In a recent post, I quoted some comments Derek Thomas made about the peculiar evangelism methods Jesus used with the rich young ruler.  The parable of the good Samaritan is equally as confusing.

A lawyer approached Jesus and asked him a similar question as the rich young ruler, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  Like the rich young ruler, Jesus took him to the law:

He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 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.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live” (Luke 10:26-28).

The lawyer then asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”  So Jesus tells him the story of the good Samaritan.

But the really astounding thing is that Luke notes here that this man wanted to justify himself:

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29)

So it’s explicit:  This man wanted to justify himself by his own works.  And how does Jesus respond to him?  He tells him a story about a Samaritan who shows kindness to a Jew.  And then he concludes their encounter with the command, “Go and do likewise.”

Why?

He knew the covenant of grace was instituted way back in Genesis 3.  And it’s all over the Old Testament.  David understood it:  ”When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions” (Psalm 65:3).  So why wouldn’t Jesus preach like David when Jesus is the very one David is speaking about?  Doesn’t he know it’s confusing to talk the way he does?

Of course he does.  He knows people are going to misunderstand him.  In fact, in Matthew 13:11-16, Jesus seems to say the reason he speaks in parables is so that people will misunderstand him… That is, unless I’ve misunderstood him.

O the great mystery that is the Son of Man!  And I love him so.

From Derek Thomas’ “A Rich Young Man”:

John MacArthur observes that Jesus would have failed a course in personal evangelism in almost any seminary on earth by what He does in this passage. It begins with a young man. . . .  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” There’s a question. Have you ever asked that question? “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Do you know the answer to that question? You have two minutes, starting now! What must I do to inherit eternal life? If this was the seminary I’d ask you to take a piece of paper and I’d give you two minutes. Write it down. Tell me. What’s the answer? What must I do to inherit eternal life? You couldn’t ask a more relevant question than that. Do you know the answer? I wonder if it’s the answer Jesus gives here. Let’s look at this passage. Let’s follow Jesus. Let’s walk alongside the great Evangelist, shall we? Let’s eavesdrop on this conversation.

The first thing Jesus says to this young man is about God. That’s where He starts. He begins with God. Take a look at Jesus’ response. Do you know what He does? He picks on grammar. “Good Master,” (or, Good Teacher), “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good?” He picks on his use of the adjective. . . .

But then He takes him to the law, the Ten Commandments. Now if ever there was a faux pas in evangelism…you know this is it! This is about the last thing you want to speak to somebody who’s anxious and eager to enter the kingdom of God! He’s come running to Jesus, he’s kneeling before Him, and he’s asking the great question: What must I do to inherit eternal life? And what does Jesus do? He takes him to the law. . . .

Why does Jesus take this young man to the law? The Ten Commandments? “You know the commandments,” He says to him. Every Jewish boy knows the commandments. And Jesus rattles through commandments five through nine (what we usually refer to as the second table of the law) and adds the great commandment of neighbor-love…show no disrespect to parents, you mustn’t murder, you mustn’t commit adultery, you mustn’t steal, you mustn’t lie. . . .

Do you know what this young man said? It takes your breath away: “I’ve kept all these from a child.” It takes some gall to say that. Or does it? I wonder tonight if I were to say to you, in answer to the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and I said to you, “You must keep the commandments,” and you will say in response, “You know, I do my best. I do my best.” It’s the answer of millions of people around the globe tonight. That’s their response: “I do my best. I try to live a good life.” . . .

Read the whole sermon or listen to it below.

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Washer starts out with his testimony. His wife Charo’s testimony is below:

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This week, Mark Driscoll shared some great insight into understanding how to show love and care for those who we wish to share the gospel with.  The following are some clips from his sermon:

Jehovah’s Witnesses at My Door

Don’t Be Google For God

Don’t Shoot Other Christians

The full sermon is available below:

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This is a repost from my old blog.  I like it so much I just had to put it on this blog somewhere.

This is a clip from Don Williams’ session at the 1991 Desiring God Pastors Conference, Spiritual Gifts and the Sovereignty of God, in which he explains why the power of the Holy Spirit in spiritual gifts is a necessary part of evangelism.

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These are some really great clips from a Q&A with Paul Washer.  In these clips he addresses calling on God through prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit, how to witness faithfully, and the relationship of apologetics to evangelism.  The full video is available at sermonaudio.com.

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HT: Lane’s Blog