Do This And Live (Part 1)

Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author Dr. Mike Abendroth. Today on No Compromise Radio we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures verse by verse with No Compromise.

The Two Great Commandments and the Demand for Perfect Obedience

What are the two great commandments? The first great commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Do you do it? That's the greatest commandment. Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

And do you do it to God's standards, that is, do you do it perfectly? Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? What's the second great commandment? Love your neighbor as yourself.

Do you do it? Do you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself? Do you love your neighbor perfectly? After all, it's the second greatest commandment. The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

God requires that perfectly to get into heaven. And God also requires, if you'd like to go to heaven, that you perfectly love your neighbor as yourself. And if you can't do it, you need someone who can.

You need someone who has loved the Lord as God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and who loved his neighbor as himself perfectly. If you can't do it, you need someone who did. Let's turn our Bibles to Luke chapter 10 this morning and find out from Jesus Christ, the greatest preacher who ever lived.

Some people call Spurgeon the prince of preachers. I beg to differ. Jesus Christ, the greatest expositor. In a passage that you know so well, you probably don't know it like you think you should know it.

Here's a passage, Luke chapter 10 with the Good Samaritan, that everyone knows about. They name hospitals after this parable. But if you don't understand the context, if you don't understand the situation, if you don't understand Jesus' words, you miss the meaning of the parable.

Now some of you are saying, where's Romans chapter 2 today? This is, lots of you looked up when I said that. Yeah, where is it today? Well, when there's a snow day, I usually have kind of a snow sermon, usually something from the gospels, and we'll get into Romans 2, Lord willing, next week.

I really want the entire congregation to hear our series in Romans, and so that's why we're deviating. The parable of the Good Samaritan. Actually, is it about the Samaritan at all? What is the meaning of this almost most famous text of scriptures?

So, when we come to the passage in Luke chapter 10, verse 21 and following, just to give you a quick background on a parable, what do we say a parable is? How do we teach a kid, if you're going to teach a Sunday school class, what's a parable?

What would you say to a kid? Louder. Earthly story with a heavenly meaning. That's a good way to teach kids. It literally means something that's placed next to something else. So you've got a real story, something that, a real situation as it were, something that could really have happened, but there's a story or a truth that's set next to it.

And that's exactly what Jesus does as he teaches these parables. Sometimes parables are meant to conceal truth from people. Other times they're meant to reveal truth to folks. The best way that you can hermeneutically interpret a parable is to just notice the natural situation, see why it was delivered, and then find out what's the main point.

In other words, you don't want to make these parables walk on all fours. I found a four-walking parable interpretation this week by origin of the Good Samaritan. I don't know if you ever knew this here.

The man who fell among the thieves is Adam. The robbers are the devil and his minions. The priest stands for the law. The Levite stands for the prophets. The Good Samaritan is Jesus. The inn is the church.

The two pence is the Father and the Son. And when the Samaritan said, when I come again, that's the second return of Christ. I just learn new things all the time. That's not the interpretation of the parable.

Let's find out what the interpretation is. Context is everything. Situation is everything. So let's go back to Luke 10 .25 and find out that context. Jesus has just sent out the 72 in chapter 10. Chorazin and Bethsaida have been unrepentant.

The 72 return and now we move into chapter 10. Let's go to verse 25. And behold, and ES doesn't say that, but ESV does and the question was, and behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

If you'd like to know the key to this entire passage of scripture, it's the word do. That's why I said, do you do the two great commandments? Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

The key is do. Now, when you want to talk to a rabbi, the courtesy was socially that you would stand up. It was a sign of respect and a oriental eastern greeting, but he might be standing up showing respect on the outside, but on the inside, the text lets us know what his heart is and that is he wants to test Jesus.

And he is a lawyer. Now, when you think of lawyers today, you think of lawyer jokes and you do something bad and you need a lawyer to represent you. That's not the kind of lawyer here. What's the first, what's the root word of lawyer?

Law. That's what it is. I always found it funny when I moved here and I meet someone and what's your profession? I'm in law enforcement. You need to be in our enforcement is what you need to be. This person was an expert in the law.

That is the law of Moses. That is the old Testament. He's like a scribe. His business was the Bible. This isn't a lawyer for traffic court. This is a man steeped in the Bible, the law of God, the Torah.

He's an expert in old Testament law, specifically mosaic law. And he stands up and he's going to try to put Jesus to the test. Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? I mean, after all, only legal heirs inherent.

You don't inherit things from your parents unless you're a legal heir. And by the way, I'm a Jew and I can legally inherit the land. And by the way, since I'm a Jew, I probably legally inherit eternal life as well.

It's bad though, when you've got a deceitful heart and you begin to ask Jesus questions, you're always going to lose. People say things to Jesus all the time like this, but he's the one who has questions for the person.

Reminds me of John chapter three, Nicodemus said, Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus doesn't even deal with that.

