What Does Love Look Like?
Pastor KC Liu/Luke 10:25-27/April 10, 2016
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"25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”" |
Good morning everyone, how are you all doing today? I am really glad that our friends are here from Christian Herald, bringing awareness and advocating for Bone Marrow Patients. I knew they were going to be here, so that’s why I am preaching on this topic this morning: What Does Love Look Like? Please turn your Bibles to Luke 10: 25-27. Here we come to a scene where Jesus is talking to an expert on religious law. I am sure we are quite familiar with this story. But I hope to bring a fresh perspective to this story and I pray that God will speak to us personally.
"25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Here we see that this lawyer is asking a very serious question, “What should I do to receive eternal life?” And instead of telling him the answer directly, Jesus answered his question with a counter question. Why did Jesus do that? He could have answered it directly, but he didn’t. Jesus probably wanted to see what was truly in this lawyer’s heart. Jesus in turn asks him “how do you read it? What is your understanding of scripture?” The lawyer, of course very smart, recites the Old Testament word by word, “You must love the Lord…”, and “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
Have you ever wondered, why can’t we receive eternal life just by loving God? How come we also have to love our neighbors? Shouldn’t my salvation be between myself and God only? Why does it need to involve others? I think it’s because God knows talk can be cheap. I can say I love God all I want, but how do I really know if I do? How do other people know that I really love God or not? They can’t see my heart, they don’t know if I am lying.
You see, your heart is like the roots of a tree; we can’t see it. It is below the surface. It is covered up. But in order to know the condition of the root, you have to see if there is fruit! A dead tree does not bear fruit, but a tree that is alive will bear fruit!
So I think God is saying, “how do I know that you truly love God inside your heart? Prove it to me. Prove it by loving your neighbor. Love the unlovable. Have mercy on those you despise. Fulfill these two things: love God, and love your neighbors, then ... you shall inherit eternal life." Wow, this is a big deal! It's a very big deal! It reminds me of what James 2:14-16 says.
"14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?" I believe this is what God requires of us, a faith that is active, alive, and visible through loving deeds."
However, I am not saying that we can earn our salvation through works. It’s obvious that in Paul writes in Romans 3:28 “that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” In other words we are justified by Faith alone, so that no one can boast of their own merits. But what James 2 is saying is that true saving Faith will always produce good deeds. It’s not true the other way around though. Doing good deeds does not produce True Saving Faith. But if our faith is real on the inside, it will reflect on the outside. Whatever is in the root, will show up in the fruit. So Jesus is saying to this lawyer, "don’t just claim to love God, show me by loving your neighbors.”
Let’s continue on with their conversation. "28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”" The common belief among scribes and Pharisees was that one’s neighbors were the righteous alone. According to them, the wicked—including the really bad sinners, such as tax collectors and prostitutes, Gentiles, and especially Samaritans—were to be hated because they were the enemies of God. They cited Psalm 139:21, 22 to justify their position. It says "Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord?" As that passage suggests, hatred of evil is the natural response of loving righteousness. But the truly righteous person’s “hatred” for sinners is not of the sinner himself, but of the sin that binds that person. It is true that as believers we have to love the sinner, but hate the sin, just as Christ did. But the Pharisees hated the sin and the sinners. They threw the baby out with the bath water. Here is a typical Pharisee’s prayer, "Lord, thank you for not making me like that tax collector." He was very self-righteous. But remember, Jesus said he was a friend of sinners. And so should we!
At this point, the lawyer wanted to justify his lack of love, so he asked Jesus "who is my neighbor" probably hoping to hear Jesus say, "the righteous people like you!" If so, then he is off the hook. But no, Jesus didn't say that. In fact, Jesus didn't even answer his question. In fact, Jesus changes the conversation and tells him a parable. Jesus wanted to show the lawyer that he was asking the wrong question.
"30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead". You see in this picture, the actual road of Jerusalem to Jericho was filled with mountains and valleys. It was a rocky, winding road, curving back and forth which made it hard to know what was ahead of you. It was a 23 mile journey, and would take a full day just to walk it. That stretch of road was notorious for being filled with thieves and crooks because they could hide behind the next hill or trap you in the valley. If Jesus told that parable today, he would say, a man was walking down the streets of Compton or Skid Row at night by himself. And he was attacked by some street thugs. They beat him, took his watch and wallet, and left him half dead.
