WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.700 Well, if we were to ask Jesus to describe in a single word what it looks like to love our neighbor as ourself, how do you think he would answer? 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:18.980 Well, we can't know for certain because he wasn't asked that question quite so directly anywhere in recorded scripture. 00:00:18.980 --> 00:00:30.060 But if we were going to go by our text for this morning, we might guess that Jesus would say that in a word, love for neighbor looks like compassion. 00:00:31.240 --> 00:00:38.700 Verse 33, but a Samaritan as he journeyed came to where he was and when he saw him, he had compassion. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:46.400 Now, I want to suggest to you that when it comes to compassion, we're a little bit like six month old infants. 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:49.159 And you're thinking, oh, Sean, this is great. 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:52.759 You invite a guest preacher in here and he insults us in the first five minutes. 00:00:52.939 --> 00:00:54.619 I'm not saying that to insult you. 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:56.200 In fact, I said we, I hope you heard. 00:00:56.299 --> 00:01:04.239 I'm including myself in that assessment of the human condition and how we respond to the conditions around us. 00:01:05.239 --> 00:01:08.099 Here's what I mean when I say we're a lot like infants. 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:12.079 I happen to be someone who's really fascinated by child development. 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:14.859 Sean mentioned I have three girls. 00:01:14.859 --> 00:01:17.719 I remember when they were young in our home, now we have six grandchildren. 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:22.920 By the way, now's when you say, well, you look far too young to have six grandchildren. 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:24.879 Oh, thank you for saying that. 00:01:26.219 --> 00:01:35.560 But watching children develop both physically and especially mentally, intellectually as their brain develops is so fascinating. 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:44.780 And there's a game you can play with a young infant to determine whether they've reached this particular milestone that I'm talking about. 00:01:44.980 --> 00:01:46.719 You can hold a bright colored toy. 00:01:46.820 --> 00:01:47.859 Maybe it makes some noise. 00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:51.599 You hold that in front of an infant maybe between six and 12 months of age. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:57.459 And toward the sixth month end, they will typically just lock in on that toy. 00:01:57.640 --> 00:01:59.159 They'll pay all their attention to it. 00:01:59.179 --> 00:02:00.140 They'll get excited about it. 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:01.439 Then you put it behind your back. 00:02:01.899 --> 00:02:06.699 And most likely, they will just look for the next thing to stimulate their attention. 00:02:07.299 --> 00:02:09.180 They've got no other reaction to it. 00:02:09.459 --> 00:02:15.939 A child between nine and 12 months of age, let's say, if you do that, they will look for that toy. 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:19.979 Maybe even if they're mobile, they'll crawl around behind your back trying to find it. 00:02:20.359 --> 00:02:31.579 And that's because by the age of six to nine or nine to 12 months, most children have typically reached the developmental milestone known as object permanence. 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:39.979 And object permanence is simply the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they're outside our field of vision. 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:45.819 Prior to object permanence, it is quite literally out of sight, out of mind. 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:54.479 Well, we are often just like infants when it comes to the things that surround us in the world. 00:02:54.620 --> 00:03:02.139 When things are outside our field of vision, we can often move on just as if they don't even exist. 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:14.819 Gary Hogan, in his excellent book, Good News About Injustice, uses this concept of object permanence to develop a concept he calls compassion permanence. 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:25.000 And he defines compassion permanence as a courageous and generous capacity to remember the needs of an unjust world, even when they're out of our immediate sight. 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:34.740 Well, I want to submit to you this morning that we must develop compassion permanence for the orphans of the world, 00:03:34.740 --> 00:03:44.520 who are often so far out of our sight in our affluent society, but whose cause the Lord has called us to take up as his disciples. 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:54.500 And as we develop compassion permanence, we also need to accurately define what compassion is as it's portrayed for us in Scripture. 00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:57.719 Compassion is fashionable in our culture. 00:03:58.219 --> 00:04:00.560 Everyone wants to say that they're compassionate. 00:04:00.760 --> 00:04:03.540 Nobody wants to be thought of as uncompassionate. 00:04:03.740 --> 00:04:10.240 But if you dig down into the conversation, you'll discover that we define compassion very differently in many cases. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:16.980 So when the definition of a term or a concept is up for grabs in that way in our culture, 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:22.259 it is all the more reason for us to ask the question, how does the Bible define compassion? 00:04:22.400 --> 00:04:25.439 How does Jesus define compassion? 00:04:26.340 --> 00:04:31.019 And this is an important question for us, not simply because Jesus is our moral guide 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:34.800 and he's bound to have some words of wisdom for us on the topic, 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:41.480 but much more fundamentally because Jesus is himself the very definition of compassion. 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:45.460 His life and ministry, leaving behind the glories of heaven, 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:49.699 coming to earth to seek and save lost sinners like you and me, 00:04:49.819 --> 00:04:53.960 giving his life on the cross so that we can receive grace and forgiveness. 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:57.500 This is the embodiment of biblical compassion. 00:04:58.620 --> 00:05:01.120 See, Jesus isn't just a great moral teacher here. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:05.139 Jesus is exhibit A in the compassion of God. 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:08.319 And if you're here today and you're not a Christian, 00:05:08.840 --> 00:05:11.220 maybe you're exploring what the claims of Christ, 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.100 you're exploring what the Christian faith is all about, 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.500 I want to be abundantly clear from the beginning. 00:05:16.660 --> 00:05:21.879 You are not to hear, you're not about to hear a moral lesson about what it looks like 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:27.840 to get your act together so that you can make yourself presentable and acceptable to God. 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:33.959 Your only hope for acceptance before God is through faith in his son, 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:37.799 believing that the death and resurrection of Jesus are sufficient 00:05:37.799 --> 00:05:43.539 to cover the penalty for your sins and restore your relationship with God. 00:05:44.299 --> 00:05:49.959 And that's why any definition of compassion that doesn't include Jesus is incomplete. 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:58.239 The greatest mercy we have to offer anyone is Christ and the forgiveness of sins through faith in his name. 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:04.620 And I'm so thrilled to hear about the evangelistic efforts that you are engaging in as a church. 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:09.959 But, brothers and sisters, we also know that the story doesn't end there. 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:12.959 The story doesn't end when we get saved. 00:06:13.039 --> 00:06:17.679 Did you notice that the Lord didn't just sweep us away to heaven the moment we believed? 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:24.019 God has given us a role to play in his unfolding redemptive plan. 00:06:24.699 --> 00:06:30.079 And as the body of Christ, saved by his great act of compassion toward us, 00:06:30.220 --> 00:06:36.720 we are now called to embody that compassion to others in a lost and dying world. 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:42.800 We're called to love not only in word, but in deed and in truth. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:47.420 We're called to do good to all, especially the household of faith. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:58.379 And we're called to spur one another on toward love and good deeds so that we all grow up in every way into him who is our head, Jesus Christ. 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:10.180 So as Jesus defines biblical compassion for us this morning, let's remember that he's defining in words that which he has already embodied toward us. 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:22.879 And he's defining what we are therefore called to grow up into, to mature into as his disciples and to personify as the body of Christ in our world. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:31.560 Now, let's catch ourselves up on our story because we need to remember the background, how this story of the Good Samaritan comes forth, 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:37.300 has a lot to say about what Jesus is trying to communicate to us as a takeaway. 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:42.079 And we're so familiar with it that sometimes we can miss some of those things. 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:47.139 An expert in the law is said here to be testing Jesus. 00:07:47.139 --> 00:07:52.779 Now, this is a bad idea, and this guy apparently has not read the Gospels. 00:07:53.939 --> 00:08:00.379 Because Jesus will characteristically turn the tables on these guys who come to him trying to test him. 00:08:00.419 --> 00:08:01.939 And that's exactly what happens here. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:05.620 Before you know it, you're the one that's on the examination table. 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:08.879 So this man comes to Jesus and says, 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.879 What must I do, teacher, to inherit eternal life? 