Reflecting Christ: Compassion for the Marginalized

 

Summary

In today's reflection, we explored the profound teaching of Jesus from Matthew 25, focusing on the phrase "the least of these." This passage challenges us to consider how we treat our fellow believers, especially those who are marginalized or in need. Jesus' assessment of our lives is deeply connected to how we treat the least of His brothers and sisters, revealing our true regard for Him. This teaching extends beyond the church to encompass all humanity, emphasizing the inherent dignity of every person, regardless of their status or condition.

In a world that often values public recognition and association with influential figures, Jesus calls us to a different standard. He is not impressed by our connections with the powerful but is deeply moved by our compassion for the marginalized, such as the mentally deprived, the discouraged, the widows, and the orphans. Our Christian subculture sometimes focuses on reacting to the world's ungodliness, but the paramount need is for God's Word to work within us, transforming our minds and hearts.

The sermon also highlighted the importance of understanding our creation in God's image. This foundational truth gives our lives context and significance. We are created for royal sonship, to reflect God's majesty and glory. Sin, however, robs us of this glory, leading to a debasement of human dignity. Yet, through Christ's redemptive work, we are invited to restore this glory, to see others through the lens of God's Word, and to engage with them in love and compassion.

The call to action is clear: we are to be like Jesus, who ministered to the outcasts and restored the broken. Our lives should reflect the divine image, and our actions should be driven by a desire to see God's image restored in others. This is not about a checklist of actions but about allowing the gospel to transform us from within, enabling us to love and serve those who are often overlooked.

Key Takeaways:

- Human Dignity and Compassion: Our treatment of "the least of these" reflects our true regard for Jesus. This teaching challenges us to see the inherent dignity in every person, especially those marginalized by society. Our compassion should be driven by the understanding that every individual is created in God's image. [00:56]

- The Power of God's Word: Transformation begins with allowing God's Word to work within us. It's not about what we do for God's Word but what God's Word does in us. This internal transformation leads to renewed minds and hearts, enabling us to live out our faith authentically. [03:57]

- Creation and Purpose: We are created in God's image for a purpose: to reflect His glory and majesty. Understanding this foundational truth gives our lives context and significance, reminding us of our royal sonship and the divine calling to steward creation. [20:59]

- Sin and Restoration: Sin robs us of the glory for which we were created, leading to a debasement of human dignity. However, through Christ's redemptive work, we are invited to restore this glory, seeing others through the lens of God's Word and engaging with them in love and compassion. [30:36]

- Living Out the Gospel: Our lives should reflect the compassion of Jesus, who ministered to the outcasts and restored the broken. This is not about a checklist of actions but about allowing the gospel to transform us from within, enabling us to love and serve those who are often overlooked. [44:24]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:18] - Introduction to "The Least of These"
- [00:56] - Jesus' Assessment of Our Lives
- [01:32] - Extending Compassion Beyond the Church
- [02:03] - The World's View vs. Jesus' View
- [03:19] - The Need for God's Word to Work in Us
- [04:28] - Transformation Through the Scriptures
- [06:27] - The Importance of Seeing Through God's Word
- [07:38] - Understanding God's Original Purpose
- [10:45] - Created in God's Image
- [15:02] - The Work of God in Creation
- [20:59] - Our Royal Sonship and Purpose
- [30:36] - Sin's Impact on Human Dignity
- [39:13] - Christ's Redemptive Work
- [44:24] - Living Out the Gospel in Compassion

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 25:31-46
2. Genesis 1:26-28
3. Romans 3:23

---

Observation Questions:

1. In Matthew 25, what criteria does Jesus use to assess the lives of His followers? How does this relate to the phrase "the least of these"? [00:56]

2. According to Genesis 1:26-28, what does it mean to be created in God's image, and how does this relate to our purpose on earth? [10:45]

3. How does the sermon describe the world's view of success and recognition compared to Jesus' view? [02:03]

4. What role does God's Word play in transforming our minds and hearts according to the sermon? [03:57]

---

Interpretation Questions:

