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What does compassion
do? |
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"So
he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil
and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him
to an inn, and took care of him. 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.'"
LUKE
10:34-35 |
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The
parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter
10 is the perfect illustration of "compassion
in action", giving us a great
example of Jesus' model for reaching people, as
well as a clear standard for us to follow in our
own lives.
What compassion
IS
The
Pulpit Commentary  ,
available as an add-on module for PC Study
Bible, provides these illuminating comments
on the Samaritan's selfless actions: |
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Now,
for the sake of strong contrast, Jesus paints
on his canvas the figure of one who, as
a Samaritan, was as far removed as possible
from being a neighbour to the sufferer (who,
most probably, was a Jew) in the sense in
which the austere Jewish lawyer would of
himself understand the term "neighbour",
The Samaritan, hated of the Jews, and most
probably, in common with the rest of his
nation, hating them — he, in his turn,
was journeying along the ill-omened "Way
of Blood;" he too sees, like the priest,
the form of the man, wounded perhaps to
death, lying by the way, and, like the Levite,
draws near to look on the helpless sufferer;
but, unlike priest and Levite, stays by
the wounded man, and, regardless of peril,
trouble, or expense, does his best to help
the helpless.
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| How
PC Study Bible helped this portion of
my study: |
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Wherever you see this icon, click
it to view a screen shot from
PC Study Bible of the item described. |
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| In
this portion of my study, I wanted to
find commentary and background information
that would help me better understand
the character of the Good Samaritan.
Here's what I found: |
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The
Pulpit Commentary — an excerpt
that emphasized the Samaritan's heart
in helping someone of a different race,
and with no thought of what he would
receive in return. |
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Matthew
Henry's Commentary — a powerful
picture likening each of us to the
poor
traveller on the road, and Jesus Christ
to the compassionate Samaritan who
gave
of himself to save us from death. |
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The wounded man was no rich and powerful merchant or
noble — that is clear from the necessity of the
little provision which the Samaritan made for him at
the inn when he went on his journey; probably just an
itinerant Jewish pedlar. There were many of these always
travelling about the East, we know. The piled-up acts
of kindness were all clearly done to a poor stranger,
without hope of recompense or reward. The life of that
kindly man was evidently one which finds its high but
secret guerdon in the blessedness of its own deeds. |
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Just
imagine the powerful, life-changing effect that the
Samaritan's actions must have made upon the man he cared
for! Although it cost him some time and money, his small
sacrifice literally saved a man's life. True
compassion is that powerful...
What if I don't feel like
being compassionate?
I
don't know about you, but there are plenty of times
when the last thing I feel like doing is showing compassion.
And in those moments, excuses abound: |
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Help
out at the nursing home once a month? I'm too busy with
work right now... |
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You
want me to forgive her? I'm still too hurt by what she
said to let it go... |
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Give
how much in the offering? I'm way too strapped at the
moment... |
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Did
you notice how many "I's"
showed up in that list? That's a dead give-a-way...whenever
we start making statements like these, we can go right
to the root and call it like it is: SELFISHNESS.
In
those moments, we must make the choice to take our eyes
off ourselves and place them on others — and the
best way to do that is to remember the compassion that
Jesus showed us at our most desperate point of need.
Matthew
Henry
comments: |
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We
were like this poor distressed traveller. Satan,
our enemy, had robbed us, stripped us, wounded
us; such is the mischief that sin had done us.
We were by nature more than half dead, twice dead,
in trespasses and sins; utterly unable to help
ourselves, for we were without strength. 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 147:3; Isa 61:1),
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?" |
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| Action
Step: Live it. |
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| Think
of a person who you have a hard time getting
along with. Do something thoughtful for him/her
within the next seven days. Here are some
ideas: |
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Write
an encouraging letter to someone you
haven't spoken to in a while. |
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Make
a point to be extra courteous to people
who serve you (the checker at the grocery
store, restaurant wait staff, etc.). |
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Invite
a co-worker and his/her family over
for dinner. |
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Offer
to babysit for a neighbor so they can
go out for a special date night. |
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Help
out at a local soup kitchen or homeless
shelter. |
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Thank
you so much for checking out this month's Bible study.
My prayer is that, every day, God would more deeply instill
His compassion in your heart, as well as teach you to
pour out that compassion on those around you. |
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The
New King James Version. Copyright © 1982, Thomas
Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. |
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The
Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright
© 2001 by Biblesoft. |
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Matthew
Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern
Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1991
by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. |
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 DIG
DEEPER
with PC Study Bible |
| 1 |
WHAT
DOES COMPASSION MEAN?
Study the original Greek to learn more about what
true compassion really is. |
| 2 |
WHAT
DOES COMPASSION DO?
Discover what true compassion look like in action
through the story of the Good Samaritan. |
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