"The Compassion of Christ"

Hi there this is on Solomon and I like to welcome you to our program today. You know it's a tremendous honor that God is given us to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truths of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of that. Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God years ago while I was leaving at the old city lament just about ready to go out St. Stephen's gate of the lion gate as it's often called and as we were ready to go out. All of a sudden there was a big commotion from behind. It was so big that we stopped we just kinda froze in our tracks and we turned around and looked in here was this funeral coming to the streets of old Jerusalem headed towards the lion's gate now. It was not like a funeral that you probably ever seen before, because it was like one I've ever seen at the head of this funeral was some kind a clergy person. I don't have a clue what kind of clergy person it was but anyway and he was with the widow and then right behind them was the body, except it wasn't in a casket and it was in a hearse or anything like we would think it was right out in the open on a flat pallet. It was wrapped up in white cloth. The body was a kind of look like a cocoon made out of white gauze and they wrapped it all up and it was sitting up on top of this open pallet and there were poles to the two ends of the pallet and the pallbearers had the pallet up on the shoulder and they were walking and carrying his body through the streets of Jerusalem immediately behind them was a group of friends and relatives who were crying in morning and wailing this dead person and then they had symbols and they had noisemakers and this was the most incredible possession. I saw and they marched right by us right down and out of the gate of the city towards the graveyard as we stood there mesmerized by this funeral.

Now the reason I bring all this up is because we're going to see that almost 2000 years ago Jesus Christ found himself face-to-face with just such a processional. The only difference is, he didn't stand there and do nothing and just watch it go by like I did, but rather Jesus rained all over that parade and of course that's not because of funerals a great parade to rain on if you go to stop it.

And that's exactly what Jesus did and so were to look at Luke chapter 7 and work it up study what he did and they were going to ask really the most important question you know what that is. That is what so what, you're right.

Okay, let's look together. Verse 11 chapter 7 soon afterward, the Bible says is a women.

Soon afterward, what was soon after he healed this servant of the centurion that we thought about the beginning of the chapter, which was happened up in Capernaum, so if you days later a week later two weeks later, something like that. Jesus went to a town called name enough and his disciples in a large crowd went along with it.

Not name was about 25 miles south of Capernaum. It was a little bit see little town, like I hiccuped in the road is about all name was and so is there why the world would have gone there.

Well maybe he went there just for this meeting that he's about to have. Anyway, he went to name and when he got there. Verse 12 tells us what he found as he approached the town gate. A dead person was being carried out. The only son of his mother and she was a widow and a large crowd from the town was with her.

Now when you read this, you kind of get the sense that this is very similar to what we saw in Jerusalem that day and from studying historical and archaeological records. We know that it is because we know that ancient funerals in Israel were just like that one I saw in the modern streets of Jerusalem. The mother walked in the front and she normally would have her clothes ripped as a sign of anguish and read immediately behind her would be the body up on a little flat pallet in the open, just like a we saw in Jerusalem and then behind them would've been probably the entire town moaning and wailing and crying over this dead person is Jesus supposed to town. This is what he saw like a man what a coincidence that Jesus got there right when this was happening while I don't believe it was a coincidence, and I hope you don't.

I think Jesus was right on time. He would early, one leg was right on time and maybe you feel like in some area of your life is a funeral going on. And Jesus had shown up yet well and he just encourages Jesus is never late and is never he's always right on time and he was right on time for this one. And look what happened. The Bible tells us that this wasn't just any funeral of any person, but rather, this was a funeral of a woman's only son, and she was a widow now in Israel that was a really bad combination because it Israel being a very male centered society. This woman having lost first her husband and then her son she would've had absolutely no way to support herself and remember Israel there was no life insurance. She did not have a piece of the rock.

Remember Israel there was no government assistance. There was no Social Security survivor benefits. This woman's friends and family had come to see her, but they were all there to go home and when they left and went home.

This woman was going to be left all by herself attending and with no way to make a living. She was probably too old to get married again. Her son was a grown man. She was probably too old to have anymore children and she probably would've been reduced to begging for survival is the only way of making so is it any wonder that this woman was walking at the front of the funeral. The Bible says anything.

Partly because of the loss of her son and partly on shore in fear and anxiety about what the future might hold Jesus and ma'am, I want you to stop crime. Look what happened and when the Lord saw her verse 13 he says his heart went out to her and he said mail stop crime.