1. How does understanding that every person is created in God's image change the way we view and treat others, especially those who are marginalized? [14:34]

2. What does it mean to allow the gospel to transform us from within, rather than focusing on a checklist of actions? How might this look in daily life? [09:58]

3. How does sin rob us of the glory for which we were created, and how does Christ's redemptive work invite us to restore this glory? [30:36]

4. In what ways does the sermon suggest that our Christian subculture might be missing the mark in terms of compassion and service? [03:19]

---

Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you may have overlooked someone in need. How can you be more intentional about seeing and serving "the least of these" in your community? [00:56]

2. Consider the people in your life who are marginalized or in need. What specific actions can you take this week to show them compassion and dignity? [02:35]

3. How can you allow God's Word to work in you more effectively? What practices can you implement to ensure that your mind and heart are being transformed by Scripture? [03:57]

4. Think about the ways in which you seek recognition or validation. How can you shift your focus to align more with Jesus' view of success and recognition? [02:03]

5. Identify an area in your life where sin has robbed you of your dignity or purpose. How can you invite Christ's redemptive work into that area to restore your glory? [30:36]

6. How can you cultivate a mindset that sees others through the lens of God's Word, especially those who are often overlooked or marginalized? [14:34]

7. What steps can you take to ensure that your actions are driven by a desire to see God's image restored in others, rather than simply completing a checklist of good deeds? [09:58]

Devotional

Day 1: Recognizing the Dignity in Every Person
Our treatment of "the least of these" reflects our true regard for Jesus. This teaching challenges us to see the inherent dignity in every person, especially those marginalized by society. Jesus' words in Matthew 25 remind us that our actions towards others are a direct reflection of our relationship with Him. In a world that often overlooks the marginalized, we are called to see each individual as created in God's image, deserving of love and compassion. This perspective shifts our focus from seeking recognition to serving those in need, embodying the love of Christ in our daily interactions. [00:56]

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life might be considered "the least of these," and how can you show them the dignity and compassion they deserve today?


Day 2: The Transformative Power of God's Word
Transformation begins with allowing God's Word to work within us. It's not about what we do for God's Word but what God's Word does in us. This internal transformation leads to renewed minds and hearts, enabling us to live out our faith authentically. As we immerse ourselves in Scripture, we invite God to change us from the inside out, aligning our thoughts and actions with His will. This process is not instantaneous but requires a commitment to daily reflection and application of biblical truths. [03:57]

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12, ESV)

Reflection: What specific area of your life needs transformation through God's Word, and how can you intentionally invite Scripture into that area today?


Day 3: Created for a Purpose
We are created in God's image for a purpose: to reflect His glory and majesty. Understanding this foundational truth gives our lives context and significance, reminding us of our royal sonship and the divine calling to steward creation. This identity shapes how we view ourselves and others, encouraging us to live with intentionality and purpose. As we embrace our role as God's representatives on earth, we are empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities and beyond. [20:59]

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

Reflection: How can you better align your daily actions with the purpose for which God created you, and what steps can you take to reflect His glory in your life?


Day 4: Restoring Dignity Through Christ
Sin robs us of the glory for which we were created, leading to a debasement of human dignity. However, through Christ's redemptive work, we are invited to restore this glory, seeing others through the lens of God's Word and engaging with them in love and compassion. This restoration process involves recognizing the impact of sin and actively participating in God's work of redemption in the world. By embracing the transformative power of the gospel, we can help restore dignity to those who have been marginalized or devalued by society. [30:36]

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you participate in restoring dignity to someone who has been affected by sin, and how can you demonstrate Christ's love to them today?


Day 5: Living Out the Gospel in Compassion
Our lives should reflect the compassion of Jesus, who ministered to the outcasts and restored the broken. This is not about a checklist of actions but about allowing the gospel to transform us from within, enabling us to love and serve those who are often overlooked. As we embody the love of Christ, we become agents of change in a world that desperately needs hope and healing. This call to action requires us to step outside our comfort zones and engage with those who are hurting, offering them the same grace and mercy we have received. [44:24]

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your community is in need of compassion and support, and how can you actively demonstrate the love of Christ to them this week?

