Lifestyle Compassion: The Jesus Model

 

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What’s your compassion quotient?

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OPEN

We’re continuing in our Lifestyle Compassion series this week by looking at how Jesus modeled compassion in His life. If we, like Pastor Brian said last week, as Christ’s church—His body—are to infect our community, region and world with His love and mercy, His compassion and truth, then we must walk as Jesus did. The things that are important to Jesus must be uncompromisingly important to us. The people that are important to Jesus must be unswervingly important to us. Compassion was not an option for Jesus—it was a lifestyle. Who better to model our lives after?

 

I have to tell you that this was a challenging message for me because I had a difficult time deciding which of the many, many snapshots of Jesus’ compassion we would study. Jesus demonstrated compassion wherever He went, with whomever He encountered, regardless of gender, status or religious practice. There are dozens of examples in the Gospels but we don’t have the time to explore each one. So, today I want to look at four scenarios where Jesus demonstrated compassion and I want to glean an essential truth found in each of them.

 

You’re definitely going to need your bibles this morning and you’ll want to take some notes. If you don’t have a copy of the scriptures with you today, you can find one beneath the chair in front of you. We’ll begin with Mark 5:21-43. Let’s read the text together.

 

[Read Mark 5:21-43]

 

Jairus(Mark 5:21-24; 35-43)

Clearly, this text contains two examples of Jesus demonstrating compassion. I want to focus on Jairus for a few minutes. Jairus was a synagogue ruler—he was in charge of regulating the affairs of the synagogue and was one of the most respected and important men in the community. He very likely considered Jesus a heretic and even dangerous to the Jewish faith. Other religious leaders had accused Jesus of associating with the wrong people (Mark 2:16), being the prince of demons (Mark 3:22), and plotted to kill Him (Mark 3:6). It would make sense if Jairus sought every other method of helping his little girl before coming to Jesus, but he was at the end of his rope and didn’t know where else to turn. So, he navigates through the large crowd, gets in front of Jesus, falls on his knees and begs for help, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live” (v. 23).

 

Now, notice Jesus’ response. “Forget you! You treat me like trash and suddenly, when you need something, you come to me…Your religious beliefs are so messed up and you’re leading others in the wrong direction. Maybe if you renounce your faults, get act together and start living right, I’ll help you.” No. That’s not what Jesus said at all. In fact, Jesus didn’t say a word.

 

Look at verse 24. “So Jesus went with him.” Jesus’ compassion moved his feet. Jesus’ compassion motivated Him to action. He didn’t rebuke. He didn’t chastise. He didn’t put any conditions on His willingness to help this spiritually confused, desperate daddy. Instead, Jesus went with him to help.

 

The first thing I want you to note about the Jesus Model of compassion is that compassion comes without condition—no strings attached.

 

[application]

How good are we (you) at extending compassion without strings? Are you in the habit of saying or thinking, “Okay, I’ll help you, but you’ve got to come to church with me. “ Or, “I’ll help this time but you’ve got to promise to get your act together.” Or, “After all you’ve done to me? You’ve got to be kidding!”

 

There are people all around us who are on the wrong tracks, making bad decisions, perhaps worshipping false gods, who are in desperate need of compassion—and we are to extend it without strings.

 

Skip down to verse 35. Jesus was interrupted on His way to Jairus’ house and the news came that Jairus’ daughter was dead. Now, notice verse 36: “Ignoring what they said, Jesus told Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’” Jesus was going to finish what He started—He was going to follow through. He continued to synagogue ruler’s house and raised the daughter back to life. Then He took an additional compassion-step that can be missed: He told them to give her something to eat. Why? Because people who are sick don’t have much of an appetite. They get weak in their sickness. But what’s one of the first things we want to do once we feel better? Eat. Jesus likely wanted to make sure that the girl’s needs weren’t neglected amidst the celebration of her being alive. Jesus paid attention to the little things—the details. The One who has power over sickness and death demonstrated His method of compassion—and it comes without condition.

 

The Woman (Mark 5:25-35)

Embedded within this Jairus story is the story of the woman who had been sick and bleeding, presumably with some uniquely feminine issues, for 12 years! She’d been bleeding for as long as the little girl had been alive! Again, there are several things happening at once while Jesus is on His way to heal the little girl. Large crowds are crushing in on Him as He tries to get to His destination and, in the middle of it all, is a woman hoping to be healed.

 

The woman faced several problems: First, she was a woman. Women in that culture were considered second-class or even property. She was suffering from an apparently incurable disease. She was ceremonially unclean. Anyone who touched her would be unclean. Anything she touched would be unclean (cf. Leviticus 15). She was “walking pollution” (NIVAC, 224). Her illness separated her from the rest of the community. She had no honor so she slinked around to sneak up on Jesus from behind (ibid). For a woman to publicly touch a man to whom she is unrelated was a severe offense. Her disease would have put her on par with one who had leprosy.

