September 18, 2011: Leviticus 18:1-5; 19:9-18, Psalm 32, Galatians 3:15-22, Luke 10:23-37
“And behold, lawyer stood up to put Him to the test saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Seems like a rather easy proposition to tackle, this “go and do likewise” of Jesus this morning. For it is rather clear what the Samaritan did for the beaten and robbed man on the road to Jerusalem-the man was helped, sustained and cared for only because the Samaritan did such to him. It is pretty simple of an idea that to love your neighbor as yourself, quoted from our Leviticus text this morning, is to do unto them as you would have done unto you.
But, as any Lutheran should know, the Bible will interpret itself all over the place; that the Bible will interpret the Bible and so, we are also enlightened a bit more about this law in which we, like the lawyer from Luke today, seek to do and so live. And what we find out is that, as the Apostle Paul declares, while the law is certainly good and godly and laudable, there is, finally, no power within it so to do it as God demands it to be done! Luther will later say about this that “the law will say do this, but it is never done;” that is, all the law can do, when one seeks to live and be justified by it, is to convict you of your lack of success-echoing Paul’s statement today that “if the law had been given to give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.”
This truth is seen especially in the priest and Levite that passed by on the other side of the road today. For their problem wasn’t that they broke the law by passing by-they were actually seeking to stay pure according to the law. For, even though Leviticus today reminded Israel to keep and show mercy to others, the Law also demanded ritual purity in order to worship in the Temple. The priest and the Levite, rather than being heartless cynics, were on their way up to Jerusalem, up to the Temple, up to the worship center of Israel and so we’re seeking to keep themselves undefiled so they could rightly give God His worship according to the Law.
Thus, the law ended up working against itself here in Luke-it demanded two separate things that caused both to pass by while leaving the other bleeding on the other side of the road. And that is what Jesus was trying to get across to the lawyer. If one seeks to make themselves right and holy to God on the basis of their works of the Law, they had to do so completely and absolutely-a possibility that was finally unable to be achieved, because the law ends up contradicting itself when one seeks to live accordingly and perfectly to it all.
So what was it, if it wasn’t in order to obey the law that requires one to both love God and neighbor in a completely contradictory way, which made the Samaritan stop to help the man? Well, Jesus tells us, “When he saw him, he had compassion”-that he didn’t stop because he had to, but simply because he saw the need to. He stopped and helped simply out of grace-the man was rescued and saved solely upon the undeserved mercy of one who was passing by. The Samaritan gave mercy instead of law when he came upon this man, broken, bleeding and left for dead.
Which means that eternal life-that which the lawyer was seeking when he came to Jesus today-is found in something more than our working of the law, even if we are a neighbor to our neighbor as the Samaritan was in Jesus’ parable. It means that what one truly needs, isn’t a job to do or a command to follow in order to find a hope in the midst of a hopelessness, but for one to be given a compassion that is so desperately needed. It means that what you need to find, if you are to inherit eternal life, is to have One come and so do and give this to you completely outside of any of your work. It means that, in the end, you finally need someone like Christ Jesus, your Good Samaritan.
Because, as our other texts remind us, before our God, we end up looking and acting much like the priest and Levite in our lives. For regardless of how law abiding we might generally be; regardless of how often we might help out a neighbor in need; regardless of how many works we do, charities we support or even how many times we walk and sit between these walls-we are still guilty of sin because we cannot and will not live completely by the law. Jesus told the lawyer today, that he would only live if he did those works of the law he dutifully recited. But, as God told Moses, this is done only if we do them perfectly and completely, which is something we most certainly have not. So this is why, Paul tells us, God has imprisoned all things by the word of Scripture because all have sinned and fallen short of His glory.
But yet, even in spite of this, your Father in heaven has given the Son to this world so that He might be crucified and raised to give and show compassion to you. That Christ Jesus was given unto this world so to not only clean you up from your sinned-given bloody wounds, but for Him to be stripped and beaten and actually left for dead by the robbers of this world-sin, death and the devil. That Christ Jesus, who once found no room in the inn for Him, laid down in the tomb of your death simply because He cares for you.
And it is there where eternal life-that life which the lawyer long ago once came to Jesus seeking assurance for-is actually found; given unto you and all who believe unto God and His death and resurrection for salvation alone. It is there that the works of the law have been fulfilled-for the promise was given to Abraham that there would be One who would live and die completely in faith. And it is there where now all who follow in such a faith, is given a redemption and salvation that now frees you to actually be a neighbor to your neighbor and help them in all their physical needs, as the Catechism says in the 5th Commandment.
Because certainly blessed is the one, David sang in our Psalm today, whose transgression, whose sin is covered, redeemed and forgiven-for it is there where the true Good Samaritan gives Himself unto you, all for you. Blessed is the one, you, who seeks God’s righteousness in His Word-trusting that in your faith, you are given a new life and a new world, built upon the death and resurrection of your Savior. Blessed is you when you trust in the One who went up to Jerusalem so to die and rise for your sin and death, you trust in Him for all things. Blessed are you because you finally have found THE thing in which you, finally, by faith, can so “do and you will live.” Amen.
