How Deep Is Your Love?

Introduction

Illustration: “How Deep Is Your Love” on Keith Sweat’s debut album “Make It Last Forever“ produced by Teddy Riley and Keith Sweat released on November 24, 1987

Is your love

How deep is your love

Is your love

How deep is your love

How, oh, how

How deep is your love

Oh, how's your love

Been all day thinkin', all night wonderin'

Why love has to change

You kiss me, but it's not real

Tell me what happened

Why out our love for the LORD God be deep?

Genesis 3:21 ESV

21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Genesis 12:1 ESV

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

Exodus 2:23–25 ESV

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Acts 13:22 ESV

22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’

Jeremiah 29:11–14 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Transition To Body- So We Ought Not Seek justification through performance of rules

Luke 10:25–26 ESV

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

Lawyer- to being well informed about law, learned in the law

Luke 10:25 (TNTC Lu): His question, what shall I do …? shows that he was thinking of some form of salvation by works and had no understanding of divine grace. Eternal life means life that is proper to the age to come. It denotes the life that will never end, but, in the Christian understanding of it, the more important thing is that it is life of a particular quality, that life that is the gift of God.

Body

Deep Love Is Inherently God-Centered- from inside to outside

Luke 10:27 ESV

27 And 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.”

Intrinsic- originating or due to causes within a body, organ, or part

originating and included wholly within an organ or part

belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a thing

Deuteronomy 6:4–6 ESV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

Heart- of the emotions, wishes, desires

Soul (psyche)- seat and center of the inner human life in its many and varied aspects, soul.

of feelings and emotions

the human soul, mind, or spirit.

Personality

Strength- capability to function effectively, strength, power, might

What you do?

Mind- the faculty of thinking, comprehending, and reasoning, understanding, intelligence, mind as the organ

Psalm 84:2 ESV

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

“When I think of the goodness of Jesus, and what he has done for me, my soul cries out, "Hallelujah!" Praise God for saving me.”

To live in love is to live the life of the kingdom of God. Arndt points out that the saying ‘recognizes the importance of the realm of the soul and spirit; if that area is sound, the whole person is well’. Our attitude to God determines the rest. If we really love him we love our neighbour too (1 John 4:20).

Deep Love Is Imaginatively Empathetic

Luke 10:27 ESV

27 And 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.”

Empathy- the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner

Leviticus 19:17–18 ESV

17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:33–34 ESV

33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Neighbor- the one who is near or close by, neighbor, fellow human being

Deep Love Does Not Boast

Luke 10:28–29 ESV

28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

An ancient Jewish book of wisdom, Sirach 12:1–4, tells its readers to not help a sinner. Thus, the lawyer’s question is really an attempt to create a distinction, arguing that some people are neighbors and others are not, and that one’s responsibility is only to love God’s people.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

HOW CAN ONE be a neighbor? It takes eyes and ears to be a neighbor, as well as a compassionate heart.

Deep Love Is Indiscriminately Compassionate

Luke 10:30 ESV

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

The setting of the story is the Jericho road, a grueling, seventeen-mile stretch that climbs thirty-six hundred feet from Jericho to Jerusalem and is part of the major route Jews would take when traveling from Galilee to Judea (Jesus will come that route quite soon on his way to his passion, 18:35; 19:1). The road was notorious for robber bands and thus quite dangerous. This unfortunate man is waylaid by thieves who “stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead,” a not uncommon occurrence. If he does not get help soon, he will die.

Luke 10:29–37 (L:VV): Most Jewish people understood the term “neighbor” to apply only to their fellow Jews, so the lawyer’s question, “And who is my neighbor?” is quite valid. Luke tells us he “wanted to justify himself” by continuing his minimalist understanding of obedience and thus regaining the initiative. He expected a Jewish answer, and he could then look good in the eyes of everyone there as he affirmed the complete fulfillment of his obligations. Jesus demands that this command embrace all people, but he doesn’t want only that. In fact, he has upped the stakes by linking it to loving God. To restrict God’s intention that love be universal, to fail to love the Gentile as well as the Jew, is to turn against God and refuse to love him as well.

Most Expected To Help Go Out Of Their Way Not To Help

Coincidentally Person Who Ought To Be Compassionate Doesn’t Care Enough To Help

Luke 10:31 ESV

31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

Priest- Acts on behalf of men in relation to God- ought be sympathetic & compassionate

Since the man was ‘half dead’ the priest would probably not have been able to be certain whether he was dead or not without touching him. But if he touched him and the man was in fact dead, then he would have incurred the ceremonial defilement that the Law forbade (Lev. 21:1ff.).