 

Think about it: This woman was ignored for twelve years. She spent all her money trying to get well, but it made no difference. “Doctors” who just wanted her money promised great health and took her advantage of her desperation. She became a diseased and poor woman. How successful at begging is a diseased person? Her family couldn’t be around her. She was forbidden to be at synagogue, let alone the Temple. No friends. No family. No faith practice. She was alone and desperate.

 

The woman was suffering physically, spiritually, socially and emotionally. She had no right being in town. She had no right to mix with the public. She had no right to touch a man. Her presence in the crowd could have started a riot! She was helpless, powerless and vulnerable, but Jesus did not ignore her. He immediately noticed that power left Him when she touched His robe. Amidst the crush of people shoving, pressing-in on all sides, Jesus noticed the woman and gave her a chance to respond to Him. Jesus was already on His way to do an important, compassionate thing for Jairus. He could have been too busy to stop and notice another needy person. He could have ignored her—just kept His head down and continued walking. But He didn’t. Compassion refuses to ignore the helpless and powerless.

 

I don’t think it bothered Jesus that she touched Him—though it did take something out of Him. I think He was concerned about meeting the woman’s complete need. “The public embarrassment caused by singling her out signifies [Jesus’] individual care for her. He will not allow her to slip away and remain anonymous…She is a person who is worth taking time with and addressing” (NIVAC: Mark, p. 221). Jesus took the time to listen to the whole story (v. 33). How long did that take? Remember: He was already on His way to do a good thing…Still, he took the time to listen and then He called her “daughter”—the only time in the Gospels that Jesus ever addressed a woman that way (Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Mark, p 662). And He didn’t stop there: He blessed her. Specifically, He “shalomed” her (v. 34). “The word peace here ‘means not just freedom from inward anxiety, but that wholeness or completeness of life that comes from being brought into a right relationship with God’” (ibid). This ignored woman, who had no rights, was recognized, drawn to the front and blessed in front of the crowd. Touching Jesus healed her body. Christ’s compassion changed her life.

 

[application]

How good are we at demonstrating compassion to those who cannot help themselves? Like children who live in poverty or impossible family situations. What is your compassion quotient towards the mentally ill?

 

How about the elderly? Very often the aged in our society are cast-offs—helpless, powerless people relegated to living their last days removed from family and community, living in little elder-colonies, sometimes tenderly nurtured, but frequently ignored. These people would catch Jesus’ eye and move His heart. Jesus’ model of compassion refuses to ignore the helpless; the powerless.

 

When you’re sitting at the stoplight and there’s a guy on the corner holding a sign, what’s your first thought after, “Oh, no!” Do you make eye contact with him? Do you engage him in conversation? Or do you, as I have, try to avoid him—ignore him? If I look away, then I won’t have to respond. Now, I know that the person with the sign is likely not powerless or helpless, but I wonder if that sort of intentional ignoring somehow makes it easier to ignore the genuinely helpless and powerless when we do encounter them.

 

Lifestyle compassion is just that: a lifestyle. It’s not an event or occasion. As Christians, as “little Christs”, the things that are important to Jesus must be important to us. Jesus extends compassion without strings and refuses to ignore the helpless and the powerless.

 

The Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13)

Flip back in your bibles to Matthew chapter 8. We’re going to take a quick look at two more demonstrations of Christ’s compassion. Chapter 8, verses 1-13.

 

[Read Matthew 8:1-13]

Let’s look first at the Centurion. “Centurions were the backbone of the Roman army. In a Roman legion there were 6,000 men; the legion was divided into sixty centuries, each containing 100 men, and in command of each century there was a centurion…they were the cement which held the army together…[and] were the finest men in the Roman army” (Barclay: Matthew, p 301). Remember, Rome ruled the world at that time. God’s people were under the authority of a bunch of Gentiles. It is easy to see how Roman soldiers were considered the enemy and how an overthrow of Rome was the goal of many Jewish groups. Some expected Jesus, as Israel’s King, to spearhead the political overthrow of Rome in Palestine.

 

The plot thickens as soon as the centurion enters the picture. Unlike Jairus, a respected, wealthy Jewish leader, or the woman who was helpless and powerless, the centurion was a Gentile with political power and authority from Rome—and he came to Jesus on behalf of his servant to ask for help. That was a compassionate act because servants, in Roman culture, were possessions to be discarded when they were no longer useful.

