Kingdom Thinking
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to
inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘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.’”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
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. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and
looked, 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. 34 So he 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. 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.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was
neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do
likewise.”
Last week, we talked about putting first things first in our lives. Our conclusion was
that what should be first in the life of any Christian should be the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness. We discussed the importance of every new believer reading
the Bible, like a book. We also discussed the need to renew our minds away from
worldly thinking and toward the mind of Christ. Today we’ll be looking a bit more
deeply into that.
In our scripture reading, here is someone who’s come to test Jesus. No big
surprise. It happened often. So, he asks the rabbi (teacher) what he should do to
inherit eternal life. As Jesus is known to do, He answers the questions with a
question. I’m not going to get into it right now but we could learn a lot from that.
Many times when unbelievers come at us with questions we feel compelled to come
up with the right answer when it’s possible what we really need is to come up with the
right question. But anyway, Jesus turns the question around and asks him what the
Law says about it and how he understands it. Now remember that Yeshua has
asked what the ‘Law’ says. Many people believe that Jesus came preaching a
different message than that of the Old Testament but listen to the answer from the
‘lawyer’. And, by the way, a ‘lawyer’ in this time was someone who was well versed in
not only the law of the land but also in Torah. So, this is someone who would have
been well versed in what is now referred to as the Old Testament, like a scribe or
Pharisee. Listen to what this learned man says about what the scripture of the day
said about how to inherit eternal life. He says to love God with all your heart, soul,
and strength; and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Does that sound familiar? It should! Later in the ministry of Yeshua he is asked a
question by another ‘lawyer’/Pharisee (Matthew 22:34-40). He’s called a scribe in
Mark’s account.
Mark 12:28-34
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that
He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our
God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31
And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other
commandment greater than these.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one
God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the
understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as
oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the
kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.
Many believers will tell you that this is where Jesus supersedes the old Law and
brings in the new but that doesn’t hold true when you study it out. This account is
like two or more years after the first ‘lawyer/scribe’ gave the very same answer from
the old scripture. You see, the scribe in this account recognizes that Yeshua has
answered well, as any good Torah scholar would have. He even adds that he has
realized that those things are much more important than all the sacrifices and
offerings. Jesus sees that the man is wise and says something next that I think
speaks volumes. He tells him that he is ‘not far’ from the Kingdom of God. I think it’s
very telling because even as wise as the man is, he’s still not quite there. Although
he understands that how you live your life is more important than all the sacrifice in
the world, what I believe he still doesn’t recognize is that he is in need of that atoning
sacrifice that Jesus offered one for all. He thinks that he loves God and loves his
neighbor but that kind of thinking while bringing him in close, still will not gain him
entrance. Let’s hope he was one of the many scribes and Pharisees who did
eventually come to faith.
Let’s go back to our scripture reading. In verse 28, Jesus tells the man that he has
answered wisely so just do what he said, but listen to what separates him from the
other guy. This guy knows that he is still not justified. It may seem like a very simple
difference but it really makes all the difference. There are those who would consider
themselves Christian that don’t realize they need to be justified. They think they’re a
good person; they try to treat people as they would want to be treated, so they’re
good to go. But it doesn’t work that way. You know how they say if you’re an
alcoholic or have some kind of addiction; the first step is recognizing that you have a
problem. Well, it’s the same with sinners; the first step is recognizing that you have
a problem. So, Yeshua tells the story of the Samaritan and you need to know that
Jews did not like Samaritans. They hated the Samaritans even more than they
hated the Romans. From what I understand, they would go completely out of the
way to avoid even going through their towns. So, when the conclusion of the story
was that the Samaritan was his neighbor, that was like saying your enemy is your
neighbor.