I love it when the Bible says here that Jesus is heart went out to this woman when he saw her, if you're reading the King James translation of the Bible, it will say that when Jesus saw this woman he had compassion upon her and the Greek word to translate and have compassion or his heart went out to her the same Greek word it comes from squad not squad nine Greek means your guts, your bowels, your intestine and you say what a weird word to use Jesus's intestines went out to this woman well but listen in ancient Hebrew culture, the Hebrews believed that the seat of a person's emotion was not there heart you know in America we talk about a person's heart.

Being the place with a meal. Everything the Hebrews and talk about your heart. They talked about your gut when you felt something you felt it and you got it in the true when you're really angry. Are you really upset or you're really fearful you're really under stress when you feel don't you feel accountable down at the piteous stomach and you got. And so that's why, in Hebrew idiom, the Bible really says here that when Jesus saw this woman he was gripped in his got for her. We would say in English idiom when Jesus saw this woman. His heart eight for her same feeling that why was Jesus so touched by this woman's plight. Well I have two thoughts number one because he was God and he had the heart of God in the heart of God hurts with every pain of every person who's ever lived didn't include you, but there's a second reason I like to suggest to you here and that is dose to get Jesus lived with the widow, say hello, but his mother say really sure is that Joseph was dead. We don't know when his dad died, but we know he was dead by now you probably died when Jesus was a fairly young man. And so Jesus knew all about the struggles of a widow trying to live in Israel. He knew all about the stresses of a single parent mom.

He knew all about the despair of a woman who now had nobody to provide for her because he had to go out and begin working as a young man to support his mother and support his family because his dad was gone. He understood what this woman was facing. And this is a good time for me to stop and say that you're here and you're woman and maybe you lost a husband or maybe you're a single parent mom or maybe your single and you just feel like you're in this thing all on your own and people are said to you what you know you need to take those feelings to Jesus, and you need to pray about them and maybe a bit little cynical in your attitude is been taken to Jesus is a man with a man would understand about what I'm going through.

I'd like to suggest to you that this passage says you're wrong.

He understands perfectly what you're going through. He grew up in a family that faced everything that you're facing, and he understood why would this widow was.

He understood right where his mother was an instance right where you are and you can trust Jesus and stop crying.

Ma'am, I wanted to stop and help you and I'm sure the people standing around got very cynical and went all right.

Introduce up mail for what you going to raise a kid from the data that's exactly what had mine to be honest with you. Let's look verse 14 and the Bible says that then he went up and touched the coffin and those who were carrying it stood still and he said young man I say to you, get up and the dead man sat up and began to talk. Jesus gave them back to his mother what you love the been there in here with this guy had say maybe that went what you would not believe the dream I just had to let my labor options. You would believe I saw a be cool to be there and here we had say well Bible doesn't tell us what he said. The Bible does say Jesus raised him up from the dead, just like that in the Bible records. It was such simplicity.

I mean it's like Jesus raised from the dead is raising that person when you think the Bible are gone or something but it doesn't erase why because even though this was the first person Jesus raising Michael be the last and the next chapter is the raised gyrus's daughter in John chapter 11 is going to raise Lazarus and all four Gospels.

It records you raise somebody else and you know that was himself right so even though the Bible records it with some sense of ordinariness. I'm the only raising people from the dead is ordinary. Do you if they are launched just a hoax. I don't know what happened here, but this was a hoax. I mean nobody goes around raising people from the dead, you understand what I'm saying there had to be some kind of tomfoolery going on.

This guy was either in a coma or he had a high fever or he was hypnotized or something but dead. No way. And that's a lot of scholars say the folks think about it for a minute. Jesus did not do this in some secret chamber will only be initiated when looking on and then they all came out and said you would believe what he did. Jesus raising from the dead and Jesus didn't do this in some secluded gathering were only his followers were there and were willing to go along with some kind of hoax. Jesus didn't do this in the séance where he hypnotized the guy and everybody else would they be willing to believe this.

Jesus did in the street in the open right in front of the town, not only in front of the crowd that he brought with him, but in front of the entire city who turned out it was marching in this funeral and they didn't believe that this kid was in some kind of a coma.

