A Church Like an Inn ( Luke 10:30-37)

A Church Like an Inn ( Luke 10:30-37)

 

 

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

 

31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

 

32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

 

33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

 

34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.

 

35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

 

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

 

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

 

head)

 1. To get a better understanding of today’s scripture, we must first look at verses 25-29:

 

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘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.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 

Today’s scripture is “The Parable of the Good Samaritan” where Jesus illustrates to us who our neighbors are as Christians.

 

Body)

 

A) Similarities Between Churches and Inns

 

1. The word “inn” appears twice in today’s scripture: once in verse 34 and again in 35 (innkeeper). During long journeys, people would rest, eat, and drink at inns.

 

2. Back then, people would walk 10-20 mile distances. While there occasionally were inns along desert roads for travelers, most people had to build makeshift shelters of mud or rock if the wanted to rest. Seeing as how these shelters were crude and without roofs, even the tiniest inn was a joyous sight for travelers.

 

3. If asked, “What kind of place does a church need to be?” I want to answer, “A church needs to be like an inn.”

 

4. Where was this inn Jesus was talking about? It was somewhere on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, from the south to the north. Spiritually and metaphorically, we can see Jerusalem as Heaven, Jericho as the worldly earth, and the church as the inn between the two.

 

Who is the inn for? It is for any traveler who seeks rest, be they man, woman, old, or young. It is a place where people can ease their hunger, thirst, and fatigue. The church is also a place for anyone who seeks rest and refuge.

 

Inns are also not meant for permanent living situations. They are temporary. The church is also just a temporary place for Christians to stop on their path to Heaven.

 

B) A World Like the Neighbor Who Was Robbed

 

1. The parable tells of a man who ran into robbers. Our world is filled with evil, conscienceless, and greedy people. Against these people, the gentle and kind are often robbed in many ways.

 

The meek are robbed of their belongings, hearts, health, and even their lives. They are betrayed by those they trusted. They find themselves victims of scams. People who immigrate face language barriers and end up paying fees they don’t the reason for. They are taken advantage of. But just accepting the loss feels easier than confronting every situation.

 

2. Christians also often feel upset and discouraged from being robbed. The man in today’s story must have tried putting up a fight when he met the robbers because he was beaten and left half dead. It was the Samaritan who found this “half dead” man, took him to an inn and paid the innkeeper asking him to take care of the hurt man.

 

The church acts in a similar way. A church like an inn serves to watch over and nurse back to health those who have been robbed, have no hope, and are half dead.

 

3. Today’s scripture introduces to us two other people: the priest and the Levite, who both walked past the dying man. The priest probably thought he was too important and holy of a man to get the blood of an injured nobody on his hands. Levites were people who strictly upheld the law and thrived to live a holy life.

 

They both believed that doing God’s work was more important than helping a hurt man. These people were good to God, but mistreated people. They seemed like holy people who would rush to help a person in need, but they simply walked away. The world is cold for a reason. It is filled with disappointing and sad stories like this one.

 

4. But the Samaritan helped the dying man, brought him to an inn, watched over him, and when he had to leave he paid the innkeeper to continue nursing the man to health. He sacrificed his time and money to help someone that had absolutely no relation to him.

 

The innkeeper was also a kind and gentle person. Any other innkeeper would have deemed the task troublesome and inconvenient, maybe even asking the Samaritan to find a different inn. But the innkeeper in the story agreed without question.

 

As an innkeeper, he had many other tasks and hand, but he did not turn the man or the Samaritan away. These are the people restore faith in humanity and become a beacon for others.

 

C) A Church Like the Good Samaritan

 

1.  But what kind of people were Samaritans? They were a group despised by the Israelites. The Samaritans were northern Jews with a bloodline mixed with that of the Assyrians when Israel was taken over by Assyria for 130 years. They were looked down on for their mixed blood.

 

Yet the Samaritan help the very people who had hated and turned away from him. What he did was not just helping a random stranger; he helped someone who ostracized him. His actions come from great love.

