COMPASSION FOR THE NEEDY – BENJI NOLOT Page 6
COMPASSION FOR THE NEEDY
I. DEFINING COMPASSION
A. Overview of Luke 10:25-37 – In this passage Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. The passage begins with a lawyer questioning Jesus, and attempting to justify himself:
And behold, a certain lawyer 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, and 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?” – Luke 10: 25-29
Jesus avoids a philosophical debate with this guy and places his question in context of a story to illustrate what it looks like to love our neighbor. (Read Luke 10:30-37)
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 animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, 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, “Go and do likewise.” – Luke 10:30-37
B. Why didn’t the two religious men help the victimized man? The first feature about this parable that grabs your attention is the response of the religious. Why didn’t the priest or the Levite stop to help this person? They were the spiritual people. They were the Godly people. Reasons why the religious didn’t stop to help this person:
1. Religious Duties – Religious leaders have tremendous responsibilities. These men could have had an ecclesiastical meeting, a speaking obligation, or temple services in Jerusalem. Maybe there was a religious ceremony, "One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony." They were possibly too preoccupied with the ministry.
2. Better solution – We could speculate that the approach they wanted to take was to get to the causal root of the problem – Maybe they thought they would hustle back to get working on a measure to improve the safety of the road, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effort.
3. Fear – It’s genuinely possible they were afraid. The Jericho road is a windy road that goes from about 1,200 feet above sea level starting in Jerusalem to 2,200 feet below sea level by the time you get to Jericho. This treacherous road was very conducive for ambushes and was notoriously dangerous. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." They could have feared that if they helped him they too would be ambushed. Or maybe they thought he was faking and would seize them if they came near to help.
C. Conclusion – I imagine that the religious leaders in Jesus’ day were quite proud of themselves, but they had insulated themselves from the true meaning of scripture and were operating in self-deception regarding their relationship with God. Jesus uses this story to expose that self- deception and reveal that godly compassion can come from an unexpected source.
1. The two religious people in this story concluded that it wasn’t their problem. Their basic posture was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" The Good Samaritan had the exact opposite perspective. He concluded, "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" That is the essence of compassion and the heart of the second commandment. It is an identificational concern for those in need.
II. three Challenges to compassion
A. Opening our hearts – The greatest challenge to compassion is the challenge to open up our hearts. Why is this so difficult for us?
B. Challenge #1: Compassion requires Vulnerability –
“Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken.” – Henri Nouwen
Webster’s definition of Compassion – Literally, suffering with another; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration.
Strong’s Greek Lexicon – 4697. splagchnizomai splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee middle voice from 4698; to have the bowels yearn, i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity:--have (be moved with) compassion.
These definitions indicate that compassion is a gut wrenching pain that identifies with the suffering of others.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn.” In context it is evident that he is talking about a vulnerable disposition that allows one to feel the pain of all that is wrong in this world. In other word, “Blessed are those who are pained by the injustices in society.” The blessing is not in the mourning itself, but rather in the comfort that comes from God. Vulnerability is a doorway into deep emotional intimacy with God.
I have people all the time that come to me and say, “I couldn’t handle doing what you’re doing (speaking about my ministry to fight slavery). Those things are too intense for me.” What they’re really saying is, “my self preserving orientation is preventing me from helping a person who is being systematically brutalized.” This is an indication of our preference for comfort over compassion, “My comfort is more important than your plight.” We are in essence walking past the needy person on the other side of the road. The reality is, I couldn’t do what I am doing either, but Christ invites me to become vulnerable and allow Him to touch my heart with the things that touch His heart.
C. Challenge #2: Cynicism – It’s normal to open our hearts from an early age. I remember seeing a commercial for Ethiopian children when I was just a young boy. I was so moved that I forced my mom to sponsor one of them. But over time you hear about financial abuses with these organizations, and lose some of that childlike trust. It’s very easy at that point to become cynical. Most of us have had our hearts broken, have experienced disappointment and rejection; have been betrayed by someone we trusted. Life’s experiences have bruised our ability to open our hearts.