They didn't believe that this man was in some kind of some catatonic state because of a fever. They believe this man was dead they had them wrapped up and were headed to the graveyard with this guy and they'd seen lots of dead people. They seem more dead people than you seen people die in hospitals today people are not hospitals and the dog right in the home they knew. Dead people when they saw them in amazing the scholars living 2000 years later think they know more about what went on. The people who were living there at the time Mason mean they may be smart but they're not that smart. And these people said this was a dead person and Jesus rose from the dead, you can tell if the response.

I have verse 16 and when this happened, they were all filled with all and they said isn't it great he just woke up from his coma know this is in a coma lock and they said a great prophet has appeared among us, and God has come to help his people.

We just saw a man rise from the dead at this news about Jesus spread throughout all Judea and the surrounding countryside as well say they were so excited about what they saw that they can keep it to themselves they can sit on this news. They went everywhere they could think of telling people you will not believe what we saw. We saw him raise somebody from the dad believe it's interesting in Luke chapter 23 you know when Jesus is handed over to Pontius Pilate. The Pontius Pilate sends him to Herod auntie Posner Herod Antipas was the ruler of the other side of the Jordan River where we think of is the modern country of Jordan is in Iraq he didn't even live on the Judean side of the Jordan River, but he was in Jerusalem visiting and Pontius Pilate said Jesus to listen what Herod said. Luke 23 when Herod saw Jesus, he was excited because he'd been wanting to see Jesus for a long time since he had been hearing about Jesus and was hoping to see Jesus perform some miracle for him.

Here's a guy who lives on the other side of the Jordan River who was a Roman wasn't even a Jew, and he heard all about Jesus's miracles and the fame and reputation of what Jesus was doing had taken a boat and crossed the Jordan and gone to the other side so that this canyon heard about it on the other side and been waiting to meet Jesus you want to see Jesus do one for him this in your folks. Sometimes we have the idea that the Jewish people who lived in Jesus's day that these poor people didn't make the decision to accept him as their Lord and their Savior and their Messiah because they just didn't have enough information to me that in the New Testament. They didn't have Christian bookstores. They didn't have Christian radio. They could watch Billy Graham on television and so these poor people.

I mean how can we ever expect him to really know who Jesus was, without having all these modern miracles we have, which I something just the contrary was the case. These people living in the time of Jesus had an enormous familiarity with who Jesus was and he was claiming to be the miracles he was doing and yet very few of them gave their life to Jesus Christ say why because, listen, salvation is a matter of the heart, not the elect. You know, it does not take a whole lot of information to become saved and give your life to Christ. I look back in 1971 when I became Christian I never been in a church. I never studied the Bible, I did know one, but one Christian in the whole world and he lived 8 miles away and I did have the slightest idea how to get in touch with and if you taken everything I knew about Jesus Christ and put it in a thimble it wouldn't filled but I knew I was empty and I was lonely and I was hurting I knew my life was a wreck.

I knew I had no resources for living.

I was scared to death of dying. I knew if there was a hell I was headed there. I had no basis on which to build a life I knew I was in trouble and when Jesus Christ presented himself to me even though I had only information I grabbed and folks. If you attended this church one time and heard me speak one time you got more information about what it means to accept the know Jesus Christ personally that I had when I got saved in 1971. But you see it doesn't take a lot of information. Many people that I meet say to be well on I just need some more info I need to more data I need some more proof I need some more evidence you give them Josh McDowell's book evidence that demands a verdict. It's about that for committing the whole thing and say no I still do not need more evidence. Folks listen, this is not the truth actually in many cases this is just a big smokescreen for stubborn heart heart that refuses to knuckle under and surrender to the living God with these people need is to make a decision to bow their stubborn will and heart before Almighty God and friends look the Jews of Jesus's day refused to believe in Jesus and they had more information than you or I will ever have. They actually saw him raise people from the dad that you never going to get that cutting information or proof. And yet they still wouldn't believe because believing is not a function of information function of the heart you're here and you never trusted Jesus Christ in a real and personal way and you're saying I just need more data I need more information I need more time. I need to read the Bible more.