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:14.120 Jesus says, Well, what do you mean? 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:15.000 Why are you asking me? 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:16.379 You're the expert in the law. 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:17.519 What does the law say? 00:08:17.659 --> 00:08:18.639 How do you read it? 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:21.319 And the man answers astutely. 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:28.659 He says, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:31.519 Jesus affirms his answer. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:35.720 And it shouldn't be any surprise to us that Jesus would affirm his answer. 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:40.779 Because elsewhere, in Matthew 22, when Jesus is asked, What's the greatest of all the commandments? 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:45.500 Jesus answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:51.379 And the second is like unto it, You must love your neighbor as yourself. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:56.460 On these two commandments, all the law and the prophets depend. 00:08:56.680 --> 00:09:00.740 Now, that's an astounding statement that is worthy of a whole other sermon. 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:07.000 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commands together. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:12.940 But for our purposes this morning, let's just recognize that Jesus affirms this lawyer's answer. 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:20.240 And he says, in a voice that I like to imagine with kind of an Old Testament Deuteronomic ring to it, 00:09:20.740 --> 00:09:24.419 he says to this lawyer, Do this, and you will live. 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:30.399 Well, Jesus' answer seems to create some dissonance in this man's soul. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:35.720 He'd like to believe that he has loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:40.139 But he's a little more troubled about this neighbor question. 00:09:40.939 --> 00:09:43.500 So, like any good defense attorney would do, 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:47.019 and I've heard there's a good law school in the neighborhood. 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:50.879 Like any good defense attorney would do, 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:57.059 immediately this lawyer begins trying to whittle down the implications of the law. 00:09:57.139 --> 00:09:58.799 Maybe if I can narrow the implications. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:03.939 Maybe if I can define my neighbor as only my family or my clan or my ethnic group, 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:06.000 my religious group, my national group, 00:10:06.339 --> 00:10:12.240 maybe then I can claim that I've really loved my neighbor just as I love myself. 00:10:13.259 --> 00:10:18.479 And so Luke tells us it's in a spirit of self-justification that he asked Jesus the question, 00:10:18.919 --> 00:10:20.299 and who is my neighbor? 00:10:20.299 --> 00:10:23.939 Well, this is the moment Jesus has been waiting for. 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:29.139 This really sets the stage for Jesus to define the neighborhood, if you will, 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:31.979 about as broadly as he possibly could. 00:10:32.539 --> 00:10:38.299 And in the process, he also defines what love for neighbor looks like. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:46.799 And he defines it in a way that spotlights compassion as a central feature of this love. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:48.879 So in the balance of our time in the word, 00:10:48.959 --> 00:10:52.620 I just want to look at three characteristics of biblical compassion, 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:57.699 three marks of biblical compassion that are displayed for us in this parable, 00:10:58.199 --> 00:11:02.759 remembering all the while that Jesus is painting a portrait for us 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:07.339 of what it looks like to love our neighbor just as we love ourselves, 00:11:07.859 --> 00:11:11.199 to what it looks like to obey this great dual command 00:11:11.199 --> 00:11:14.819 on which all the law and the prophets depend. 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:20.480 So the first characteristic of biblical compassion is that it's active. 00:11:21.260 --> 00:11:23.900 Biblical compassion is active. 00:11:24.940 --> 00:11:26.900 Now, we often speak of compassion. 00:11:27.060 --> 00:11:31.180 We speak of feeling compassion as if it's purely an emotion. 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:33.820 It's not wrong for us to speak in those terms. 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:37.320 That's just the way the words are rendered in our vernacular. 00:11:37.940 --> 00:11:43.520 But that phrase doesn't quite do justice to the full meaning of biblical compassion 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:47.819 because compassion is not something that we merely feel. 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:50.659 Compassion is something that we do. 