“Cynics seek darkness wherever they go. They point always to approaching dangers, impure motives, and hidden schemes. They call trust naïve, care romantic, and forgiveness sentimental…They consider themselves realists who see reality for what it truly is and who are not deceived by ‘escapist emotions.’ But in belittling God’s joy, their darkness only calls forth more darkness.” – Henri Nouwen
Cynics become very suspicious people, and therefore unable to fully open their hearts in compassion.
Jesus said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” The hungering for righteousness is not just to have right standing before God, but an actual hungering for social justice, for the wrong things in society to be made right. Cynicism undermines that desire to see restoration in society to the degree that we draw back from truly caring.
D. Challenge #3: Self-centeredness – “It’s not my problem” “What will it cost me?” We are by nature self-preserving, self-centered people. We must enter into identificational compassion. The challenge for us is to step outside of ourselves and truly put ourselves in the shoes of a person in need.
III. three motivations for compassion
A. Motivations for compassion – Compassion for the needy should not stem primarily from the needy themselves, but rather from an understanding of God’s heart. It is the love of God that compels us to act on the behalf of others. If it begins with the needy we get into humanism, which exalts man and man’s preferences above God. If I am doing heroic acts of service for others without a vibrant connectivity to God, I can easily become angry and disillusioned with others who aren’t as “caring” as me and ultimately imagine that I care more than God does. True compassion is wrought out of a deep brokenness over the plight of man, and a burning passion to apply God’s love to those in need. Our three motivations for having compassion for the needy should be: to be like God, to be with God, and to do what God does.
B. Motivation #1: To be like Jesus – Jesus is full of compassion.
“Jesus shows a distinct preference for those who are marginal in society – the poor, the sick, and the sinners.” – Nouwen
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” – Luke 4:18
The Lord is gracious (to show favor or pity) and full of compassion (to love deeply), slow to anger and great in mercy (loyal). – Ps. 145:8-9
The main reason to have compassion for the needy is because Jesus had compassion on us. The parable of the Good Samaritan sets forth the kind of love with which Jesus loved us. We were the poor distressed traveler…Satan, our enemy, had ambushed us, beaten us, and robbed us, leaving us for dead. We were by nature dead in our sins, without strength, and utterly unable to help ourselves.
“The law of Moses, like the priest and Levite, the ministers of the law, looks upon us, but has no compassion on us, gives us no relief, passes by on the other side, as having neither pity nor power to help us; but then comes the blessed Jesus, that good Samaritan (and they said of him, by way of reproach, he is a Samaritan), he has compassion on us, he binds up our bleeding wounds (Ps. cxlvii. 3; Isa. lxi. 1), pours in, not oil and wine, but that which is infinitely more precious, his own blood. He takes care of us, and bids us put all the expenses of our cure upon his account; and all this though he was none of us, till he was pleased by his voluntary condescension to make himself so, but infinitely above us. This magnifies the riches of his love, and obliges us all to say, ‘How much are we indebted, and what shall we render?’” – Matthew Henry
Jesus took ownership of us and He calls us to do the same for others. We are empowered to do this when we see Jesus as the compassionate one.
Verses on Compassion:
1. God is full of compassion (Psa. 78:38, 86:15, 111:4, 112:4, 145:8)
2. Jesus is moved with compassion because the multitudes are like sheep having no shepherd (Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34).
3. Jesus is moved with compassion for the sick (Matt. 14:14; Mark 1:41,)
4. Jesus is moved with compassion for the blind (Matt. 20:34)
5. Jesus is moved with compassion for the hungry (Matt. 15:32; Mark 8:2)
6. Jesus has compassion on the demon possessed (Mark 5:19)
7. Jesus has compassion on a widow whose only son died (Lk. 7:13)
8. The Father has compassion on the prodigal son (Luke 15:20)
9. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41)
10. Jesus wept with Mary of Bethany over the death of Lazarus (John 11:35)
C. Motivation #2: Compassion is an adventure (Be with Jesus) – Compassion will lead you to the places where God hangs out – among the poor, the oppressed, and the brokenhearted (hurting).
D. Motivation #3: Compassion releases the power of God (Do what Jesus does) – Throughout the gospels we’re told that Jesus was moved with compassion just prior to performing a great miracle (Matt. 14:14, 20:34, 15:32; Mark 1:41, 8:2, 5:19; Lk. 7:13). Compassion is the key that unlocks the anointing.
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