1 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:07,600 One day, an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:08,960 by asking him this. 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,560 Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,800 Jesus replied, what does the law of Moses say? 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:20,000 How do you read it? 6 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,360 The man answered, you must love the Lord your God with all your 7 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,120 heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. 8 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:28,960 And love your neighbor as yourself. 9 00:00:30,420 --> 00:00:30,660 Right? 10 00:00:30,900 --> 00:00:34,100 Jesus told him, do this and you will live. 11 00:00:35,540 --> 00:00:43,860 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, and who 12 00:00:43,860 --> 00:00:44,900 is my neighbor? 13 00:00:46,260 --> 00:00:48,020 Jesus replied with a story. 14 00:00:49,460 --> 00:00:54,220 A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and 15 00:00:54,220 --> 00:00:55,860 he was attacked by bandits. 16 00:00:56,290 --> 00:00:59,730 They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, left him half 17 00:00:59,730 --> 00:01:00,930 dead beside the road. 18 00:01:01,890 --> 00:01:04,610 By chance, a priest came along. 19 00:01:05,410 --> 00:01:08,930 But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side 20 00:01:08,930 --> 00:01:10,530 of the road and passed him by. 21 00:01:11,490 --> 00:01:15,570 A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there. 22 00:01:15,970 --> 00:01:18,450 But he also passed by on the other side. 23 00:01:19,650 --> 00:01:26,930 Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he 24 00:01:26,930 --> 00:01:28,930 felt compassion for him. 25 00:01:29,890 --> 00:01:34,130 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with 26 00:01:34,130 --> 00:01:37,410 olive oil and wine and bandaged them. 27 00:01:37,490 --> 00:01:41,090 And then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn 28 00:01:41,730 --> 00:01:43,010 where he took care of him. 29 00:01:43,570 --> 00:01:47,770 The next day, he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling 30 00:01:47,770 --> 00:01:49,730 him, take care of this man. 31 00:01:50,430 --> 00:01:53,350 If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time 32 00:01:53,350 --> 00:01:53,950 I'm here. 33 00:01:55,950 --> 00:02:03,510 Now, which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the 34 00:02:03,510 --> 00:02:05,230 man who was attacked by bandits? 35 00:02:05,550 --> 00:02:06,510 Jesus asked. 36 00:02:07,310 --> 00:02:10,670 The man replied, the one who showed him mercy. 37 00:02:12,190 --> 00:02:19,790 Then Jesus said, yes, now go and do the same. 38 00:02:23,150 --> 00:02:25,550 Well, the Parables of Jesus. 39 00:02:25,950 --> 00:02:29,470 Jesus told stories to help us understand how different the kingdom 40 00:02:29,470 --> 00:02:30,910 of God is from the world. 41 00:02:30,910 --> 00:02:36,030 We know not to see the world through sin's distorted eyes, which 42 00:02:36,030 --> 00:02:40,190 is how we see it every day, but to have the perspective through 43 00:02:40,190 --> 00:02:46,390 God's eyes, to see how God designed us to live and to relate 44 00:02:46,790 --> 00:02:47,830 and to flourish. 45 00:02:48,710 --> 00:02:52,230 The kingdom of heaven he talked about is like. 46 00:02:52,390 --> 00:02:57,190 And then he told these stories upside down from what the world values, 47 00:02:58,710 --> 00:02:59,910 not just a little different. 48 00:03:00,230 --> 00:03:01,990 It's like hate versus love. 49 00:03:02,390 --> 00:03:04,230 Complete opposites. 50 00:03:04,950 --> 00:03:08,950 But to understand the kingdom, what the kingdom of heaven is like. 51 00:03:08,950 --> 00:03:14,530 It's a process day by day, day by day, to see thee more clearly, 52 00:03:14,770 --> 00:03:18,530 love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly. 53 00:03:19,410 --> 00:03:23,530 So today's story takes us further into this journey, asking 54 00:03:23,530 --> 00:03:24,930 the question, who's my neighbor? 55 00:03:25,170 --> 00:03:27,010 The Parable of the Good Samaritan. 56 00:03:27,810 --> 00:03:30,570 He had it beautifully read for you from the chair of our theater 57 00:03:30,570 --> 00:03:30,930 department. 58 00:03:31,650 --> 00:03:35,730 But essentially, the story, is this a Lawyer, Jewish lawyer, asked 59 00:03:35,730 --> 00:03:36,530 Jesus a question. 60 00:03:36,530 --> 00:03:36,930 What? 61 00:03:37,190 --> 00:03:39,590 What do I have to do to inherit eternal life? 62 00:03:40,790 --> 00:03:42,630 Jesus said, well, what's the scripture say? 63 00:03:42,630 --> 00:03:47,190 Well, he knew the scripture, so he quoted it back to him, and 64 00:03:47,270 --> 00:03:51,590 essentially he said, love God completely and love your neighbor 65 00:03:51,590 --> 00:03:52,390 as yourself. 