Crimson Unity: Jesus vs. Racism — Foundations Part 3
Post #4
Crimson Unity — The Sufficiency of Christ
Welcome
Today we see for ourselves where Jesus stands on unity and race relations and take the first-things-first foundational steps towards victory against racism.
Worship
We praise the God who is not a respecter of persons. Rich or poor, from any culture, origin, or race, from any past life experience, we are all welcome in Your presence. You make the sun rise on the just and the unjust, young and old. There is nothing that can ever separate us from the love of our God. (Romans 2:11–16, Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 10:19–21, Matthew 5: 45, Romans 8:31–39)
Prayer & Declaration
Jesus, in John 13:34 you entreat us to love one another as You have loved us. We declare our trust that You would not have given us an impossible task, and humbly ask that You teach and empower us how to continue Your ministry of loving others to You. We also ask that others can see that we are Your disciples by how we love each other — with our words, service and regard for the beauty, gifts, and dignity You have placed in all of us.
Word
The Parable of The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25–37 NKJV
25 And behold, a certain lawyer <nomikos, not antedikos — this becomes important later> 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 <two days wages>, 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.”
So, the good Samaritan…
1. Saw the man in need and went to him. He didn’t need to be asked.
2. Didn’t let any racial enmity (Jews and Samaritans hated each other) between them stop him from loving his neighbor.
a. He didn’t withhold his compassion.
b. He addressed his wounds as well as he could.
c. He moved him with his personal transportation.
d. He took him to safe lodging and further cared for him overnight.
e. He gave the innkeeper (apparently also a decent person) two days’ pay and offered more as need be.
f. Sacrificed his own time, resources, and plans, as he would have needed someone else to do for him in the same predicament. The command to love our neighbors doesn’t end at racial, ethnic, or political boundaries, nor is it limited to times when it is an easy thing/inexpensive matter to love them.
Why do you think the lawyer wished to justify himself to Christ?
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Why did he ask Jesus who his neighbor was?
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As a Sadducee <nomikos>he was likely in agreement with the priest and the Levite; they shunned the uneducated, gentiles, Hellenistic Jews, the ceremonially unclean, and all amharetz -people of the land. To a Sadducee, only another Sadducee or someone with zeal for the law could be a neighbor.
P4T #1
Did you get to choose your race, lineage, or the shade of your skin? Did you get to choose your facial features or body type? Did you get to choose the circumstances of your birth? Your national and cultural history? How wealthy your parents were?
Growing up, did someone tell you that you were better or worse than anyone else? If yes, how? Really think on this for a bit:
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Jesus doesn’t point out the sin of those who robbed and wounded the man. Why?
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Did any of the three men who walked the road beat or rob the victim? How does that relate to dealing with legacy racism or systemic bias?
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Who are we if we just walk on by? Are we loving our neighbor as ourselves if we do?
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How would the actions of the Good Samaritan work today? Would they be effective as a way of life if the entire Church took it on as Christ commanded?
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In what ways do you see racism and other ‘isms’ at work in the parable?
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As Christians, how are we uniquely equipped to choose as the Good Samaritan did?
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Jesus is saying that this is what right looks like — loving our neighbor as ourselves. The path to being like that truly good neighbor seems simple, but inwardly and outwardly very sacrificial for a “me first” world full of selfish and self-interested human beings.
Nancy and I have a small Christian life and relationship coaching business called Pas Fini (Haitian Creole for “Not Finished”). We often tell couples we work with that “the problem is the problem; your partner is not the problem.” We say that because that’s what the Bible teaches, and because it works. When a spouse is the primary source of conflict in a Christian marriage, it should be a ministry moment for the other spouse.
This is not “hate the sin, but love the sinner”, which sometimes is used as an excuse to look the other way, but extending the same grace God first gives us to love others. Let’s look again at Jesus’ words, this time in Mark 12:30–34 NKJV:
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.”
To paraphrase:
1. Be reconciled with God (the Whole Gospel)
2. Live in Biblical Unity
Just two steps. Simple, but neither step is something we can do without Jesus Christ. There is no victory over sin, including racism, without first individually being in right relationship with God.
Foundational Step 1: Be reconciled with God (the Gospel):
Note: Current believers: please, stand in agreement with God’s heart that no one would perish (Mathew 18:13–15), and pray now for those reading this, who need it as desperately as we all once did and still do. Try to hear the gospel as part of the larger plan of God, with new ears.
The Gospel Explained:
The Bible tells us that a perfect, loving, wise, and all-powerful God created everything, including people, and they were created perfect and good. (Genesis 1:1–31). God made people in His image (Genesis 1:27), and filled us with His life, which is where our ultimate value lies. As created beings, our value reflects the majesty of our Creator. We were made to love and be in a relationship with God, and by extension, with others. When mankind fulfilled that purpose, the world existed in peace, beauty, and joy. Our Significance, Acceptance, and Security as people came directly from God.
In His perfect wisdom, God also created us with free will. Real, authentic love can’t be forced and must include the possibility to choose not to accept God. Eventually, humanity rejected God by rebelling against Him (Genesis 3:1–7, Isaiah 53:6). This sin, this separation from God, was the route sin took into the world and people (Romans 5:12). This is referred to as “The Fall”. Paradise was lost.
Today, before God shows us the condition of our hearts, most of us don’t believe that we’re “that bad”. We have been numbed to the severity and depravity of our sinfulness. It courses through our personality in lust, pride, dishonesty, and disguises often sick, selfish motivations with only a veneer of positive value. The truth is “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We all need work, and we all need forgiveness. Sin ruins everything, stealing our freedom (Romans 6:17–18). Without reconciliation, we reject God, idolizing ourselves, other people, and our happiness. Worse still, we can’t avoid this trap ourselves, in part because, since the Fall, we are born into it. And because no human can hope to pay the debt we owe to God.
The word ‘Gospel’ translates to “Good News”.
The good news? That God, seeing us helpless to defeat sin, sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be the way for us to reunite with Himself, by paying the price of our sin for us. Christ’s power over sin and death through His sinless life, sacrifice on the cross, and resurrection from the dead offers everyone who turns from their sin and themselves, and trusts in Jesus as Savior and Lord, the miracle of being reconciled to God forever. Jesus suffered the condemnation and death we deserve so that, when we put our trust in Him, we can receive the blessing and life He deserves (2 Corinthians 5:21).
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13
When we confess our sinfulness and take hold of Christ’s finished work of salvation on the cross, and then ask Him to be our Lord, we are released from sin’s power. We are free, able to choose God and reject sin. We are free to work for real justice — free to live loving God and others. Not just as a sentiment, but as the way we live and act every day.
Please Pray: Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner, and I ask that you please forgive my sins. I believe with my whole heart that Jesus is Your only begotten son, and that He gave His life on the cross to pay the price for my sins. I believe that You raised Him from the dead, bringing Him back to life. I declare that You, Jesus, are my Lord and Savior, and I give my entire life to you. Please come live in my heart, help me to become more like You, and to live this life as You direct me by Your Holy Spirit and Your word, the Bible.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Next, in our final foundational post, we talk about loving our neighbor as ourselves.
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