What's he say? Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot even see the kingdom of God. What does Jesus say to the law? Verse 26, he said to him, I've got a question for you. What is written in the law?

How do you read it? Nicodemus, you're the teacher in Israel. Lawyer, how do you as a law expert read it? You should know you're the expert. You're the scribe. The guy gives the right answer. Verse 27, taken right from Deuteronomy six, five, the first part.

And from Leviticus 19, 18, the second part, he gets the answers correct. And he answered, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.

Friends, everything else in the passage revolves around those two great commandments. Loving the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself. Everything else from these two commandments we're going to deal with.

But he starts with not the first great commandment, starts with the second great commandment. Love your neighbor as yourself. Now, what is a neighbor? Who is your neighbor? The Greek word for neighbor means somebody that's near you, just someone who's near.

For the Jew, the neighbor was an Israelite, limited to the religious community. What are the two great commandments? Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.

And then what does Jesus say? This is classic. This is the best. Remember what's the key word? And he said to him, you have answered orthos, orthodoxly. You have answered correctly. You're going to want to underline these two words here.

This is the key. Do this. Do this and you will live. It's an imperative. It's a present imperative. Keep on doing this. You want to inherit eternal life? Then do this. Love the Lord, your God. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Do this. I think what Jesus maybe have failed some of the IBS classes here on evangelism, maybe some of the college classes, some of the seminary classes. If someone comes up to you and says, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

You're a Christian. You go to church. And what must I do? What would you say? I know what you wouldn't say. You wouldn't say what Jesus said. Who says this? Do these things and you'll live. Jesus said, you've answered correctly.

That's where we get the word orthodox. You've answered in a straight fashion. You've cut it straight. That's the right answer. But this guy thought it was all about orthodoxy and not a faith that lived itself out in orthopraxy.

He was all about the creed but not the deed. He was all about the doctrine and not the duty. He had it all memorized up here in his head. Didn't flesh itself out. Not right to have good theology and it stops there.

Jesus said, do this. You continually love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and you continually love your neighbor as yourself, you'll inherit eternal life. It's exactly what Jesus said.

I probably would have given him the three easy steps to follow Jesus or the four W's or the four spiritual flaws or something. I would have done all kinds of things. Jesus is pushing him to see his sin because you don't need a savior until you realize that you're sin.

So the holy law of God is getting pushed towards this man's conscience. 1 Timothy 1 says, we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. Realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and the sinners, the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers and mothers for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.

We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully and Jesus is using it lawfully. Keep the law perfectly with all your heart. Love God with all your soul. Love God with all your strength. Love God with all your mind.

Love God. And if you do this, you will have eternal life. How can I be saved? You tell me according to your law that you study. Now, when the laser beam eyes of Jesus in Revelation 1 start permeating the soul, there's a response that is a godly response.

I could never do that. I'm sinful. I need help. I need mercy. The head drops. Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner, Luke 18. And there's another kind of response to gospel preaching and preaching from Jesus and it's, you know what?

We're going to duck and jive. I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to ask you questions. We're going to figure out a way to circuitously get this laser beam off of me and put it onto something else.

And you know this when you have friends and family and people that you preach to, when they start feeling the weight of the law, it doesn't feel good. So if the Spirit's not working in you, you've got to get out of that.

And that's exactly what happens here. What does he do? Verse 29, desiring to justify himself said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? The focus should be on loving your neighbor actively. And now he switched it to, well, I want to know who my neighbor is.

He can feel the weight because in his own Bible, it says, cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and to perform them, to do them. You don't do all the law. We just read in James chapter two, verse 10.

You say, I do all the law except for one thing. Guilty of all. Desiring to justify himself. Deflecting things. He's trying to soften the demands of God by focusing it on something else. I don't know if you've ever done that.

I think sometimes my kids do that. I think Kim's kids do that, really. They're the ones. Who is my neighbor? The right question should be, who am I neighboring in an active sense? One commentator said, the lawyer does not know that only by mercy can he live and inherit eternal life.

He does not want to live by mercy. He doesn't even not know what this is. He actually lives by something quite different from mercy, by his own intention and ability to present himself as a righteous man before God.

Lord, I'm not able. Give me mercy. That should have been the right response. But instead, as sin tries to save face, who is my neighbor? Now, for a Jew, the neighbor would be a fellow Israelite. Leviticus 19, do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.

And that's right. When God gave that command initially to Israel, it was right that my neighbor is my fellow Israelite. But what's one of the most important things you do when it comes to Bible teaching and Bible reading?

Keep reading. It goes on to say in the same chapter in Leviticus, the stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourselves. For you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God. Is your neighbor the Jew? Yes, but your neighbor is not only the Jew, it's people who are around you, who's in front of you. That's your neighbor. He knew that, but he didn't want to talk about it because sin market looks for loopholes.

And now we come to the parable. If you don't understand that, do this and live as the key, then you'll never get it. I read one guy this week. I never read this before in my life. The Good Samaritan is this.

