Have to or Need to
Today’s Scripture – Luke
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[c] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
To help us understand this parable we need to take a couple looks at what happened before Jesus told this parable. An expert of the law asked the question, what must I do to inherit eternal life. The man answered “you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said his answer was right. Of course a good lawyer would as a good question. “Who is my neighbor?”
A lot of us can quote Luke 10:27. In fact you can buy this verse on a plaque to remind you to do what it says. It is amazing that 100 people can read this verse and come to 100 100 different conclusions on what it means.
As we look at the parable of the Good Samaritan we are going to put in the context of what we have been talking about these past few weeks. In the parable Jesus really brings out who the pretenders and who aren’t.
Two of these men are pretenders and one is not.
Two of these men are wearing religious masks and one is not
Two of them weren’t willing to pay the cost – one was willing to pay the cost and go the extra mile.
Two of them were Jews and one was not.
Only one of them did the right thing.
Two of them were pretending to do the right thing.
It doesn’t take a rocket science to figure out who are the pretenders and who is the real deal in this story.
Through this parable we get more evidence of that a pretender looks like.
Pretenders pretend to care
The say the words, “I care” but their actions don’t match their lips. .
- When we say we care about our kids but don’t give them food, drink and the basic necessities of life, we can say we care all you want but your actions prove otherwise
- When can say we care about a situation but not invest ourselves in the situation. You can say you care all you want but if you are not willing to invest any time and energy into the situation – your actions prove otherwise..
To care for someone or something it is going to cost you something.
Pretenders pretend to care. They are not willing to pay the price. The words come out of their mouth but they are not willing to risk anything to show that they care.
Followers don’t have to care about other people. Followers don’t have to have the desire to care for others. We need to care for others. We don’t care for others out of obligation or Christian duty. We don’t care for people only when we have the desire to do so. We care for others because we NEED TO!
When we care for others we thing we are doing them a favor but in reality it is more for you than it is for them. They do get a blessing but we get a TRANSFORMED HEART! This is why we NEED to care – we get a transformed heart. We begin to discover what God has put inside of us.
The pretenders pretend to serve.
They always have good intentions but that is all they are – good intentions. Good intentions do not meet needs. Good intentions solve no issues in some one’s life. Good intentions serves no one. They like the idea of serving someone but that is all it is – and idea. They think about serving others but never find a way to serve others.
Let’s think about this for a minute. In your imagination think of Jesus as being a pretender. He says he loves the world but he does nothing to demonstrate He loved the world. He doesn’t heal anybody. He doesn’t die for the sins of the world. He stays alive and says, “I had good intentions to do those things but will al the pressure of the world on my shoulder ……. I couldn’t follow through ….. I couldn’t do it.”
Good intentions accomplish nothing.
Jesus wasn’t a pretender. Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross. The scriptures are pretty clear that it was not His desire to die on the cross. BUT BECAUSE OF HIS DEEP LOVE FOR US HE NEEDED TO DIE ON THE CROSS!
He needed to. He could not do anything else.
The priest had good intentions but he didn’t solve anything. He saw NO NEED to help
The temple assistant had good intentions but he didn’t solve anything. He saw NO NEED to help.
Followers with good intentions to serve are just pretenders. They see NO NEED to serve. Like the priest and the assistant, they put on their religious mask thinking they are followers because their intentions were good. In other words, they see NO NEED to help.
Look at who helps the Jewish man who was beat up – A Samaritan. It is profound that Jesus uses a Samaritan. A Samaritan is a 1/2 Jew , 1/2 gentile. Jews hated Samaritans and Samaritans hated Jews. A Samaritan was a lower class citizen who Jews had nothing to do with.
Look what he did – HE STOPPED! He not only took care of Him but He took care of the bill too.
Today, it would be like a gay person pulling alongside a Christian whose car was broke down to help. Paying for the tow and then for the car repair. Gay people are totally disliked and mostly shunned by Christians. Jews would have shunned the Samaritans.
For you it would be like paying your worse enemies meal.
The first listeners would have been shocked that a Samaritan was helping a Jew.
The Samaritan dropped His religion. He dropped his ethnic background. He dropped his biases (by the way these are all mask we wear) and simply cared.
The Samaritan didn’t have to do it. He saw the need and it needed to be done. Jesus didn’t say he had to do it. He didn’t say God put that desire in him to do it. The Samaritan saw the need to stop, help, and pay for his expenses.
I honestly believe that is how God works. Look at this people through the scripture:
- Moses didn’t want to lead 2.2 million people out of Egypt to the Promise Land. He gave all kinds of excuses not to do it – but after the burning bush experience – he NEEDED to do it.
- Mary didn’t want to do it. She said, “how can this be so!” But after her encounter with God she NEEDED to do it.
- Paul didn’t want to be persecuted. But after his encounter with God on the Damascus road he NEEDED to tell the Good News because he had experienced the Good News.
We don’t have to serve others. We don’t have to have the desire to serve others. We NEED to serve others.
The Pretender sees not need to serve others. They see no need to care for others. They serve when they feel like. They care when it is convenient.
To begin unmasking the real you, one must be honest about who the real you is. And then go serve and care anyway.
- The scriptures teach that God loves a broken and contrite heart. Look at Isaiah 57:15 The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.
Be willing to confess that I am like that priest or I am like that assistant. You might need to pray Lord, teach me how to care for this person. Be willing to confess your sin, Lord I feel no need to care. I feel no need to serve…. Make me do it anyway.
When we confess and are honest about who we are. When confess that we really don’t care. When we confess I really don’t want to serve – the false identity that you have created loses it power. You must do it (care and serve). Whether you have the desire or not – you must care for somebody. You must serve somebody.
To begin unmasking the real you, one must begin to serve others at your own expense.
You don’t have to feel like serving somebody. You don’t even have to have the desire to serve somebody. YOU NEED TO SERVE SOMEBODY. Jesus, and none of the scripture, talk about how you must feel when you care or serve. THEY TALK ABOUT YOU NEED TO DO IT. It I for your own good.
Look at these verses
- Philippians 2 – 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
- John 13 – 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.
- As 1 John 3:17 says,“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
In serving others you discover who you truly are.
- You might learn you don’t love others as much as you say you do.
- You might learn you don’t care for others as much as you say you do.
- You might learn you don’t know your neighbor has much as you think you do.
- You might learn you have been pretending to follow Jesus for a long time.
And the opposite might be true.
In caring for others you discover who you truly are.
- You might learn that you don’t care about your neighbor as much you think.
I read an article a couple of years ago from a psychologist that said 75% of the people he meets with problems would be solved if they would go and serve and care other people
In other words, we need to serve others – it will also help you! I believe this is why Jesus makes it such a big deal.
Because when you do things you don’t like to do – that when God shows up and does a miracle in you life.
It might have cost you some money, energy, and time. But you are beginning to see how God really created you.
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