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:55.799 The way I like to say it that's kind of memorable for me is compassion is a verb. 00:11:56.340 --> 00:11:56.919 It's a verb. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:58.139 It's an action word. 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:03.240 Now, the biblical concept is rightly thought of as an emotion, 00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:08.980 but it's a deep, guttural emotion that must result in action. 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:12.240 We can liken it to love in this sense, right? 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:13.919 We would say the same about love. 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:17.379 I'm the father of three daughters, two of whom are now married. 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:21.700 I'm glad, young man, that your heart flutters when you hold her hand. 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:26.580 That's not everything I need to see to know that you love my daughter. 00:12:26.700 --> 00:12:31.460 We would all say that love must be acted out or it is not truly love. 00:12:31.920 --> 00:12:33.840 Well, it's the same with compassion. 00:12:34.160 --> 00:12:36.879 It's not the same thing as empathy. 00:12:38.040 --> 00:12:42.680 Empathy has become a bit of a buzzword in our culture, say, the last 10 years or so. 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:46.879 Empathy can be a very good first step toward compassion. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:51.500 Empathy, by the way, is just the ability to identify with someone else, 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:54.679 to kind of put yourself in their shoes and feel their pain. 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:58.620 That can be a good first step on the way toward compassion. 00:12:59.019 --> 00:13:02.820 But empathy is rarely, if ever, the end goal. 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:10.500 Empathy should move us toward action that would alleviate the suffering of the individual. 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:13.500 Compassion isn't something we merely feel. 00:13:14.039 --> 00:13:16.220 Compassion is something we do. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:20.000 And a closer look at the Good Samaritan will demonstrate this. 00:13:20.420 --> 00:13:24.200 Immediately in verse 33, after he said to have compassion, 00:13:24.800 --> 00:13:29.180 we have a list of things that his compassion led him to do. 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:35.340 He comes over to the man, in contrast to the others who've passed by on the other side of the road. 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:37.740 He bandages his wounds. 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:40.220 He lifts him onto his own animal. 00:13:40.420 --> 00:13:43.820 He takes him to an inn where he cares for him personally, 00:13:43.820 --> 00:13:47.020 and he pays for that care out of his own pocket. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:55.160 Compassion, as biblically defined, always has specific action associated with it. 00:13:55.700 --> 00:13:57.280 Compassion really is a verb. 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:00.540 And by the way, that's not just a clever way to remember a point. 00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:07.620 The word compassion in our English New Testament actually is a verb in the Greek New Testament. 00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:11.379 And it's an easy word to take a look at and all the occurrence. 00:14:11.459 --> 00:14:14.000 It only occurs 12 times in the New Testament. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:18.720 And it's fascinating what you can observe just by looking at those 12 occurrences. 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:23.899 Three times, Jesus uses the word in his parables. 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:26.299 So the Good Samaritan being one of those. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:34.299 One time, Jesus is, this word is used by a man who's pleading with Jesus to have compassion on him. 00:14:34.299 --> 00:14:36.159 And listen to this. 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:45.839 The other eight times that this verb is used are all in the Gospels and are all in reference to the activities of Jesus. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:50.259 Now that in itself is instructive for us, isn't it? 00:14:50.899 --> 00:15:02.979 When this verb is used by biblical authors, it is used almost exclusively as a descriptor of Jesus' actions in relation to his fellow man. 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:06.480 And here's what I want you to remember about this. 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:09.860 If you took one thing home today, I'd want you to remember this. 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:19.759 Every time Jesus is said to have compassion or feel compassion or be moved with compassion or filled with compassion, 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:26.720 that statement is immediately followed by some kind of merciful action on the part of the Lord. 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:32.279 You can jot down these references if you'd like to take a look at them this week and maybe meditate on them. 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:33.899 Matthew 14, 14. 