The Master Teacher

INTRO:
Good evening. What I would like to do for a few lessons is take a look at the parables taught by Jesus. Why the parables? I want to try and understand what a parable is and why Jesus spoke in parables in the first place. Let’s keep that question in mind as we look at scripture today. Just as a reminder if you hear me say anything that is not according to scripture please let me know and we can look at it together. In general I will be using the New King James or the King James Version for reference.

We have all read the directions and the warning labels on things that we buy. Here are some I found interesting.
On a rain gauge: "Suitable for outdoor use.”
On a packet of airline peanuts: "Open and eat contents."
On a chainsaw: "Do not attempt to stop chain with hands."
On a can of air freshener: "For use by trained personnel only."
On a steering-wheel lock: "Remove lock before driving."
On a box of salt: “Warning: High in sodium.”

I guess the point is that even the simple things in life need some explaining at times.
I’ve shared a lot of stories with you all over the years, often to assist in making a point or bringing something to mind, but when it comes to parables and illustrations Jesus will always be the Master teacher.

I have heard it said about some of the things that Jesus spoke; “That is a parable” or “that is not a parable” and I wondered: What is a parable? Looking at Luke 18:1 we see “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,”. Looking up the Greek for that verse I found the word we translate as “parable” is παραβολή parabolḗ, par-ab-ol-ay. Strong defines it as “a similitude”, a placing beside; a comparison; equivalent or something to compare, a likeness.

Some say that a parable is ‘An earthly story with a heavenly meaning’ but really a parable is more than that. One dictionary defines a parable as ‘A short figurative story, designed to convey some truth or moral lesson.’ Another dictionary says ‘A brief story using events or facts of everyday life to illustrate a moral or spiritual truth.’ The blue letter bible includes: “a pithy and instructive saying, involving some likeness or comparison and having perceptive or admonitory force, an aphorism, a maxim, a proverb.

