Compassion

Every few weeks it is my turn to choose a topic for dicussion for my Friday morning men's bible group. This week it is my turn, so here is my friday morning discussion points. If you would like to find out more about the group, go to: http://www.Men-Sharpen-Men.org

Having compassion for others is something that Christ called all of us to do, so I thought we would dive into a parable that I really don’t hear preached much…the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

The dictionary defines compassion as: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it

Luke 10: 25-37
25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Parable of the Good Samaritan
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

1. Why do you think the expert in religious law wanted to “justify himself”?

2. How can we explain the religious professionals lack of compassion for the beaten up stranger?

3. Jews of that day despised Samaritans who were half breed of jews who intermarried with pagans. So why do you think that Jesus made the Samaritan the hero of the story?

4. Where do you suppose the Samaritan got his compassion for the victim?

5. According to this story, what does compassion look like?


6. When answering Jesus (verse 10:37) the religious law expert skirted around saying “the Samaritan” by saying “the one that showed him mercy” why do you think he answered the way he did?

7. There are more than 90 specific references to compassion in the bible. Most Old Testament passages are about God’s compassion towards His people, while most New Testament verses refer to Jesus having compassion for all of those in need. What do you think of that comment? Is there a difference between the old and the new? If so, why is there a difference?