[0:00] Well, we're going to turn now to our Bibles, and we're reading together in the Gospel of Luke at chapter 10. Josh has been leading us through some studies in Luke of late, and tonight we're going to read from chapter 10 at verse 17 down to verse 37.
[0:22] If you need a church Bible, they're around the sides and at the front and the back. It's page 868 in those Bibles. Do pick one up if you need one, and you'll be able to read along and follow with us.
[0:36] So reading then at Luke chapter 10 and at verse 17. The 72, that is those disciples that Jesus had sent out of ministry, they returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.
[0:54] And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
[1:12] Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. In the same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.
[1:35] Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
[1:56] Then, turning to his disciples, he said, And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
[2:23] He said to him, What's written in the law? How do you read it? 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.
[2:39] And he said to him, You've answered correctly. Do this, and you will live. But he, designed to justify himself, said to Jesus, Then who is my neighbor?
[2:54] Jesus replied, 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. Now, by chance, a priest was going down that road.
[3:09] And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So, likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and where he saw him, he had compassion.
[3:28] And he went to him, bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to the inn and took care of him. And the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him.
[3:43] Whatever more you spend, I'll repay you when I come back. So, which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?
[3:56] He said, The one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, You go and do likewise.
[4:10] Amen. And may God bless to us his word. We'll do open once again to Luke chapter 10.
[4:22] Following Jesus on the journey to and through Jerusalem, following him to and through the cross, following him to be taken up in glory, is a journey laden with hardship.
[4:43] That's what we saw last week. We should expect hostility. We should come to terms with the truth that this earth, as it is, is not our true home.
[4:55] And the journey involves being sent out as lamb amongst wolves in order to labor in the harvest field. But there's another side to the coin. There is real hardship, but that is only a part of the story, one aspect of the journey.
[5:12] It's a journey that will have reasons for rejoicing along the way. It's a journey to something truly glorious. For Jesus' destination wasn't Jerusalem or even the cross, but rather 951, to be taken up to glory.
[5:30] And his ascension is the climax of this gospel at the very end. And so if last week we saw that Jesus' summons means giving his mission our priority, if it meant being laborers in the harvest field, then this week we see that Jesus' clear revelation, what he has given us sight of regarding himself, means that he will make us into people who love like our Heavenly Father.
[6:00] And so the first thing we see this week is a greater delight, verses 17 to 20, a greater delight. There will be real reasons for rejoicing here in the present, but there is one great privilege that stands above all others, the security that our names are written in heaven.
[6:22] The first thing we see in these verses is that there is real power in gospel proclamation, and it brings real and tangible tastes of joy along the way. Verse 17, the disciples return with joy and report what they've been able to do.
[6:39] Even the demons were subject to us in your name. And that's no small thing. It leads Jesus to say, verse 18, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
[6:55] Jesus here is once again drawing on Isaiah's words. Isaiah, in chapter 14, speaks of the king of Babylon, the day star who has fallen from heaven, cut down to the ground, and ultimately condemned to Sheol, to hell, for acting like God and holding God's people captive.
[7:16] And here is Jesus confirming that Satan, despite all of his wiles and power, he will be unseated from his throne in this world, and it has already begun.
[7:29] His future is established. His future is to be brought low to Sheol, to hell, where he'll be judged. Jesus says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Now, this could be Jesus talking of a prophetic vision of what would ultimately happen to Satan, as Jesus' victory is made final after his death, resurrection, ascension, and return.
[7:52] And that certainly is the future, an absolute and total victory over Satan that casts him down. But I think Jesus is also saying here that in some way, as his disciples were ministering, Jesus saw something of Satan's dethroning.
[8:11] Luke, after all, has shown us an on-rumbling contest between Jesus and demons. I say contest, but actually it hasn't been much of a contest, has it? Ever since Jesus went on the attack in the wilderness and defeated Satan there, we've seen the consequences of that victory worked out in Jesus' ministry, as he regularly vanquished demons.
[8:35] The Son of Man could even give dominion to his disciples to do the same. And so already in Jesus' earthly ministry, Satan has tasted defeat. The wilderness was the early harbinger of how things would go.
