Jesus Teaches Compassion for the Poor

Our lesson today has to do with having compassion for the poor.  And that's an important topic for both the church and society as a whole today.  There is quite an animated conversation going on outside the doors of the church concerning the poor, who they are, why they are poor, and how to deal with them.  Our God has quite a bit to say about them.

In that respect, there are three verses I would like us to consider:

Matthew 25:34-40

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"        

Romans 15:1-2

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

James 2:15-17

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

Now, perhaps you've heard the old saying that God must have loved the poor, because He made of many of them.  Well, perhaps He had so much to say about them -- I collected them all and printed them out, and it came to 8 pages! -- maybe He had so much to say about them because He loved them so much. 

To return to what I said earlier, there is quite an animated conversation going on outside the doors of the church concerning the poor, who they are, why they are poor, and how to deal with them.  There are all sorts of suggested solutions, all sorts of programs and words and titles.  One of the more infamous words out there is the word "entitlement."  Many people feel they are entitled to have what everyone else has.  In some cases they not only expect it, but they take it when you're not looking.

My own favorite phrase about many those folks is that they all want to swallow, but they don't want to chew.  Some people have said they grew up poor like I did in the early 1940s, but they didn't know they were poor.  I knew we were poor.  Going to bed hungry will tell you that you are poor.  I knew what others had and I did not.

I won't go into the story now, but I was moved from home to home, from house to farm, and there was not always enough food for the new kid.  And yes, we thought we deserved more, deserved better.  So do people today.

But guess what, the Constitution of these United States speaks only about people being created equal, about people having an equal opportunity.  Nowhere does it say we all have a right to come out equal in the end.

But look here what the Word of God says, first in Micah 6:8 -- "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." 

Then in Zechariah 7:9-10 -- "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'"

So by acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly we are going to try and avoid those sins that set us against the poor, and against God.  For it would appear that in Zechariah, we act against the poor, we are acting against God.

But the Word of God tells us there are both sins of omission and commission, aren't there?  So let's talk about that for a moment.  Sin of commission might things such as lying, stealing, cheating ... any others?

And then under sin of omission we find what?  Lack of generosity, spending too little time with your children, failing to help a neighbor in need, avoiding discipleship involvement such a Bible study, prayer and worship.

But Jesus seems to be talking about something much more than radical than just helping a neighbor in need.  In scripture Jesus warns us about collecting treasures here on earth -- treasures that can rot, burn, or be stolen -- rather than treasures in heaven.

More than simply helping a neighbor in need, Jesus connects our generosity with our eternal destination.  And that's part of what got the Pharisees all riled up, for they loved their money more than their neighbor.

Returning then to Zechariah 7:9-10 for a moment -- "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'"

Well, the Pharisees failed that test.  But that's not my point.  My point in bringing it back to you, again, is to ask you to please notice that nowhere that Jesus speaks of the poor does he engage in a discussion of whether or not they "deserve" help, deserve mercy.

And I bring that up because whenever there is a discussion about the poor, inevitably the charge arises that they don't do enough to help themselves.  If they really wanted to work, they would find work.  What you hear is that "They just sit on their big behinds, collect their unemployment and their food stamps, they don't take care of their kids, they don't try to better themselves, they just live of you and I, off of the government."

And because in my lifetime I've known so many of the poor, of all sorts of nationalities, I can assure you that in some cases that is true.  But before we get into a really hot discussion about what the poor should and shouldn't do, let me share with you some verses concerning an incident in the book of John that involved Peter. 

I so identify with Peter.  Sometimes it seems like Peter's purpose in life is to be a bad example, so we can look at Peter's bumbling and misguided excitement and tell our children, "Don't be like Peter!"

But in this instance, Peter has just gone through a very humbling and traumatic incident, in John 18, where he denied Jesus three times.  Although Peter boasted he would never do that, he did it.  And it broke Peter's heart.  But Jesus did not go off into eternity and leave that on Peter's heart.  When Jesus revealed Himself for the third time and met with His disciples, three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, and Peter had three chances to answer, just as he denied Jesus three times.  The first two times Peter didn't use the same word as Jesus.  It was more like, "Lord, you, you know I like you."  And then, "Lord, you know I like you a lot."  But the third time Jesus asked, Peter broke, saying, "Lord, You know all things, You know I love You."

But then, typical Peter, he notices John, known as the disciple Jesus loved, following them, and Peter asked Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?"

And it is Jesus' answer to Peter I would like us to consider this morning.  For Jesus said to Peter, "What is that to you?  You follow me!"

What is it my Lord has said to me about the poor?  Does He tell me to consider what other men do?  What does it say in Micah 6:8 -- "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." 

In 2nd Corinthians 1:3-4, I read, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

So, look here ... It isn't even my compassion, it's His.  It isn't even my comfort, it's His.  How can I not share it?

One short story, then I'll end.  It's late one night in downtown Nashville, raining, cold, I'm leaving the Federal Building down on 9th and Broadway late.  This was when the Mission was located nearby.   As I walk across the street to the dim lit parking lot there's only one car left.  Mine.  But along the other sidewalk on Demonbreun I see a figure barely moving along.  He's got a on raincoat, a hat, his head is hung down, he's soaking wet.  He looks like he carries the world on his shoulders.  I reach in my pocket, my fingers close around a $5 bill, I pull it out and very loudly across the empty parking lot I ask, "Will $5 help?"

He stops.  He looks at me.  I keep walking toward him.  He doesn't reach for the money.  After a moment, he asks, "Are you Jesus?"  His question hits me with such impact I can't answer.  After a moment he takes the money and moves slowly away through the rain.  I think to myself, yes, just for a moment there I was the hand of Christ, offering compassion, offering comfort, a friendly voice in the darkness and the rain.

Don't miss that opportunity.  You never know who is on the receiving end of that handout.  Withholding the compassion and the comfort -- that actually belongs to Christ -- is to pick your own pocket.

Let us pray.....

Our Lord, as a good father of children You use so many different situations to teach us what you would have us to know and to learn.  We thank for what we have.  Help us to be satisfied with what you have provided to us, and help us to share with those about us who may not be so fortunate.  We thank You for Your Word, and for the freedom to study and live our lives by it.  We ask Your blessing on each one reading this lesson, upon our elected and appointed leaders in our communities, our states and at the national level.  May they seek Your face, Father, heal this nation's wounds and lead America on toward Your glory.  Amen.