The Story Ch 24: No Ordinary Man

Cold Open

Last week, we saw Jesus’ ministry begin as he was baptized, called his disciples, and met the Samaritan woman at the well. This week, we will explore 3 major parts of Jesus’ ministry that show why we believe he is no ordinary man… Today is Sunday, September 27th, let’s get in to it.

Intro Videos

Intro

So this week we’re looking at 3 major parts of Jesus’ ministry on Earth, his parables, the sermon on the mount, and his miracles, and how each of them played a part in his overall message!

Parables

First up is the parables, I think we all know that Jesus liked to use illustrations to reveal the unfathomable goodness of the kingdom of God in a way that his audience could understand. For example, he directly describes the kingdom of God like a mustard seed, the smallest seed that the people were aware of at the time, which grows into the biggest of any garden plants, with branches so big that birds can land on them.

You see, the message of Jesus is really quite simple, quite basic, but it has enormous implications. One of the teachers of the law asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus turns the question back to him, and the man answers with what we know as the greatest commandment, which this teacher of the law knew from Deuteronomy 6.

Luke 10:27–28 NIV

He answered, “ ‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Jesus tells him that this is correct, that this is in fact the simple message he has brought to his people, but the teacher of the law wants to complicate things, he wants to add qualifications to this commandment asking Jesus “but who is my neighbor? To whom do I owe this abundant love?”

And Jesus, to break it down for him, tells the parable of the good Samaritan.

Luke 10:30–37 NIV

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Now, we talk occasionally about who the Samaritans are, but I don’t think we always really drive it home.

The Samaritans, depending on if you believe their version of history or the Jewish version of history, were either Israelites who escaped the destruction of the Northern kingdom by Assyria or they were Assyrian colonists sent to take over the area around Samaria and Shechem after the Jews were taken away.

If you’re anything like me, when you heard the stories of the Samaritans it might’ve sounded like Samaria was a nearby kingdom, like Syria or Aramea, but in fact, Samaria was just a city in the northern kingdom. It was right between Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee.

So if they could be Israelites, why do the Jews hate them so much? The Samaritans often professed to worship the same God as the Jews, but the intertestamental literature and the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus suggest that they supported the Greek invasion of Israel and even changed their temple to be named after Greek gods. Oh, and also did I mention they had their own temple? They worshipped on Mt Gerizim, far from Jerusalem and Mt Zion, and far from the site of the second temple.

Basically, they shared some identity with the Israelites, but changed it in key ways, just enough that it felt like a complete betrayal, the highest of heresies, to worship and offer sacrifices across the kingdom from Mount Zion! Unbelievable. On top of that, many Jews saw them as foreign occupiers who had stolen the name of Yahweh for evil purposes!

Which leads me to this, why did Jesus focus so much on the Samaritans? Last week, we read about how he intentionally diverted through Samaria to show grace to the Samaritan woman at the well, and this week he makes a Samaritan the hero of his story, and tells the teacher of the law to “Go and do likewise” even showing mercy and love to Samaritans!

The simple answer is because Jesus didn’t come to tell the Jews how great they were for staying separate from the kingdoms of the world and upholding God’s law and to give them their bountiful reward!

In fact, as we’ve seen throughout the story so far, the Jews often did the exact opposite of fulfilling their purpose in this world! Instead, Jesus came to tell the Jews that it was FINALLY time for them to really fulfill their purpose, and to go and tell the world, including the Samaritans, that the kingdom of God has come for ALL of them!

This got me thinking about the Samaritans of our day. Of people who American Christianity as a whole has treated as a Samaritan. Of the LGBTQ community, of undocumented immigrants, of our black brothers and sisters who are still to this day tearfully asserting that their lives matter, of the denominations that we fear miss the heart of the gospel.

I strongly believe that Jesus told the teacher of the law in Luke 10 that with all of those people he was to first show them love, and that he would have us tell them that the kingdom of God is here for THEM! That Jesus loves them and died to make their brokenness whole.

Who have you been treating in your heart like a Samaritan? How can you instead show them love as a neighbor?

Sermon on the Mount

Also in this chapter, Jesus preaches the sermon on the mount. Where the people come to him on a mountainside and he speaks more directly than he had in his parables.

The sermon on the mount is where we get the beatitudes, blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake, for they will be filled, blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. And the rest.

It’s also in this sermons that Jesus shares the Lord’s prayer, teaching the people to pray giving praise to God, asking for just enough to get through the day, and asking for forgiveness, grace, and deliverance from sin.

Jesus also instructs them to

Matthew 6:33–34 NIV

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

And he wraps up his sermon with a warning. That anyone who follows his words will be like a wise person who builds their house on a strong foundation, that it will withstand wind and rain and storm! But those who hear him and do not act, are like one who builds their house on sand, and when the storms come, it falls down.

Miracles

And finally, Jesus starts to perform many miracles, healing people everywhere he goes, and feeding the crowds that follow him into the wilderness.

One example is when the crowd had followed Jesus into the wilderness, and the disciples said he should send them all away so they could get food, but Jesus says “why not just feed them here so that we can keep talking?” And the disciples are kinda like well, because they’re five thousand of them, and we have 5 loaves of bread… and two fish.

But Jesus tells them to sit all the people down and he gives thanks for the loaves and the bread and tells his disciples to start handing them out… and EVERYONE WAS FED. In fact, they picked up 12 baskets for LEFTOVERS when everyone was full! Jesus provided in a miraculous way!

Another time, a woman who had been sick a long time, who had been taken advantage of by every physician and healer who all failed to make her well but gladly took her money, heard that Jesus was coming and she knew that if she could just touch his robe she would be healed. So she tries to touch it quickly and sneak away but Jesus, of course, noticed that someone had been healed, and he calls for her to stop. He tells her

Mark 5:34 NIV

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

And everywhere Jesus goes people are coming to him to be healed and to be freed from demons.

What’s interesting about the miracles is that so many people today in different Christian circles look at them and say “Wow! Look how great God is! He wants us all to be so healthy and have lots of fish and bread to eat!!” And well, sure, God wants what is best for us in His divine plan, but focusing on Jesus’ ministry as a ministry of bodily health completely missed the most amazing part of why he came! I believe that the miracles Jesus performed, while they were great, primarily served just to prove that he was who he said he was, so that when he promised us something FAR GREATER than sight or the ability to walk or some fish in the desert, we would have faith in his promise.

More on that promise, next week.

Conclusion

Let me pray for us before we go,

Our father in heaven, we give you glory and praise because you are our God, and you are worth of praise. We thank you this week for the message of Jesus’ ministry, that you have established your kingdom through Him and by your grace and mercy we are able to take part in it! We pray this week that you would open our hearts to all of our neighbors that we would show them love abundantly and would faithfully share the good news of the kingdom of God with them. We pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

Thanks so much for studying with me this week! Talk to y’all next time, grace and peace.