[8:48] Jesus was already dismantling Satan's reign before eventually he would destroy it through the cross. Remember what we've been seeing from Mary's words, that they're a thread that runs all the way through Luke's gospel.
[9:05] Back in chapter 1, verse 52, Mary sang, he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. And we see that very thing happen here in Luke chapter 9 and chapter 10 with Jesus and with Satan.
[9:22] 9.51, Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem because the time was near for him to be taken up, exalted. And hand in hand with that is 10.18, Satan falling from heaven.
[9:39] And I think we're seeing here something of Satan already being brought down. Satan rules this world. The Bible makes that clear again and again. But the success of the 72 is a tangible display of Satan being unseated in this world.
[9:57] Remember we saw last week that the 72 disciples likely corresponds to the 72 nations in Genesis 10 and 11, or 70 depending on the footnote.
[10:09] Those were the nations that made up the known world as things were reset after the flood. And so we saw last time that the sending of the 72 or the 70 showed a global scoop for gospel mission.
[10:23] But more than that, its success will be global too. It will draw people from every tribe and tongue and nation. Of course, that doesn't mean that everyone will be saved.
[10:37] That it doesn't really matter. If we take Jesus at his word and respond in repentance and faith, of course not. Jesus has just cried woe over those who do that and warned of what will happen.
[10:49] But it does assure us that Jesus' ministry isn't carried out with a faint sense of hope. That maybe, maybe some inroads might be made into Satan's dark rule in this world.
[11:03] No. The gospel is the good news of victory. The victory of Jesus' kingdom. And in a very real way, when the gospel is taken out to the world and believed on, that is Satan being dethroned.
[11:21] Remember what we read in Genesis chapter 3? Yes, the serpent's head will be crushed. But before that, we read of the serpent, on your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
[11:37] And the gospel reaching into people's lives is a real defeat for Satan. It isn't the final one. It isn't his final fall. But it is him eating dust.
[11:51] And there's real encouragement in that, isn't there? Real gospel ministry has real power. That's what verse 19 is talking about. It isn't about us suddenly becoming snake charmers or something odd like that.
[12:07] Be careful about taking the Bible literally. I wouldn't recommend walking on snakes. We want to take the Bible seriously. And Luke tells us what he means.
[12:17] He's meaning that Jesus' servants will have authority over even Satan's power. The serpent is an alias of Satan, isn't it? Think of him back in the garden.
[12:28] And scorpions are usually a sign of evil and punishment in the Bible. Jesus is saying that the word of the gospel will see Satan at times be sent into retreat.
[12:40] Jesus' people will have some taste of victory as people respond to the gospel and find light in life. And verse 19 also isn't meaning that we won't face any hardships.
[12:52] We saw last week that we will and should expect hardship and hostility. But we can have confidence that Satan will be ultimately defeated. So even though his servants are sent out as lambs, see, even though we're sent out as lambs amongst wolves, we won't be crushed ultimately.
[13:13] Jesus says, I saw Satan falling. And so as well as experiencing the hardships of following Jesus in this world, with all that we saw last week, there are real and tangible encouragements along the way as the gospel reaches out and bears fruit.
[13:30] one of my friends in ministry often says that seeing people coming to faith is like a spiritual drug. It turbocharges our Christian lives, drives us to maturity, and we want to experience more and more of it.
[13:46] it does produce real joy within us to see life come from death, to see Satan's hold on someone broken, to see them transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of Christ.
[14:01] And that is true. It's a wonderful joy to be part of God rescuing people. It's a joy that helps us along the road to Jesus' kingdom. And it's so good for us to taste that.
[14:13] There is real power in gospel proclamation but Jesus is saying here that that isn't even where our rejoicing can find its deepest well.
[14:27] Do you see verse 20? There is even greater joy in knowing that our true home is in heaven. Don't rejoice that the spirits are subject to you.
[14:39] Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Isn't that astonishing? There is wonderful weighty and real power in gospel ministry that we get to see and experience but that is still outdone by our place in heaven.
[14:59] It's outdone by the truth that prepared for all who belong to Jesus is one of the many rooms in his father's house. That when this world rejects us just like the Samaritan village when there's no room at the end for Jesus and for us in this world that there is a room a place for us in heaven.