00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:37.399 He had compassion on them and he healed their sick. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.100 Matthew 20, 34. 00:15:40.579 --> 00:15:46.139 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes and immediately they regained their sight. 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:47.980 Mark 1, 41. 00:15:48.259 --> 00:15:52.779 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretches out his hand and heals a leper. 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:58.259 Mark 6, 34 is perhaps my favorite to meditate on. 00:15:58.259 --> 00:16:04.960 This is where Jesus and the disciples are trying to get away for a little rest after a long day of ministering. 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:07.460 I imagine a week of ministering to people. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:12.779 They're trying to get on the boat, get to the other side of the lake and get a little bit of rest and restoration. 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:18.200 Remember, Jesus feels the effects of fatigue just like we do. 00:16:18.319 --> 00:16:20.700 Jesus is fully God, but he's fully human as well. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:22.500 He feels the effect of fatigue. 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:25.019 He's tempted in every way just as we are. 00:16:25.019 --> 00:16:33.159 And so when this crowd, they discover, they get to the other side of the lake and this crowd has figured out where they're going and they're waiting for them on the other side. 00:16:33.699 --> 00:16:37.379 I can tell you what I would be tempted to do in that moment. 00:16:37.439 --> 00:16:40.139 I'd be tempted to take that boat right out to the middle of the lake. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:41.220 Let's drop anchor here. 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:42.039 We're going to get our rest. 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:43.379 These people are inconsiderate. 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:45.860 They don't understand that we have needs too. 00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:47.360 Well, not Jesus. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:55.480 This is where scripture says that Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:59.200 And he taught them despite his fatigue. 00:16:59.300 --> 00:17:04.519 And this is also where he fed the 5,000 miraculously in recognition of their physical needs. 00:17:04.620 --> 00:17:06.440 They were hungry as well. 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:09.480 Luke 7.13 is another one. 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:15.079 Jesus had compassion on a grieving widow and he raises her son from the dead. 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:31.279 Without exception, where Jesus is said to have compassion on people, that statement is coupled with some kind of merciful action like healing or casting out of demons or feeding hungry people or raising of the dead or teaching lost sheep. 00:17:31.899 --> 00:17:34.879 Jesus doesn't merely feel compassion. 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:39.059 He does something to alleviate their suffering. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:43.799 Jesus' compassion, biblical compassion, is active. 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:48.000 Well, secondly, biblical compassion is costly. 00:17:48.879 --> 00:17:49.659 It's costly. 00:17:51.079 --> 00:18:03.480 Jesus' original hearers would have understood immediately that this traveler walking along the road would have had to tear his own clothing to bind up the wounds of this stranger that he's encountered. 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:07.200 He pours oil and wine into the wounds. 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:08.240 Oil for soothing. 00:18:08.419 --> 00:18:10.200 Wine for disinfecting. 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:20.279 That means he probably deprived himself of refreshment later in his journey because it was more important to him that this stranger's wounds be dressed. 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:27.700 Loading this man onto his own animal probably means that he walks for the remainder of the journey. 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:34.480 He takes him to an inn where he not only foots the bill for over three weeks room and board. 00:18:34.600 --> 00:18:36.880 That's how much the two denarii would have covered. 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:43.400 But he also states emphatically that he will pay for any additional costs incurred. 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:48.580 He not only doesn't want to pass it off to the innkeeper, pass it off to some kind of government agency. 00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:54.639 No, he wants to come back and complete this uncommon act of generosity. 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:58.339 It really raises the question for us. 00:18:58.439 --> 00:19:02.819 Are we willing to give out of the abundance that God has given us? 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:11.539 The abundance of money and possessions and time and gifts in order to extend the love of God to others. 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:16.960 And it also raises the question, are we willing to take risks? 00:19:18.139 --> 00:19:24.279 There are costs we can count in advance and I commend the idea of budgeted generosity. 