I need more proof that's probably not so the issue is, your heart, whether or not you're willing to humble yourself before God with even to do it your way and I hope you're willing to humble yourself before him, because the heart is the key to this. They got help you do that wealth that's the end of our passage for this morning but it still leaves us ask a question and that is so one right now let me ask you a question. What is the driving piston of this past sandwich me well what is it that really makes this passage cook and make it work to Nola okay look verse 13 verse 13 when the Lord saw her right look. His heart went out to her he had compassion upon her friend Jesus Christ did not raise this man from the dead because he wanted to enhance his reputation disabled. He did enhance it. That's right but that's not why he did the miracle he did not raise this man from the dead because he wanted to impress the crowd using what he did impress the crowd. I know that's not why he did it, nor did he do it because he wanted to make some kind of statement he did it because he saw a woman, a woman whose heart was broken. A woman whose future was wrecked, he had compassion on that woman and therefore he raised her son. It's compassion that is the driving force behind what Jesus Christ did in your deceit and that's what we want to talk about the compassion of Jesus Christ is and what is compassion anyway. Well, that's good, let's define it comes from a Latin word composite seal which means to suffer along with somebody compassion means that you really care about other people that you're touched by their struggles and their hardships and their pain. It means asking somebody how you doing and really caring what the answer I call the guy up on the phone this week and I start off I go and how you do it and he responded by saying you really want to know, and I said what I thought I did, and I think I do get a shot. So he told me I was doing and I listen. I was interested but you know most of us we walk around and that's just a little America eating we toss Ron how you doing how you doing how you doing how you doing we toss Ron how you doing and somebody actually stop you in your tracks and begins to tell you how they're doing. We got all irritated. We got to believe Scott stated herein and are publicist are known as polity don't tell me I was doing you asking ninja how you do. He told you if you want to know the hotel I don't know but I know how you doing go.

I don't care how you doing? Please be honest with the guy right. Compassion says we asked people how you doing and really care how you doing I got an article on the New York Daily News told about a fellow named Michael Klein. He was 31 years old and back on September 3 of last year he was murdered during a robbery attempt in the Bronx in New York City.

His mother Linda Klein who lived in New York all her life decided to write a letter to Mayor Dinkins of New York City. After this happened and she wrote and told him our children had been pleading with her to move out of New York City which even resisting them and say no I'm not gonna do it because I love New York City but she wrote now it said and I quote. I too will be leaving New York as soon as I can because this city has become a large sewer" and then she poured her heart out to the mayor about the loss of her son and what that really meant to her. She sending the letter.

Six weeks later she got a letter back for Mayor Dinkins.

She was all excited.

She hurriedly opened up the letter saying he is quite the mayor wrote me that, and here's what she read. Thank you for your letter.

It said I regret that you did not enjoy your visit to our city. Cities are not always able to exemplify the true spirit of our residents. I hope that you will give New York City another chance someday and then. It wasn't even signed by the mayor. It was one of those little stamps you know that they put in the thing and stamp your signature on the thing and that's when she got back in the lady said and I quote I don't think it was very nice of him not to even read my letter. It's hard enough to cope with losing a son without the mayor making it so obvious that he doesn't even care. In direct contrast to Mayor Dinkins. The Bible presents to us, Jesus Christ.

As someone who really does care as a God is moved by everything we have is a God was touched by every heart ache that you and I suffer as a God that says hey you come and you write me a letter and I'll read every word of you pour out your heart to me and tell me what you're feeling and I listen to every syllable of it. You cry and I'll tear off and cry right along with I really care how you do it in the Bible tells us over and over and over again that this is the way God is.

This is the way God had to be God conveniently wanted to be but the neat thing is that God is really this way. He really cares about us severe here this morning and you got some tough things and you can try to carry myself. Don't do it anymore. Listen to God's action plan taken to the foot of the cross and drop them off. I got help you do that.

Let's pray together. Heavenly father, I want to thank you this morning. What we've learned that you really do care about us that in every pain and every heart ache, and we have, you're right there with us that you feel in your gut when we feel in our Lord. We will know why you're this way, we sure are glad and I pray those of us here were Christians would humble ourselves and be willing to admit that we can't carry the load anymore. We never could teach us Lord to bring it to the foot of the cross and laid down let you put your big strong shoulder under it for us, and in exchange give us the peace of God, we do have a friend in Jesus Lord forgive us that we don't take advantage of him more and of his love, but hope that change as a result of our being here this morning and hearing from you. We pray these things in Jesus day maintenance. I went with Dr. L'Enfant plan is an outrage and online, found in ministering to listen to today's message, or for more information visit our lab fine line. Solomon ministries.org.

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