of our salvation. So it's a great song, and I know sometimes it's a little bit awkward to sing something we're not that familiar with on a Sunday morning, but it's good stuff. All right, I'm gonna ask Pastor Todd Bryant to come. He's gotta get hooked up. Todd's a pastor at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church of North Port, Alabama. He is the lead elder. They have a plurality of elders. Elder Jacob West and Brian Farley are also elders there with him at the church. He's been there 20, almost 25, almost 25 years. Good friend, praying for you. Thank you. Love you. Love you, too. And Wendy's OK. She's all right. I've been accused of being Lewis's in-law several times since Grace and Caleb decided to get married, but we're not in-laws. They're Caleb's in-laws, but they're not our in-laws. It just doesn't work that way. And I've done a good bit of research to try to figure out what they are, because I'm sure there's a word, but there's really not anything that describes it probably better than outlaws. that they're probably our outlaws, so we'll just stick with that. It is good to be here today. We're bringing you blessings from Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in North Fork, Alabama. I do leave the church in good hands. As he was saying, we have two other guys that are elders there. They preach. Normally, every 10 days, we have a rotation One of them is having to preach again today, having preached Wednesday, so he's getting a little bit of taste of it. But I'm sure that it will be very good. We've spoken and I'm encouraged by what God has done through those men. We're also encouraged being here. I loved the pastor. I loved him before our kids were a thing. I loved him before they got married. But more importantly, he loves you guys. where I have the benefit of talking to other guys all week about our church. He calls and we talk and I can tell you, his heart is on you. And he loves you and he cares for you. So you appreciate him because I know that he is doing his best to lead you in a good direction biblically. And I hope that's what we are doing there in Northport. I'm glad to be in a place where the word of God is sung The Word of God is prayed and hopefully after today we can say that the Word of God has been preached. Take your copy of God's Word and open to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. We'll begin reading in verse 25. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right. This do, and thou shalt live. And he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my name? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stricked him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way, And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise, a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. And he went to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence and gave them to the host and said unto him, take care of him. And whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three thinkest thou was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, he that showed mercy to him, or he that showed mercy on him. Then Jesus said unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Amen. This is a marvelous passage of Scripture. The interesting thing about Luke, the author of this Gospel, unlike Matthew, John, and even probably Mark, he was not an eyewitness of anything in this Gospel that bears his name. No, God used a man with a meticulous desire for historical accuracy to gather up all of the information for this inspired book, the book that we know as Luke's Gospel. And in doing so, we have this parable, this story, that doesn't appear in any of the other Gospel accounts. So we can thank God for the faithfulness of the physician that God saved whose name happened to be Luke. Now if you've read your Bible very much, you know that there is a repeated theme in Jesus' ministry. We read it earlier in the Gospel of Mark. And that is that people, religious people primarily, were constantly testing Jesus as they interacted with him as he is teaching them. Earlier in the Gospel of Luke it is another Pharisee. We saw it was the Pharisees in the Gospel of Mark. But in Luke it is Simon the Pharisee. Today it is this lawyer. Later it will be another Pharisee. This is just how the ministry of Jesus went. He preached the Word. People came to test him. This passage before us, at least the section that is the parable, is often preached. And it is a well-known story. Even people outside of churches know of this story. People speak of a good Samaritan, someone who's done a good deed for someone else. That's not uncommon even to hear a lost person say those words. However, as I preached through the Gospel of Luke several years ago, I realized that we sometimes miss the context that is connected with this parable. And I think our limited familiarity with the context sort of hurts our perception at times. Really, without the context, the parable's meaning is rather skewed. So I hope that we're able to bring this out today. The title is simply the Good Samaritan. What else could it be, right? I feel like I'd almost be guilty of some sin if I don't name it the Good Samaritan or the parable of the Good Samaritan. But in this text, Jesus will undo any possibility of being saved by law keeping. Let me say that one more time. Jesus in this text will undo any possibility of being saved by law keeping. That's why this is here. Let's get into it. It begins in verse 25. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? In Alabama, we have a lawyer named Alexander Shenara. I don't know if you've heard of him here. He's made his way into Georgia. You will be seeing billboards, I'm sure. You cannot drive a mile in Alabama without seeing a billboard that says, call me Alabama. He literally owns over 2,500 billboards. He's what you would call an ambulance chaser. He is trying to get you money so that you then in turn make him money. Look, that's not what this guy is here in this text. He's not that kind of lawyer in no sense of the term. This man here was an official scribe. He was a professional interpreter of the law. Really, he was an official interpreter of the law. the law, the Mosaic law. And he would have then been very familiar with his Bible, and by that I mean the Old Testament. He would have known it very well. And listen, in no sense is he honestly asking Jesus this question with an honest heart. Luke is very meticulous in the way that he writes. Unlike Mark, Luke gives you everything. And he says here, He stood up and tempted him. This lawyer stood up and tempted Jesus. He put him to the test. Back in the Galilean ministry of Jesus, Jesus met a man with a withered hand on which he healed on the synagogue. It says in chapter 6 that the scribes and Pharisees watched him. whether He would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against Him. That's what's going on here. Same idea. By the way, Jesus did heal that man. And it says there that they were filled with madness and communed with one another what they might do to Jesus. Mark's account actually tells us of that same event that the Pharisees went forth and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. That's what the religious people wanted to do to Jesus. And that's exactly what's going on with this scribe, this lawyer who has approached Jesus today. He is playing a part. And his goal is to find a way to accuse Jesus of wrongdoing. Earlier in chapter 6, it was because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. That's not the route he's going here. Now this time, he wants to accuse Jesus based on his soteriology, or his study of salvation. Jesus' theology of how a person inherits eternal life. And so he asks him a very important question. Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Now let me assure you, this man had an answer to this question already. He is not asking Jesus to give him an answer so he can then go do something. No, he believes he's already worthy and that he already knows the answer to this question. He calls Jesus here, Master. Really, this acknowledges Jesus as a teacher. someone in karate may call their teacher, their master. And it's in that sense that the word master is used. It's actually the Greek word didaskalos, and it's really a loaded title here. He supposes to respect Jesus by calling Him teacher, in that he can learn something from Jesus, but he doesn't mean it. He doesn't mean it at all. Because his motive is that he tempted Him. He's not there to really learn as a student The Master Himself. Later on in the book of Acts, a Philippian jailer will ask the Apostle Paul and Silas a very similar question. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? You probably have heard that passage preached. They then tell that man, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. They gave him the right answer. Well, Jesus is going to answer this man. with the right answer, but in a completely different way than the way Paul and Silas did. He's going to actually use this man's words against him. Jesus is the best teacher that's ever walked on the planet. Now the Apostle Paul, who himself was a Pharisee, he makes crystal clear that the Jews did not understand the righteousness of God. In Romans 10, he says that the Jews, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. That is this law. He is going about to establish his own Righteousness. Again, he has an answer to this question already. He is not honestly asking Jesus what he thinks. He wants something to accuse Jesus of so that he can then go to the higher authorities and get Jesus out of the way. But Jesus is about to explain to this man that his idea of salvation and righteousness is impossible. He has a standard that he cannot meet. Jesus asks him in verse 26, what is written in the law? How readest thou? Jesus is setting this up so that he can catch this man in his own words. He answers him with a question of his own. Where does Jesus take him? Right to the word of God. Look, I know Louis just preached through sola scriptura, but there's a reason Jesus takes him to the Word of God, because the Word of God is the authority. That's where we need to go to. Well, what had they accused Jesus of, of breaking the law, of not believing in the law? And Jesus lifts up the law to a high place here. What does the Word of God say? What is written in the law? How readest thou? Now Jesus actually asks Him two separate questions. The first is, what does the law actually say? The next question is, how do you interpret it? How do you apply it? Really, some commentators believe Jesus is really asking the question, how do you recite it? I'll explain that here in just a moment. Just hold on to that. The religious leaders were accusing Jesus of constantly breaking the Mosaic Code. And yet, Jesus says, let's see what the code says. So Jesus takes the lawyer to the law. And so the lawyer answers him. Here's his answer, verse 27. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength, with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. Well, this man knew the Word of God. We'll give him that. know that, but he clearly doesn't understand all of the implications of the Word of God. You know, Jesus told a group of Jews in John 5, you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Me. But you will not come to Me that you might have life. That's this man. He sees the Word of God, he understands what it says, but he interprets it wrongly. He doesn't see his need of a Savior, just like those Jews that Jesus was talking to in John 5. Now the Lawyer actually quotes two separate Old Testament passages. One of them is from Deuteronomy 6. Deuteronomy 6.5 says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This is actually part of the Jewish Shema. And every day, every Jew recites these two things two times. That's why some commentators believe that Jesus is actually asking this man, what is it that you recite every day two times? You should be very familiar with this. The second portion that he quotes is from Leviticus 19. I know that's probably every one of y'all's favorite book, but just in case, I'll quote it, Leviticus 19, 18. Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am the Lord. I am Yahweh. Now remember, Jesus has forced this man to answer his own question. Jesus has forced this man to answer the question that he brought to Jesus in the first place. What was the question? What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said, what does the Bible say? The man's answer was, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. That's how you inherit eternal life. And the moment that that answer came out of his mouth, he should have cringed with fear. Love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. I'm just going to go out on a limb and say there isn't anybody in this room that's ever done that right there. You can't do it in your natural unsaved state, but even in your regenerate state, there are things that that pull us all in other directions. And thy neighbor as thyself, he says. I mean, does he really believe that he loves his neighbor as himself? Well, here's the short answer. Yes, he does. But here's how he believes it. He had twisted the law so much that he has defined his neighbor as the people he already loves anyway, right? It'd be like me saying, oh, I love Wendy as myself, and she's my neighbor. That's the law. But I don't have to love any of you folks. See, that's what the Jews did. They twisted the law and made their neighbor to be their closest associate, the people they were going to love anyway. But that's not what the law requires. Jesus acknowledges that he answers correctly. Look at verse 28. He, Jesus, said unto him, Thou hast answered right. That's quite an acknowledgment. Here's this lost guy, right? He comes up. He knows enough about Scripture to answer a question that he's asked. And Jesus tells this lost man that's the right answer. Thou hast answered right, and do this, or this do, and thou shalt live. So I can tell you, if you will, from the moment you are conceived in your mother's womb, until the day you leave this earth, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself, you'll go to heaven one day. The problem is that standard is way too high. And Jesus knows it. Jesus knows it. James will later write, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. It's just as though you never kept the rest of it. And Jesus is about to teach this man that truth. that it's all or nothing with the law. You've either kept it for your entire being or you're condemned and headed to hell. This do, by the way, is what grammarians, those who study languages, they call the present imperative. In other words, it means keep doing this on and on, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 and you will live. You can't ever slip. You have to do it all the time. I'd say that's a high standard. Perhaps you remember what the Apostle Paul told the churches in Galatia. He said this, For as many as are under the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not. Right? He doesn't keep on keeping on. Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the Law of Duty. Abide. Abide. Continually remain. So Jesus is then telling this lawyer that he needs to continually love the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and his neighbor as himself 24-7-365. Something that this man has never But that doesn't mean he was without an answer. Religious people have religious answers. And so verse 29, but he, that's the lawyer, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Now we're getting somewhere. We're getting somewhere. By the way, did you notice he skipped that part about loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. He just left that as if that's done. He's got that part. He just wants to make sure he's right on the neighbor. Look, that tells you that he had the wrong interpretation of everything that he has already quoted up to this point. This lawyer knew what Moses had said, but he failed to interpret what Moses meant. And so Jesus is going to tell him. So here he's desiring to justify himself. And understand this, he has an answer to the question, who is my neighbor? Just like he had an answer to the question, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He is asking Jesus to see if Jesus answers right, not to actually find out the truth. But of course, the God of all truth, Jesus, is going to give the truthful answer. Well this man believed that his neighborly treatment of those around him was limited to those who he loved already, as I said early. But he's missing the point of the passage. We are commanded to be neighborly to everybody. And it's with that backdrop then that Jesus gives us this parable on the Good Samaritan. Notice verse 30. Jesus answering said, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and deported, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an end, and took care of him. And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more when I come again, I will repay thee." So this parable is Jesus' answer to the question, who is my neighbor? That's why this parable is given. I seriously doubt this man was expecting this. Now let's just break down the parable really quickly. I don't want to get all focused because there's a conversation going on here. This is normally about the time we lose focus. Let's not do that. First things first though, this parable is not given by Jesus to explain how we ought to live. This parable is not about Christian living. I'm going to base that on solid theology. Here it is. Jesus is talking to a lost man. He is not explaining to him how to live in a Christian way. No, He is explaining the way of salvation to this man. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't live the way that the Scripture tells us to. I'm just telling you that's not why Jesus gave this parable. So before we start applying a passage, we need to know its meaning. This parable is answering the man's question, then, who is my neighbor? And so in this parable, there is this random man. We don't know much about him. Jesus just tells us it's a certain man. I assume he's Jewish. Most every conversation they would have had back at that time would have been Jewish, but it's a parable. It's not a real man anyway. And he's traveling down from Jerusalem to Jericho. By the way, this was literally a journey down, right? He's going from about 2,600 feet above sea level to about 825 feet below sea level. And before Jesus' time, after Jesus' time, this was a very dangerous road to travel. It wounded or winded around through the desert. There were all kinds of caves, perfect place for robbers to hide. This makes sense, what Jesus is saying here. He's drawing from real things when He tells this parable. And so our character here, this certain man, he is robbed, stripped, beaten, and left half dead. That's what our text says. It sounds a lot like 2022, doesn't it? Depravity is not new. Man has always been depraved. And then three separate men, themselves traveling down the same road, find this man laying half dead on the side of the road. So let's look at these three. The first one is a priest. That means that this man would have been a descendant of Moses' brother Aaron. He was to be a mediator between God and man according to the Mosaic Law. It was He who went in and offered sacrifice for the people. And this man should have known the Word of God. God's Word says, Exodus 23, If thou meet thine enemy's ox, if thou meet thy enemy's donkey, and they're going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. This is your enemy's Animal. You should surely bring it back. If you see the donkey of him who hated thee, lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help him. Now this is an animal. If you see an animal of your enemy, you ought to help him. This is a man laying here. This is one who is worth a whole lot more value than an ox or a donkey. This priest should have gone over there and been full of mercy. He should have helped this man. This priest should have been the godliest of the godly. Right? He should have been an example to the people. In fact, it should have been the best of news to our victim, here in this parable, that it just so happened that a priest walked by. I guess this is the best possible thing that could happen to him, is that the godliest of the godly, the most merciful of the mercy, walked by. right after he's been robbed, but it doesn't help him at all. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Unexpected. Yet that's what Jesus says. The second man that we see here is this Levite. He was a descendant of Levi, the son of Jacob. The Levites were assistants of the priests. They were in charge of pretty much everything ceremonial that the priest wasn't in charge of, the Levite's handle. And like the priest, this man should have known his Bible. He should have known that he is supposed to help this man lying helpless on the side of the road. He should have been full of mercy. But much like the priest, when he was at the place, he came and looked on him. And then he went back to the other side of the road and he passed by. Now listen, without question, using a priest and a Levite is a strike against this scribe who is sitting right there in front of Jesus. Jesus did not accidentally use two religious leaders. I assure you, this would have been felt by this lawyer. Jesus is explaining that the priest and the Levite also don't understand what is required by the law. Then the hero of the parable passes by, a Samaritan. There is no doubt that this would have raised the eyebrow of this scribe, this lawyer. The Samaritans and the Jews hated each other. And that's not putting it too strongly. They absolutely hated each other. The Samaritans were half-breeds. They had intermarried with the implanted citizens Assyria, they weren't fully Jews, they weren't fully Gentiles, they were half-breeds. In fact, they were so hated that it normally took a Jew three days to pass directly through the region of Samaria, but they wouldn't do it. They chose to go even longer around because they didn't even want to step foot into this area. To say they hated one another is not putting it too strongly, I assure you. Now this Samaritan is going to become the hero of this account. And I doubt seriously that that's going to raise Jesus' popularity to the surrounding crowd. But he still is. Notice, as he journeyed, he came to where he was, the victim. The Samaritan came to where the victim was. And when he, the Samaritan, saw him, he had compassion on him. Luke says that the Samaritan had a love for this man. He had compassion on him. If he had any antagonism against the Jews as a people, he set it aside. And he helped this man who's laying on the side of the road half dead. The priest and the Levite wouldn't even help their own ethnicity. And here's this Samaritan helping his Listen, his compassion wasn't just words. I mean, he'd usually walk up to the guy and say, hey man, I tell you what, I'm going to walk on. I'm not going to help you, but I'll be praying for you. That's not what he did. He went to him. He bound up his wounds. He poured in oil and wine. He put him on his own beast. He brought him to an inn. He took care of him. The next day, when he departed, he paid his way And He told the host, take care of him whatsoever thou spendest more. When I come again, I will repay thee. The idea that we're left here is that He did all He could do. That's Jesus' point of this Samaritan. He did all that He could do at the time and He even made provision for the future to do even more. He used his own supplies. He may have even taken his own clothes and mended this man's wounds. Oh, by the way, the Greek word here translated pouring is epikeio, and it suggests that he is pouring out extravagantly. He's not just giving a little dab, a do-ya, of his wine and his oil. No, he is extravagantly, generously pouring out oil and wine, which probably were just items that he brought along for his own personal enjoyment. He's taking his own stash and he's using it for this man. And then he pays up front for what I understand to be, he pays up front for about 24 days. And then he tells the innkeeper I'll pay whatever's necessary when I come back through if he has to stay longer. Look, we might very well say that this Samaritan went out of his way for this man, this Jewish man who was his enemy. When Jesus answers his question then, who is my neighbor, with that parable, then Jesus asks a question of his own. Which now of these three thinkest thou was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves? And he said to him, he that showed mercy on him, then Jesus said unto him, go and do thou likewise. This is the point of Luke's story. This is the point of the text. This is the point of the parable. Let me just remind you, all of this is an answer to the question. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? That's why all of this is being talked about. And remember, Jesus had asked him, what does the Bible say? What does the Bible say is the way to inherit eternal life? What was the man's answer? Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, strength, and mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. But, like many religious leaders in Jesus' day, and sadly, many in our day, They had twisted all of this up by defining who your neighbor is and who you are actually required to love. But the point of the law is not who you are required to love, but that you are to be neighborly to literally every person you ever come in contact with. This Samaritan in the parable, he didn't know this guy. literal neighbor. This is not his wife. This is not even a distant relative. This is somebody he did not know. This parable then defines what is required to meet the standard for inheriting eternal life. Remember, that's what Jesus was asked. What is it that is required to inherit eternal life? He tells him, you've got to love your neighbor this way. The parable of the Good Samaritan sets the bar of loving one's neighbor so high that none of us can achieve it. None of us can achieve it. Again, this parable is not about Christian living. This parable was given to condemn every one of us and our sins. That's the purpose of this passage. We all have selfishness and pride that is normal, unfortunately, in our life. And it's not until a supernatural coming of the Holy Spirit through regeneration comes inside of us that we're able to love and we still don't love this way all of the time. So Jesus has forced this man then to answer a question. A question that is going to destroy his theology. His question was, who is my neighbor? Jesus gives him this parable, and then Jesus says, who in this parable was a neighbor to the victim? Here's what our lawyer says. that showed mercy on him. By the way, it's not accidental that he does not say the Samaritan. He couldn't even bring himself to say the Samaritan. But he is right. The Samaritan was the only one in the parable that proved to love his neighbor. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus' final statement is, go and do thou likewise. At this point, the scribe should have fallen down at Jesus' feet and confessed that he couldn't do it. fallen down at the feet of the Savior himself and said, I can't love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind, and I have never loved my neighbor the way that I love myself. If he did that, though, we have no record of it. The scripture doesn't say. We'll leave that up to Lewis to tell you whether the man was saved later or not. I don't know. You'd think it would be there, but nevertheless. I think our familiarity with this passage sometimes causes us to miss what Jesus is giving to. This parable is about the required righteousness needed by man to inherit eternal life by his own effort. Now let me say, I'm all about being a good Samaritan to people. I think we should be. As God-fearing, saved individuals, we all strive to be what we see of this Samaritan here. But let me also tell you up front, you can't do this 100% of the time. This passage makes it crystal clear that none of us, I include me, without exception, none of us can keep God's demanded standard for righteousness. Even when we try, we fail. But Paul said to the Galatian saints, I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Jesus has undone the idea that you can be saved by law keeping. Listen, you can't be saved by your words. Jesus has made that clear here in this passage. You need then to stand before God another way. Paul said He, God the Father, made Him, God the Son, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, not by loving our neighbors as ourselves and loving God with all our heart, but because we stand righteous in Jesus. Romans 3, that now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference." In other words, if you are trusting in Christ alone, then in Him you have achieved the highest possible standard, the righteousness of God. I pray that this text is something that you can relate to. I hope that you have at some point, even today, if you haven't before you opened the door, you have come to the end of yourself realizing that the law's standard is way too high and that you can't achieve it. Look, we cannot keep the law. The law is full of great principles, but we can't keep it. If we're honest, we really haven't even given it much of a try at times. And we need for someone to step in between us and God. And unlike what this lawyer thought, we can't do it ourselves. It takes Jesus to be our mediator, where He takes God's wrath for us and He then imputes His righteousness to us. Then and only then can we inherit eternal life. That is what Jesus is teaching in this passage before us this morning. I want to thank Pastor Todd for that message. It's just so absolutely real. We failed. We missed the mark, which is why Christ came. Thank God for so great a salvation. So great a salvation. We don't even love our wives. We like to love ourselves sometimes. It's just true. We don't. or failures with his grace. Our sins will be in his grace. For those who are going to the nursing home, I meant to mention earlier, you don't have to sign in anymore. No face mask required. Go straight to the cafeteria at 2 o'clock. And we'll meet at the lab services straight there. All right? I'm going to ask Todd and William, if they don't mind joining me in the back door, if you want to hug their neck.