[15:19] Yes we're homeless in this world and we feel that but we very much have a home in the world to come. You see following Jesus has two realities in this world real hardship and real tastes of joy but we won't always have the wonderful fruit from our service of Jesus to take joy in and even when we do great success in ministry peels in comparison to our great security in heaven.
[15:51] Ministry is filled with encouragements and discouragements. Our Christian lives are often marked with both aren't they? And very often it's the hardships that seem to be unrelenting whilst the encouragements seem a little bit too sporadic.
[16:08] But we see here one joy stands firm amidst all of that that our home is secure in heaven. Rejoice in that says Jesus.
[16:19] Don't seek your joy and identity and satisfaction primarily in your service of Jesus but rather in your security in Jesus. That's what will help us to walk the path to and through Jerusalem and to and through the cross.
[16:36] That's what will sustain us through the many attacks that we lambs have at the hands of wolves. There's a day when we no longer expect hostility but instead heaven and heaven's hospitality.
[16:53] A cause of great rejoicing. great rejoicing for us.
[17:17] Rejoicing for us as Jesus says verse 23 we're blessed but also notice it's a cause of rejoicing for Jesus himself. Verse 21 Jesus delights in two things.
[17:32] The first he delights in the gospel's design. Look at verse 21 Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit as he prayed to the Father. Do you see this great revelation that Jesus is going to be talking about is a revelation of the triune God.
[17:49] And look at what is the focus of the prayer to his Father. he rejoices that things are both hidden and revealed. Because the very design of the gospel is that those who are mighty and wise or think that they are in this world they'll be blinded to the beauty of the gospel.
[18:12] There's a seeming incompatibility between being mighty in this world and seeing the deep things of God. he brings down the mighty from their thrones and exalts those of a humble estate.
[18:27] And the gospel itself humbles us doesn't it? Jesus delights that those who are able to see that they're humble and helpless like little children he delights that the gospel comes pouring into their lives as light and life.
[18:42] It's just like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians the gospel is weak looking by design and so too is the church and even Paul as the apostle is weak looking. Wisdom is turned on its head says Paul and so he says that not many of you were very impressive not many of you were wise or powerful or of noble birth.
[19:04] We might think that the church would be best filled with the good and the great the impressive but no it delights Jesus to reveal himself and his father to all kinds of ordinary and regular people people like you and me to all kinds of just little children in this world.
[19:26] It's the very design of the gospel that the mighty are brought down from their thrones and those of a humble estate are exalted and isn't that a wonderful thing for us?
[19:37] Our place in Jesus' kingdom isn't dependent on our intelligence or our standing it matters little whether we have degrees and titles. In fact Jesus is saying that things like recognition and place in this world might actually be a hindrance and not a help in having our names written in heaven.
[20:00] We don't need bulging brains to belong to and be blessed by Jesus. In fact isn't it so often the case that the straightforward uncomplicated ways that a child speaks of Jesus is an expression of real faith with great profundity.
[20:22] Whereas the places of supposed wisdom and understanding in this world the places of power and influence are usually the very places where Jesus is mocked and derided most. But then Jesus isn't shocked by that is he?
[20:34] He's already said that he has nowhere to lay his head in this world. Jesus rejoices instead that what has been hidden to such as these has been revealed to little children to regular ordinary people who see and find in Jesus all that truly matters in this world.
[20:56] Real faith isn't about understanding the intricacies of niche theological doctrine. it's about submitting to Jesus coming to him with empty hands and trusting him for all that we need.
[21:12] But notice this revelation that does come to little children to regular ordinary believers it's a lavish revelation. Verse 22 all things have been handed to me says Jesus by my father and remember who his father is verse 21 the lord of heaven and earth who knows all things and created all things all things have been given to Jesus and nobody is able to know the father or the son apart from each other.
[21:45] That makes sense doesn't it? Who could possibly get their heads around all things? Who could possibly even begin to understand the lord of heaven and earth? Even with the biggest brain in this world revelation isn't just on a scale beyond our understanding it's also a deep intimate exclusive revelation that belongs between the Godhead.
