— BROWN— FIVE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS John Brown University Siloam Springs, Arkansas “ Training Head, Heart and Hand” Brown Military Academy San Diego, California Junior High thru Junior College Junior School —1st thru 6th Grades Southern California Military Academy Long Beach, California Pre-Kindergarten thru 9th Grade Brown School for Girls Glendora, California 1st Grade thru High School Brown Military Academy of the Ozarks Siloam Springs, Arkansas 1st Grade thru High School WRITE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION
Mar. 22, 1953 THE COMPASSIONATE SAVIOUR
it is with all who come in touch with the Son of God. The Consequences of His Compassion The entire gospel story is the record of what happened because our Lord had compassion on the world of men. In the first place. He was moved to leave the glory of Heaven for the life of man on earth (Phil. 2:1-11). We cannot com prehend such humility because we can not fathom the glory that He left; but we know that the contrast was un speakably great (2 Cor. 8:9). His compassion cost Him the cross. He knew before ever He came the things He would suffer (Isa. 53; Matt. 12:38- 40). His Cross was no accident, no un- prepared-for tragedy; it was part of the eternal plan of God for the salvation of His people (Eph. 1:4, 5: Acts 2:23). His compassion cost Him the grave. The Man Christ Jesus actually experi enced death, the separation of soul and body, one of the consequences of man’s sin. This He experienced, not for Him self, but for those He came to save (Heb. 2:9-18). But, thank God, His compassion gained for Him the title Saviour and the endless praise of millions of souls who shall live with Him forever (Matt. 1:21; Phil. 2:8-11; Rev. 5:7-9). Read Isaiah 53:11 in this connection and discuss the joy of our Lord that must be His as He meets His redeemed in Heaven. (See also Heb. 12:2.) Co-operation with His Compassion Matt. 9:37, 38; 2 Cor. 5:14 One of the marks of a true Christian is that he begins to share in the love and compassion of Christ for the lost. This is what the Apostle means in Second Corinthians 5:14. Study this verse and discuss its meaning; read the entire passage (2 Cor. 5:14-6:1). What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ? What should be the believer’s attitude toward those who are lost in the light of this passage. The compassionate Christian will look upon the world through the eyes of Christ, and will see the multitudes as a harvest, plenteous and ready to be gathered (John 4:35-38). The harvest speaks of abundance, it speaks of value, it speaks of labor. Discuss these things in connection with the harvest of souls. The Christian who is filled with the compassion of Christ will pray for the needed supply of workers in the harvest. This is the import of our Lord’s com mand in Matthew 9:38. Every church ought to be praying that the Spirit of God will move on the hearts of young people in the congregation, and that He will call them into the harvest field. The compassionate Christian will give of his means to reach the lost with the grospel (2 Cor: 8:7-15; 9:6-15). Chris tians can give more than we now give according to the statistics of Christian giving. Ask how many in your group are giving one tenth of their income to the Lord. Surely this is the least a be liever can do.
Matt. 9:35-38; 20:30-34; Luke 19:41-44 One cannot read the Gospels without noting the amazing love of Christ for men and women, young people and boys and girls. His heart went out to every needy person regardless of who that person might be. And He is the same today as He was then: still His heart yearns over those who will not receive Him as their Saviour and still He grieves over those who will not walk in His light and enjoy His blessings. Read the Scripture given above: read it in unison or appoint someone who can read well to read it. Again, we stress the importance of making the Word of God the foundation for all dis cussion and study in your group. Let us note three things brought out in these Scriptures: 1) the occasion of Christ’s compassion; 2) the consequences of His compassion; and 3) the co-operation of others with His compassion. The Occasion of His Compassion While our Lord ministered to the needs of men while here in the flesh He was moved by a number of evident needs: in the first place, He saw man as a sinner estranged from God and lost in sin (study Luke 15 in this connection). On His own statement He came into the world for one express purpose, and that was to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Any estimate of Jesus Christ that overlooks, or ignores, or denies this central reason for His coming has missed the entire meaning of the gospel and of the entire Bible (see Isa. 53). Again, our Lord saw man as a poor, wandering, bewildered sheep (Matt. 9:35, 36). What better description could we want than this one of the multitudes of earth as “ sheep which have no shep herd” ? The actions of men would be funny if they were not so tragic! We see poor, puny man, unable even to see beyond the present moment, making a mess of his world, and priding himself at the same time on his wisdom and ability. How like little children we are, or, to use the figure of the text, how like poor dumb sheep! Every man needs the Good Shepherd (John 10), and without Him will remain a shepherdless sheep. Once more, our Lord was moved with compassion because He saw men blind and groping in darkness (Matt. 20:29- 34). The plight of the two men described by Matthew in this paragraph is exactly true of all men spiritually without Christ. They were sitting “ by the way side.” Spiritually, men are off the straight and narrow road that leads to Heaven. They were blind, and so is every man out of Christ (1 Cor. 2:14). Their condition touched the tender heart of Christ (v. 32). His cross proves that His heart is tender toward all men who are without spiritual sight. He touched their eyes and they followed Him (v. 34). So
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