66 00:03:53,750 --> 00:03:56,150 And Jesus responded with the question, well, then, who's your 67 00:03:56,150 --> 00:03:56,630 neighbor? 68 00:03:58,070 --> 00:04:00,550 The lawyer was looking for a line. 69 00:04:01,190 --> 00:04:02,870 Who do I have to include? 70 00:04:03,940 --> 00:04:05,220 Not who do I get to include? 71 00:04:06,260 --> 00:04:07,780 And still I'm okay. 72 00:04:08,100 --> 00:04:09,380 He was looking for a line. 73 00:04:09,380 --> 00:04:12,100 Sure, he would want to be neighbor to his family and his friends, 74 00:04:12,340 --> 00:04:12,980 communities. 75 00:04:13,060 --> 00:04:15,900 And in those days, people lived in very close communities. 76 00:04:15,900 --> 00:04:20,420 They knew everybody, and so they were happy to take care of their 77 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:20,900 own. 78 00:04:22,100 --> 00:04:23,140 No problem there. 79 00:04:25,060 --> 00:04:32,320 This was a different Jesus turned it up upside down like he 80 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,400 often does when he tells these parables, not pointing the story 81 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:41,440 to someone that this lawyer despised that he had to take care 82 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:42,320 of and love. 83 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:48,080 He turned it even more upside down by telling the story of someone 84 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:53,520 that he despised taking care of people like the lawyer. 85 00:04:55,930 --> 00:04:56,810 Pretty remarkable. 86 00:04:58,010 --> 00:05:00,410 Why not the story of a Jew helping a Jew? 87 00:05:00,410 --> 00:05:01,690 That would have gotten the point across. 88 00:05:02,650 --> 00:05:05,530 Why not the story of a Jew helping a Samaritan? 89 00:05:05,610 --> 00:05:08,490 That would have been really magnanimous to the Samaritan. 90 00:05:08,570 --> 00:05:11,450 Because the Samaritans were hated by the Jews. 91 00:05:12,010 --> 00:05:18,090 No, the story instead was of a Samaritan helping a Jew. 92 00:05:19,850 --> 00:05:24,850 The Samaritans were anything but good to the Jews. 93 00:05:25,490 --> 00:05:29,650 They would never put good and Samaritan together in the same sentence. 94 00:05:29,730 --> 00:05:31,810 Samaritans were marginalized people. 95 00:05:32,130 --> 00:05:35,250 Samaritans were ethnically different from Jews. 96 00:05:35,970 --> 00:05:38,810 In fact, they had blended ethnically, which was a horrible 97 00:05:38,810 --> 00:05:39,889 thing to Jews. 98 00:05:40,130 --> 00:05:45,610 There was deep, deep, deep prejudice against Samaritans in those 99 00:05:45,610 --> 00:05:45,970 days. 100 00:05:47,010 --> 00:05:50,990 Samaritans believed parts of the scripture and other parts they 101 00:05:50,990 --> 00:05:53,070 kind of discounted or didn't follow the rules. 102 00:05:53,710 --> 00:05:56,030 And so the Jews considered them really heretics. 103 00:05:56,430 --> 00:06:00,030 Not only are they ethnically different, but they kind of take 104 00:06:00,030 --> 00:06:02,750 our faith and they made it their own. 105 00:06:03,390 --> 00:06:05,150 And they're not true believers. 106 00:06:06,110 --> 00:06:13,230 In fact, it was so bad that to get from Galilee to Judea, Jews would 107 00:06:13,230 --> 00:06:16,970 often travel around Samaritan rather than going through it because 108 00:06:16,970 --> 00:06:19,010 they didn't want to be exposed to Samaritans. 109 00:06:19,250 --> 00:06:25,810 This was a prejudice and a hatred that built up over 800 years 110 00:06:26,370 --> 00:06:28,210 by the time Jesus told this story. 111 00:06:29,490 --> 00:06:37,130 And in one story, one story, Jesus turns despised people into 112 00:06:37,130 --> 00:06:41,810 good people and tells the story of the good Samaritan. 113 00:06:43,580 --> 00:06:49,140 It's a story of fear and failure and prejudice, but it's also 114 00:06:49,140 --> 00:06:53,420 a story of compassion and love and mercy. 115 00:06:54,300 --> 00:06:55,260 So let's get the players. 116 00:06:55,500 --> 00:06:59,620 The Jewish man who was attacked had to be a person of stature 117 00:06:59,620 --> 00:07:00,380 and wealth. 118 00:07:00,620 --> 00:07:01,940 Why else would they attack him? 119 00:07:01,940 --> 00:07:03,420 They attacked him to take his money. 120 00:07:03,820 --> 00:07:05,420 He was targeted for that. 121 00:07:06,300 --> 00:07:10,860 The road to Jericho was a very dangerous road. 122 00:07:11,330 --> 00:07:12,530 It came down the hill. 123 00:07:12,530 --> 00:07:13,530 There was a lot of ways. 124 00:07:13,530 --> 00:07:15,010 You couldn't see what was coming. 125 00:07:15,250 --> 00:07:17,010 It was a very dangerous thing to do. 126 00:07:17,010 --> 00:07:18,410 Usually people would go in groups. 127 00:07:18,410 --> 00:07:19,730 This man wasn't going in group. 128 00:07:19,730 --> 00:07:20,810 He was going individually. 129 00:07:20,810 --> 00:07:24,410 He got attacked, he got beaten, he got robbed, he took his 130 00:07:24,410 --> 00:07:25,210 clothes from him. 131 00:07:25,210 --> 00:07:26,930 He was left really for dead. 132 00:07:27,490 --> 00:07:28,530 So that's the first player. 