We Give Mercy

Continuing on in our series as we lead up to Christmas, we are talking about giving because this is the season for giving and receiving. Today, we are discussing giving mercy.

So, open with us to Acts chapter 20. Following off a mega morning, would you, while you're standing, take out your Bibles and open them to the book of Acts? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We are going to begin this morning with one verse in the book of Acts, as we did last week. Acts chapter 20 is right after the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is in the last third of the Bible, just before the book of Romans.

In Acts chapter 20, we are going to read verse 35. This is the very last of the Apostle Paul's words to the leaders of the church, a church that he helped establish in the city of Ephesus. Acts chapter 20, verse 35, says, "I have shown you in every way by laboring like this that you must support the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that He said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Father, as we approach Christmas, we are reminded of the importance of giving and receiving. We ask that You would speak to us today from Your Word, and that by Your Spirit, You would help us to make application from Your Word to our lives. In some clear and measurable way, may we see Your transforming power in us. Transform us by the renewing of our minds. This week, as we are at school, work, or in the community, help us to display from our lives what is Your good and perfect will. Lord, make us more like You, that this time this morning would have an impact. We pray and ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."

You can be seated. I'm sure you all noticed that the...

The 2016 Christmas shopping season is more than underway. Maybe you braved the crowds on Friday or Saturday, or perhaps the turkey went to your brain on Thursday, and you decided to go out at around 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. I'm sure you noticed that over the last decade, Black Friday begins on Thursday night, Thanksgiving night. If you saw some of the pictures from Walmart on Thanksgiving night, it looked like standing in the middle of Fallujah, Iraq, in 2003. It is not a good place to be; it's kind of crazy to go out at those times.

However, when we come to this time of year, with Christmas just 28 days away, we are reminded of giving and receiving. We are taking time between now and Christmas to look at some passages of Scripture that relate to this concept of giving. Last week, we talked about giving thanks as we approached Thanksgiving, and today we're going to look at another topic.

We used a passage from the Gospel of Luke last week, and we will be there again today. If you are in the Book of Acts right now, just turn to the left a couple of books. You will pass the Gospel of John, and then you will come to the Gospel of Luke. Luke chapter 10 is where we will be for our time together today, and we will begin reading at verse 25.

In Luke chapter 10, verse 25, Luke records, "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him," Him being Jesus, "saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" The lawyer answered and said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus said to him, "You have answered rightly. Do this, and you will live." But the lawyer, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Then Jesus answered and said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among thieves who stripped him of his clothing and wounded him. They departed, leaving him half dead."

A certain priest came down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at that place, came and looked, but he passed on the other side. However, a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was. When he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him, bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn. He took care of him, and on the next day, 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."

So, which of those three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among thieves? The lawyer answered Jesus and said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said, "Go and do likewise."

This is probably not an unfamiliar passage to you, even if you have not been a student of the Bible or in church for very long. There are people in our nation who have never even looked at the Bible or gone to church, yet they have heard at least the words "the Good Samaritan." There are laws in virtually every state in our nation called Good Samaritan laws. A lot of people, when they hear a reference to the Good Samaritan, do not even realize that it is found in the Scriptures. They do not even realize that it comes from a story that Jesus told, but they have heard the words "the Good Samaritan" before. They may even wonder what that is all about and where it came from.

Well, it comes from right here in this passage, where Jesus, on a certain day in His ministry, was confronted by a certain lawyer who stood up and tested Him. This was the norm for Jesus; just about everywhere He went during His three to three-and-a-half-year ministry, He was met by multitudes of people. They came for different reasons. Some people, at a certain point in His life and ministry, came to be fed by Him because Jesus fed multitudes at different events in His ministry. Others came to hear Him, while some came just to see Him and witness something spectacular take place. They were looking for a sign to be done by Him. Some came to touch Him because they expected that by touching Him, they would receive power from Him and might be healed or delivered from some sort of infirmity.

Family members who were sick or demon-possessed came to Jesus. Some people approached Him because they had family members who were near death or had died. Then there were those who came to Him because they wanted to test Him, just like this lawyer. Many among the ruling religious class of the day—the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees, and the lawyers—came to challenge Jesus. Sometimes, the political leaders called the Herodians would also come to challenge Him.

