The Greatest Measure of Merciful Compassion

[Prayer]

Let us pray: O God and Father, You demonstrate your merciful compassion to us by putting our judgment and condemnation upon your Son and raising him from the dead. Teach us to be merciful and gracious like you, so that we may extend your goodness to others. In Jesus’ name.

[Introduction]

The second verse of our Gospel reading, verse 37, is one of the most misused and abused passages in scripture. To use the good ol’ American Standard Version rendering that we all have come to know so well ... “Judge not that ye be not judged.”

When this verse is hurled, it’s most likely a non-Christian telling a Christian what the Bible says ... right after you’ve called out sin for being sin or taken a stand on the orthodoxy of the church. The cry to “Judge Not!” is often paired with “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” (Jn 8:7) ... or the 1967 favorite of theologian John Lennon, “All you need is Love ...”

But what was happening when our Lord said this?

What is he actually telling us?

And why?

Today’s Gospel reading comes in the middle of our Lord’s second-most famous sermon ... the Sermon on the Plain. This sermon is shorter than our Lord’s more famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, but it says the same thing.

It calls all who will listen to a life of repentance,
knowing that our Lord Jesus has united himself with us in our distress
for the purpose of delivering the merciful compassion of our Father in Heaven.

I. Let’s start with what he actually said in his call to a life of repentance.

Jesus has just come down from a mountain, probably near the sea of Galilee, where he prayed all night long, right before calling the twelve to be his apostles: Peter and Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Simon the Zealot; Judas, the son of James; and Judas Iscariot (6:14-16). A great multitude of people from all over the place ... Judea and Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon, and everywhere in between ... have joined the twelve in following our Lord. Jews and Gentiles have come alongside the disciples to listen to Jesus, to be taught by Jesus, to be healed by Jesus ... to be released by Jesus ... forgiven and saved (vv 17-19). They are hearing the call to a life of repentance ... hearing the Law of what to do and not do, and listening to the Gospel of what God does and continues to do.

Luke writes, then Jesus lifted his eyes toward his disciples and began his homily. Blessed are the poor ... and the hungry ... and you who weep. ... Blessed are you when men hate you, and exclude you and revile and expel you because your name is Christian. However, woe to you who are rich ... and you who are laughing now ... that is living it up, ignoring the world around you. ... But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies. Do good to those hating you. Bless those cursing you. Pray for those abusing you. ... Turn the other cheek. ... Give the clothes off your back. ... Do unto others as they would do unto you (vv 20-31).

This is basically where our reading begins.

And Jesus said ... Become mercifully compassionate, just as your Father is mercifully compassionate. And stop judging, and y’all won’t be judged. And stop condemning, and y’all won’t be condemned. Forgive, and y’all will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to y’all. Good measure, pressed down, shaken, overflowing, will be given into the fold of y’all’s garments. For the measure with which you measure will be measured in return to you (vv 36-38).

Brothers and sisters in Christ ... the heart of Jesus’ sermon has more Gospel than Law.

II. He’s telling us what God is doing for you all, and will continue doing, uniting himself with you so that he can achieve the purpose for which he came ... to save you.

Most notably, Jesus reminds us first that His Father is our Father ... and therefore ... that Jesus is our brother. By identifying God as our Father ... not just any father ... our God who is THE compassionate and gracious Father ... our God who is the slow-to-anger, and abounding-in-steadfast covenantal love Father (Ex 34:6) ... he is THE same Father who desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth ... he is THE same Father who does not desire the death of a sinner, but that [we] would turn from [our] evil way and live (Eze 18:23).

How did we come to know him as our Father?

God DID NOT reveal himself to us as our Father by judging us.

God DID NOT reveal himself by condemning us.

He revealed himself to us as our Father by being mercifully compassionate to us ... slow to anger and ABOUNDING IN LOVE. He is not just sympathetic, seeing us from afar, feeling sorry for you from afar, saying I’ll pray for you from afar. He isn’t just empathetic, saying I know how you feel because I’ve been there, but it’ll be OK. Instead, he SEES our plight. He HEARS our cry. HE COMES TO US as we are dying in sin. And HE DOES something about it! That’s merciful compassion. That’s OUR God!

God in the flesh has entered creation in merciful compassion to save us from ourselves. Jesus has assumed flesh and blood in the womb of the Virgin Mary ... which is why we call her the Mother of God. True God and True Man not only was born without sin ... he had no part with sin, and never did sin. Jesus was holy just as the Father is holy because he is True God and True Man. As Paul says, God made Jesus TO BE SIN. That is, Jesus embodied our sin, taking it upon himself, into himself, feeling it, and ensuring it would die the death that sin deserves ... by crucifixion. There is not a more horrific way to punish sin.

And to think this is the way God loved us!

Instead of judging you, Jesus was judged. Instead of condemning you, Jesus was condemned. He took THE judgment and THE condemnation that we deserve. He suffered and died for our rebellion and refusal of fellowship. God judged and condemned Jesus for you. Your sin died with Jesus. That’s merciful compassion. The Son whom he loved from eternity became the all-atoning blood sacrifice, and was buried. And because God is mercifully compassionate, he then raised Jesus from the dead. And we now see that Jesus lives, the victory’s won. Hallelujah! He is risen!

III. Therefore, we get to not only see the merciful compassion of our heavenly Father ... we get to know it and share it.

God didn’t win our hearts by condemning us. Neither should you.

God didn’t draw us to faith by judging us. Neither should you.

God receives us and forgives us and gives to us and keeps on giving. He has given us new hearts in Christ, who lives so that we can become mercifully compassionate. He has done this so that we can stop judging, just like our Father ... so that we can stop condemning, just like our Father ... so that we can speak comforting and kind words, just like our Father (Gen 50:21) ... so that we will allow ourselves to be taught by our teacher.

[Conclusion]

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you can do this ... today and tomorrow.

You who are baptized are washed, sanctified, set apart, made holy just as the Lord your God is holy. He has justified you in the name of Jesus and clothed you in his righteousness. You who believe this will be saved and will not be condemned (Mk 16:16). And now he is calling you forward to receive more compassionate mercy from his altar. Here, he delivers his good measure, enabling you to share that with one another. The boundless waters of Holy Baptism and the never-ending feast of Holy Communion have been pressed down, shaken, and are overflowing ... given into the fold of your garments ... in unprecedented abundance (v 38). This is God’s greatest measure of merciful compassion.

To the King of Ages, Immortal, Invisible, the Only God, be honor and glory forever.

In Jesus’ name.

κήρυξον τὸν λόγον