133 00:07:28,530 --> 00:07:30,690 Second player we have is a priest who came along. 134 00:07:31,090 --> 00:07:33,970 Well, the priest came along and saw what was going on. 135 00:07:34,290 --> 00:07:37,570 Saw this man bleeding and dying in the road, I'm sure crying 136 00:07:37,570 --> 00:07:38,130 for help. 137 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:39,640 And he avoided him. 138 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:41,960 Was he too busy? 139 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:43,240 Was he afraid? 140 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:45,160 Was he unwilling? 141 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,360 There is something about a priest. 142 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:52,800 Can't get, couldn't touch things that were unclean or somebody 143 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:53,400 bleeding. 144 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,440 So maybe he thought he was fulfilling duty. 145 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:02,760 It was probably just pride that blow him, especially for some 146 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:04,000 person like that. 147 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:04,840 He's not going to do that. 148 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:06,720 And then a Levite came along. 149 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:11,520 Well, Levite is a person who has the administrative work within 150 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:12,280 the temple. 151 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:14,840 And so they're supposed to help. 152 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,560 They're the people who are equipped to help. 153 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:19,400 He had more ability. 154 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,600 But when he came, he also passed by on the other side. 155 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:24,960 He probably saw the priests up ahead not doing it. 156 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:27,480 So he said, if he's not doing it, I'm not supposed to do it. 157 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:28,840 So he just followed along. 158 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,200 And then we had the Samaritan. 159 00:08:32,970 --> 00:08:35,290 The Samaritan came down this risky road. 160 00:08:36,010 --> 00:08:41,530 He gave up his plans when he saw the man beaten and injured. 161 00:08:43,450 --> 00:08:47,210 He risked his life in some ways because he could have been attending 162 00:08:47,210 --> 00:08:50,410 to them and somebody else come along and say, well, you did it, 163 00:08:51,530 --> 00:08:52,890 and charged him with it. 164 00:08:53,850 --> 00:08:57,450 Or the robbers could have come back and gotten him. 165 00:08:58,020 --> 00:09:03,220 He used his own resources, oil and his wine and his donkey and his 166 00:09:03,220 --> 00:09:03,500 money. 167 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:05,580 He put his own resources into it. 168 00:09:05,580 --> 00:09:07,540 He didn't plan to do any of that. 169 00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:12,420 And then you got the people in the inn, which is really an interesting 170 00:09:12,420 --> 00:09:14,980 group because the inn was not a hospital. 171 00:09:15,380 --> 00:09:16,820 Now, this man was near death. 172 00:09:16,820 --> 00:09:17,900 The scripture is real clear. 173 00:09:17,900 --> 00:09:18,980 This man was near death. 174 00:09:20,020 --> 00:09:21,620 So they brought him to this inn. 175 00:09:21,780 --> 00:09:22,500 Can you believe? 176 00:09:22,740 --> 00:09:23,940 You know, imagine this. 177 00:09:24,020 --> 00:09:25,300 This isn't a Holiday Inn. 178 00:09:25,300 --> 00:09:26,660 This is a little tiny place. 179 00:09:26,660 --> 00:09:27,970 You know, bring him in. 180 00:09:27,970 --> 00:09:29,530 This man's bleeding all over the place. 181 00:09:29,530 --> 00:09:32,690 He's probably crying out, there's a lot of pain going on. 182 00:09:32,690 --> 00:09:36,090 They didn't have anything that we have now to kill the pain. 183 00:09:36,250 --> 00:09:37,370 He's dealing with that. 184 00:09:37,450 --> 00:09:40,170 There are other guests there who have paid to stay there. 185 00:09:40,170 --> 00:09:42,890 And that's the last thing they want is this guy coming in. 186 00:09:43,450 --> 00:09:49,930 And so there are people at the end who did not initiate the mercy, 187 00:09:50,890 --> 00:09:52,490 but they were drawn into it. 188 00:09:53,860 --> 00:09:56,780 And when we're drawn into mercy, we have a choice. 189 00:09:56,780 --> 00:09:57,940 And they had a choice. 190 00:09:57,940 --> 00:10:01,540 You could join in, you could push back and say, he's not coming 191 00:10:01,540 --> 00:10:04,900 in here, or you can run away and just leave. 