Bridge Builders pt 3
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“This is it guys!”
“This is it guys!”
“This is it guys!” Nate shouted excitedly as the Piper bounced on the beach. “They’re on their way.”
With Lunch over, the men busied themselves with building a miniature “jungle” and model house in the sand. their intention was to demonstrate to the “savages” how to build an airstrip, should they be interested in the “white men” coming and living among them.
Their hopes were high… and soon… the five missionaries sang together, as they often did — spontaneously and joyfully!
Committing themselves and their carefully crafted plans to Him who had so unmistakably brought them this far…
They waited for the Aucas.
Before 4:30 that same afternoon, the river would flow over the bodies of these five friends — slain by the very people they had come to save....
But… their story doesn’t end there!
No… Their wives and children knew why they had gone… They knew why they were there… they were as committed to the mission God had given them as their husbands had been…
And so… they went to the Auca… they laid the remainder of their lives on the altar… trusting God to provide for them… and the Auca people…
You see… When the families of these five missionaries looked at the Auca people… they did not see angry, murdering savages… They saw what their husbands… their fathers… saw…
Lost souls who needed the Love of Christ — They saw neighbors!
What do we see?
When we look at the people around us… when we look at the world we live in… what do we see?
If we are going to be Bridge Builders for the Kingdom, then we must “SEE” the “Harvest” — We must “SEE” people… and we must PARTICIPATE in reaching out to them in compassion and mercy.
“I think I may say to every person whom I am addressing, If you are yourself saved, the work is but half done until you are employed to bring others to Christ. You are as yet but half-formed in the image of your Lord.” — Charles Spurgeon
Who has seen the movie “Avatar”?
In the movie, the “alien” species… the inhabitants of the planet have a phrase they say to each other: “I SEE You.”
“I SEE You!” Does not mean “I see you standing there… I see you living there… I see what you are doing… I see where you work....
It means…
— I SEE you completely!
— I SEE the real you...
— I SEE your hurt…
— I SEE your love…
— I SEE your Joys…
— I SEE your pain…
— I SEE your grief…
— I SEE your worries…
— I SEE your fears…
— I SEE who you are!
— And … I understand, and Care!!!
That is how God SEES you!!!
— When God looks at you… He does not see an angry, hate-filled, murdering “savage”… He sees His Creation… He sees something He loves deeply… and His compassion for you wells up from the very depths of Heaven!!!
“I SEE You” means having compassion, mercy, and love by “seeing” others through God’s eyes — as God sees them!
When Jesus told the disciples to “Pray to the Lord of the Harvest” (Lk 10:2-3), He was not telling them to pray for more Pastors, Missionaries, and Evangelists — He was telling them to pray for “eyes to see” the harvest!!!!
Christ’s desire is that WE would “SEE” the Harvest — to truly SEE people — and to REACH OUT in Compassion and Love to our neighbors.
Compassion and Mercy must become as much our lifestyle as it was Christ’s.
The Christian Life… Holiness… is not about discussing “philosophies” or “ideals”… it is about DOING!!!
Let’s go to scripture:
25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27 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.”
28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
This lawyer wanted to “catch Jesus” — to prove Him wrong!
So he asks Him:
25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
I love Jesus’s answer!
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
“You’re the expert!!! You tell me!”
So, the Lawyer responds:
27 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.”
Notice Jesus’s response to him:
28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
“Do this” is not a philosophical answer… it is a call to action! It is a reminder that the “Christian life” is not about discussions, but about a lifestyle of forgiveness, mercy and compassion…
It is an answer that reminds the Lawyer of something he already knows… and that stomps all over his toes!
He knows — he confessed — that they were commanded to “Love their neighbors”… AND he knows that they fail to do that!
So, he tries to justify himself:
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
That is what sparks Jesus to tell this story.
— That’s right I called it a story, because it is not necessarily a parable.
You see, it makes more sense for it to be the retelling of a story that was commonly known, because that eliminates the ability of the Pharisees and scribe to say “That’s not real, you made that up!”
Not that that matters a lot to the lesson.