The challenge to Jesus is most clearly seen in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 22, when just about every single one of these groups came and asked various questions of Him. They came to test and challenge Him. The lawyer who approached Jesus may have been sincere; he may have been a genuine seeker wanting an answer to an important question. However, most of the time, when people from these groups spoke to Jesus, it was to try to trip Him up.

The lawyers of the day were often referred to as the scribes. The scribes were the copyists of the law, which refers here to the first five books of the Bible, called the Pentateuch, or the Law of Moses. These individual scribes and lawyers were experts in the law. They often had large sections of that scripture memorized completely and could quote it verbatim. If any of you have ever taken on the task of reading through the Bible in a year, you know that many people get tripped up by even the Book of Leviticus. Yet, these scribes sometimes memorized the entire book.

Not only did they commit large sections of scripture to memory, but they also knew the interpretation and meaning of the law. They debated endlessly about these interpretations. So, here comes this scribe, this lawyer, to Jesus with a question. It was a question that seemed rather simple: "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" There are at least two people in the Gospels who ask that same question, indicating that people understood and recognized that Jesus was speaking about the topic of eternal, everlasting life. In fact, the topic itself, those very words "eternal life," come up a number of times throughout the Gospel of John, especially, but also in other places. It is clear that Jesus, during His ministry, was speaking about this important truth of eternal life.

Life is a journey, and at a certain point in His ministry, two individuals approached Jesus with a pressing question: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" One of them was a lawyer, and the other is known as the rich young ruler. He is mentioned in all three of the first three Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This rich young ruler came running to Jesus, knelt down before Him, and said, "Rabbi, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Not only did he address Jesus as Rabbi, but he also called Him "good teacher."

Jesus, as He often did when people asked Him questions, responded with a question of His own. There are more than one hundred and eighty instances in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John where individuals asked Jesus questions. In all but three of those instances, He answered a question with another question. Only three times in the Gospels does Jesus directly answer a question that was posed to Him. In fact, Jesus asked questions more than three hundred times throughout the Gospels. This means that for every time He answered a question directly, there were a hundred questions that He asked. This was His method; this was His way of engaging with people.

This method can sometimes be frustrating for those seeking straightforward answers. I remember when I was a junior high pastor early in my ministry, this would happen frequently. We would be at camp, and a junior higher would approach me, hesitatingly asking, "Can I go to the bathroom?" I would respond, "I don't know, can you?" The look on their face was often one of confusion, as they tried to figure out how to respond. Jesus often employed this technique of answering questions with questions.

So, this lawyer came to test Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The rich young ruler, who also approached Jesus, asked, "Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" In response, Jesus asked him, "Why do you call me good?" This is a fascinating response. If someone came to us—a family member or a co-worker—and explicitly asked what they must do to gain eternal life, we might, as well-meaning Christians, immediately say something like, "Confess your sins, believe in Jesus, and pray this prayer with me."

You might have an answer. In fact, maybe you've hoped that there's a certain family member or a friend of yours who might ask that question. You've dropped a few hints along the way, talking about church and talking about the Bible. You really want them to put their faith in Jesus and become a follower of Jesus. You would just love the opportunity for them to say, "What shall I do to get eternal life?"

Now, if you're anything like me, you've never had someone ask that question. Jesus had that question twice. You would think that if anyone would jump on that question with a gospel presentation, it would be Jesus. Instead, He says to the rich young ruler, "Why do you call me good?" To the lawyer who came to Him, He doesn't answer the question explicitly. Instead, He comes back with a question and says to him in verse 26, "What is written in the law? What's your reading? What's your interpretation of it?"

Jesus knew that the scribes and lawyers had a reading and an interpretation; they had a view on these things. So, Jesus answers the question with a question. He's not trying to be evasive; it's not that He doesn't have a good answer—He certainly does. If you read through the Gospels, you know that Jesus had awesome logic that often totally deflated those who came to Him trying to trap Him with their questions.

In one situation, a group came to Him and said, "Shall we pay taxes to Caesar or not?" They were trying to trip Him up because this group knew that if He said, "No, don't pay taxes to Caesar," then Rome would come in and destroy Him. They also knew that if He said, "Do pay taxes to Caesar," then the people wouldn't like Him because they didn't like to pay taxes—just like you don't like to today. They thought they had Him trapped.

Then He said, "Show me some of your money." They showed Him some money, and He asked, "Whose inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." He replied, "Well, I guess render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto God what is God's." They walked away wondering how He got out of that. His logic is incredible.