He could be sure of retaining his ceremonial purity only by leaving the man alone.

He could be sure he was not omitting to help a man in need only by going to him.

In this conflict it was ceremonial purity that won the day. Not only did he not help, he went to the other side of the road. He deliberately avoided any possibility of contact. Other factors may have weighed with him, such as the possibility that the robbers might return, the nature of his business, and so on. We do not know. We do know that the priest left the man where he was in his suffering and his need.

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 5:1–3 ESV

1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

Micah 6:7–8 ESV

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Temple Worshiper Who Ought To Help Thought It Better Not To Get Involved

Luke 10:32 ESV

32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

Levite (worshiper & policed temple)- duty it was to perform the lowlier services connected with the temple ritual

The second person coming by on the road is a Levite (10:32), a lesser official who assisted the priest in his duties, performed the temple liturgy (especially the music), and policed the temple. Like the priest, he took one look at the wounded man and also “passed by on the other side.” Neither Jewish official was willing to take the time to do what the Torah required in aiding the fallen.

There was not even a modicum of compassion or mercy in either one.

Luke 10:32 (TNTC Lu): Much the same happened when a Levite came by. He also was a religious personage and might be expected to be interested in helping a man in need. But he also was a man interested in ceremonial purity.

Psalm 46:1 ESV

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 116:1–4 ESV

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

Psalm 116:5 ESV

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.

Psalm 124:1–3 ESV

1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say— 2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, 3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;

James 1:27 ESV

27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Compassion From Unlikely Places- Samaritan (avoided by Judeans)

Luke 10:33–35 ESV

33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’

Back in 9:52, they refused to grant Jesus hospitality. Samaritans in Luke, then, are not automatically hospitable, especially to Jews headed for Jerusalem. Beyond that, Luke probably expects his readers to know that Jews and Samaritans tended to avoid each other; he may know, and he may think his audience knows, that groups of Jews and Samaritans had each acted violently toward the other in the past.

The third man to come by (10:33) is the one no listener would ever think might come to the man’s aid. This was a despised Samaritan, for centuries the enemies of the Jews (see on 9:52). In most stories they would have been the robbers who beat up the man (which often occurred when Jews passed through Samaria).

The expectations in the account are that the priest and Levite are the good guys, who could be expected to help the wounded traveler; but a Samaritan as a half-breed and renegade would be the last person from whom one could expect compassion

In each case as these “righteous” men happen down the path, the wounded man could have thought, “Surely help is here now.”

Jesus picks a Samaritan as the highlight of the story because such a person is a “non-neighbor” in the lawyer’s eyes.

And this how the LORD God, Jesus, challenges us his disciples

The one major difference between the priest and Levite on the one hand and the Samaritan on the other is not what they see and hear, but what they do with what they see and hear. Only the Samaritan takes pity. Only he has a heart.

People with a heart that does more than pump blood. It sees, feels, and serves.

Compassion With the Plight Of All Humanity

Luke 10:36–37 ESV

36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

All Have Sinned & Fall Short...

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The Devil Comes To Steal & Kill & Destroy

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Luke 10:36–37 (TNTC Lu): The man had asked, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ but Jesus faced him with the question ‘To whom am I neighbour?’ He was an expert in the Law. Now he must think whether the priest and the Levite, who scrupulously retained the moral purity required by the Law, really kept the Law, which likewise enjoined love of the neighbour.

Luke 16:8 ESV

8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

Transition To Close- Men & Women After God’s Own Heart

In her book Hospitality: The Sacred Art, Nanette Sawyer asks: “How can we love in the face of hatred? How can we prepare ourselves for and then implement hospitality in the presence of hostility? How is it possible to hold receptivity, reverence and generosity toward those who hold enmity toward us?” And she then answers: “Preparing to respond to such hostility begins from our center, the place inside (ourselves) where we have personal power . . . (to shift) our focus from our vulnerability in the face of others (to realize instead) our own power to act as proactive neighbors in all our encounters.”

1 Peter 4:8 ESV

8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Close- God’s Deep Love For Those Who Were Enemies

When we were enemies of God

Romans 5:6 ESV

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:7 ESV

7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:10–11 ESV

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Luke 23:34 ESV

34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Luke 6:37 ESV

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

1 Corinthians 2:6–9 ESV

6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

1 John 4:19 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:20–21 ESV

20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

John 3:16–17 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.