20/20 Vision Series -- Biblical Justice: A New Way of Seeing

Alright. Good morning.

Hey, I know we are not a call and response church but I want to try something with you all this morning. See if you guys can catch on.

God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. Amen. God is good. All the time. And all the time. God is good. Remember that. Sync that in your heart.

Let's go ahead and begin to read Luke chapter 10, verses 25 to 37. Let's read it together.

Behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test. All your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, you have answered correctly. Do this and you will live. But he, desiring to justify himself, and who is my neighbor? Jesus replied, a man was and he fell among robbers, stripped him, and beat him, and departed leaving him half dead. Now, by chance, a priest was going down that road. We saw him pass on the others. So likewise, the Levite, when he came to the place, saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, he had compassion When he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring down oil and wine, then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an end, and took care of him. And the next day, he took out two genera and gave them to the innkeeper saying, take care of him and whatever more you spend, I will repay you. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among brothers? He said, the one who showed him mercy and Jesus said, you go and do likewise. — Luke 10:25-37

Let's pray. Lord, I wanna thank you for this opportunity to preach your word, lord, and I pray for the hearts in this room, the hearts that are online listening and watching, lord god. We pray that you do a move that only you could do, lord god. I pray today that we just bask in the forgiveness that you have given us in Christ. I pray that I speak clearly, god, and with courage and put me behind the cross so you could be exalted. In Jesus name, amen.

Man, one of my favorite stories in the Bible comes from Second Kings chapter six. I don't know if you guys are familiar with that passage but Elijah—so Israel's about to get attacked, right? Syria, the warriors wanna go capture Israel. So what happened is they go to Israel and try to capture the king and Elijah. And Elijah has this little protege that he's been training up for a number of years and he begins to panic. He looks outside and begins to panic. You see all these armies, Syrian armies coming to invade them, coming to capture them. And Elijah's just chilling. I could just see him drinking a coffee while this guy is panicking. He's like, man, what are you doing? These guys are here coming to get us. And Elijah does something beautiful. He prays to God and says, God, open their eyes. Open his eyes. So his eyes are open and then he sees myriads and myriads of the Lord's army behind him, and that sets him at ease.

So when I come to this passage, the first thing that comes to mind is that we need to see things differently.

Three Points on Biblical Justice

Out of this text, Luke 10:25 to 37, there's three points for those of you that are taking notes.

One, we see people as obstacles. Two, seeing people as the Imago Dei. Three, seeing our own need for Jesus.

Now, as we enter this text, verse 25, I wanna give you guys a little background. The 72 disciples just came back from this journey casting out demons in the nearby town and then now we end—this lawyer interrupts. Right? We always got that one person that always wants to bust that bubble, right?

So verse 25 says this:

And behold, a lawyer stood up to him, putting him to the test saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? — Luke 10:25

Now, is the question that all religious people seek to answer, right? Even non-religious folks, when we're at the end of our life, you want to kind of look back and say, did we do enough? Even as Christians, we struggle. I struggle trying to understand what eternal life looks like. When I pass away, what does that even mean?

But this law expert was not asking with a sincere heart. The text said he asked this to test Jesus, and I won't spare you guys my mispronunciation of Greek words, but the word test means he was putting him through a thorough examination. He wanted to see if Jesus was the real deal. Is Jesus the person that people say that he is?

Jesus responds, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" And I love how Jesus responds. He always, or sometimes, when people ask him a question, he always answers them a question back. Right? Like he's trying to find out what is your intent. But Jesus is pressing into his interpretation of scripture and this is something as Christians that we all need to do. Not just reading the passage but what does the passage mean?

Genesis 1:1 says, in the beginning, God created. Well, what does that mean? Does God just speak and things come to pass? Yes. But it also means because He created, He is the author. Because He created, He is the sustainer. Because He created, He provides. And because He created, He is full of love. But how is He full of love? Because God did not need to create us, right? He doesn't need us to love Him, but it's out of His love that He gave us life.

Genesis 1:26 — Let us create man in our own image.

How do you all read it? Do you see every human being walking on this earth regardless of gender, identity, ethnicity, culture, social class, homeless, addicted, disability, whatever it is you fill in the blank. Do you see them as their worldly identity or do you see them as the Imago Dei? And if this is a challenge to you all, then we need to see things differently.

The law expert said this:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. — Luke 10:27

Jesus says, you have answered correctly. He told him, do this and you will live. But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, who is my neighbor?