So, it's not that He doesn't have a watertight answer for these things. Why then would Jesus answer a question with a question nearly every time someone brought Him a question? I suggest to you that it has to do with the fact that Jesus was seeking to aim at the heart and not just the head of those individuals who came talking to Him. He was seeking to aim at the heart, which teaches us a very important point.

Number one on your outline, your sermon guide is there in your bulletin: we should aim for the heart in evangelism. Aim for the heart in your evangelism.

Now, I'll be very honest with you; this is difficult in our culture because we live in a culture that is very into the god of reason. We really like answers to questions, and we like to be able to give an airtight, watertight answer to a question. We love verses like Peter's exhortation in one of his letters, where he says, "Sanctify the Lord God in your heart and always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within you, with meekness and fear."

The whole apologetics movement really grew out of the 1970s and early 1980s, with names like Francis Schaeffer. Some of you may remember that name. There was a big push in the 80s and 90s within Christianity in America to have a solid and tight apologetic. We had apologetics courses and all kinds of resources where you needed to know how to give an answer and how to give a defense.

But the reality is, for most Christians, myself included, even as a pastor, when we're presented with a question, a lot of times there's more fear than anything. We start to go through our minds, thinking, "How do we answer this question? I don't know. Oh my goodness!"

So, I would encourage you to follow the pattern of Jesus. When someone brings a question, maybe just fire back another question. For example, when someone comes to you and says, "Do you really believe that sincere followers of other religions are going to go to hell when they die?" maybe instead of trying to come up with the theological and politically correct answer to give in that moment, simply ask the question, "So, do you believe in hell?"

Or when someone comes to you and says, "Do you really believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven?" In our culture today, that's one of the biggest problems people have with Christianity: the exclusivity claims of Jesus, where He says in John chapter 14, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." It's hard to dance around that topic.

If someone comes to you and asks, "Do you really believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven?" you might just ask them, "Do you believe in heaven? What way do you think it is to get there?"

Or when someone comes to you and says, "Can you prove that there..."

Is there a God? Instead of running home and sending an email to me to find out what apologetics show, which book should I read, and how can I explain the teleological answer for God or the cosmological answer for God, or all these other philosophical answers, maybe just ask them. When they say to you, "Do you really believe that you can prove that there is a God?" say, "Can you prove to me that there isn't?" It changes the entire dynamic of the conversation.

That is exactly what Jesus was doing because He was not seeking to aim at the head but at the heart. Truly, that is the heart of the matter: the heart of man. That is what we need to deal with. He says to this lawyer, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it? What's your interpretation of it?" The lawyer responds in verse 27, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

It's recorded in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 22, that another lawyer, an expert in the law, came to Jesus one day and said to Him, "Master, what is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus replied, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments, Matthew 22, verse 40, I believe it is, hang all the law and the prophets.

You see, in Jesus's day, and it's actually true even today with people who are devout followers of Judaism, they know this answer. This is the first passage of Scripture that a young Jewish child in the first century would learn. They would learn what is referred to as the Shema. That word "Shema" means "the hearing," and every child in Judaism would understand, learn, and memorize this passage.

It's recorded in Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verses 4 through 9. It says this: "Hear, O Israel! Shema! Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk in the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them for a sign on your head or on your...

Hand, and it shall be as between the frontlets of your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. If you have ever seen the home of a Jewish individual, a follower of Judaism, when you come to the door, there is a little compartment on the door screwed into the doorpost. It's called a mezuzah, and inside of that is a scroll of this text: Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 through 9. Why? Because they are literally taking this passage where it says to bind it on the doorpost of your house.

If you have ever seen pictures of devout followers of Judaism at the temple, the Western Wall, or the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, you will often see on their heads a little box and a strap of leather wrapped around their hands with a little compartment. These are called phylacteries, and it is in fulfillment of this command that you shall bind it upon your hand and upon the frontlets of your eyes.

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." Every child in Israel during the time of Christ knew this answer. Every law scholar, every legal expert, every scribe understood that this was the answer to the question: What is the greatest commandment of the law? They would also refer to Leviticus: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." They understood this reality.

Point number two: Love is the focus of God's law. Jesus said that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. The Apostle Paul, in Galatians, stated that the entire summary of the law is in one word: love. Love is the focus of God's law.