192 00:10:06,580 --> 00:10:09,220 So the people of the inn are also part of this story. 193 00:10:10,180 --> 00:10:13,180 Now, whether it's the Samaritan or even the people of the 194 00:10:13,180 --> 00:10:20,510 inn, mercy, merciful love, requires taking risks. 195 00:10:21,470 --> 00:10:25,950 It takes giving up, and it takes being inconvenienced. 196 00:10:26,190 --> 00:10:30,630 You can't show mercy, you can't show love unless you're willing 197 00:10:30,630 --> 00:10:31,710 to do those three things. 198 00:10:32,190 --> 00:10:33,870 And that's what they did in this story. 199 00:10:34,110 --> 00:10:35,390 They took a big risk. 200 00:10:35,950 --> 00:10:38,590 They gave up their own resources, their own convenience, 201 00:10:38,750 --> 00:10:39,870 their own comfort. 202 00:10:40,190 --> 00:10:43,350 And they were significantly pushed out of the plans that they 203 00:10:43,350 --> 00:10:44,110 had for the day. 204 00:10:44,350 --> 00:10:51,330 Showing love without sacrifice is kindness and is decency, but it's 205 00:10:51,330 --> 00:10:51,850 not love. 206 00:10:53,130 --> 00:10:57,450 Love always requires a level of sacrifice. 207 00:10:58,650 --> 00:11:02,970 So did the Good Samaritan love the injured man? 208 00:11:02,970 --> 00:11:06,610 Is kind of a natural question that comes out of this scenario. 209 00:11:06,610 --> 00:11:08,410 Then he didn't know him. 210 00:11:09,130 --> 00:11:12,890 There's no indication that he had any connection with the man. 211 00:11:15,810 --> 00:11:20,930 But he was his neighbor to love because God loved the Samaritan 212 00:11:21,970 --> 00:11:25,570 and the Samaritan loved the people God loves. 213 00:11:26,130 --> 00:11:28,210 And the Samaritan knew the scripture. 214 00:11:28,690 --> 00:11:31,902 And I'm sure the scripture which guided him was from Micah 6, 215 00:11:31,958 --> 00:11:37,410 8, which reads, this is what God requires of you, to do what's 216 00:11:37,410 --> 00:11:43,220 right, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. 217 00:11:44,340 --> 00:11:46,100 That's what God requires. 218 00:11:46,820 --> 00:11:48,620 Those are not serving suggestions. 219 00:11:48,620 --> 00:11:49,860 Those are not options. 220 00:11:50,180 --> 00:11:50,900 Those are not. 221 00:11:51,940 --> 00:11:53,060 Pick one out of three. 222 00:11:53,300 --> 00:11:55,460 No, those things are required. 223 00:11:56,020 --> 00:12:00,180 Mercy is the most selfless expression of love. 224 00:12:01,300 --> 00:12:05,060 This man that the Good Samaritan took care of was very different 225 00:12:05,380 --> 00:12:06,200 from him. 226 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:09,080 Maybe he didn't like him. 227 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:12,120 I'm sure he didn't know him. 228 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:16,680 And he probably thought, he doesn't deserve mercy. 229 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:22,840 These Jewish guys have been beating on our people for 800 years. 230 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,000 Why in the world should I help him? 231 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:27,000 That's the natural reaction. 232 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:28,760 That's sin's way. 233 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,130 The kingdom of heaven is totally different. 234 00:12:33,250 --> 00:12:38,530 But in giving mercy, there's a high cost to pay, a very high cost 235 00:12:38,530 --> 00:12:39,010 to pay. 236 00:12:40,210 --> 00:12:43,770 Scripture says, now which of these three would you say was your 237 00:12:43,770 --> 00:12:45,970 neighbor to the man who was attacked by the bandits? 238 00:12:46,690 --> 00:12:47,489 Jesus asked. 239 00:12:47,489 --> 00:12:50,050 The man replied, the one who showed him mercy. 240 00:12:50,370 --> 00:12:54,770 And Jesus said, yes, go and do the same. 241 00:12:55,650 --> 00:12:59,650 You see, mercy is the only option for followers of Christ. 242 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:02,160 It's the only option we have. 243 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,080 You say, well, I don't have the temperament for mercy. 244 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:07,200 Well, you may not. 245 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:10,160 Some people have the temperament for mercy, some don't. 246 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:15,880 My son, shortly after he got his driver's license, you know, nervous 247 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,640 as can be, and he goes out driving on his own. 248 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,360 He comes back about the fifth or sixth trip back, he comes back 249 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,000 and he's got two dogs in the car. 250 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,360 Say, grady, what are you doing bringing the dogs home? 251 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,920 He said they were on the side of the road and they couldn't find 252 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:33,560 the owner. 