[22:11] No one knows these things except the father and the son. But look at what Jesus goes on to say and anyone to whom the son chooses to whom the son delights to, to whom the son wants to reveal it to.
[22:30] God is able to communicate himself so very clearly. He's able to give a revelation of himself to anyone he wants to, so that even a little child, so that they can understand and respond to him and indeed pass that revelation on to others.
[22:46] Because it isn't our intellect that allows us to grasp Jesus and the gospel. Rather, it's the clarity with which God can reveal himself and chooses to reveal himself.
[22:58] Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians to say the natural person is not able to understand the things of God because they're spiritually discerned. God is able to reveal himself so clearly to people that they hear and respond and understand and love and want to share him.
[23:18] And it's a delight to him to reveal it. You see, Jesus is in the business of revealing his father to those whom he wants. It pleases him to do so.
[23:31] So Jesus delights in the gospel's design, but he also delights in the gospel being declared. Look again at verse 21. The very same hour that he heard the reports from the 72, the very same hour that they report back on proclaiming his kingdom, Jesus rejoiced.
[23:51] Friends, Jesus takes joy in his followers when they're given to proclaiming him. That is so important for us to understand. For a long time in my early Christian life, I never even conceived of the possibility of being able to please God.
[24:09] And while we mustn't lose sight of our sin and our need of grace, we mustn't let that reality cloud the truth that Jesus does delight in us when we obey him. His grace works transformation in us so that we really can please him.
[24:26] Lives of service to him really are a pleasing aroma, a fragrant offering to him. Have you ever thought about that? Maybe that's what we need to remember or hear when that evening comes down the line in winter or in summer in Glasgow when you think that the last thing you want to do is head into church on a cold wet night to serve, particularly when things just feel so unfruitful.
[24:57] Or maybe you're so aware of your ongoing fight with sin and your many feelings and you're just so aware that you need grace and forgiveness and it's hard to see anything else.
[25:08] Or maybe you feel like a worthless Christian with so little to offer. Jesus rejoiced because his followers had been engaged in gospel work.
[25:20] And that doesn't mean that to please God we have to be preachers or these sorts of things. No, as a whole church family we're given to gospel ministry together as we play our part, being the ear or nose or hands that we are, whatever part of the body.
[25:37] We really can and do please God. The lavish revelation that we've received is a revelation that is to be passed on so that more little children will see and love the Father and the Son and produce more pleasure for the Lord Jesus who delights to reveal his Father.
[26:00] So Jesus rejoices but he also tells his disciples here that they're blessed, that they can rejoice because there is delight for us because we're blessed to see something that captivates.
[26:13] Jesus turns to his disciples having prayed and says to them, blessed are the eyes that see what you see. You've been given a revelation that kings and prophets have longed for because it's only in this revelation, it's only in hearing and responding to what Jesus graciously reveals that we can be blessed in any meaningful and lasting way.
[26:38] There's no other way but remember, Jesus responds to the would-be disciple back in 962. He said, no one who puts his hands to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
[26:57] Jesus was praying that his followers cannot have divided hearts longing for some of the life they've left behind mixed in with following Jesus. Like Lot's wife who looked back, he back, he was leaving behind.
[27:13] Well, what do we see here? The revelation that Jesus gives us, what we're blessed to see, the beauty of the gospel, the beauty of the Father and Son is enough to captivate us.
[27:30] Seeing what Jesus reveals is to be blessed. And so there's plenty in what we see to keep us from looking back long for what we've left behind.
[27:44] Well, finally, this gracious disclosure, when received and implanted within our hearts, will produce a God-shaped display. Verses 25 to 37, a God-shaped display.
[27:58] As surely as Jesus has brought faith to birth within us, as surely as his revelation has opened our eyes and hearts to him, so surely will that issue in lives that display God's own character.
[28:12] We can delight, too, in being able to truly display something of God's real mercy and compassion. That's what we see in the story of the Good Samaritan.
[28:25] Verse 25, a lawyer wants to test Jesus and asks, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And look at Jesus' response, verse 26. It's interesting, isn't it?
[28:37] Jesus is happy to have the law sort out such a question. The law tells us how to inherit eternal life. Do be careful when people try to say that we don't need to pay attention to the law anymore.