Matthew 5:38-48
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you
not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him
also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and
from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of
your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain
on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do
you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be
perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
That’s kingdom thinking! That’s loving our neighbor who is our enemy. It’s easy to
love those who love you and to be nice to those who are nice to you. Remember,
we’re no longer supposed to be thinking like the world. We’re supposed to be
renewing our mind to the mind of Christ. What did Christ do? Let’s see, as He was
hanging on the cross, He forgave those who were crucifying Him. (Luke 23:34) Then
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” We’re supposed to
be renewing our minds to His. When someone cuts us off in traffic, how can we get
mad and rant about what a jerk they are? Or when someone steals something from
us, how can we get angry and think bad thoughts about them when our mind is
supposed to be changed. When Jesus clearly tells us in Matthew 5 to turn the other
cheek and when someone sues us for something, give them even more. When are
we going to get the fact that kingdom thinking makes no sense – at least not
common sense. Remember what they said about Messiah when He was on the
cross. They said He saved others so He should save Himself. That makes sense to
our human minds. To our human minds it make complete and total sense for Him to
call down ten thousand angels to swoop down and to whisk Him off the cross and
carry Him to His throne in heaven. It makes sense for Him to call down fire from
heaven and rain it on all those that hurled insults at Him, and spat upon Him, and
struck Him, and especially those who had orchestrated this travesty of all travesties.
For goodness sakes, the Creator of the universe is on a cross, somebody do
something! That all makes perfect sense, yet if any of that had happened, we’d all
be going straight to hell.
Praise God! Yeshua didn’t think like us while He hung on that cross. He thought
like His Father in heaven. That’s who we have to start thinking like. Stephen,
learned from the Master and he did the same.
Acts 7:55-60
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of
Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes
at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God
and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud
voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Like Jesus, Stephen asks that God not hold his death against them. And there
watching this ultimate display of love for one’s neighbor (even while they’re killing
you) was a young Pharisee named Saul. Who would have known while he watched
the clothing of those who cast the stone that this young man would end up being the
one who would write more scripture than any of his contemporaries? Who would
have known that he would be the one to take this gospel to the gentiles? Who
would have known? Well, consider this, who knows who may be watching you.
What will they see when they do? Will they see just anyone human reacting as all
humans do? Or will they see something different? Will they see something that will
make them sit up and take notice? Will they see the mind of Christ in action? It’s
time to stop making excuses and start making progress as we move toward the
image of Christ.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: November 5, 2006
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to
inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘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.’”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
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. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and
looked, 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. 34 So he 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. 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.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was
neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do
likewise.”
Last week, we talked about putting first things first in our lives. Our conclusion was
that what should be first in the life of any Christian should be the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness. We discussed the importance of every new believer reading
the Bible, like a book. We also discussed the need to renew our minds away from
worldly thinking and toward the mind of Christ. Today we’ll be looking a bit more
deeply into that.
In our scripture reading, here is someone who’s come to test Jesus. No big
surprise. It happened often. So, he asks the rabbi (teacher) what he should do to
inherit eternal life. As Jesus is known to do, He answers the questions with a
question. I’m not going to get into it right now but we could learn a lot from that.
Many times when unbelievers come at us with questions we feel compelled to come
up with the right answer when it’s possible what we really need is to come up with the
right question. But anyway, Jesus turns the question around and asks him what the
Law says about it and how he understands it. Now remember that Yeshua has
asked what the ‘Law’ says. Many people believe that Jesus came preaching a
different message than that of the Old Testament but listen to the answer from the
‘lawyer’. And, by the way, a ‘lawyer’ in this time was someone who was well versed in
not only the law of the land but also in Torah. So, this is someone who would have
been well versed in what is now referred to as the Old Testament, like a scribe or
Pharisee. Listen to what this learned man says about what the scripture of the day
said about how to inherit eternal life. He says to love God with all your heart, soul,
and strength; and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Does that sound familiar? It should! Later in the ministry of Yeshua he is asked a
question by another ‘lawyer’/Pharisee (Matthew 22:34-40). He’s called a scribe in
Mark’s account.
Mark 12:28-34
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that
He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our
God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31
And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other
commandment greater than these.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one
God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the
understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as
oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the
kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.
