Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction and Background

Conflict, hate, bitterness, rage, disagreement, rights, wrongs, division - through out the ages these words have been used in various forms to describe interactions between individuals and groups, nations, kingdoms, ethnicities.

These words have been used to describe the interactions among religions and even other churches.

Leonard Sweet, in his book From Tablet to Table, shares a story about just such a conflict.

He shares...

“During the days when Anabaptist (Free Church) groups were being persecuted throughout Europe, an old Mennonite minister in Emmenthal, in the Canton of Bern, in the heart of Switzerland, practiced the literal meaning of hospitality.

Early one morning, he heard men on the roof of his house, tearing off the tiles and throwing them to the ground in an attempt to drive him out of town.

Arising from bed, he asked his wife to prepare a good breakfast for the men.

Then he went outside and invited them to breakfast, insisting that they come in and eat since they had been working so hard.

Shamefacedly they came in and sat at the table.

He prayed for them and their families, then served them breakfast.

After they had eaten, they went out and put the tiles back on the roof.”

(Sweet, Leonard From Tablet to Table (NavPress, 2014), 139-140.)

This man’s actions run completely counter to the way that most people interact during times of conflict.

For centuries, people have been divided over a variety of means - race/ethnicity, religious views, theology, politics, gender, etc.

The world is replete with people complaining and offering theoretical solutions, and yet the solution that Jesus revealed centuries ago is seldom followed.

For centuries, people have been divided over a variety of means - race/ethnicity, religious views, theology, politics, gender, etc.

The world is replete with people complaining and offering solutions, and yet the solution that has been revealed centuries ago is seldom followed.

In our mission statement, we state that “First Baptist Rockville is a church of the nations, for the nations: therefore, we exist to win, disciple, and send people across the street and around the world with the message of Jesus Christ.”

How do we do that when the people we are trying to reach are so turned off by what they think we will say?

How do we get through the relational walls that have been put up? Can we pass the social stigmas with the message of the Gospel?

The challenge we face is not new.

In fact, it’s been around since long before Jesus walked the earth.

He encountered the same barriers and conflicts that we face today.

When you read through the gospels, you see throngs of people eager to hear what Jesus says and to experience the healings that He could do through miracles.

And yet right on the edge of many of these crowds were religious leaders who looked on with suspicion at Jesus.

They would question, mock and jeer - until they had a one on one encounter.

Today, we’re going to look at one of these encounters and the message that Jesus is conveying to bring peace with each other and peace with God.

If you have your Bibles and would like to follow along, we’re going to be in starting in verse 25.

There is a pew Bible in front of you if you don’t have one.

In the earlier verses of , Jesus has just sent out and received back 72 disciples.

After he finishes commending his disciples for what they learned and what they did, He is accosted by a Jewish Lawyer or Scribe.

As we go through this, we’re going track the Lawyer’s Inquisition and Jesus Response and His Example.

So first, we have...

I.

The Inquisition (vs.

25-29)

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law?

How do you read it?”

27 And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.”

28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In verse 25, the Inquisition begins with...

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

A. The Lawyer’s Question (25)

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

It appears that Jesus was teaching at some point.

In Middle Eastern culture it was common for a teacher to sit.

Students then demonstrate respect for the teacher by standing to ask a question.

This lawyer “is standing to ask a question like a humble student trying to learn something, but his purpose is to test/examine the teacher."

(Bailey, 286).

It appears that Jesus was teaching at some point.

In Middle Eastern culture it was common for a teacher to sit.

Students then demonstrate respect for the teacher by standing to ask a question.

This lawyer or “is standing to ask a question like a humble student trying to learn something, but his purpose is to test/examine the teacher."

(Bailey, 286).

It appears that Jesus was teaching at some point.

In Middle Eastern culture it was common for a teacher to sit.

Students then demonstrate respect for the teacher by standing to ask a question.

This lawyer or “is standing to ask a question like a humble student trying to learn something, but his purpose is to test/examine the teacher."

(Bailey, 286).

"He is standing to ask a question like a humble student trying to learn something, but his purpose is to test/examine the teacher."

So who is this lawyer.

In other gospels, he would be referred to as a scribe - someone who is very literate and knowledgeable of the OT law.

According to Graham H. Twelftree, because of their vast knowledge of scripture, Scribes had several key tasks:

Interpretation and Preservation of the Law

Teaching the Law - formally in the temple and in houses of instruction

Lawyers - while any Jew could be called upon to adjudicate a matter, scribes would often be chosen for judicial office and occasionally for service on the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish ruling council.

Theologians - While not the only ones who could teach, their vast knowledge of the law made them well qualified to instruct in synagogues.

Guardians of Tradition -

Curators of the Text - they took care of both the copying and preservation of the texts.

(

In relation to their knowledge of the Scriptures the scribes

Graham H. Twelftree, “Scribes,” Dictionary of New Testament Background: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1087-1088.

The Qumran scriptorium may have been modelled on something similar in the Jerusalem temple.

The Qumran scriptorium may have been modelled on something similar in the Jerusalem temple.

So this man, may have heard some of the things that Jesus was saying and may have been intrigued.

He had a thorough knowledge of OT Law and so he may have already known the answer to the question he was asking.

So he asks the question - “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

There is a fatal flaw in his asking.

When we inherit something, we get it for free - typically it’s because of who we are related to, not so much because of what we have done.

(Life Application Bible Commentary: Luke, p. 279).

The lawyer seems to assume that there is something he must do to gain entrance into the eternal Kingdom of God.

So Jesus response with his...

B. Jesus’ Counter Question (26)

Graham H. Twelftree, “Scribes,” Dictionary of New Testament Background: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1088.

Rather than responding with an answer, Jesus responds with his own test question.

The man’s garments would have likely revealed that he was a scribe and that he would have had a great deal of knowledge in the OT Law.

“He said to him, “What is written in the Law?

How do you read it?””

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), .

Unlike the disrespect that Jesus was being accosted with, he responds with grace and dignity.

O how I wish that were the same for me on many occasions.

states...

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), .

Jesus embodies the wisdom of this Proverb.

He responds to the man respecting his position and yet, refuses to succumb to the test/examination that he is facing.

C. The Lawyer’s Answer to His Own Question (27)

In demonstrating a clear understanding of OT law, and following through with the very thing that he would have repeated daily since childhood, the scribe responds...

“You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.”