It's an illustration story, a response parable with a subculture hero using colorful detail marked by a muddled conclusion terminating with a guillotine question exhibiting philo Samaritan sympathies and dealing in positive emotions.

I figured I could just mail that in this morning. I wouldn't even have to study. I only like the guillotine part. Verse 30, Jesus replied. If you're trying to put Jesus in the corner and he starts off with a man, you're smoked.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, 16, 17 miles. He fell among robbers. By the way, you can feel the cadence pick up. You can feel what's going on. It's getting faster. Things are happening.

No time to ramp up. We start right away. Fell among robbers who have stripped and who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now, this place from Jerusalem to Jericho was perfectly right for all kinds of criminals to live there.

It was a haunt for bad people. They could hide Jerusalem to Jericho. It's known for its robbers. Even Pompeii had to wipe out strongholds. Crusaders had to build a small fort at the halfway mark to protect people.

Every century people like to go there because it's a perfect spot to raid folks. Scary uninhabited except for the criminals. And look at the text. It says he fell among robbers. Literally, he got surrounded by these robbers.

Romans called this place the red and bloody way called bloody Boulevard. Maybe you want to call it. Why are there so many people there? These aren't pickpockets. These aren't petty thieves. These are really bad people.

Well, when Herod the Great got done with one of his huge building projects, there's no more work. So you had to cut all the guys loose. Forty thousand huge union kind of masculine, big bicep, burly guys who are working.

I have no work now. Where do they go? Well, a lot of them go right to this perfect little spot to rob people between Jerusalem and Jericho. And this guy fell among robbers. And what did they do? Hey, clothes cost a lot of money.

They took his his clothes. It's valuable. It's almost like he resisted these robbers, but they got him anyway. And then they stripped him. And the text says they beat him. And literally it means placed strokes are blows are plagues upon him.

Because after you got done seeing this man who is beat, you'd look at him and you'd go. He's either beaten to death or he's got a plague. He looks like he's got a plague with all these different kinds of spots ring around the rosy pocket full of posies kind of thing.

Why do we ever sing that song? I don't know. You can look it up and find out the real meaning. And the text says he's literally half dead. He's next to dead. He's not talking. He's unconscious. If you looked at him, you might even say the guy looks dead.

Do you know the whole time the Jewish listener is going to be thinking this guy's a Jewish guy laying there. Jerusalem, Jericho, the man's laying there. He's. He's Jewish. I don't know how we're going to identify the guy because we can't hear his Jewish accent.

We can't see his Jewish clothes in the livery of a Jew because it's gone. What kind of background is he from? More importantly, who will help him? Who is this fellow? He's an image bearer in need. Do you know what?

Even though the robbers treated him poorly, I bet you the Jewish clergy will treat him right in the people business, aren't they? The clergy, the rabbis, the priests, the Levites, they'll do the right thing.

After all, pastors always do the right thing. You should see Steve's face. Now we're in the story. Now, by chance, just means as it happened, doesn't mean there's chance in the world. Systematic theology.

This is a story. Jesus uses the word chance because it's just a random thing. As it happens, as a way of coincidence, it's a way to tell a story. So you hyper-Calvinists don't freak out on me. There's no chance with God.

There's no fortune with God. There's no free will with God. There's none of that. But for storytelling, he says somebody's beaten up. And here comes a guy, a guy who just kind of came along and he was going down that road.

Which road was that? That bloody road, that awful road, that road that you could get whacked on. And it was a priest. Priests don't walk. They got a whole entourage. And when he saw him, he loved his neighbor as himself.

Helps around the corner. He passed by on the other side. Now, what do priests do back in those days? Priests offered sacrifices and they did the worship services. And the priests were like elders. They taught and they did the sacrifices.

And what you would do is if you were a priest back in those days, you would serve in the temple for about two weeks. That would be your slot. And then after your two weeks were up, you'd go back home.

And a lot of priests lived in Jericho. So you go to the temple, you do all your things for sacrificial offerings and for presenting incense and to conduct services in the morning and the evening in the temple.

And then you go back. Done with your service and then now back to Jericho. And this guy saw him. The text is he observed or noticed or perceived. He didn't want to come near the guy. He went on the opposite side.

The Greek text says on the anti-side. No motives given. The key is he didn't do. Well, of course, priests weren't allowed to defile themselves by touching a dead person unless there was a situation like this.

He might have been thinking, oh, Leviticus 21, I shouldn't be defiled. And can you imagine the humiliation? You're a priest. You've been in Jerusalem now for two weeks serving in the temple and you serve faithfully.

And now you're on your way home. You're almost home. Can't wait to tell your wife and kids and the community around you. I got to serve the Lord God Yahweh in the temple. I got to serve in there for two weeks.

And now you help the dead guy. You become ceremonially defiled. And when you get home, they're all waiting for the stories about how you served in the temple. And you say, sorry, don't come close to me.

Don't touch me. I'm physically, ceremonially defiled.