"31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side." It’s interesting that Jesus used religious leaders as bad examples. Priests served in the temple; their highest duty was to offer sacrifices. Levites assisted in the maintenance of the temple services and order. In today’s terms, they are similar to the pastors and the church staff. We are not told why the priest and Levite refused to help the badly hurt man, but we can come up with at least 3 possibilities.
First, maybe the Priest was thinking, “Man, I am on my way to church service, I’ve got to preach the scripture to my people. I have to get down to Jerusalem and I can’t be late for the meeting. I don’t have time for this beaten man. Let me walk around him”. Second, maybe the Levite was thinking, “Eww… this man is all bloody and gross. I am about to help with the religious ceremony and I can’t touch any unclean human body for 24 hours. And this man is beyond unclean. I ain’t touching him! Let me walk around him”. And lastly, could it be fear that stopped them from helping this man? Remember that this road was dangerous, conducive for ambushing. This road was also nicknamed the “Bloody Pass”. The priest and the Levite probably looked over that man on the ground and thought, “I wonder if the robbers are still around, maybe they’re hiding behind the next hill. I think that guy is faking it, and he is acting like he has been robbed and hurt in order to rob me over there. And so the first question that the priest and Levite was, ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’
How often do we think like this? “If I stop to help this person, what will happen to Me?” I will be late for my meeting, I will get my hands dirty, I will get too tired, I will get taken advantage of, I will lose my spending money, I will not have time for Me, Myself and I. Forget this guy, I’m gone! Jesus is telling us that these religious leaders are bad examples. Don’t be like these guys. People can be religious, they can know a lot of Bible, yet totally miss the point of God’s desire for their lives! All three scenarios are unacceptable! Love does not look like this. These religious leaders had no love in them.
But Jesus now turns the attention to a Samaritan. These are the people who the Jews despised. Jews regarded them as half breeds, both physically and spiritually. Samaritans also worshiped the God of Abraham, but during the Babylonian exile, the Samaritans who remained in Israel intermarried with the Gentiles, and their faith became syncretistic, it mixed a bit with other religions. For this reason, Jews despised them, calling them traitors and compromisers to the true faith. But the Samaritans believed their faith in Yahweh remained pure and true. So these two groups have great tension with each other. Kind of like the tension between ultra-fundamentalists and the ultra-liberals of today. They just can’t get along. Now Jesus brings the Samaritan up in his parable, and the lawyer is probably red hot in his face.
"33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’"
Now clearly, the Samaritan is the good guy in this story. He felt compassion, he felt pity, he acted in mercy. He had love in his heart. He took his own possessions, his own wine and oil, his personal first aid kit, and gave it to the hurting man. The wine was to ease the pain, and the oil was for soothing and healing. He gave up his own transportation. He didn’t mind walking himself, letting the hurting man ride his donkey. He gave up his own money, 2 denarii, 2 days worth of wages, probably around $300, and gave it to the innkeeper. When was the last time we gave $300 to a hurting stranger? He gave up his own time to follow up with the man to make sure he was alright to the very end.
Jesus is saying, “Love looks like something, and this is what love looks like.” Do you see the contrast here? The first question that the Priest and the Levite asked was, ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'” The religious guys thought about me, myself and I. The compassionate man thought about others.
Then Jesus turns and asks the Lawyer. "36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise”". Can you imagine the lawyer answering Jesus’ question? Grinding his teeth, red in his face, unable to spit out the obvious answer. He couldn't even say the word “Samaritan”! He said “the one who showed mercy.” Then Jesus essentially said to the lawyer, “Yes, go and do the same as your enemy. He is a better man than you. He understands the will of God better than you. He know what Love looks like. You don’t. You see, you asked the wrong question, ‘who is my neighbor?’ I am not even going to answer your wrong question. You should have asked, ‘how can I be a loving neighbor to others?”
In conclusion, Jesus is telling us, in order to receive eternal life, we can’t just say that we love God. We have to show the evidence of our love for God. And that evidence is the fruit of loving our neighbors as ourselves. I want to encourage everyone of us to say “Yes” to God when the opportunity to love comes in front of you. There are at least 10 ways you can apply this to your personal life in the next 30 days. Pray for God to show you how to love. Love looks like something. It’s not just a 4 letter word that we utter out of our mouths. Let love look like something in your life. But let’s take the first opportunity to say “Yes” to God right now. Outside in the gym, there are bone marrow stations waiting for you now at 11am and 12:30pm. There are people like Jennifer, who are dying without a match. They are literally our neighbors down the street. Will we say “Yes” to God?