253 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:35,960 And so I got them and they have a collar. 254 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:37,960 So I brought them home and we're going to call them and then 255 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:39,000 we're going to take them to them. 256 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:39,880 That's just him. 257 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,040 He got a temperament to have mercy on an animal. 258 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,680 I don't care what kind of animal it is or what shape it's in, 259 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:47,960 he's going to take it in. 260 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,600 Some people have a temperament for mercy. 261 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,000 Most people don't have the temperament for mercy. 262 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:54,010 It really doesn't matter what you're temperament. 263 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:54,760 Temperament is. 264 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:55,680 It's required. 265 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:57,880 Some people, you know. 266 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,400 Second thing is, do you have the time for mercy? 267 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,520 I guarantee you this, there's never time for mercy. 268 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:06,960 It's not going to happen. 269 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:11,480 When you happen to have time to give to somebody, the time for 270 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,120 mercy is always going to disrupt your schedule. 271 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,400 Maybe you say I haven't got the talent for mercy. 272 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:24,250 Well, that's why I like in this story, the Good Samaritan didn't 273 00:14:24,250 --> 00:14:27,330 have all the talents he needed, and he teamed up with the 274 00:14:27,330 --> 00:14:29,450 people at the end in order to help. 275 00:14:30,010 --> 00:14:34,210 And sometimes in giving mercy, we've got to team with others in 276 00:14:34,210 --> 00:14:35,930 order to have the talent to help. 277 00:14:36,570 --> 00:14:40,250 But mercy is the only option for followers of Christ. 278 00:14:40,250 --> 00:14:42,530 So whether you got the temperament or you got the time or 279 00:14:42,530 --> 00:14:45,210 you got the talent, it's still required. 280 00:14:46,090 --> 00:14:49,770 And Jesus made it very clear we have to be merciful. 281 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:54,680 And the Good Samaritan showed mercy at every single level. 282 00:14:55,720 --> 00:15:01,280 Now, this man, as we talked about, I mean, he couldn't speak. 283 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:02,360 He was near death. 284 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,880 But we know because of who he is, he despised Samaritans. 285 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,760 If he would have woken up and seen this guy helping him and realized 286 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,200 he was Samaritan, he probably would have gone into panic attack 287 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,760 because he despised Samaritans. 288 00:15:17,250 --> 00:15:21,810 He had the Good Samaritan had every reason not to care for him, 289 00:15:22,290 --> 00:15:27,810 but he showed mercy anyway because of who God is, not who the 290 00:15:27,810 --> 00:15:29,490 Jewish man was who was injured. 291 00:15:30,130 --> 00:15:35,810 The priest, the Good Samaritan showed mercy to him. 292 00:15:36,370 --> 00:15:37,650 The priest knew better. 293 00:15:38,370 --> 00:15:39,970 The priest knew better. 294 00:15:39,970 --> 00:15:44,500 He's supposed to take care of the flock, and he didn't do it. 295 00:15:45,780 --> 00:15:48,300 The Good Samaritan didn't go running after him and say, you know, 296 00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:48,980 grab that Pierce. 297 00:15:48,980 --> 00:15:49,740 Bring him back here. 298 00:15:49,740 --> 00:15:51,580 You come back and do what you're supposed to do. 299 00:15:51,580 --> 00:15:52,340 He didn't do that. 300 00:15:52,580 --> 00:15:54,580 He showed mercy to the priest. 301 00:15:54,660 --> 00:15:56,740 He showed mercy to the Levite. 302 00:15:57,220 --> 00:16:02,140 The Levite had the resources to do better, and he didn't do it 303 00:16:02,140 --> 00:16:02,500 either. 304 00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:06,500 And the Good Samaritan showed him mercy. 