Quotes

The words, of course, come from the Gospel of Matthew 25, the last teaching section in the Gospel of Matthew before the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Placed as the fifth great block of teaching in Matthew's gospel, and Christ, of course, speaking to His disciples to tell us what the standard of the Lord's assessment of our life is going to be. [00:00:37]

Jesus has no interest in those photographs whatsoever. He who is the king of all things remains utterly unimpressed by our name dropping and the photographs that he loves to watch, as it were, on the grand screens of heaven, is when we're photographed with those who are perhaps mentally deprived, those who are discouraged and depressed, as His half-brother James says, the widows and the orphans. [00:02:21]

And you see evidences of it, I think, in the Reformed subculture. And one of the things that we see is lacking, actually one of the great things for which this ministry has stood, that the paramount need in the church of Jesus Christ is for God's Word itself to do its own work. Not for us, first of all, to work God's Word, but for God's Word to work in us. [00:03:40]

Our lives are transformed as we know by the renewing of our minds, and the renewing of our minds come from the Scriptures. And we are such in need of a day as in the day of Paul's visit to the Thessalonians when they received the Word of God not as the word of man, but as it really is: the Word of God – I wonder if you can finish Paul's sentence – which is at work in you believers. [00:04:22]

And we will never grasp the compassion of Jesus until we understand that He framed His whole thinking about others in the light of God's purposes and God's Word. Someone comes to Him with a little theological question. How do we relate the law of God in the Old Testament to the contemporary situation? You'll notice in Matthew chapter 19, how does Jesus think? [00:07:17]

And we need to see this as Paul would say so that we no longer look at men and women and young people and boys and girls according to the flesh. And we do. So how was it in the beginning is the clue to understanding how compassion will break out of my heart in order that I am able to deal with situations as they present themselves to me. [00:08:23]

And this is what gives our life its significance. The sheer marvel of creation out of nothing gives our life its context. But it's the fact that we are made as the divine image and we can never destroy the divine image. The rest of the New Testament (and even principals we find in the Old Testament) make it clear that even the rebellious sinner remains as the image of God and that is the ultimate horror of his rebellion. [00:21:05]

And the result is, of course, the cheapening of our lives and the cheapening of the lives of others. Richard Dawkins, and others; you discover that the child who is going to be born is a downs syndrome child. And it would be immoral not to abort that child. Some of you come from churches where downs syndrome children are very visible in the church and they are part of the glory of the church, are they not? [00:33:02]

And so, most of the ministry of Jesus is a demonstration of the compassion of God for His broken image. You know, the picture of George Washington that's on the dollar bill painted by Gilbert Stewart? You probably know that Steward never finished the painting. The head is there, and the rest of the canvas is blank. But I think he made a few shekels on the side by making a few copies of what he had done. [00:41:20]

And what therefore drives us in our Christian lives and in our Christian ministries is Jesus-like. So He comes to the leper and to the paralytic and He restores them. He wants to see the divine image restored. He's giving us a little – it's as though he's turning on the light in a very dark room and saying to us, "Just see what I'm going to do!" [00:43:33]

And He heals the leper. And He has mercy on blind beggars. And then He calls another tax collector out of a tree, and aware that there had been shame in this man's life, glory begins to break out. You know there is a wonderful passage in Calvin's institutes where he says this. He says, "In order not to grow weary in well-doing, which otherwise might happen immediately, one of the things that we need to learn is that we should not consider that man merit of themselves what men merit of themselves, but to look upon the image of God and all men to which we owe all honor and love, especially those of the household of faith. [00:47:29]

And we pray that we may have eyes to see through our ears. That the Word of God will do its work in us, and that Jesus Christ will be honored and glorified especially among us by how we love those who are marginalized and poor and disadvantaged and lost. And we pray this in our savior's name. Amen. [00:54:48]

Chatbot

  • I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Feb 25, 2015. Do you have any questions about it?

Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?