Can we not think “What will happen to me if I donate?” Rather, “What will happen to all the people like her if I don’t donate?” I guarantee you, if that person was your mom or your daughter, you would be the first in line to give. I urge us as a congregation, say “Yes” to God, say “Yes” to Love.
"25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Here we see that this lawyer is asking a very serious question, “What should I do to receive eternal life?” And instead of telling him the answer directly, Jesus answered his question with a counter question. Why did Jesus do that? He could have answered it directly, but he didn’t. Jesus probably wanted to see what was truly in this lawyer’s heart. Jesus in turn asks him “how do you read it? What is your understanding of scripture?” The lawyer, of course very smart, recites the Old Testament word by word, “You must love the Lord…”, and “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
Have you ever wondered, why can’t we receive eternal life just by loving God? How come we also have to love our neighbors? Shouldn’t my salvation be between myself and God only? Why does it need to involve others? I think it’s because God knows talk can be cheap. I can say I love God all I want, but how do I really know if I do? How do other people know that I really love God or not? They can’t see my heart, they don’t know if I am lying.
You see, your heart is like the roots of a tree; we can’t see it. It is below the surface. It is covered up. But in order to know the condition of the root, you have to see if there is fruit! A dead tree does not bear fruit, but a tree that is alive will bear fruit!
So I think God is saying, “how do I know that you truly love God inside your heart? Prove it to me. Prove it by loving your neighbor. Love the unlovable. Have mercy on those you despise. Fulfill these two things: love God, and love your neighbors, then ... you shall inherit eternal life." Wow, this is a big deal! It's a very big deal! It reminds me of what James 2:14-16 says.
"14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?" I believe this is what God requires of us, a faith that is active, alive, and visible through loving deeds."
However, I am not saying that we can earn our salvation through works. It’s obvious that in Paul writes in Romans 3:28 “that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” In other words we are justified by Faith alone, so that no one can boast of their own merits. But what James 2 is saying is that true saving Faith will always produce good deeds. It’s not true the other way around though. Doing good deeds does not produce True Saving Faith. But if our faith is real on the inside, it will reflect on the outside. Whatever is in the root, will show up in the fruit. So Jesus is saying to this lawyer, "don’t just claim to love God, show me by loving your neighbors.”
Let’s continue on with their conversation. "28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”" The common belief among scribes and Pharisees was that one’s neighbors were the righteous alone. According to them, the wicked—including the really bad sinners, such as tax collectors and prostitutes, Gentiles, and especially Samaritans—were to be hated because they were the enemies of God. They cited Psalm 139:21, 22 to justify their position. It says "Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord?" As that passage suggests, hatred of evil is the natural response of loving righteousness. But the truly righteous person’s “hatred” for sinners is not of the sinner himself, but of the sin that binds that person. It is true that as believers we have to love the sinner, but hate the sin, just as Christ did. But the Pharisees hated the sin and the sinners. They threw the baby out with the bath water. Here is a typical Pharisee’s prayer, "Lord, thank you for not making me like that tax collector." He was very self-righteous. But remember, Jesus said he was a friend of sinners. And so should we!
At this point, the lawyer wanted to justify his lack of love, so he asked Jesus "who is my neighbor" probably hoping to hear Jesus say, "the righteous people like you!" If so, then he is off the hook. But no, Jesus didn't say that. In fact, Jesus didn't even answer his question. In fact, Jesus changes the conversation and tells him a parable. Jesus wanted to show the lawyer that he was asking the wrong question.
"30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead". You see in this picture, the actual road of Jerusalem to Jericho was filled with mountains and valleys. It was a rocky, winding road, curving back and forth which made it hard to know what was ahead of you. It was a 23 mile journey, and would take a full day just to walk it. That stretch of road was notorious for being filled with thieves and crooks because they could hide behind the next hill or trap you in the valley. If Jesus told that parable today, he would say, a man was walking down the streets of Compton or Skid Row at night by himself. And he was attacked by some street thugs. They beat him, took his watch and wallet, and left him half dead.
"31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side." It’s interesting that Jesus used religious leaders as bad examples. Priests served in the temple; their highest duty was to offer sacrifices. Levites assisted in the maintenance of the temple services and order. In today’s terms, they are similar to the pastors and the church staff. We are not told why the priest and Levite refused to help the badly hurt man, but we can come up with at least 3 possibilities.