I. As I read all of that, and you will find more, it seems to me that parables come in many different styles and forms and shapes and formats.
A. Let me give you a couple of examples. You may not have thought of these as parables. In Luke 4 for example, after Jesus had been tempted by the devil, He went on the Sabbath Day to the synagogue. When the leaders heard Him read the prophet Isaiah from a scroll they asked in verse 22 “Is not this Joseph's son?” Jesus replied at verse 23, “Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.” Here we have an example of a parable in the form of a ‘proverb’.
B. Another example in Luke chapter 5 is where we find Jesus sharing a parable in the form of a ‘metaphor’ to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Luke 5:36-39 – “36. Then He spoke a parable to them: "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. 37. "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. 38. "But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. 39. "And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.' ''”
C. There are many other forms of parables that Jesus used in His teaching. Jesus used parables as a form of teaching, a tool. It wasn’t the only form of teaching He used but it was definitely a form He used often. Throughout the gospels there are over 30 parables that Jesus spoke. Most people know the parables of Jesus, even non-Christians know some of the parables He used. All of them are “classics” in some form and like I said earlier Jesus was the Master teacher. There’s no getting away from that.
II. Let’s go ahead and let the Master teacher answer our first question. Jesus, why did you speak in parables? We find the answer in Mark 4:10-13 – “10. But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11. And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12. "so that 'seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.' '' 13. And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”
A. He said you are given to understand but to those on the outside everything is said in parables. Why? So that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'" Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?”
B. His parables were designed to test His hearers, not an intelligence test but a spiritual responsiveness test. That’s what they were designed to do. They were all designed to get a response. However, as Jesus says, if you can’t understand this parable, how will you understand any parable? Of course, here in Mark where we just read, Jesus is teaching the parable of ‘The Seed Sower’. We will look at that in more detail some day.
C. Turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 10. We will use this parable to help us understand some things about all the parables that Jesus taught. We are going to look at it for some foundations. I’ll start with some background.
III. There was a man who was an expert in the Law of Moses and he asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus, the Master teacher does what He usually does and swings it right back and asks the man what he thought the law said concerning eternal life. His answer to Jesus was, '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.'" Jesus tells him that he had answered correctly and told him that if he does this he will live.
A. However, we are told this lawyer wanted to justify himself and so he asks Jesus another question, "And who is my neighbor?" The master teacher starts His parable in verse 30 of Luke 10. Luke 10:30 – “Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. "Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. "Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, "and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. "On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?''” [NKJV]
B. The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." When Jesus taught, His parables were always spontaneous. He did not have to think about them first and say, “Listen, can you come back next week and I’ll explain what I’m talking about here. I certainly would have.
C. Jesus would give spontaneous answers to people’s questions, and we should too. We should always be truthful with people when they ask us a question. There are times when we honestly must say, “Listen I don’t know the answer to that question right now, but I will get back to you. Then we do need to get back to them.
D. There are some questions that all Christians should always have an answer to. Has anyone ever asked you why you are a Christian? Has anyone ever asked you, why do you believe in God and go to worship every week? I suspect many of us can answer ‘Yes’ to those questions, because as Christians those are the type of questions we should easily be able to answer, even if we don’t know the Scriptures that well. A person doesn’t need to be a Bible scholar to answer them. We don’t need to know all the books of the Bible and all the apostles’ names to answer those questions, but we do need to be able to answer them.
1. 2 Timothy 4:2 says; “Preach the word! Be ready (when are we to be ready?) in season and out of season (i.e. all the time) . Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” We are to correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
2. 1 Peter 3:15 – “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;” Peter doesn’t tell us to have an answer for every question that comes our way. We are to answer for the hope that we have.
3. Folks, whether we have been a Christian for one day or 40 years it makes no difference, we should know why we became a Christian in the first place. It is an important thing for us to keep in mind and I suspect forgetting is the main reason why people fall away from the Lord, why they suddenly stop. Ultimately people fall away because they have forgotten where they came from. They’ve forgotten why they became Christians in the first place. They have forgotten the hope that they had in the very beginning after coming up out of the waters of baptism. They’ve forgotten.
E. Here is something else about Jesus’ parables we need to remember. You see in Luke 10:25 when the law expert asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?"
1. Notice what Jesus does. Jesus swings it back around to him and asks him, “What do you think the Law says?” The lawyer answers in verse 27, "'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.'"
2. Then the man asked Jesus another question in verse 29, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus went on and told him the parable we call ‘The Good Samaritan’. I say “we call” it the ‘good Samaritan’ because the Bible never does. Please note, Jesus never calls the Samaritan good. Then Jesus asked the man this question in verse 36, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
3. Every parable had a point or a purpose. That’s why the man answered in verse 37, "The one who had mercy on him." Parables were told to get the listeners to think for themselves. That’s why they’re there. In this scene it is the lawyer who both asks, and answers the questions.
4. Jesus gave parables that were always designed to get a response, a change in attitude or a change in action in those who heard them because they had to have a response. Jesus gets to the point in this parable, and He tells the man, "Go and do likewise."
5. Jesus is saying to that man, “I know you understand how to get eternal life because you answered the question correctly.” Then Jesus tells him the difficult part of the answer, Jesus said “You need to go and do it.” The doing part is the hard part. Jesus wants us to love all people, have mercy on all people, not just those in our family, not just those we like, but all people. Love even those Samaritan people that you can’t stand to be around.
F. Notice in this parable the Law expert never even mentioned the word ‘Samaritan’. Did you notice that? He answers correctly—but he says, “The one who had mercy on him.” We don’t comprehend just how much the Jews hated the Samaritans and this hatred is not to be underestimated. They considered them unclean people. This guy hated them so much he wouldn’t even use the word ‘Samaritan’, never mind call him a neighbor.
1. Remember in John 4 when Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well? After the disciples went away to buy some food, it says in verse 27, “And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?'' or, "Why are You talking with her?''” We might wonder why the disciples were surprised, and why did they marvel. Not just because Jesus was talking to a woman but because He was speaking to a Samaritan woman.
2. Even she was surprised when Jesus, a Jew, was willing to speak to her, a Samaritan. That’s why she said to Jesus in John 4:9 – “"How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?'' (then John is being polite here says) For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” The Jews hated the Samaritans.