305 00:16:07,860 --> 00:16:14,820 The Good Samaritan's mercy was to all the people in the story, none 306 00:16:14,820 --> 00:16:17,580 of whom were merciful toward him. 307 00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:19,580 None. 308 00:16:20,860 --> 00:16:25,380 Nobody was merciful toward the Samaritan, and yet the Samaritan 309 00:16:25,380 --> 00:16:27,180 was merciful to everybody. 310 00:16:27,180 --> 00:16:31,020 You see, mercy is not dependent on the receiver. 311 00:16:32,940 --> 00:16:37,720 Christ gives us mercy not because we deserve it, not because 312 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,680 we earned it, not because we did anything that made him smile. 313 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,680 Christ gives us mercy because he loves us. 314 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:50,920 And we are to give mercy to others because Christ gives it to 315 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:51,200 us. 316 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,640 You see, mercy changes everything. 317 00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:00,760 Absolutely everything is changed when mercy gets thrown into 318 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:01,440 the equation. 319 00:17:02,970 --> 00:17:04,810 News story came on tonight. 320 00:17:05,690 --> 00:17:08,250 Somebody did something to help somebody in the Belhaven neighborhood. 321 00:17:08,490 --> 00:17:10,170 I hear Maggie Wade coming on. 322 00:17:10,410 --> 00:17:13,770 A Good Samaritan showed up in the Belhaven neighborhood this afternoon. 323 00:17:14,650 --> 00:17:15,970 Everybody goes, oh, yeah? 324 00:17:15,970 --> 00:17:17,210 That means there's a good person. 325 00:17:18,329 --> 00:17:22,410 In those days, a Samaritan was despised. 326 00:17:23,610 --> 00:17:28,330 People in Jesus Day would have laughed at that because nothing good 327 00:17:28,410 --> 00:17:29,690 comes out of Samaria. 328 00:17:31,740 --> 00:17:36,140 The heroes of this story should be the priest and the Levite, 329 00:17:37,020 --> 00:17:38,540 not the Good Samaritan. 330 00:17:41,020 --> 00:17:45,820 When giving mercy, there will always be, on your road of giving 331 00:17:45,820 --> 00:17:47,420 mercy, hypocrites. 332 00:17:47,980 --> 00:17:50,060 That's the other part of mercy. 333 00:17:50,460 --> 00:17:54,180 Every time you try to give mercy, there will be some hypocrite, 334 00:17:54,180 --> 00:18:00,450 probably who's gone behind you or after you who should have helped. 335 00:18:02,690 --> 00:18:06,210 So the question is, are we going to let the hypocrites set our 336 00:18:06,210 --> 00:18:07,810 standard as followers of Christ? 337 00:18:09,570 --> 00:18:12,610 Should we let the priests set the standard as followers of Christ? 338 00:18:12,850 --> 00:18:14,370 He had high stature. 339 00:18:14,530 --> 00:18:15,650 He had influence. 340 00:18:15,730 --> 00:18:20,770 He's the person who should be a role model for mercy, and he wasn't. 341 00:18:21,330 --> 00:18:23,170 So if he wasn't, why do I have to? 342 00:18:24,890 --> 00:18:28,650 Maybe the Levite temple administrator. 343 00:18:29,130 --> 00:18:31,330 He had all kinds of resources to do this. 344 00:18:31,330 --> 00:18:33,890 He could have called in a group of people, take care of this 345 00:18:33,890 --> 00:18:34,650 guy and the whole thing. 346 00:18:34,650 --> 00:18:37,410 It would have been easy for him and he didn't do it. 347 00:18:37,410 --> 00:18:39,210 So if he doesn't do it, why do I have to? 348 00:18:42,730 --> 00:18:45,290 Hypocrites will always be on the road. 349 00:18:46,090 --> 00:18:50,670 But hypocrites are not an excuse for not showing mercy. 350 00:18:51,310 --> 00:18:55,390 You see, hypocrites, they know what to do, but they don't live it. 351 00:18:56,430 --> 00:18:58,270 So they know exactly what to do. 352 00:18:58,990 --> 00:19:00,350 They're just not going to do it. 353 00:19:01,230 --> 00:19:03,230 And they'll be the first to judge you. 354 00:19:03,630 --> 00:19:06,390 In fact, they'll quote scripture back at you because you 355 00:19:06,390 --> 00:19:07,630 didn't do it their way. 356 00:19:08,510 --> 00:19:09,710 They're pretty good at that. 357 00:19:11,630 --> 00:19:16,350 They'll put effort Hypocrites will put effort into not helping. 358 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:22,040 The scripture says the priests went to the other side of the road. 359 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,920 The Levite went to the other side of the road. 360 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,040 Well, this probably was a very small trail. 361 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:30,400 This wasn't very wide, because the bandits wouldn't attack somebody 362 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:31,320 where you could escape. 363 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,320 They would attack at a very narrow place where you had no way 364 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:35,160 to getting out. 365 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:37,800 And so there was blood all over the place. 