The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2017
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Jesus Is the Good Samaritan
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 464 Blest Be the Tie That Binds
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 464 Blest Be the Tie That Binds
KJV Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
KJV Luke 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Click here for Luther’s Sermons on the Good Samaritan
Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast granted us to live in this accepted time, when we may hear Thy holy gospel, know Thy fatherly will, and behold Thy Son, Jesus Christ! We pray Thee, most merciful Father: Let the light of Thy holy word remain with us, and so govern our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may never forsake Thy word, but remain steadfast in it, and finally obtain eternal salvation; through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Jesus Is the Good Samaritan
KJV Luke 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Nothing shows the perversity of man more than turning the Scriptures inside out. The opening of this parable should not be passed over lightly, because Jesus is admonishing the disciples and us about something of extreme importance. We are blessed to see and to hear Jesus in His own words, because many have sought for such wisdom and have not had that privilege. But such things are taken for granted and mankind scoffs at what is offered so freely.
For example, the vast majority of people have been exposed to this parable as a fantastic guilt machine for getting us to do-gooder projects. Just to show how far this goes - the Social Gospel Movement, still being quoted today takes it a few steps beyond that. Is it our job to bind the wounds - or - to make the road to Jericho safe? That manipulative question began what we call the Social Justice Warrior crusade - our job is to legislate everything for the environment and any form of safety.
And yet, this is not a do-gooder parable at all. If we think for a minute - why would Jesus want to go back to salvation through the Law, which is what the Pharisees taught and lived? That is absurd. His preaching was - and is - to have us receive His righteousness through faith in Him. That is what this parable teaches.
But first - the introduction to the parable.
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
I do not see the lawyer's question as evil, but set in the same frame that we have unless we are completely in the Gospel. "What shall I do?" The answer has mined the gold and silver from many an estate based on evil, corruption, and greed. But Jesus takes him a long way around to show that is the wrong path.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Jesus is answering but without the basis that He will teach in the parable coming up. Knowing this man's nature, He said, "Do this.." which is impossible from the Law. The lawyer, caught up in the mindset of the Law, wanted a precise definition of neighbor, so he could serve the right persons and not spend time and energy on the wrong ones. Of course, that is entirely wrong, and the normal explanations of this parable show how easily one falls into that trap. It is not an accident that skandalon is used so often - the trigger of the trap. The trigger - skandalon - of the trap is righteousness through the Law, which takes people way from faith in Christ as the only righteousness.
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
This is an extremely long introduction for a parable. While others are simply listed in a row - like Matthew 13 - this introduction is longer than some parables, like the leven mixed into the dough.
A certain man is any person. This represents how we are without Christ. The unbelieving world glorifies what is outward and material, and that happens with Christian leaders too. One had every honor in the world. But he told someone, "My life is meaningless. I am miserable." He was just as much that man left half-dead than someone robbed and beaten. As Luther observed, the emotions are far more painful to bear than physical injuries, where we might at least get some pity from others.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
We should not be too shocked to have Jesus identified as a Samaritan. He was called that in the Gospel of John as the ultimate insult - you are crazy, you are Satanic, you are a Samaritan. When Jesus took away their righteousness of works and said "believe in Me," he invoked this hatred. The blind become even blinder. The hardened become even more hardened. As Luther explains in many sermons - and this one - Jesus was very harsh with them in teaching them they were utterly wrong and fallen away from the Word of God.
As we see in the conclusion - Who is the neighbor? Answer - the one who showed mercy - Jesus. There is no mercy in the Law. If someone helps 1,000 or 10,000 without faith in Him, it is all sin. And we can see that at work, because they boast about their works. A lot of charity work is done this way. I buy a table to hear a famous person. I invite about 10 people who enjoy seeing and hearing this celebrity, whether Hollywood or political or sports. They are wealthy people flattered by getting a free meal and a chance to see this person up close. Then while we have dinner, I open up various business issues with them. Just a nibble. Later I phone and say, "Hey how do you like hearing from Joe Montana?" The answer is going to be obvious. "Why not have lunch and talk about that deal I mentioned? Is Tuesday or Friday better for you?" Meanwhile, in the society section, they list how much money was raised for charity. Everybody says, including the highly compensated celebrity, "Look at how much we raised for charity." And so the folly goes on, not that nothing good is done, but most of it is business and tainted with hypocrisy.
The Law example in the Pilgrim's Progress - a man comes up and knocks down Christian. He gets up to be knocked down again and again. "Have mercy!" The man says, "I am the Law. I have no mercy." The author read Luther's Galatians Lectures all the time, more than any other book except the Bible.
There is no mercy, no forgiveness, without faith in Christ, who is all mercy, love, and forgiveness. He begins the work of mercy, which is the Gospel, and that instills faith and then He does all possible things to keep us in the faith, to purify our faith, and to build us up for future challenges and difficulties.
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Christ comes to us in the proclamation of the Gospel. That is why we broadcast over the Net, which shocks and amuses many. I have two groups of students who have various books on Lutheran doctrine now, people all over this area who own books that discuss God's actual six-day Creation, including a doctor of medicine.
The Gospel Word is effective, too. Some are more obnoxious than ever before in opposing Justification by Faith, but what do we expect from Pharisees. After all, Jesus' most hate-filled opponents have always been experts in religion, real scholars, but always with the wrong idea.
The action in the parable is quite condensed, so each phrase has meaning.
- The Samaritan comes to him.
- He dresses the wounds, pouring on oil (grace) and wine (the sharpness of the cross).
- Takes him to an inn on his own beast of burden, making it possible for additional healing and recovery.
- Cares for him at the inn - the Means of Grace.
Providing continuous care for the Christian is described here:
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Has God provided congregations everywhere, and yet people despise faithful ministers and do not support them more than tepidly. I heard from people who say there is no traditional Lutheran church within 100 miles, even in larger cities.
The Spirit has moved people through the Word to support the spread of the Gospel and the maintenance of congregations where the promised Means of Grace are available.
Love Your Neighbor - Jesus - As Yourself
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
The ending of this parable is like many of the insights we find in the Gospels. The context leaves us a bit bewildered until we see that all possible alternatives have been cut off.
The do-gooder theme that so many sell to others never has fit this ending, because it concentrates on the Samaritan who is not a neighbor and shows no need. The beaten man is left out of the conclusion - he is not the neighbor in this parable. The one who showed mercy is - Jesus as the Gospel, not Moses as the Law.
Many people have experienced how quickly others are condemned by the do-gooders, the Social Justice Warriors. They have primed the youth to yell "That's racist" when nothing of the sort is said at all. That is salvation by the Law. If we can just pummel enough people with accusations, everyone will live in harmony. That is clearly not going to be the result of their Law crusades.
So this is clearly a parable about faith in Jesus, the Samaritan, the one who shows mercy. And why love? That is the first fruit of the Gospel. We do not start our faith. The Gospel opens our heart to the mysteries of the Scriptures. As babies, some of us heard those Gospel Promises at our baptism. As adults, some heard the Gospel, knew and experienced its truth, believed in Jesus and asked for Holy Baptism.
Either way, the Gospel produces faith, and faith in the extensive and great mercies of Christ cause us to love Him who loved us first.
