A certain man traveling the eighteen mile journey from Jerusalem to Jericho fell victim to thieves who stripped him of his clothes, wounded him, and left him half dead (Luke 10:30). Two men of religious backgrounds, a priest and a Levite, pass by on the other side of the road seeing the man, but ignoring him and the situation (Luke 10:31-32). These men did not harm the man as did the thieves, but they obviously were not motivated to get involved with the man, nor his difficulties. This is surprising considering their religious backgrounds. Priests served in the temple by offering gifts and sacrifices to God for the people (Heb. 5:1). The priests were assisted in their religious duties by the Levites (Num. 8:5-22). The priest and the Levite should have been considered the most likely candidates to act differently than the world in this situation. Surely this priest and Levite understood the principle to obey is better than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22). The conduct of these men is horrific considering their God given responsibility toward others (Ex. 23:4-5). If the law was written to see after the well-being of a neighbor’s animal, how much more significant would it have been for the neighbor himself?
A certain Samaritan came upon this unfortunate circumstance. He saw the man and had “compassion on him” (Luke 10:33). “Compassion” means to be moved as to one’s bowels (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity), (Thayer 584). The difficulties of the man in this situation moved the Samaritan to stop his journey so he could address the opportunity that had been presented to him. This was an opportunity for him to apply the “Golden Rule” (Matt. 7:12).
How many opportunities to have compassion on others are presented to the New Testament Christian every day? Where is the compassion that moves one to stop what he is doing and address the difficulties in another’s life? What would cause one to have compassion on someone in a difficult situation? Perhaps going back to the lawyer’s response, when he was asked, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” (Luke 10:26), will help. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27). Based upon the lawyer’s answer, the compassion that motivates the follower of God’s law would be his love for God with every ounce of his being, and the love he has for his neighbor.
The New Testament Christian knows how much God loves him. His matchless compassion was shown by the sending of His Son (John 3:16). Man’s love for God is seen when he keeps His commandments (John 14:15). The Christian’s love for his neighbor is demonstrated by treating him as he desires to be treated (Mat. 7:12). The type of love under consideration involves the will of man and not just the emotion. That is why it can be charged to man and demanded of him. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). The apostle John warned that without this type of compassion one is disconnected from God’s love, “But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him” (1 John 3:17)? A New Testament Christian will help his neighbor by having compassion on him