See, right now as we enter the text, we are entering a theological debate. We are witnessing a debate between one theologian to another about the interpretation of Scripture. But let's pause right there. This lawyer or this law expert already thinks that he gets the first part of the law right. He loves God with his whole heart, mind, and strength. But how many of us in here are able to fulfill the first part of the law? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, strength, and with all your mind.

Let me give you a question. When you woke up this morning, what was the first thing on your mind? What time is it? I need to get some coffee? Or did you thank Jesus for waking you up this morning? Was God on your mind when you were fussing out your parents? Fussing out your spouse? Fussing out your boss? Were you loving God with all your heart when you cut that person off this morning trying to get to church?

See, what I want you guys to see is that if your vertical relationship is fractured, then your horizontal relationship is going to be rocky. But in addition to that, I want you all to see the grace of Jesus. Rather than going back and forth about the interpretation of the law, Jesus invites him to a story, to a parable that captures not only his attention but the listeners around there and then also us this morning.

See, Jesus says, no, no, I want to challenge the way you see things. Do you really understand what it means to love your neighbor? Because if you can see things differently, you will live differently. Jesus knows that the way we interpret the Bible impacts the way we live. Right? We have justified slavery with the Bible. We have justified women being second class citizens with the Bible. We have justified conquering nations with the Bible. The way that we interpret the Bible impacts the way we live.

Jesus says, how do you read it? So Jesus takes up the question. Jesus knew the pride of this law expert, but Jesus also knew that this law expert was in need of salvation. And what I love about Jesus is that He always exposes our sin in order to push us to salvation. Meaning, if you don't know that you fall short, you won't think that you need salvation. In our default, as human nature, we like to point fingers. At least I'm not like her. At least I'm not like him. You could always find someone that is more sanctified or less sanctified than you.

We See People as Obstacles Rather Than the Imago Dei

Within this parable, we will land on the first point. We see people as obstacles rather than the Imago Dei. We see people as obstacles rather than the Imago Dei.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. — Luke 10:30

See, when we hear this, it has no connection because we're not in that same context. But when those around Jesus heard this, they immediately knew what Jesus was saying. They knew that people often traveled to Jerusalem because that was the place of worship, baby dedications, offerings, celebration of the Passover, and other religious activities. If you guys recall the Samaritan woman when Jesus met her, she said, you guys believe that the place of worship is in Jerusalem. And when they heard this story, they automatically understand the road. They see the narrow road, the caves. The caves were a place where robbers would post up there and wait for people to pass by in order to catch them, in order to rob them.

So when Jesus says this, the readers know exactly what he's talking about and it's very likely that somebody listening right there knew somebody that got robbed, knew somebody that got beaten, and possibly killed.

Now by chance, a priest was going down that road and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise, the Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. — Luke 10:31-32

When you read this, you have to ask the question: Why would Jesus use these two individuals? Why didn't he just say a man? Why did he say a priest and a Levite? This is the only time that Luke records using a priest and a Levite in a parable. But I want you to remember the questions: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" and "Who is my neighbor?" To understand the significance of this parable, you have to understand the roles of the Levite and the priest.

The Levite was the third son of Jacob. God had called the Levites to become their inheritance. When Israel crossed to the promised land, all the other tribes got a piece of land, but as for the Levite, God said, "I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession to Israel. I am their possession."

And then you have the priests, right? These are the spiritual elite, as I call them. They acted as representatives of the divine to the people and representatives of the people to the divine. They were the ones that provided instruction to the people on how to live holy—the expectations that God demanded of them.

Now that you understand the roles of the priest and Levite, you can understand the scandalousness of this parable. These people who were called God's chosen people, set apart for himself, are walking across the street to avoid interacting with this individual. Both of them saw the man and walked across the street.

As I began to wrestle with this text, I tried to figure out why would they walk across the street? They just left church service, just left worship. The only logical answer is that they saw this man as the obstacle to their well-being. Maybe this man was the obstacle to their safety and their comfort. Maybe this was a setup—a decoy. Once they go help him, somebody else is going to get them. Maybe this was an obstacle to their time. Maybe they had community group, Bible study, time for dinner. Maybe they had to take little James to the baseball game. Either way, stopping to help this man will set them back. So they walked across the street like he was a wounded animal. They chose not to stop. Why? Because he had no value.