This lawyer knew how to read and interpret the law, but remember, Jesus wanted to move from the head to the heart. In verse 28, Jesus said to him, "You have answered rightly. Do this, and you shall live." We all recognize that it is one thing to know the right answer; it is an entirely different thing to do the right thing. This lawyer knew the right answer: "You shall love the Lord your God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said, "Go and do."

This brings us to verse 29. The lawyer, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Now, understand that this was the question. This is where the lawyers and scribes of Jesus's day would debate the intricacies of the interpretations of the law. That was their constant practice. When the law stated, as Moses wrote, that a man could give his wife a certificate of divorce because he found some uncleanness in her, there was an entire spectrum among the legal scholars regarding what "uncleanness" meant. For some of them, "uncleanness" could mean that your wife cooked your eggs wrong, and thus she had become unclean to you. I'm not kidding; that's how far they would split hairs over these matters.

They would debate constantly about what exactly constituted "uncleanness," how the Sabbath should be interpreted, and what defined a Sabbath day's journey. When we were with our group in Israel just a few weeks ago, I pointed out to a few members of our group as we were passing by a Jewish village. There were these 18-foot galvanized poles with a little wire connected to the top of them. I said, "Do you see those poles?" They replied, "Yes, what is that?" I explained that those poles mark the demarcation for that village of a Sabbath day's journey, so that you don't go too far and break the law. You don't want to pass that wire on a Sabbath day.

They would argue over these things: What is the distance? What is "uncleanness"? Who exactly is my neighbor? I don't know about you, but every time I hear the question, "And who is my neighbor?" for some reason, Mr. Rogers pops into my mind. The lawyer says to Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" He is wanting to justify himself. This is what religious legalists do; they aim to justify themselves, often at the expense of others.

We look down upon others because of their failures. We point out the inconsistencies of others and highlight the ways in which other people do not live up to our standards. Why? So that we can justify ourselves. We point down at other people.

I find, sadly, in my own fallen nature, this desire for self-justification. This desire to try and find loopholes when I come to passages of Scripture that challenge me at the core. I start to think, well, maybe if we look at the Greek, it's not so sharp and cutting. But Jesus has an amazing way of cutting through our self-justifications, doesn't He? He dissolves our loopholes, cutting through them like a razor through silk.

So, this man says to Jesus, "Well, who is my neighbor?" Jesus often answered questions with questions, but He also taught through parables, stories. He gives us a story. Then Jesus answered and said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among thieves who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."

By chance, a certain priest came down the road, and when the priest saw the fallen man, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and he passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where this man was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.

When we read in verse 30 that there was a certain man who went from Jerusalem to Jericho, it's no doubt that this certain man was a Jewish man. He was on a well-traveled path. If you lived in Israel during the first century and you didn't live in Jerusalem, but you were going to Jerusalem, as was the legal requirement for all Jewish men, you would go three times a year up to Jerusalem to the temple to worship.

If you didn't live in Jerusalem or in that area of Judea, right around Jerusalem—Bethlehem, Bethany, or one of the other towns in that area—then if you lived in Samaria or Galilee, you would travel down to Jericho and then turn to go up into Jerusalem. It literally wasn't "up" into Jerusalem because Jericho was 800 feet below sea level and Jerusalem was about 2,500 feet above sea level.

So, you would travel 3,300 feet up to Jerusalem on a path that was about 20 miles. Generally, coming down from Jerusalem was about a day's journey. You would leave Jerusalem and come to Jericho, and that's where you would stay as you were on your way back to Galilee or wherever it was that you lived. It was a well-traveled but treacherous journey. Most of the time, people would travel in groups together as they would.

We are told by historians that this area was a place where many people in the wilderness would hide to rob those who traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho. Jerome, who was the translator of the Latin Bible, had a father who was a great church historian by the name of Eusebius. Jerome tells us that this path was called the "Way of Blood" because so many people fell victim along the way.

What Jesus speaks to is a common theme on this path between Jerusalem and Jericho. A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves. Unfortunately, this was not a rare occurrence. He was stripped, wounded, and left half dead. This highlights the reality that this fallen world is full of trouble. We are confronted with it every single day—on the radio, on TV, on the internet, in the news, whatever it may be. We are constantly faced with the fallenness of this world that is full of trouble all the time.