00:19:24.539 --> 00:19:27.779 Let's look at the resources that the Lord has given us. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:31.599 Our financial resources, our resources of time and human capacity. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:36.819 Budget those things out to be as generous as possible and plan that in advance. 00:19:36.819 --> 00:19:45.879 But there are also risks that we must take for unanticipated costs that may be incurred along the road of compassion. 00:19:46.879 --> 00:19:52.399 This road from Jerusalem to Jericho had a reputation for being extremely dangerous. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:20:02.379 It was about 17 miles in length and it wound through rocky areas that provided excellent hideouts for thieves to be laying in wait. 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:08.780 Jesus' original hearers would have immediately recognized this as the bad part of town. 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:12.200 So you think of that part of the city that you don't want to drive through at night. 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:15.940 You would be very careful walking through. 00:20:16.320 --> 00:20:20.820 That is this road from Jerusalem to Jericho. 00:20:21.420 --> 00:20:23.660 Now this man is carrying oil. 00:20:24.020 --> 00:20:24.900 He's carrying money. 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:28.980 He's carrying enough money to cover three weeks room and board at the local inn. 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:32.420 And he's carrying oil and wine, very costly items. 00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:40.360 Many people would call him foolish for stopping and making himself vulnerable to attack. 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:41.759 Think about it. 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:46.900 He's just encountered a half-dead man on the side of the road who's been beaten and robbed. 00:20:46.980 --> 00:20:51.299 If he wasn't aware already that he was in the bad part of town, he's aware of it now. 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:58.299 But his compassion is not stifled by the requirement that he put himself in a precarious position. 00:20:58.299 --> 00:21:01.299 Unlike the others who've passed by, he stops. 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:05.639 And remember, this is a story that was created by Jesus. 00:21:05.819 --> 00:21:07.680 Yes, this just spun from his imagination. 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:13.759 But the details of this story are meant to show us what love for neighbor looks like. 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:19.940 Now this can be a hard pill for comfortable American Christians to swallow. 00:21:20.140 --> 00:21:25.539 And I think John Piper has some excellent words to challenge us in this area. 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:27.680 Dr. Piper says, 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:34.900 There's a mindset in the prosperous West that we deserve a pain-free, trouble-free existence. 00:21:35.660 --> 00:21:40.560 When life deals us the opposite, we have a right not only to blame somebody or some system 00:21:40.560 --> 00:21:46.220 and to feel sorry for ourselves, but also to devote most of our time to coping 00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:50.820 so that we have no time or energy left over for serving others. 00:21:51.620 --> 00:21:56.200 This mindset gives a trajectory to life that is almost universal, 00:21:56.200 --> 00:22:02.180 namely away from stress and toward comfort and safety and relief. 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:07.059 Then within that very natural trajectory, some people begin to think of ministry 00:22:07.059 --> 00:22:12.720 and find ways of serving God inside the boundaries set by the aims of self-protection. 00:22:13.380 --> 00:22:20.400 And it never occurs to anyone that choosing discomfort, stress, and danger might be the right thing, 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:23.580 even the normal biblical thing, to do. 00:22:23.579 --> 00:22:28.500 Being a Christian should mean that our trajectory is toward need, 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:32.639 regardless of danger and discomfort and stress. 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:39.039 In other words, Christians characteristically will make life choices that involve putting themselves 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:44.740 and their families at temporal risk while enjoying eternal security. 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:49.259 Now, there are many ways we could qualify that challenge, 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:51.839 and I just want to be silent on all those qualifications, 00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:57.259 because I think this is a word that we need to allow to challenge us. 00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:01.120 This is a challenge we desperately need today. 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:10.539 Our willingness to embrace cost and risk are the very thing that should set us apart from the world in this. 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:18.379 It's common today to engage in cheap expressions of empathy that really cost us nothing. 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:24.099 They make us feel compassionate, but they have no real cost associated with them. 