 

2. There are two types of Christians as well: people who come to church solely to serve God and those who come to church because they want something. But we receive much greater grace when we serve God rather than when we seek to get something from it.

 

The church is a place to receive care and offer servitude. It is a place of sharing, comforting, and kindness. True, and mature, Christians are those who care for the weak and vulnerable like the innkeeper and Samaritan. These are the Christians that make the Lord joyful.

 

 3. Many of you have probably hard of Nick Vujicic. He is a man who was born without arms or legs. Anyone with such a condition could only live with help from others. But when he was young, if Nick fell he would reject all offers of help from his parents and try to get up on his own.

 

He may not have had arms and legs, but he knew if he asked people to help him with every little thing he would not be able to live his own life. He had to find a way to do things on his own, so he never asked for or accepted help. While trying to get up he would roll around the floor, hit his head, and scratched and bruised himself, but in the end Nick Vujicic was able to get up on his own.

 

He now travels giving inspirational speeches, and people around the world hear his story and find courage in themselves again. They find comfort and strength. If Nick Vujicic had lived his entire life only receiving from others, he may not have become the inspirational person he is today.

 

4. one pastor, Pastor Huh, attended a service with 40 other pastors and their wives. His turn came to give the sermon, but he was incredibly nervous. His audience was made up entirely of pastors, all with great experience, and he had always had trouble preaching in front of other pastors.

 

So he gave a sermon titled, “John the Baptist’s Ministry” and based it on John 3:30, “30 He must become greater; I must become less.”

 

He started by saying, “What makes a good pastor? Is a good pastor one served a healthy church, was loved by the congregation, gave occasional sermons upon request even after retirement, and lived a stable life until death?

 

Does that mean a pastor who served unstable churches, had to leave the church or was ousted for some reason, spent their entire ministry bouncing from church to church, and ended up dying with no one’s care was a bad pastor? Does that mean they were a failure?

 

Then what about John the Baptist? What about his ministry? He did nothing for himself, he only served Jesus, gave all his followers he baptized over the Jesus, spent his final lifetime in prison, and faced death by beheading on the cunning request of Herod’s daughter Salome. Does this make John the Baptist a failure?”

 

Jesus deemed John the Baptist as a great prophet. Just looking at John, this is hard to believe. But Jesus does not lie. Hence, he preached that when placed before God, it does not matter how much one has received in a lifetime, but how much was poured out and sacrificed.

 

5. Animals and plants coexist on a principle of “giving”. If we take a look at a pepper, we see one small seed grows enough peppers to feed many. Peppers don’t grow and bear more peppers for its own sake. Even when others strip it away of its harvest it continues to bear more.

 

 Fish also lay many eggs, but 95% of them become food for other fish and the remaining 5% actually hatch to continue the species. Most sea turtle hatchlings are eaten by birds on their way to the sea, and many of the ones that do make it end up as feed for fish. Yet the species still lives on laying countless eggs when the time comes. Both fish and turtles “give” all they can for the sake of nature.

 

Many predators who don’t “give” have become endangered or extinct. But the weaker animals that do “give” end up stronger and surviving longer. Like this, if a church does not give to others, it cannot grow and eventually die out.

 

Conclusion)

 

1. The church needs to be a place for tired and hurt souls to heal, feel joy, and give thanks and glory to the Lord. The troubled neighbors that seek churches need to be happy. They need to find rest and refuge in the church as a traveler would at an inn.

 

And when the day is bright again, they leave and continue their path with more strength, peace, and confident. We must become like the innkeeper and Samaritan and build our church to become a place that blesses and gives.

 

2. Today we had our Ceremony of Church Appointment for the members and volunteers of our church. Whether you were appointed today or not, we must all work to give to others and live to serve our roles as an inn, Christian, and God’s servants.

 

Let us all bring joy to the Lord and when we stand before Him and Christ we will be accepted with honor and grace. Let us all work together to make our church a warm, welcoming, loving, and beautiful church. Hallelujah!

 

022116

 

By pastor Ik s. Ahn/ translated by ye-bin, Choi