THE EXPERT IS IT?

Luke 10.25-37

An Expert is:-
-A person having special skill or knowledge
-A person trained by practice
-Skillful
-Scholar, well learned and versed in scripture.

This man we are introduced to as an expert in law. I do not know neither am I interested in knowing in which field you are an expert, but have you ever thought about it? Could it be that it is this expert in you that is killing you if not slowly but quickly? You are so engrossed in the trade you learnt, the methodologies, rules and practices. Ever at once thought that these are but only acts of men, articulated and fashioned by men for to massage their selfish egos.

And many at times we have come to Jesus parading the eloquence and familiarity of our expertise with an expectation of fulfilling God's agenda. We are not told how old this man was, the only key outstanding point is that he was an expert in interpreting the law. He was also well versed in scripture, but amazingly he was grappling with a simple question of which his scholarly works could not help provide. He was just an expert and that is all. Expertise, takes time, energy and money to attain. So I can say with some confidence that this was a seasoned man. By worldly standards, he was endowed with wisdom. But wait till he opens his mouth, that is when his naivety and ignorance is laid bare for all sundry to sample.

Dear child of the Most High God, against this mirror of the word of God where do you place your self and how do you rate yourself? I am awe stricken that sometimes I have pursued my person, selfish interests at the expense of blessing the lord. When this man fronts his eloquence and exuberance before Jesus, he expects to engage the Lord in some candid, professional discourse.The Lord is not interested in my reserved high esteem. He is after the welfare of my heart. He does not shudder at the weight of my academic excellence. He listened carefully to the expert and in his characteristic lovely approach. He took on to a journey, giving him a story of a man who had been robbed and left for the dead. Jesus said the first person on the scene was another expert by the name priest.

A Priest in this case I will call him a Pastor.
This is highly regarded and esteemed man in society. Today because of the rank and file in society, man of God as they we are so called, lead lofty and high end lifestyles, drive lavish cars, live in leafy suburbs and enjoy the privileges of a driver and security. Getting to see a pastor today is like an armature climbing a coconut tree. This is just the same way this priest acted. He saw nothing and felt nothing for the injured man. In fact to him this injured man was a bother and sheer waste of time. He was so committed to his assignment and thus wanted no distraction and full of himself that the priority action at that moment was to look aside.

A re-look at the roles of a priest will help us appreciate this example from the Lord.

1. They are intercessors
2. Mediators and
3.Consecrate the body of Christ. as found in Exodus 19-20, 24, 33-34.