[28:51] Jesus disagrees, and he's happy that it answers one of life's key questions. And so, the lawyer answers with a great summary of the law, love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
[29:09] Correct, says Jesus. We've got no reason to think that Jesus is being disingenuous here. You're right. Do this, and you'll live, is his response. And Jesus isn't concocting a contrary gospel on the hoof here.
[29:24] He isn't suddenly saying we can earn salvation. No, he's simply articulating what repentance and faith is. Just as we've seen throughout Luke's gospel. Remember, the same question came to John the Baptist in chapter 3.
[29:39] The crowd asked, what then shall we do? And John's answer was to share what they have with those in need. To have integrity and honesty.
[29:50] Right attitudes to money and to others. Or chapter 6, Jesus says why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Doing what I say is a life that is built on a solid rock.
[30:06] Or chapter 7, the woman of the city who pours out her tears and her ointment on Jesus in love. Jesus says of her, her sins, which are many, are forgiven.
[30:18] For she loved much. He says, your faith has saved you. Do you see, again and again, Jesus makes clear that real faith means a real response.
[30:31] A response of love for God and for others. Or as Jesus puts it in chapter 8, it's hearing the word of God and doing it. That's what Jesus is saying to this lawyer.
[30:43] Just the same message that he's been saying the whole time. But verse 29, the lawyer wants to justify himself. Jesus' answer shows the simplicity of things.
[30:55] And so the lawyer's reply is an attempt to say that it's not really that easy though, is it? Who is my neighbor? What are the limits to this? What about the need I hear about that's halfway across the world?
[31:06] What about every appeal I see on TV? Am I able to respond to that? It's an understandable question. In fact, someone just this week asked me this very thing when he heard that we're covering the Good Samaritan.
[31:20] Do we bankrupt ourselves responding to and seeking out any and every charitable cause possible? Well, you see, Jesus' reply turns the question around.
[31:31] Don't ask who is my neighbor, but rather, as we see in verse 36, what does it mean to be a real neighbor? And we can't get away from this.
[31:44] Having received a clear revelation of the Father through Jesus, we have been given a sight of the Father of mercy. That's how Jesus first speaks of his Father in Luke's Gospel back in chapter 6.
[31:57] Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. And then look at verse 37. What does it look like to be neighborly? It's the one who's shown mercy.
[32:11] Do you see, we've been given sight of the one who has been merciful beyond measure with us. We've been given a revelation that sees our names written in heaven. But as chapter 6 tells us, as sons then of the Most High, we're to reflect him, to be like him, to be merciful even as our Father is merciful, to have hearts shaped by the heart of our Father in heaven.
[32:39] You see, when we really have been touched by the word of the Gospel, when we have tasted something of the truth and beauty of the Father and the Son, then that will issue forth in a compassion like God's.
[32:52] As we have tasted mercy and grace, it will prompt mercy and grace in us. It cannot not prompt it. That's what we see in this story.
[33:05] Verse 30, a man is mugged and left for dead. Verse 31, a priest was going down the road and saw him and passed by on the other side. Verse 32, a Levite, a servant of the temple, also arrives on the scene and likewise passes by on the other side.
[33:23] Two men who were well acquainted with the law. And look what they do. Nothing. They pass by. Here were the wise and understanding of the world.
[33:36] But in reality, they have heard the things of God, but don't do them. They reveal that for all their religious trappings, the things of God have been hidden from them.
[33:50] And then, of all things, all people, a Samaritan comes along. Samaritans were hated by the Jews, their enemies. Their worship had been corrupted with all kinds of foreign influences.
[34:03] The Samaritans were like mongrels. And so along he comes. Not the wise and understanding of this world. More like the little child.
[34:15] But verse 33, he saw a need. That compassion tends to the wounds. And his compassion extends to lavish degrees, planning ongoing care.
[34:26] Verse 35, he gives two denarii to pay for more care. Notice here again, repentance and faith in Luke affects our wallets.
[34:38] Again and again, Luke makes that clear. What we do with our money reveals what and who we love. And it doesn't stop there. Samaritan says he's going to come back. Here is a picture of lavish mercy and compassion.