Seems like a rather easy proposition to tackle, this “go and do likewise” of Jesus this morning. For it is rather clear what the Samaritan did for the beaten and robbed man on the road to Jerusalem-the man was helped, sustained and cared for only because the Samaritan did such to him. It is pretty simple of an idea that to love your neighbor as yourself, quoted from our Leviticus text this morning, is to do unto them as you would have done unto you.
But, as any Lutheran should know, the Bible will interpret itself all over the place; that the Bible will interpret the Bible and so, we are also enlightened a bit more about this law in which we, like the lawyer from Luke today, seek to do and so live. And what we find out is that, as the Apostle Paul declares, while the law is certainly good and godly and laudable, there is, finally, no power within it so to do it as God demands it to be done! Luther will later say about this that “the law will say do this, but it is never done;” that is, all the law can do, when one seeks to live and be justified by it, is to convict you of your lack of success-echoing Paul’s statement today that “if the law had been given to give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.”
This truth is seen especially in the priest and Levite that passed by on the other side of the road today. For their problem wasn’t that they broke the law by passing by-they were actually seeking to stay pure according to the law. For, even though Leviticus today reminded Israel to keep and show mercy to others, the Law also demanded ritual purity in order to worship in the Temple. The priest and the Levite, rather than being heartless cynics, were on their way up to Jerusalem, up to the Temple, up to the worship center of Israel and so we’re seeking to keep themselves undefiled so they could rightly give God His worship according to the Law.
Thus, the law ended up working against itself here in Luke-it demanded two separate things that caused both to pass by while leaving the other bleeding on the other side of the road. And that is what Jesus was trying to get across to the lawyer. If one seeks to make themselves right and holy to God on the basis of their works of the Law, they had to do so completely and absolutely-a possibility that was finally unable to be achieved, because the law ends up contradicting itself when one seeks to live accordingly and perfectly to it all.
So what was it, if it wasn’t in order to obey the law that requires one to both love God and neighbor in a completely contradictory way, which made the Samaritan stop to help the man? Well, Jesus tells us, “When he saw him, he had compassion”-that he didn’t stop because he had to, but simply because he saw the need to. He stopped and helped simply out of grace-the man was rescued and saved solely upon the undeserved mercy of one who was passing by. The Samaritan gave mercy instead of law when he came upon this man, broken, bleeding and left for dead.
Which means that eternal life-that which the lawyer was seeking when he came to Jesus today-is found in something more than our working of the law, even if we are a neighbor to our neighbor as the Samaritan was in Jesus’ parable. It means that what one truly needs, isn’t a job to do or a command to follow in order to find a hope in the midst of a hopelessness, but for one to be given a compassion that is so desperately needed. It means that what you need to find, if you are to inherit eternal life, is to have One come and so do and give this to you completely outside of any of your work. It means that, in the end, you finally need someone like Christ Jesus, your Good Samaritan.
Because, as our other texts remind us, before our God, we end up looking and acting much like the priest and Levite in our lives. For regardless of how law abiding we might generally be; regardless of how often we might help out a neighbor in need; regardless of how many works we do, charities we support or even how many times we walk and sit between these walls-we are still guilty of sin because we cannot and will not live completely by the law. Jesus told the lawyer today, that he would only live if he did those works of the law he dutifully recited. But, as God told Moses, this is done only if we do them perfectly and completely, which is something we most certainly have not. So this is why, Paul tells us, God has imprisoned all things by the word of Scripture because all have sinned and fallen short of His glory.
But yet, even in spite of this, your Father in heaven has given the Son to this world so that He might be crucified and raised to give and show compassion to you. That Christ Jesus was given unto this world so to not only clean you up from your sinned-given bloody wounds, but for Him to be stripped and beaten and actually left for dead by the robbers of this world-sin, death and the devil. That Christ Jesus, who once found no room in the inn for Him, laid down in the tomb of your death simply because He cares for you.
And it is there where eternal life-that life which the lawyer long ago once came to Jesus seeking assurance for-is actually found; given unto you and all who believe unto God and His death and resurrection for salvation alone. It is there that the works of the law have been fulfilled-for the promise was given to Abraham that there would be One who would live and die completely in faith. And it is there where now all who follow in such a faith, is given a redemption and salvation that now frees you to actually be a neighbor to your neighbor and help them in all their physical needs, as the Catechism says in the 5th Commandment.
Because certainly blessed is the one, David sang in our Psalm today, whose transgression, whose sin is covered, redeemed and forgiven-for it is there where the true Good Samaritan gives Himself unto you, all for you. Blessed is the one, you, who seeks God’s righteousness in His Word-trusting that in your faith, you are given a new life and a new world, built upon the death and resurrection of your Savior. Blessed is you when you trust in the One who went up to Jerusalem so to die and rise for your sin and death, you trust in Him for all things. Blessed are you because you finally have found THE thing in which you, finally, by faith, can so “do and you will live.” Amen.
posted by Weekly sermons at 6:57 AM
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