When I read this text, I close my eyes and I see the face of Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old boy who was beaten with barbed wire, tied in the back, dragged by a truck, shot in the head—all because of false accusations of whistling at a white woman. He was so unrecognizable when they found his body that the only reason they knew it was him was because of a ring that his dad gave him when his dad died in World War Two when he was four years old. This is what happens when you don't view people with value. This is what happens when you don't view people as made in God's image. They have no value. They're just obstacles to my well-being.

Even though this is a parable, Jesus is communicating something. Jesus is showing the hypocrisy of these religious people—the ones called out by God to himself, the people to whom God said, "I am your inheritance." Have they become so consumed with knowing God, so consumed with information about God, that it never became transformation?

Information Versus Transformation

Information alone does not lead to transformation. We know that smoking kills, but people still smoke. We know that if you speed, there's a chance you'll get a ticket, but yet we still speed. We know that if you drink and drive, people's lives will be lost. Yet thousands of people die from drinking and driving. We know that God longs to hear our voice, but yet we don't pray. Information alone does not lead to transformation.

These priests and the Levite, they knew the law. They read the Bible. They listened to podcasts. They had men's ministry filled with all this information, but it never led to transformation.

But hear me out. Hear me out. Information within itself is not bad, but sometimes when all you seek is information, you think life is just about you and God. We get in a space where God is just a being to be studied.

Remember a couple weeks ago when Pastor Jeff said the parable of the sheep and the goats, right? Here's the thing: when God brought them up to judgment, they both recognized him as what? The Lord. So they had the information, but what separated them was how they lived. There was no evidence.

Let me ask you, CTK: Are you a sheep or are you a goat?

God does not give us the word just to consume. God gives you the word to be transformed. For what? So we could be a city that rejoices. Paul says in Ephesians 4:11-12:

He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and the teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. — Ephesians 4:11-12

We need to see things differently. If we are just concerned about checking boxes, reading the Bible, going to community group, attending church, paying tithes and offerings, if we are just concerned about these things, then we too will see people as obstacles to our comfort, obstacles to our safety, obstacles to our sacred family time, and obstacles to our American dream.

Let me ask you this: Who is the obstacle in your life? Who are you choosing to avoid? Perhaps this might be an opportunity to show the love of God.

See People as the Imago Dei

Rather than seeing people as obstacles, we need to see people as the imago Dei. Remember the question: What must I do to inherit eternal life and who is my neighbor?

A Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. — Luke 10:33

All three of the people in the story understood—all three of them saw this man in the street, but it was the Samaritan who acted justly. Rather than seeing this man as an obstacle, he saw this man as an opportunity to give justice, to correct what was wrong. He had compassion, but that compassion led him to action. Listen to what he did:

He went to him, bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. — Luke 10:34

Some of us, we don't even treat our kids that good. They fall off a bike, we tell them to go get a band aid. Spouse is sick, tell them to go get some Nyquil. Friend gets sick, we text them: "Get well." But here's what I know—compassion is going to cost you something.

It cost this Samaritan money. Olive oil and wine were not cheap things. They cost this Samaritan time. He put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. A lot of us, myself included, would have just given him money and been on our way. But don't we do this with the less fortunate? We roll down our window and give some money and drive off. And sometimes, if we are spiritual in the moment, we tell them to be blessed. Perhaps we'll pray for them, ask them for their name. But sometimes, we don't even make eye contact.

I myself am guilty of this. I see somebody on the road, I'm acting like I'm on my phone. I see somebody on the road, I act like I'm changing my radio station. But from their perspective, can you imagine you are asking somebody for money and they act like they don't even see you? Instead of us walking across the street like the Levites, we just don't make eye contact.

So now when I see someone with a sign, I read the sign. Sometimes I speak to them, sometimes I don't. Is that wrong or is that right? I don't know. But I let them know that I see them. But whatever we do, we usually forget about that exchange later on that day, and life goes on for us. But for them, the sorrow continues.

The next day, he took out 2 denarii and gave them to the innkeeper saying, "Take care of him and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back." — Luke 10:35

When we read this, we kind of miss the weight of this thing, right? Two denarii. One day is one denarii. So just imagine you're working five days a week and two of those days are going to this individual. It's going to cost you something.

Two things I hate about going to the ER: the amount of time it takes to see a doctor and that bill. I mean, thank God for urgent care. We didn't have that when I was growing up. But this Samaritan was willing to sacrifice his time, his money, for what? For the sake of this individual who he knew was the imago Dei.