But we also have to be careful with “seeing” it as a parable, because we tend to turn parables into allegory — We feel the need to make everything stand for something, and so:
— the victim becomes the sinner
— the priest and levite become the sacrificial system (which could do nothing for the sinner)
— the Samaritan becomes Jesus (who saves, pays the bill, and promises to return)
— the Inn becomes the Church (where believers are cared for)
— the “two pence” becomes the sacraments
Do you see the issue with that?
When we do this, we can make scripture say whatever we want it to!
— It is easier to make a religious system than to improve the neighborhood.
Jesus is not talking about a point in a “checklist” of “good religion” that we do every now and then… He is talking about a characteristic that must mark our lives as a RESULT of God’s Grace and Mercy on us!!!
Jesus is talking about “DOING”, not “DISCUSSING”!
Look what He tells the Lawyer:
28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Lawyer asked “What must I do?” And Jesus told him, “Love your neighbor.”
Then He reminds him of a story that illustrates the issue clearly…
The Priest and the Levite have no “excuse”… they simply didn’t “see” the man…
— All they “SAW” was someone to be avoided!
But… The Samaritan — and outcast and enemy of the Jewish community — “Saw” the man…
— He identified his needs…
— He had compassion on him…
— He took care of him…
You see… the Lawyer KNEW that God REQUIRES His people to show COMPASSION and MERCY on STRANGERS and ENEMIES.
33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.
34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
4 When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.
5 When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.
He had no excuse!
And neither do we!!!
Jesus turned the table on the Lawyer… and He turns the table on us!
(Whew! I love it!)
The question is not: “Who is my neighbor?” — which identifies neighbors by geography, citizenship, philosophy, race…
But: “To whom can I be a neighbor?”
— Wherever people need us, there we can be a neighbor!
It is easy for us to “discuss” problems, abstract ideals, needs of people… and yet, still fail to solve those problems.
— We discuss poverty… addictions… job needs… , and yet, never personally feed a hungry family, or help someone find a job!
In this parable, Jesus gives us Three philosophies we tend to us in dealing with people…
- (today) "condemn him," "avoid him," "love him."
Condemn him — "Beat him up" - Christians would deny, but, "How do we react to issues?"
"Avoid him" — "Family and church first, he's just after money..." You're doing your part by giving to the church....It's not your place to share...
"Love him" — does not mean give hand outs, it means take care of his needs. (church of acts, Peter and John at the gate)
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.”
We are called to be - "A royal preisthood," "God's hands and feet on this earth,"
Jesus promised that we "will do greater things than He..."
But, we can only do those things if we reach out our hands in love and mercy…
The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Nine: What in the World Does a Christian Do? (Luke 10))
Attending a convention in Indianapolis, Dwight L. Moody asked singer Ira Sankey to meet him at 6 o’clock one evening at a certain street corner.
When Sankey arrived, Mr. Moody put him on a box and asked him to sing, and it was not long before a crowd gathered.
Moody spoke briefly, inviting the crowd to follow him to the nearby opera house. Before long, the auditorium was filled, and the evangelist preached the Gospel to the spiritually hungry people.
When the delegates to the convention started to arrive, Moody stopped preaching and said, “Now we must close as the brethren of the convention wish to come and to discuss the question, ‘How to Reach the Masses.’ ” Touche!
Church — We reach the Masses by Reaching out our hand!
— too often, we are like the Priest and Levite — even the Lawyer — in the story…
— We love to “talk about it”… to “debate” what should be done… But we don’t want to reach out ourselves…
This is why we love to come to the Pastor and tell him what we think “he” could do....
The Wesleyan Bible Commentary, Volume 4: Matthew–Acts 2. The Parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30–37)
If people want to come to church services, believers usually do their best to preach to them, teach them, and show them the way of salvation. But what about the man beside the road, beaten and robbed by life? Do Christians pick him up, or do they pass him by?
The question is: “Will we be...”
— like the thieves — seeing our neighbor as someone to exploit.
— like the Priest/Levite — seeing our neighbor as someone to be avoided.
— like the Samaritan — truly “seeing” our neighbor with Love and Compassion?
Christ told the Lawyer — and He tells us —
“Go and KEEP DOING likewise.”
Will We?
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Nine: What in the World Does a Christian Do? (Luke 10)
The Samaritan’s one deed of mercy has inspired sacrificial ministry all over the world.
Will we allow ours to do the same?