This man was stripped, robbed, and left for dead. By chance, a certain priest came down that road. No doubt, you would assume this would be just the kind of person that a fallen individual like this man, taken by thieves, would want to encounter in his suffering. As he lay there, bloodied, beaten, and left for dead, this would be the very kind of person you might hope would come—a representative of God. The priest was coming from Jerusalem down to Jericho, likely on his way home after his service at the temple.

The priests served in rotation at the temple, and their rotation would last for a month. So, this priest had just spent a month at the temple. As he journeyed from Jerusalem down to Jericho, he came upon the sorry situation of this man left for dead. We read that it was by chance, but I don't believe in coincidence. This was by divine providence. The priest came upon this suffering man, and we would expect that this priest, of all men, would be the one to stop and relieve him.

The suffering of this man, who was just beaten and left for dead, was evident. However, when the priest saw him, he passed by on the other side. Apparently, the priest had fulfilled his service to God, so he continued on his way.

Next, we read about a Levite who also came by. The Levites were members of the tribe of Levi. The nation of Israel was made up of twelve tribes, one of which was the tribe of Levi, and they were the ones who were given the priesthood. The priest we previously read about came from the tribe of Levi, but this Levite was not of the priesthood serving in the temple. Still, he was involved in temple business. If the priest would not help, certainly the Levite would.

We learn that this Levite came and looked. The word for "look" there means he examined and beheld, perhaps even saw the rising and falling of the chest of this man left for dead. He acknowledged the man's condition, yet he passed by on the other side. Charles Spurgeon, speaking on this, said that if anywhere there should be compassion towards men, it should be in the heart of the priest who has chosen to speak for God to men and for men to God. Unfortunately, in the story of Jesus, that was not the case. Both the priest and the Levite beheld the man and passed by on the other side.

No doubt, they had reasonable excuses. They might have thought, "I'm in a hurry. I've already performed my service to God in Jerusalem. I've been away from my family for a month, and I need to get back. It's getting late, and I don't want to be on this path at night because there are robbers. I might fall victim to them as well." They could have reasoned that the man should have known not to travel alone on this path. After all, they had traveled this route many times; of course, one wouldn't want to be out there by themselves.

Additionally, they might have thought, "It's his own fault for putting himself in that terrible situation. Besides, he's already nearly dead. What good could I do? I'm just one person. I can't tend to him; I can't carry him along. I can't even touch this fallen man because, as a priest, I would become unclean and soil my linen garments. I can't possibly do this. Maybe this is a trap. Those robbers are not too far from this man, and if I start to help him, they'll come upon me again."

Charles Spurgeon said they had been near to God, but they were not like Him. Dear people, you may spend Sabbath after Sabbath in worship of God, or you may think you are doing so. You may behold Christ Jesus set forth visibly, crucified among you, and themes that ought to turn a heart from stone to flesh may pass before your minds. Nevertheless, you may return to the world as miserably as ever.

Point number four on your outline: piety without pity is of little value. Piety without pity is of little value. What are we religious for? Piety without compassionate pity is of little value.

It's interesting; social scientists and psychologists have identified a condition, a mental condition that most of us suffer from, which they refer to as moral licensing. Moral licensing is an interesting phenomenon that we can all be confronted with. Let me just read to you from one psychologist's document on what moral licensing is.

Moral licensing is a particularly interesting mental glitch. Apparently, doing something that helps to strengthen our positive self-image also makes us less worried about the consequences of immoral behavior and, therefore, more likely to make immoral choices. What does that mean? It means that sometimes, by doing religious service—coming to church, giving a tithe, serving in children's ministry, or engaging in some sort of religious activity—our religious observance can callous us. We may feel that because we have done our religious service, we do not have to get involved with other responsibilities.

This makes us more susceptible to overlooking our moral responsibility because we did our religious service. It is a true danger. Religious piety that does not move us to righteous compassion is of little value. It is one thing to know the right thing; it is an entirely different thing to do the right thing. We are all, myself included, challenged by this in our fallen nature. But Jesus says a certain...

The Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where this man was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. The Samaritans lived among the boundaries of the nation of Israel, but they were an ethnic minority that was looked down upon by the children of Israel. The nation of Israel was divided into three sections: the Sea of Galilee region in the north, Jerusalem, and Judea in the south. In between these two was a region called Samaria, where the Samaritans lived.