366 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,400 There was stuff all over the place that they'd left behind. 367 00:19:42,050 --> 00:19:42,770 It was a mess. 368 00:19:44,450 --> 00:19:47,850 And you can just imagine that priest very carefully trying to work 369 00:19:47,850 --> 00:19:50,930 his way around that, to not touch any of it. 370 00:19:51,650 --> 00:19:55,290 And maybe the Levite working his way around it to not really even 371 00:19:55,290 --> 00:19:55,730 see it. 372 00:19:55,730 --> 00:19:56,770 I don't want to see it. 373 00:19:58,770 --> 00:20:04,210 Hypocrites will go as far as possible to avoid mercy. 374 00:20:05,810 --> 00:20:08,930 Hypocrites are almost always driven by pride. 375 00:20:10,220 --> 00:20:15,820 The priest of stature and robes and significance wasn't going 376 00:20:15,820 --> 00:20:17,820 to get himself bloody and dirty. 377 00:20:18,140 --> 00:20:22,900 The Levite probably saw the priest ahead, somebody he admired, 378 00:20:22,900 --> 00:20:27,100 somebody who could do good things for him, give him a promotion. 379 00:20:27,660 --> 00:20:29,820 Well, if he's not going to do it, I'm not going to do it either. 380 00:20:30,380 --> 00:20:32,140 So he's just following the example. 381 00:20:34,790 --> 00:20:36,950 Why is there so little mercy around us? 382 00:20:37,750 --> 00:20:44,030 Why is there so little mercy in this kingdom, in this world destroyed 383 00:20:44,030 --> 00:20:44,630 by sin? 384 00:20:45,830 --> 00:20:48,950 I think one does it and the others follow, just like these two. 385 00:20:49,750 --> 00:20:56,390 See, that's why online, the algorithm's so dangerous, because 386 00:20:56,470 --> 00:20:59,910 one doesn't show mercy and others just follow it. 387 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:03,360 And they think, well, if they don't, I'm not going to. 388 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,280 And the algorithm that comes up on your phone and the algorithm 389 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:13,200 that is embedded in your mind because of that can push you away 390 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,720 from being a merciful person just because others don't do it. 391 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:23,840 I think there's also a temptation to just use excuses. 392 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:25,520 It's justifiable. 393 00:21:26,230 --> 00:21:29,910 First of all, he's dirty, he's a mess. 394 00:21:30,310 --> 00:21:31,670 I got things to Do. 395 00:21:31,990 --> 00:21:34,630 I've got places to go to Jericho. 396 00:21:34,630 --> 00:21:36,070 That's why I'm going down this road. 397 00:21:36,070 --> 00:21:39,430 The priest would say to himself, I cannot stop and do this. 398 00:21:39,430 --> 00:21:43,670 I've got all kinds of justification for not being merciful. 399 00:21:45,910 --> 00:21:49,910 I think those who don't show mercy lower the standards for all 400 00:21:49,910 --> 00:21:50,390 of us. 401 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,800 Think, well, God's kind of grading on the curve. 402 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,440 If the priest didn't show mercy, the Levi didn't show mercy. 403 00:21:58,440 --> 00:21:59,360 I guess I don't have to. 404 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:00,720 I still get a passing grade. 405 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:02,160 Doesn't work that way. 406 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:04,800 It's not what Jesus called us to do. 407 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,760 But here's the real reason there's so little mercy. 408 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,880 True character is only shown under stress. 409 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:21,360 In times of greatest stress is when your true character comes out. 410 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:23,200 And my true character. 411 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:29,760 There's so little mercy because under stress people get selfish. 412 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:34,720 Rather than realizing God has called us to be merciful. 413 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:42,240 Mercy keeps giving and giving and giving. 414 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:45,000 Mercy is decision. 415 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:47,720 It's not an emotion. 416 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:49,800 Yes, the scripture is real clear. 417 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:52,680 The good Samaritan had compassion on him. 418 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,280 There was an emotional response, but it was to a decision. 