends? 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:22.240 And as we feel the weight of that demand, hopefully we understand that nobody can keep these laws 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:33.740 except for Jesus. And to see that is to understand why we need God's grace and why Jesus becomes good 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:42.099 news. If we want to be a neighbor, if we want to go from here and we want to show mercy and we want to 00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:48.279 be like a good Samaritan, and wouldn't that be a wonderful thing? First, we need a neighbor. 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:54.759 Back to Vincent van Gogh and his painting of the Good Samaritan. Art historians, they noticed a 00:28:54.759 --> 00:29:01.559 fascinating detail in that painting. Van Gogh, who did a lot of self-portraits, he painted himself 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:09.200 into the story of the Good Samaritan. And do you know what figure he was in that story? He was the 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:17.259 battered traveler being helped up onto the donkey. And friends, that's where we all need to see 00:29:17.259 --> 00:29:27.960 ourselves, to understand that we desperately need help from Jesus. The Bible says spiritually we are dead 00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:36.000 in our trespasses and sins. We are utterly powerless, not just injured with a possibility of recovery, 00:29:36.420 --> 00:29:46.160 our situation is far worse than that. We need Jesus, the one who is moved with compassion, 00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:54.240 to come to help us, to pay the price to rescue us on the cross by sheer grace alone, 00:29:54.240 --> 00:30:02.099 showing neighbor love to undeserving sinners. If we want to be a good Samaritan, we first need 00:30:02.099 --> 00:30:12.920 Jesus, the great Samaritan. Our only hope spiritually is that someone quite different from us would come 00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:19.120 to our aid. Someone who owes us nothing, actually someone in fact who owes us judgment because of our 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:27.459 sinfulness, but who freely chooses to give us everything to rescue us. We need the journey of 00:30:27.459 --> 00:30:34.159 Jesus from heaven to earth, from stable to cross, from empty tomb to the glory of heaven. 00:30:35.739 --> 00:30:43.059 We need him as our Savior. And as we receive his love, as we enjoy his kindness and mercy day by day, 00:30:43.059 --> 00:30:53.319 that's when we have that inner power to begin to show love and mercy to others in Jesus' name for his glory and honor. 00:30:54.720 --> 00:31:02.419 Let's pray in Jesus' name together. Lord, we thank you for this story that shows us that you are a merciful God. 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:11.099 We thank you for Jesus' life that demonstrates your love and mercy so clearly in his being willing 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:18.599 to go to the cross to save sinful people, so that simply by putting our trust in him, 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:26.779 by asking him to forgive our sin, by trusting him as our Lord and Savior and King, 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:35.299 we might be forgiven and receive eternal life. Lord, as we enjoy that good news in our lives, 00:31:35.299 --> 00:31:44.079 help us to be merciful people as a church. Help us to be mirrors of your wonderful mercy, we pray. Amen. 00:31:45.659 --> 00:31:55.419 Right, let's close our time together just now, singing the hymn, His Mercy is More. And we'll stand again to sing.