The Samaritans were hated by the Jews so much that the word "Samaritan" was used as a racial slur, an insult. In fact, a group of people insulted Jesus one day, calling him a Samaritan. This is recorded in John 8:48, where they say, "He is a Samaritan, and he has a demon." Jews hated Samaritans; they were looked down upon and treated horribly by the Jewish people of the day.

This ethnic minority, those you would expect to be the helpers of the suffering man, were the priest and the Levite, who passed by. However, the one you might think, upon seeing this Jewish man, would have the thought, "He got what he deserved; this guy has been such a jerk to me," was the Samaritan. He had every reason to pass by, yet he was moved with compassion.

What did he do? We read in verse 34 that he went and bandaged up the man's wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own donkey, brought him to the inn, and took care of him. The next day, as he was departing, he took two denarii, which was two days' wages, and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, "Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, when I come back, I will repay you." He gave all the money he had left, indicating that he had nothing more to give. He promised that when he returned, if there were any additional expenses for the man's care, he would pay them back.

He tended to him, took care of him, and provided for him. Point number five: compassion cares beyond creed and cultural lines. Compassion transcends boundaries and walls. Religion often creates divisions; we separate ourselves into "us" and "them," the followers of God, the righteous, and those who are not.

Wicked people, those wicked pagans, you have to close the doors and keep them out because they are going to wreck us. We have to stay far away from them. Religion often creates boundaries and walls, but love, which is the focus of God's law, compassion, breaks those things down.

So, Jesus says to this lawyer who asked Him, "Who is my neighbor?" He asks, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" The answer, of course, is obvious. Which of these three—the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan—was a neighbor to him who fell among thieves? The lawyer answered, "He who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said, "Go and do likewise." That's a command, a command of Jesus: "Go and do likewise."

Point number six: true religion compels us to show mercy to others. True religion compels us to show mercy to others, and therein is a blessing. We began our time together looking at Acts 20:35, where we read the words of Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." True religion compels us to show mercy to others, even those who are outside of our cultural group, even those who are outside of our creedal group. It moves beyond those lines because it understands that our religious piety needs to move us to compassionate pity, or our religion is of little value.

James the Apostle tells us the very same thing in the last two verses of James chapter 1; you can look at it later. True religion is this, says James: to take care of the needs of those who cannot take care of themselves. This is essentially the principle that he speaks of, and in this is a blessing.

What blessing? Well, you are in the Gospel of Luke. Just turn briefly a couple of books over to the left to the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 5, to a section of Scripture called the Sermon on the Mount. Let’s look at one small verse there in Matthew chapter 5, verse 7.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Truly, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Not only are we to be those who give thanks, but we are also to be those who give mercy.

Like the Samaritan, we must see beyond culture, creed, and racial or ethnic divides. He ministered to the need of the man who was left for dead. Those who were religious, those who should have been expected to reach out and help, passed by. As James says in James 1, their religion is worthless before God; it has no value. True religion compels us to show mercy. It sees beyond creed and culture and reaches out to fulfill the focus of God's law, which is love.

This is a challenge to me, and I think it is probably a challenge to all of us. As we are reminded of giving during this season, let us remember that the Lord calls us to be merciful. When He introduced Himself to Moses and the children of Israel, the very first word He chose to describe Himself was "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful." If we are to be children of our Father in heaven, it should be evident in us that we, too, are merciful.

Amen. Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

Father, I thank You that we, like the man taken by thieves, were left for dead in our trespasses and sins. But You, who are rich in mercy because of Your great love for us, even while we were in that pitiful, suffering condition, came and gave us grace. By grace, we are saved. Lord, though we are not saved by our good works of mercy and grace...

Compassion and love, You no doubt have saved us for good works of mercy, grace, and compassion. God, I pray for myself and I pray for my brothers and sisters here as we stand today, preparing to leave this place to go to work, to school, or wherever we will be this week.

I pray, God, that You would help us to see beyond racial lines, cultural lines, and creedal lines. Help us to see beyond those barriers to those who are in need, and to be stirred by Your compassion, grace, and love. May we be compelled to reach out with mercy and grace.

Help us to give mercy, God. It is not in our nature; our nature wants vindication, justice, and justification. But, God, help us to live according to Your nature, that we would represent You well in the world in which we live, especially as we celebrate in this season Your coming into the world. Shine Your light in and through our lives.

I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.