First, maybe the Priest was thinking, “Man, I am on my way to church service, I’ve got to preach the scripture to my people. I have to get down to Jerusalem and I can’t be late for the meeting. I don’t have time for this beaten man. Let me walk around him”. Second, maybe the Levite was thinking, “Eww… this man is all bloody and gross. I am about to help with the religious ceremony and I can’t touch any unclean human body for 24 hours. And this man is beyond unclean. I ain’t touching him! Let me walk around him”. And lastly, could it be fear that stopped them from helping this man? Remember that this road was dangerous, conducive for ambushing. This road was also nicknamed the “Bloody Pass”. The priest and the Levite probably looked over that man on the ground and thought, “I wonder if the robbers are still around, maybe they’re hiding behind the next hill. I think that guy is faking it, and he is acting like he has been robbed and hurt in order to rob me over there. And so the first question that the priest and Levite was, ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’
How often do we think like this? “If I stop to help this person, what will happen to Me?” I will be late for my meeting, I will get my hands dirty, I will get too tired, I will get taken advantage of, I will lose my spending money, I will not have time for Me, Myself and I. Forget this guy, I’m gone! Jesus is telling us that these religious leaders are bad examples. Don’t be like these guys. People can be religious, they can know a lot of Bible, yet totally miss the point of God’s desire for their lives! All three scenarios are unacceptable! Love does not look like this. These religious leaders had no love in them.
But Jesus now turns the attention to a Samaritan. These are the people who the Jews despised. Jews regarded them as half breeds, both physically and spiritually. Samaritans also worshiped the God of Abraham, but during the Babylonian exile, the Samaritans who remained in Israel intermarried with the Gentiles, and their faith became syncretistic, it mixed a bit with other religions. For this reason, Jews despised them, calling them traitors and compromisers to the true faith. But the Samaritans believed their faith in Yahweh remained pure and true. So these two groups have great tension with each other. Kind of like the tension between ultra-fundamentalists and the ultra-liberals of today. They just can’t get along. Now Jesus brings the Samaritan up in his parable, and the lawyer is probably red hot in his face.
"33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’"
Now clearly, the Samaritan is the good guy in this story. He felt compassion, he felt pity, he acted in mercy. He had love in his heart. He took his own possessions, his own wine and oil, his personal first aid kit, and gave it to the hurting man. The wine was to ease the pain, and the oil was for soothing and healing. He gave up his own transportation. He didn’t mind walking himself, letting the hurting man ride his donkey. He gave up his own money, 2 denarii, 2 days worth of wages, probably around $300, and gave it to the innkeeper. When was the last time we gave $300 to a hurting stranger? He gave up his own time to follow up with the man to make sure he was alright to the very end.
Jesus is saying, “Love looks like something, and this is what love looks like.” Do you see the contrast here? The first question that the Priest and the Levite asked was, ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'” The religious guys thought about me, myself and I. The compassionate man thought about others.
Then Jesus turns and asks the Lawyer. "36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise”". Can you imagine the lawyer answering Jesus’ question? Grinding his teeth, red in his face, unable to spit out the obvious answer. He couldn't even say the word “Samaritan”! He said “the one who showed mercy.” Then Jesus essentially said to the lawyer, “Yes, go and do the same as your enemy. He is a better man than you. He understands the will of God better than you. He know what Love looks like. You don’t. You see, you asked the wrong question, ‘who is my neighbor?’ I am not even going to answer your wrong question. You should have asked, ‘how can I be a loving neighbor to others?”
In conclusion, Jesus is telling us, in order to receive eternal life, we can’t just say that we love God. We have to show the evidence of our love for God. And that evidence is the fruit of loving our neighbors as ourselves. I want to encourage everyone of us to say “Yes” to God when the opportunity to love comes in front of you. There are at least 10 ways you can apply this to your personal life in the next 30 days. Pray for God to show you how to love. Love looks like something. It’s not just a 4 letter word that we utter out of our mouths. Let love look like something in your life. But let’s take the first opportunity to say “Yes” to God right now. Outside in the gym, there are bone marrow stations waiting for you now at 11am and 12:30pm. There are people like Jennifer, who are dying without a match. They are literally our neighbors down the street. Will we say “Yes” to God?
Can we not think “What will happen to me if I donate?” Rather, “What will happen to all the people like her if I don’t donate?” I guarantee you, if that person was your mom or your daughter, you would be the first in line to give. I urge us as a congregation, say “Yes” to God, say “Yes” to Love.