Jesus doesn't say this guy was a doctor, a counselor, rich, poor, religious guru. No. He was an everyday person who understands the imago Dei. He understands justice, and he understands correcting what was wrong.

He was a Samaritan. We don't know the weight of this word, but just think of the worst thing that you could call somebody. That is what that word means. You guys remember in the Bible in the book of John when the Jews said to Jesus, "Aren't you a Samaritan and you got a demon?" Those are fighting words. But there was a culture difference, a religious difference, an ethnic difference, but he is the one that shows compassion. He is the one who understands biblical justice.

We don't know if he knew God or not, but he lived out more of the commandment of God than those that profess the faith. Somewhere I read in the Old Testament where God says, "You honor me with your lips but your heart is far from me."

I love what Martin Luther King says.

He says this: I imagine that the first question the priest and the Levi asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question and said, "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

You need to ask that question. What will happen to that kid if you don't intervene to stop that bullying? What will happen to your friend if you don't pick up that call? And you know what's gonna happen when you pick up that call—they're gonna talk your head off. But what will happen if you don't pick up that call? What will happen if you don't intervene when the spouse is abusing the child, abusing the wife? What's gonna happen to them?

We see people's obstacles. We see people as the imago Dei. And here's my last point: we see our need for Jesus.

The Question Jesus Asks

Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? The one who showed mercy to him. He said, then Jesus told him, "Go and do the same."

When Jesus tells his law expert to go and do the same, I sit back and wonder like, what was his response? Did he say, "Jesus, forgive me. I can't do that"? Or perhaps he said, "It doesn't take all that"?

When people read this parable—preachers, teachers, whatever it may be—when we read this parable, we try to put ourselves in the story and say that we are the priests and Levi, the ones who avoid the person in the street. Or are we saying we are the Samaritan? We need to go out there and help people. Or are we the man that is half dead on the street and Jesus needs to come and bandage us up?

No. No. The Bible says we are dead in our trespasses. We don't need to be cleaned up. We need to be resurrected.

But I would argue that we are the law experts. We ask Jesus what we must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus says the same thing: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength and your neighbor as yourself." And then obviously we ask Jesus, "Well, who is our neighbor?"

And here's the thing: our neighbors are not just fellow Christians that are struggling financially or having hardships. They are people experiencing unjust laws. No, they are our brothers and sisters. It's expected for us to help them out. Now our neighbors are those people that we disagree with theologically—Muslims, Buddhists, LDS. Our neighbors are those that identify as transgender, gay, and bisexual. Our neighbors are those that are atheists and those that want nothing to do with God. Our neighbors are those that are trying to get into America for a better life. God says, "Love them like you love yourself." Jesus says to us, "Go and do the same."

Our Need for Christ

And because of our inability to do this, this shows our need for Jesus. Jesus, I can't do this. It's hard for me to love my neighbor as myself. So when you hear Jesus say, "Go and do the same," we need to fall on our knees and beg for forgiveness. Be honest with God: I'm struggling to do this. It's hard for me to love my neighbor as myself.

And I can imagine Jesus saying, "I know you can't. This is why I died. Because of your inability to love your neighbor as yourself, you deserve death. But I will sacrifice my life for your sake. Take away your shame. Take away your guilt."

Some of y'all might say, "I don't gotta do it. Jesus did it for me." But I would say not so fast.

Again, justice and mercy and faithfulness—these things you should have done. — Matthew 23

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister or neighbor is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it doesn't have works, is dead. — James 2:14-26

We need to see people as obstacles, or we need to see people as the Imago Dei, and we also need to see our need for Christ.

Remember the story that I said earlier about 2 Kings 6? What's interesting about the story is that after Elijah prayed that the Lord will blind them and the Lord blinded them, Elijah led them to Samaria. And then what happened was Elijah prayed for their eyes to be opened. He said, "Lord, open their eyes." And when they opened their eyes, they were surrounded by the armies of Samaria. And the king of Samaria said, "Lord, what do you want us to do? Kill them?" He said, "No. Make them a meal. Give them water so that they could go back to their master."

A Vision Restored

CTK, how was your vision? This is why we are changing our vision statement: to speak clearly and let it be known that God is our inheritance. And because of our relationship with him, we will love our neighbor as ourself.

And by God's grace, CTK will be people deeply transformed by the gospel, who plant churches, become cross cultural disciples, and pursue biblical justice starting a rally.