G. In some ways this dates back to the days of Jacob. Joseph was despised by his brothers and they attempted to do away with him. God intervened. Then before his death Jacob gave Joseph a blessing in which he calls him “a fruitful bough by a well” (Genesis 49:22). The tribes of Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh were allotted the fertile land that eventually became Samaria. In about 722 BC Assyria conquered Northern Israel and took many people into captivity, resettling the land with foreigners, Gentiles. Around 600 BC the southern kingdom fell to Babylon and about 70 years later the remnant were allowed to return to rebuild Jerusalem. The Samaritans, a combination of Gentiles and those of the Northern Kingdom, opposed this repatriation of the south and tried to undermine it while the southern repatriates detested the mixed marriages and corrupt worship of their northern cousins.
1. This man’s answer to Jesus must have hurt his Jewish pride so much that he couldn’t even say the word ‘Samaritan’. To get the full import of this it helps us to understand what the parable meant to those who first heard it.
2. We need to be careful because some people have become experts at making every little detail, every little verse mean something in a parable. People try to dig more out of it. For example people will say that the priest and the Levite couldn’t help the man because of religious reasons. They will try and find out who the robbers were and who the robbers stood for. It’s like the man who said to his friend, “Do you see that forest over there?” His friend said, “What forest? I can’t see anything but trees.” We understand people can get tangled up so much in the text that sometimes they fail to see the point. Sometimes we do try to get a point from every little detail; and in the end miss the main point.
H. We forget to ask the question, what did it mean to those who were listening? That should be our first approach.
1. When Jesus was telling this man the parable; does it say the man listened and then though to himself, who’s the man who was robbed? Who were the robbers? He didn’t do any of that. Why? He knew exactly what Jesus was talking about. The lawyer had lost clear sight the Law because of traditions. The lawyer was just like the Priests and the Levites. They paid lip service to the Law. They forgot what God said to Moses in Exodus 33:19 “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” [para] Mercy? To a Samaritan? That would have been the last thing in that Jewish man’s mind. By the time Jesus had finished, the expert in the law knew that Jesus was saying to him, “I don’t want lip service, I don’t want sacrifice.”
2. What did Jesus really want him to understand? Matthew 23:23 this is one of those verses that we all remember. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” That’s what the parable is about. It was about the Jews getting rid of their racist attitude towards the Samaritans, toward the Gentiles and instead of treating others like some piece of dirt, outcasts, they should treat everyone justly and with mercy.
3. It’s about loving your neighbor as you love the Lord and yourself. The Samaritan did exactly what the priest and the Levite should have done. The Samaritan did what the lawyer now needs to go and do. In other words he needs to practice what he preaches, what he just said in his answer.
IV. Not all parables seem to apply to us today but we can still learn many lessons from them. After all they are the very words of Jesus, written in scriptures and as we all know “All Scripture is God breathed”, 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that.
A. Now that we understand what the parable meant to that lawyer, we can now go on and see what we can learn from it ourselves. The lawyer only asked Jesus the question, “Who is my neighbor?” for one reason. Luke 10:29 “He wanted to justify himself.”
1. In other words, he wanted to make himself out to be blameless. He wanted people to look at him and see a good Jewish citizen doing what he should be doing. What Jesus did in the form of this parable was to get him to look at himself. That the lawyer could see his own sinfulness, and see just how far from the Law he really was.
2. I suspect we can become experts in justification, can’t we? When it comes to justifying ourselves of sin, justifying what we think or what we want to do, we have all become experts. We pick a position and then we justify that position. That’s because we tend to have different standards about what God’s Word says. In other words we can all give a good reason for doing something we shouldn’t be doing. Or in the case of the lawyer, not doing something he should have been doing.
B. Sin isn’t just about the things that you shouldn’t do like gossiping and drunkenness. Sin is also not doing the things that you should be doing.
1. Let’s look at that. James gives us an example in James 2:2-5 – “2. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3. and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place,'' and say to the poor man, "You stand there,'' or, "Sit here at my footstool,'' 4. have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5. Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”
2. In other words if someone came into our meeting place who was dressed all scruffy, unshaven and probably lacked having a bath for a few weeks, are we going to love them or treat them any different from those who came in well dressed? Or as James asks, “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” They may be poor in the world’s eyes but they may be richer in faith than we are. You don’t know.
3. Poor people have as much right to enter the kingdom of heaven as anyone. Test yourself – when you see people, mentally ask; Do they deserve to hear the gospel?
C. If we ever answer ‘No’ to that question, then we need to take a good hard look at our self and see just how far we have come from the standard we find in God’s Word. Take it one step further now, and imagine the situation James puts forward. If two people came into our worship assembly and one of them was well dressed and the other one wasn’t, which one would you invite to your home for dinner? I’m certain we would all talk to both of them. We wouldn’t have a problem with that, but which one would you take home to get to know a little better?
1. The lawyer had to learn to treat all people the same, whether they were a Jew or Samaritan, Jew or Gentile, because the Gospel is not just about believing, is it? It’s about doing. It’s about doing for one what you would do for another. If you don’t do that, then that is sin in God’s eyes.
D. I’m going to give you another example from James. You probably know this in James 2:15-17 – “15. If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16. and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,'' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” It’s all very well standing up here and talking about the needy. It’s all very well having our after worship chats about those in need. If we just talk the talk and don’t walk the walk, we’re sinning. We are not living as Christians, trying to follow the example Jesus gave us. Unfortunately we sometimes try and justify ourselves just like the lawyer did and say things like, “Well, I’m kind of busy to stop and help that person sitting homeless in the street.”
1. If you see a brother or sister in need “I can’t invite them in to eat today because I need to get to church on time, I’m reading or serving today.” Are we not justifying ourselves? That’s what the priest and the Levite did in the story. They were going somewhere, but guess what, so was the Samaritan. The only difference was that the Samaritan stopped to help.
2. We can stop and help people; we can stop and share the gospel with people because wherever we are going can wait. How long does it take to give a hungry person a couple of bucks to buy a sandwich? You may not be able to stay long with them but you can arrange to catch up with them again later. Even a few words can serve to hold the door open.
3. That’s what the Samaritan did. Luke 10:35 - “"On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'” He didn’t just help the man and then leave him. He went back to make sure he was OK.
E. Let’s not make excuses for not helping people and try to justify ourselves in the process. Let’s practice what we preach because we love our Lord and we do try to show our neighbors how much we love them.
V. Perhaps the real question the lawyer should have asked Jesus was this; “Master, how do I love my neighbor?” He didn’t ask that, he asked, “Who is my neighbor?” We too often say things to get an answer which will remove us from the necessity of doing anything. We should be asking the question that the lawyer should have asked. Jesus, how do we love our neighbors?
A. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:6 – “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Faith with legs attached. We love our neighbors by helping our neighbors with the love the Lord has shown to us.
B. Thinking about that, what about those who aren’t Christians today? Do they deserve to hear the gospel? Or are we going to say, “I wish you well; keep safe and best of luck for getting into heaven.” Is that what we’re going to do?