 

The centurion presents his request and Jesus doesn’t even flinch, “I will go and heal him” (v. 7). Jesus and the centurion are on the same page: the servant needs to be healed. Here is a political enemy to the Jewish people and Jesus hardly breathes before responding. Compassion is neither motivated by nor limited to political affiliation. Compassion is apolitical; it’s politically neutral. Jesus was willing to go against Jewish law, which prohibited a Jew from entering a Gentile’s house, to honor the centurion’s request. He was willing to challenge the law of uncleanness in order to demonstrate compassion to the servant.

 

[application]

How willing are we to swim upstream for someone who is a political rival? How willing are you to challenge the status quo for the sake of someone who disagrees with your political views? The model that Jesus gives us is one that extends compassion regardless of political association.

 

Some of you may remember last spring when the American “Idol Gives Back” campaign took place. Think about the number of organizations that collaborated to help raise $70M to feed the hungry despite the variety of political views. Noticeably missing from the list of organizations participating was the Church. Why? I suspect because the Church, on a large scale, was afraid of being associated with Ford, or Coke, or AT&T or ExxonMobil, or Bill & Melinda Gates, or any other “non-Christian” people or organizations—and, I think we missed an opportunity to lead the charge for compassion. I think politics got in the way.

 

As you become increasingly sensitive to what’s going on around you, you will undoubtedly have opportunities to partner with different groups or churches that are doing good stuff. It’s not about our congregation versus another congregation or your political views verses theirs. Are you willing to go beyond politics to be like Jesus to the least, lost and lonely? Compassion is apolitical.

 

The Leper (Matthew 8:1-4)

The last example I want to look at is right here in verses 1-4. Large crowds were following Jesus again. His reputation for doing cool things has drawn people from all over the place—including a leper.

 

Like the woman with the bleeding, lepers were ceremonially unclean. They were societal outcasts. Any time they were near others they were supposed to cross to the other side of the road and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” so others could avoid them. Lepers were seen as cursed by God, healings were rare and considered as difficult as raising the dead (Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, p 198).

 

Regardless, this man approaches Jesus, through the crowd—risking it all—to ask for help. I expect that this man had attempted many times to get help for his condition, but no one could do anything. We don’t know how long he lived apart from his family, friends, and faith community. But the leper knows one thing for sure: Jesus can heal him if He is willing.

 

Does it make you wonder how many others the leper approached only to discover that they weren’t willing to help him because of their own fear or discomfort? Perhaps the non-helpers soothed their consciences by clinging to the law, “I can’t help him. It’s against the law to get within six feet of a leper. I’ll become unclean. I’m being a law-abiding citizen.”

“Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (v. 2). And Jesus, filled with compassion (as it says in Mark, chapter 1) reached out His hand, touched the man and said, “I am willing. Be clean!” (v. 3). How amazing it must have been for the leper to be touched. Jesus took a tremendous risk! By Law He wasn’t to come anywhere near that man. But, for Jesus “…there was only one law—and that law was love…to a good doctor a man sick of a loathsome disease is not a disgusting spectacle; he is a human being who needs his skill. To a doctor a child sick of an infectious disease is not a menace; he is a child who needs to be helped. Jesus was like that; God was like that; we must be like that” (Barclay: Matthew, p 298). Compassion embraces the outcast. Jesus didn’t keep the leper at a safe distance; Jesus drew close to him and risked His own reputation for the sake of the outcast.

 

[application]

Who are our lepers? Addicts? The homeless? People with AIDS? Homosexuals? How willing would you be to risk it all for the sake of the crack addict? Would you be willing to embrace the AIDS patient who was pushed to the outskirts of family and community? Compassion embraces the outcast.

 

 

[review]

Compassion comes without condition—no strings.

Compassion refuses to ignore the helpless; the powerless.

Compassion is apolitical; politically neutral.

Compassion embraces the outcast.

 

One more thought…

You may be feeling overwhelmed right now. My desire is not to bludgeon you with guilt or tell you that you need to do more. I want to encourage you to continue to allow Jesus to speak to your heart and to invite Him to shape you to look more and more like Him. We’re talking about a lifestyle of compassion—not a compassion event or compassion week—but a lifestyle. The only way that lifestyle can be cultivated within you is if: 1) You have had your heart changed through a relationship with Jesus, and 2) You take intentional advantage of opportunities to respond like Jesus when those opportunities arise. Compassion is not passive—it is active. You must be intentional.

 

In each passage we looked at today, an opportunity to exercise compassion presented itself, usually with a “Will you help me?” Jesus wasn’t roaming around looking for compassion moments—He seized the ones that were presented.

 

For those of you who are looking for an assignment or homework or a specific “what do I do now” here it is: Seize the opportunities when they present themselves. When you get the “Will you help me?” cue, that’s your chance to serve the least of these. You can’t do everything…so begin with what presents itself—and don’t look the other way.

 

Pray to close…Kendall closes sermon with song.