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:26.480 It's so common that we actually have a word for it. 00:23:26.539 --> 00:23:27.339 You've probably heard it. 00:23:27.339 --> 00:23:28.399 It's called slacktivism. 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:31.960 And by the way, I can't say this with certainty, 00:23:32.120 --> 00:23:37.920 but legend has it that the priest and the Levite in Jesus' parable got home that afternoon 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.740 and they tweeted about how bad things have gotten out on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. 00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:48.420 Or it was, yeah, you're thinking, no, they posted on X, but it was called Twitter back then. 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:55.019 Listen, I'm having some fun with this idea of slacktivism, but here's the point. 00:23:55.460 --> 00:23:59.400 Jesus is calling us to so much more than that here. 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:08.940 He is calling us, he wants us to see the glory and experience the joy of compassionate, 00:24:09.700 --> 00:24:16.440 sacrificial, risk-taking love for neighbor that is only possible because of faith. 00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:22.559 Only possible because we have staked our lives on the one who, though he was rich, 00:24:22.600 --> 00:24:28.500 yet for our sakes became poor so that we, by his poverty, might become rich. 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:37.180 Biblical compassion is costly, and sometimes it embraces risks that would seem foolish apart from faith. 00:24:38.539 --> 00:24:44.320 Thirdly, and very briefly, biblical compassion is required. 00:24:45.360 --> 00:24:46.180 It's required. 00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:51.720 Jesus concludes his parable in verse 37 with the words, 00:24:51.860 --> 00:24:54.160 You go and do likewise. 00:24:55.600 --> 00:25:01.580 The disciple of Jesus has no opt-out clause when it comes to biblical compassion. 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:04.279 This isn't just for people with the gift of mercy. 00:25:04.820 --> 00:25:07.039 There is such a thing as the gift of mercy. 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:12.019 It's one of the gifts that the Holy Spirit dispenses for the edification of the church. 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:15.299 But this is not for the people with the gift of mercy. 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:22.960 This is for everyone who wants to obey the great dual commandment to love God and love neighbor. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:28.799 Now, we might be tempted to think, well, that's a beautiful portrait that Jesus has painted, 00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:30.440 but that's not the world I live in. 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:36.680 I don't step out of my home every morning and encounter half-dead strangers on the road. 00:25:36.860 --> 00:25:45.059 I don't step out of my home every morning and encounter children scrabbling through the dump to find a scrap of food to eat. 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:56.279 And as a result, we can very easily live our lives unaware of a world that is groaning under the curse of sin and disease and fatherlessness. 00:25:56.279 --> 00:26:03.000 And this is where we need to come back around to that concept of compassion permanence. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:11.420 The Lord would remind us this morning that that is the world that we live in, whether it's part of our daily experience or not. 00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:19.819 And it's part of our calling as his disciples to go and do likewise, to cross over to the other side of the road, 00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:29.480 to take initiative toward that need as a means of expressing the compassion of Jesus Christ to the lost and the suffering. 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:35.299 Regardless of whether you decide to join hands specifically with Covenant Mercies today, 00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:42.460 may we all grow as disciples who love to take initiative toward those who are in need, 00:26:42.579 --> 00:26:46.599 embracing the costs and the risks associated with biblical compassion, 00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:54.980 all in worship to the one who embraced the greatest cost for us when he came to seek and save the lost. 00:26:55.199 --> 00:26:55.819 Let's play. 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:04.859 Father, we thank you that first and foremost, we are objects of your mercy. 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:09.859 Lord, we care about the poor of this world. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.759 We care about those who are suffering because you came out of love for us 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:18.740 and you gave your life as the greatest sacrifice for us. 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:20.500 So, Lord, we thank you for that. 00:27:20.619 --> 00:27:21.920 We worship you. 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:29.400 And we pray that you would lead us and guide us and shape us into the disciples that you want us to be. 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:31.700 In Jesus' name, amen.