[34:52] A very real display of what our Heavenly Father looks like. And so verse 36, which one proved to be the neighbor?
[35:04] We've been given a very clear example of what it doesn't look like. Seeing dire need and turning from it, ignoring it, passing it by. The neighbor is the one who showed mercy.
[35:19] And so Jesus says, you go and do likewise. Now we push this story too far if we say all that matters is that we love and have compassion and mercy for all.
[35:30] That is to ignore Jesus' very plain teaching, both here and previously. Remember, Jesus affirmed the answer that the lawyer gave that we're to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength.
[35:42] He isn't meaning any old God. He's meaning his Father. Jesus' point here is that Christian people, people who have been touched by the grace of God, will delight to show mercy and compassion as sons of their Father, even to people who are enemies.
[36:03] And this isn't to minimize what people believe, as if it's no big deal to ignore the things of God, as if any old belief is fine and we shouldn't be opposed to each other over such things. No, no.
[36:14] Jesus has just cried woe over people who refuse him. He's just spoken about how unbearable it will be at the day of judgment to refuse him. And he's been speaking about the real hostility that we ought to expect.
[36:26] But nonetheless, those who have had God's tender and compassionate love and mercy disclosed to them will display that love even to those who normally would hate and oppose us.
[36:39] And indeed, what reflects God's character more than that? For we read in Romans, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.
[36:57] And isn't this kind of thing so important today? So much of what goes on in our world, in politics, and what people's concerns are, what fills our news, is polarized. There are two sides, and you're either on one or the other.
[37:09] And more than that, what people believe and how they are treated go hand in hand. As if disagreement is akin to a personal attack. So on one side, you might have someone who has concerns about immigration, but, well, they're a racist.
[37:23] They've got no place in society. Kick them out of the country. Or, on the other side, if you mention the word equality, well, you're woke and clearly an idiot. No common sense.
[37:37] Well, how wonderfully different. How wonderfully reflective of our Father in Heaven, if we can disagree and contend against all kinds of odious ideologies, if we can dismantle dangerous ideas and declare the truth, whilst also reflecting our Father's compassion and mercy.
[37:55] Yes, in a concern for truth, but also with compassion for people. No. Because cold indifference about people is never born of our Father in Heaven.
[38:08] Now, I think it helps us to ask further why Luke places this parable right here at the end of this section that we've been looking at last week and this week. Last week, we had the hardships of following Jesus, the hostility and homelessness in this world, that culminated in the sending out of the 72 with a stark message.
[38:29] A message of judgment or joy. Heaven or hell. And then this week, we've had the honors of following Jesus. And I think Luke places this parable then here to complement what we saw in verses 1 to 16.
[38:47] To make clear that Jesus' followers are not just summoned to be messengers of the gospel, but are shaped by the mercy of God. Not just sent out as laborers in the harvest field to communicate the gospel, but sent out as those who are marked by the compassion of God.
[39:09] The beating heart of ministry is both the message of the gospel, but also the mercy of God. And whilst it isn't helpful to turn this parable into a complex allegory, don't we see God's mercy so plainly in this parable?
[39:31] Listen to David Gooding here. If this is how Christ taught us to love our neighbor, how well did he practice what he preached? We and all mankind were certainly under the power of the enemy himself.
[39:46] In that sorry plight, we had no claim on the Son. We were not his neighbors, nor he ours. But he chose to come where we were.
[39:58] He rescued us at his own expense. And has paid in advance the cost of completing our redemption. And of perfecting us for unimaginable glory.
[40:11] And if that is what Jesus has chosen to reveal to us, if that is what our eyes have seen and been blessed with, then we have also received a new heart.
[40:22] A heart in keeping with our fathers in heaven. A heart that beats with compassion and mercy. Jesus says, You go and do likewise.
[40:41] Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we marvel at what we knew to be true of you.
[40:57] How beautiful and compelling is your character. But as we marvel, we also ask that you would help us. Grant us the grace that we need.
[41:10] To give people a window through us to glance something of your beauty. And change our hearts evermore. To delight at every opportunity to reflect your compassion.
[41:26] To our world in darkness. To our world in dire need. Help us, we pray. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
[41:37] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.