Many believers will tell you that this is where Jesus supersedes the old Law and
brings in the new but that doesn’t hold true when you study it out. This account is
like two or more years after the first ‘lawyer/scribe’ gave the very same answer from
the old scripture. You see, the scribe in this account recognizes that Yeshua has
answered well, as any good Torah scholar would have. He even adds that he has
realized that those things are much more important than all the sacrifices and
offerings. Jesus sees that the man is wise and says something next that I think
speaks volumes. He tells him that he is ‘not far’ from the Kingdom of God. I think it’s
very telling because even as wise as the man is, he’s still not quite there. Although
he understands that how you live your life is more important than all the sacrifice in
the world, what I believe he still doesn’t recognize is that he is in need of that atoning
sacrifice that Jesus offered one for all. He thinks that he loves God and loves his
neighbor but that kind of thinking while bringing him in close, still will not gain him
entrance. Let’s hope he was one of the many scribes and Pharisees who did
eventually come to faith.
Let’s go back to our scripture reading. In verse 28, Jesus tells the man that he has
answered wisely so just do what he said, but listen to what separates him from the
other guy. This guy knows that he is still not justified. It may seem like a very simple
difference but it really makes all the difference. There are those who would consider
themselves Christian that don’t realize they need to be justified. They think they’re a
good person; they try to treat people as they would want to be treated, so they’re
good to go. But it doesn’t work that way. You know how they say if you’re an
alcoholic or have some kind of addiction; the first step is recognizing that you have a
problem. Well, it’s the same with sinners; the first step is recognizing that you have
a problem. So, Yeshua tells the story of the Samaritan and you need to know that
Jews did not like Samaritans. They hated the Samaritans even more than they
hated the Romans. From what I understand, they would go completely out of the
way to avoid even going through their towns. So, when the conclusion of the story
was that the Samaritan was his neighbor, that was like saying your enemy is your
neighbor.
Matthew 5:38-48
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you
not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him
also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and
from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of
your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain
on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do
you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be
perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
That’s kingdom thinking! That’s loving our neighbor who is our enemy. It’s easy to
love those who love you and to be nice to those who are nice to you. Remember,
we’re no longer supposed to be thinking like the world. We’re supposed to be
renewing our mind to the mind of Christ. What did Christ do? Let’s see, as He was
hanging on the cross, He forgave those who were crucifying Him. (Luke 23:34) Then
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” We’re supposed to
be renewing our minds to His. When someone cuts us off in traffic, how can we get
mad and rant about what a jerk they are? Or when someone steals something from
us, how can we get angry and think bad thoughts about them when our mind is
supposed to be changed. When Jesus clearly tells us in Matthew 5 to turn the other
cheek and when someone sues us for something, give them even more. When are
we going to get the fact that kingdom thinking makes no sense – at least not
common sense. Remember what they said about Messiah when He was on the
cross. They said He saved others so He should save Himself. That makes sense to
our human minds. To our human minds it make complete and total sense for Him to
call down ten thousand angels to swoop down and to whisk Him off the cross and
carry Him to His throne in heaven. It makes sense for Him to call down fire from
heaven and rain it on all those that hurled insults at Him, and spat upon Him, and
struck Him, and especially those who had orchestrated this travesty of all travesties.
For goodness sakes, the Creator of the universe is on a cross, somebody do
something! That all makes perfect sense, yet if any of that had happened, we’d all
be going straight to hell.
Praise God! Yeshua didn’t think like us while He hung on that cross. He thought
like His Father in heaven. That’s who we have to start thinking like. Stephen,
learned from the Master and he did the same.
Acts 7:55-60
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of
Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes
at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God
and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud
voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Like Jesus, Stephen asks that God not hold his death against them. And there
watching this ultimate display of love for one’s neighbor (even while they’re killing
you) was a young Pharisee named Saul. Who would have known while he watched
the clothing of those who cast the stone that this young man would end up being the
one who would write more scripture than any of his contemporaries? Who would
have known that he would be the one to take this gospel to the gentiles? Who
would have known? Well, consider this, who knows who may be watching you.
What will they see when they do? Will they see just anyone human reacting as all
humans do? Or will they see something different? Will they see something that will
make them sit up and take notice? Will they see the mind of Christ in action? It’s
time to stop making excuses and start making progress as we move toward the
image of Christ.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: November 5, 2006