419 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:04,440 A decision to show mercy to someone who despised him. 420 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:11,770 It was a decision to give mercy to someone who never has done 421 00:23:11,770 --> 00:23:13,090 a thing for Samaritans. 422 00:23:13,730 --> 00:23:19,050 It was a decision to give mercy to somebody who has more than 423 00:23:19,050 --> 00:23:21,450 he had to give as a Samaritan. 424 00:23:21,450 --> 00:23:24,850 Since Samaritans would not have had the kind of wealth that 425 00:23:25,010 --> 00:23:27,330 Jewish people, merchants had. 426 00:23:28,210 --> 00:23:35,290 You see, the real focus of mercy is what it does for us, not 427 00:23:35,290 --> 00:23:37,360 simply what it does for for others. 428 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:43,680 To become a merciful person because Christ is merciful in our 429 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:48,880 lives is to begin to live in the kingdom of God. 430 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,280 Remember, Jesus said at the beginning of this, we talked about 431 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:53,039 the parables. 432 00:23:53,039 --> 00:23:57,360 He said, the kingdom of God is not just out there somewhere in heaven, 433 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:58,480 it is now. 434 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:07,190 And when we show mercy, we step more fully into the kingdom 435 00:24:07,270 --> 00:24:08,070 of God. 436 00:24:09,750 --> 00:24:13,190 Jesus redefined neighbor with this story. 437 00:24:13,990 --> 00:24:15,590 It's not about proximity. 438 00:24:16,550 --> 00:24:19,590 It's not about similarity or comfort. 439 00:24:21,750 --> 00:24:25,230 Jesus said, you, neighbor, is anybody in need who's in front of 440 00:24:25,230 --> 00:24:28,150 you, whoever it is. 441 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:32,800 But you have to be purposeful. 442 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:38,320 You have to be purposeful in that. 443 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,400 So here's a way to do that. 444 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:47,200 First of all, see, see, notice hurting people around you. 445 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,280 I can guarantee you, if you will start seeing before the end 446 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,400 of the day, you'll find somebody in your path on his campus 447 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:54,000 who's hurting. 448 00:24:56,090 --> 00:24:59,210 But so often we're so absorbed in our own world, we don't even see 449 00:24:59,210 --> 00:25:02,650 it, look for it, see it. 450 00:25:03,290 --> 00:25:04,250 Secondly, stop. 451 00:25:05,610 --> 00:25:08,890 Allow compassion to interrupt your schedule. 452 00:25:09,930 --> 00:25:10,649 It's easy. 453 00:25:10,649 --> 00:25:11,450 Just keep going. 454 00:25:11,850 --> 00:25:13,610 You're busy, I'm busy. 455 00:25:13,770 --> 00:25:14,970 We got stuff to do. 456 00:25:14,970 --> 00:25:16,170 Important stuff to do. 457 00:25:17,770 --> 00:25:23,070 But sometimes you just got to stop and help, serve. 458 00:25:24,190 --> 00:25:28,990 Use your resources, your time, your money, your skills. 459 00:25:29,790 --> 00:25:30,990 Sometimes you give up. 460 00:25:31,710 --> 00:25:35,270 But again, mercy is not all in what you do for somebody else. 461 00:25:35,270 --> 00:25:36,750 It's what it does for you. 462 00:25:38,190 --> 00:25:42,430 And sacrifice, love costs something. 463 00:25:43,870 --> 00:25:44,990 Love is not free. 464 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:51,360 Jesus, love for us was not free when he died on a cross for 465 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:51,960 our sins. 466 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,240 Jesus paid the sacrifice. 467 00:25:55,560 --> 00:26:01,799 And it will sometimes require sacrifice of us in order to show 468 00:26:01,799 --> 00:26:02,440 mercy. 469 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:09,240 Well, the story of the prodigal son was told to answer the 470 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:10,360 question, who's my neighbor? 471 00:26:11,970 --> 00:26:15,810 Now, which of these three would you say is a neighbor to the 472 00:26:15,810 --> 00:26:17,730 man who was attacked by bandits? 473 00:26:19,010 --> 00:26:22,370 The lawyer said, the one who showed him mercy. 474 00:26:22,370 --> 00:26:23,090 Pretty obvious. 475 00:26:25,170 --> 00:26:27,409 And Jesus said, yes. 476 00:26:28,530 --> 00:26:30,610 Now go and do the same. 477 00:26:32,050 --> 00:26:32,850 Do the same. 478 00:26:34,050 --> 00:26:34,850 Do the same. 479 00:26:35,890 --> 00:26:36,730 Let's pray together. 480 00:26:36,730 --> 00:26:37,650 Our benediction. 481 00:26:38,190 --> 00:26:40,830 No eye has seen, no ear is heard. 482 00:26:41,150 --> 00:26:45,630 No mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 483 00:26:45,950 --> 00:26:46,630 God bless. 484 00:26:46,630 --> 00:26:47,470 Have a great day.