Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Luke 10:25-37

Theme: If we love God, we will love others.

What kind of Kingdom Citizen are you?

From time-to-time I’ve reminded you of the kinds of Parables Jesus told.

They’re all about the Kingdom.

Some give us Characteristics of the Kingdom.

Some give us Characteristics of the King.

And some give us Characteristics of Kingdom Citizens.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the last.

When it comes to the people around you, how well do you see?

How well do you hear?

Do you speak out on the behalf of others?

Do you care about people who have been wounded by life and are hurting?

Or do you have blinders on that limit the scope of your vision?

Like every story that Jesus tells, he tells it within a context of something that is going on around him.

The background for this parable is found in Luke 10:25.

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

A Jewish lawyer was one who would have been well-versed in the Old Testament Books of Moses and Jewish religious law.

He knew the Jewish Bible backwards and forwards.

The man asks a reasonable question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

He asks it with an unreasonable motive: It was to tempt the Lord.

It’s a word that means to thoroughly test.

This guy is not interested in discovering truth.

He is interested in a debate.

Jesus answers the question by pointing him back to the law:

Luke 10:26-28 He [Jesus] said unto him, What is written in the law?

how readest thou?

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

And he [Jesus] said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 22 that these two commandments—to love God with every fiber of your being, and to love your neighbor as yourself—are the two greatest commandments and that the whole law hangs on obeying them.

But, the lawyer is not finished.

The Bible says that in an effort to justify himself he asks, “OK, just who is my neighbor?”

He uses an old debating technique often employed by one who is losing the argument.

He demands of Jesus; “Define your terms!

What do you mean by ‘neighbor’?”

And of course, the lawyer knows the answer to that question: His neighbors are people just like him.

They’re people whom he likes and who like him in return.

They’re people who look just like him, and think just like him, and act just like him, and worship the same God he does.

In other words ... Jews!

And maybe not even all of them.

And Gentiles?

Well ... Gentiles need to apply for neighbor status.

With a smile of smug satisfaction—thinking he has put Jesus between a rock and a hard place—he asks the question, “Who is my neighbor?”

He should have quite while he was ahead!

It is at this point that Jesus tells a story that leaves the lawyer—and everyone else in the crowd—slack-jawed in amazement: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho ... “ and most of you can pretty well finish the story from there.

What does the parable teach us about the behavior of Kingdom citizens?

I. WE CANNOT IGNORE A HURTING WORLD

ILLUS

How do you share the love of Jesus with a lonely man?

How do you tell a hungry man about the bread of life?

How do you tell a thirsty man about the living water of the Lord?

How do you tell him of His Word?

How do you tell a dying man about eternal life?

How do you tell an orphan child about the Father's love?

How do you tell a man who's poor about the wondrous riches of the Lord?

How do you tell him of His Word?

How do you tell a loveless world that God Himself is love?

How do you help a man who's down to lift His eyes above?

How do you tell a bleeding man about the healing power of the Lord?

How do you tell him of His Word?

People who know go to people who need to know Jesus

People who love go to people alone without Jesus

For there are people who need to see,

People who need to love

People who need to know God's redeeming love.

People who see go to those who are blind without Jesus

And this is people to people, yes,

People to people

All sharing together God's love.

A. THE INJURED TRAVELER

“In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers.

They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.”

(Luke 10:30, NIV84)

1. when Jesus says that a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, he meant down

a. the road descends approximately 3300 feet in about 17 miles

1) that’s an average drop in grade of 176 feet for every mile

2) it’s the equivalent of descending the height of an 18-story building between this auditorium and McDonalds

3) that’s a pretty steep grade

2. and it was a dangerous road

a. it was called The Way of Blood because so many people were bushwhacked along the way by thieves and robbers

3. the story that Jesus tells could have been ripped right out of the headlines of the Jerusalem Gazette: “Prominent Jerusalem resident attacked!

Man mercilessly beaten, robbed and left for dead.

See story page 3

B. THE INJURED TRAVELERS OF OUR DAY

1. we are surrounded by a great deal of pain in our society

a. everywhere you look, people are plagued with hardship, despair and discouragement

1) some are struck with injuries or illnesses that place them in physical pain

2) some are dealing with stigma and scars of emotional pain

3) some are living in the darkness of despair of spiritual pain

2. the mission of the church – and that translates into the mission of believers – is to reach out with hope and healing to a hurting world

3. with infinite love and compassion our Lord understood the human predicament

a.

He had deep empathy with people;

1) he saw their needs

2) he saw their weaknesses

3) he saw their desires

4) and he saw their hurts

4.

He understood and was concerned for people

a. every word he spoke was uttered because he saw a need for that word in some human life

b.