Brent Kuhlman

+ Jesu Juva +

How many of you would test Jesus?  Stand up and get right in His face in full view of everyone?  Bill O’Reilly would.  So would Bill Mahr.  Cindy Sheehan no doubt.  And Geraldo Rivera absolutely.   How about a lawyer?  Of course.  Leave it to a lawyer to get in Jesus’ face. 

Lawyers.  They deal with law.  That’s the world of merit.  The life of just desserts.  You exist by what you earn.  What you owe.  What you have coming.  Rewards.  Punishments.  Credits.  Keeping track of your performances, accomplishments, and deeds.  Do well and you’ll be treated well.  Do bad and you get the bad in spades.  With the law you get what you deserve!  The law is everything for lawyers.  And we’re all born into this matrix – this way of thinking, believing and acting.  We’re all little lawyers at heart.  Using the law for salvation.     

And so a certain lawyer from among us all asks the big law question:  “Hey Jesus!  You think you’re so bloody smart!  Let’s just see how smart you really are!  I’ve got a question for you.  Here goes:  What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

He doesn’t ask:  “What must I do to stop global warming?”  Or:  “What must I do to save the glaciers from melting?”  Eternal life is the question.  A life or death issue.  Ultimate.  Nothing bigger than eternal life.

And the attorney believes that eternal life hangs on what he must do.  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus doesn’t answer the question.  He asks the lawyer a question.  “So, you want to do something to get eternal life?  Try this on for starters:  What do the Ten Commandments say?”  “That’s so easy Jesus!  Any child knows that!  Good grief!  Love God with all that you’ve got.  Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  Follow the golden rule.  See Jesus, I know all that!  Now tell me what do to!  Give me a real life sermon for once!” 

“All right.  What are you waiting for then?  Go right ahead and do the Commandments!” Jesus declares.  “Give it a shot.  If you insist on using the Commandments to achieve eternal life, be my guest.  But I warn you.  You must do it perfectly otherwise your eternal life is in some serious jeopardy.”

“But who’s my neighbor Mr. Smarty Pants Jesus?  If my eternal life hinges on this, I’ve got to know who is my neighbor!  Define neighbor!”

Then comes the parable.  “Well, Mister Lawyer, your neighbor is every broken down person that crosses your path.  If you want to be sure that eternal life is yours, love God and your neighbor as yourself.  Do your part and God will do His.  You can be certain of salvation as you’re certain of your love.  As long as you help everyone in need like the Samaritan, regardless of cost or convenience -- as long as you love God with your entire being and complete strength -- salvation’s yours.  Every time you’re on the highway and see a stranded motorist with his hood up or a critter-like hitch hiker you’ve got to stop and help.  Don’t do it and you’re dead meat.  Have a nice day.  Thanks for asking though.”

Do you see the point?  Remember the lawyer’s question?  The Law question?  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The parable is the rope on which the lawyer hangs himself. The parable derails the lawyer and all of us from the false belief that eternal life is earned by keeping the Law.  Instead, eternal life is an inheritance.  An inheritance is a gift.  Gospel.  Grace.  Free.

And yet I’ll bet almost every sermon on this text today revolves around this theme:  Be like the Good Samaritan.  Love like him.  And when your love is like that then God is under obligation to reward you with eternal life.  If you don’t love like the Good Samaritan, then you get what you deserve:  hell.

How’s your love-ometer doing.  Scoring quite high?  How’s your love for God been doing?  Not so good is it?  Can’t get the head and heart to agree.  You have every intention to love God, but just can’t get the job done.  Or just the opposite.  Loving God is the last thing on your mind or it doesn’t even register on the radar screen of your life.  Maybe you hate God because He expects you to love Him perfectly and you can’t do it.

How’s the love going with the neighbor?  How do you score there?  How many hitch hikers have you picked up?  Stranded motorists?  Left for dead people in the ditch?  How many street people have you hired to do odd jobs around the house?  Not so good there either, huh?   Spouse hacked you off?  Your kids drive you crazy?  A certain church member who really annoys you?  The co-worker you despise?  The relative you won’t talk to or be seen with?

Eternal life hangs on what?  Your love for the neighbor?  That’s what the lawyer believes.  And he takes it deadly serious.  But he’s wrong.  Fatally wrong.  Eternal life hangs on Jesus.  On His perfect life.  Who was beaten to a bloody pulp by us.  Strung up between thieves.  Left for dead on the Cross.  All by us.  We killed Him!  His neighbors!

And yet there on the Cross Jesus provides a love that we don’t deserve or earn.  It’s an inheritance.  Gift.  Gospel.  Eternal life by pure grace for Christ’s sake.  Our only hope is Christ who is broken and dead on the Cross.  There He holds us in His incredible love.

So now what?  Now what do you do that you’re Good Fridayed and Easter Sundayed?  You’re free to love.  To love God and your neighbor.  A love that flows from Christ’s love for you.  A love that serves and sacrifices.  Not to earn an inheritance.  But because you have the inheritance of eternal life in Christ.  Because Jesus died for you.  Because He baptized you.  Because He feeds you His Body and Blood.

Go ahead and love God.  Love your neighbor.  In the freedom that you’re redeemed and loved by Christ. 

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.