Servants, Not Saviors
Do you know what the very first word that God uses to describe Himself to Moses? Merciful. Would that be the first word that is used to describe Christians today? The answer is, well… no. And we need to talk about why. This week, we’re continuing our Restorers series by looking at the centrality of mercy and compassion to our mission with Jesus – what it is, what it does, and why *our own* need for it lies at the heart of what God has calls us to in the world.
Mercy | Rachum (רַחוּם): merciful, compassionate, and tenderhearted
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate [rachum] and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…”
Exodus 34:6b
God aches for our wholeness.
“The word ‘merciful’ does not describe the ubiquitous and shallow virtue of ‘niceness’ or ‘tolerance’ in Western culture, but concrete actions of love, compassion, and sympathetic grace to those who are oppressed or to those who have sinned.”
— Scot McKnight, Sermon on the Mount
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 10:25 NIV
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Luke 10:26-28 NIV
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:29 NIV
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”
Luke 10:30-32 NIV
“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’”
Luke 10:33-35 NIV
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:36-37 NIV
If your devotion to God is making you callous and cruel towards your neighbor, you’re devoted to the wrong God.
Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Matthew 25:40b NIV
Mercy doesn’t compromise what we believe. It clarifies it.