CONCLUSION:
If there are any of you who aren’t Christians today, there is good news. You are surrounded by a bunch of people who have heard that good news and have responded to that good news. We are ready to share with you why we became Christians in the first place and share our hope with you.

We have those answers and are ready to give you an answer to the hope that lies within us; all you have to do is ask any of them. When they tell you why they became Christians, they will tell you how you too can become a Christian by being obedient to the Gospel of Christ.

The parables of Christ separated people. Did you know that? Those who wanted to know the truth and those who didn’t want to know the truth. The truth is this, if you turn to God and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and if you confess Jesus as Lord of your life and are immersed for the forgiveness of your sins then you will receive God’s promised Holy Spirit to dwell within you.

The Holy Spirit acts as a deposit, guaranteeing your entry into heaven, if you remain faithful to Him and His word for the rest of your life. He’s not looking for perfection as we understand perfection. What He is looking for is faithfulness.

We need to ask people today; what can I do for you? I hope and pray that we ask Jesus; how do we love our neighbor? That’s the right question that should have been asked here.

We are about to sing the song of invitation. If you are not a Christian, we with all our heart, plead with you to make a decision for Christ today. To decide to be His child, step out in faith and be baptized in water for the forgiveness of sin. That faith becomes access to the grace of God, made possible by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We believe in that and we rest our hope in that blood.

We invite anyone who has that need or any other need to come forward while we stand and while we sing.

Invitation song: ???

Reference sermon: Mike Glover