Blessed Eyes that See Jesus and Neighbor
Jesus tells a parable to a man, a lawyer, that’s a term used in the Scripture’s for a guy who studies God’s Laws, and this lawyer wants to do something to inherit eternal life, and desires to justify himself
and it is a parable about one man who fell among robbers, was stripped, beaten and left half dead,
ignored, passed by on the other side by his own kin, a priest and a Levite,
but shown mercy by an outsider, a Samaritan who had compassion on him –
but before the interaction with that man, that God-law expert, who wants to do something to inherit eternal or desires to justify himself,
Jesus says to His disciples,
Blessed are the eyes that see what you see –
And so Jesus helps you see, blesses your eyes today, through His Word, through this parable, to see who He is, who your neighbor is, and who you are.
Perhaps the most obvious is that Jesus is helping you again see who your neighbor and what your neighbor needs.
Who is my neighbor is the prompt to the parable.
In the parable you see that the priest and Levite had places to go, things to do. They were busy, important people. It would not be convenient or easy for them to stop what they are doing and where they are going for a hurt man,
“If I help him, that robbers might beat me up, strip me, leave me half-dead, too.
Wouldn’t want to end up like that guy.”
The Samaritan though recognizes that it is not the places to go, or the things to do,
or his status and importance
– it is his neighbor who is hurt and in need of compassion and mercy.
Dear saints, we are tempted by our sinful, selfish flesh to be like the priest and the Levite.
We just got done singing some profound words, “Lord, of glory, You have bought us; With your lifeblood as your price, Never grudging for the lost ones; That tremendous sacrifice.”
How often do you grudge, grunt at, the sacrifices you make for other?
“I’ll do it, but I’m not happy about.
Or maybe I just won’t do it, in the first place”
But blessed are the eyes that see in this parable that our neighbor is not an inconvenience of getting where we want or of doing what we want to do as the priest and the Levite think.
Rather, Jesus is getting at, helping our eyes again to see that our neighbor is where we should be going to, and that having compassion and showing mercy is in fact what we should be doing.
Why?
For one reason, as the parable helps us see, because our neighbors are hurting.
Children, Your parents life is hard sometimes and you make it harder when you don’t honor them and listen. Parents’ love and order and rules are meant to protect you, not to inconvenience you. Have mercy on them and honor them.
Parents, children are not an inconvenience or a possession to do with as you want. They are God’s children and He wants them cared for and fed and taught. They have a hard life, too and also struggle with a sinful flesh. Don’t make it harder by provoking them to anger or neglecting them. Have mercy on them and in Christ’s love, cover a multitude of their sins.
Husbands, your wife is hurting and falling – go to her and bind up her wounds and use your strength to pick her up.
Wives, your husband sometimes has his reputation beat up, he’s got other pain’s too – go to him and speak well of him and to him and begin to heal his pain’s.
Your friends, dear saints, and family and co-workers, in essence, your neighbor, is quite wounded.
Blessed are the eyes that.
They are loved and served when you help a little- even if they don’t say thank you.
And you are loved and served by them in many ways,
but also consider this specific way,
because the little love you have shown and are showing,
the little mercy and compassion you have given and are giving your neighbor,
is a constant reminder that you are never done – there’s always so much more to do, so many more, isn’t there?
We are always only beginning to help.
How does this serve us?
Because it strips us of any thought that we are ever done.
That we have ever done enough to inherit eternal life.
It protects us from pride and arrogance and laziness and entitlement.
It protects us from being like the man this parable is originally told to – But he, desiring to justify himself –
“No way! No possible way! Impossible really!
Do you see how much is left to do even when I’ve begun to do it?”
And so, our loving of our neighbor, and our showing mercy and compassion, places us, exhausted, beat up, stripped, half dead in church, here, at the foot of the cross, seeing with enlightened eyes our Jesus who is our justification, our confidence, our hope, our rest and life,
to receive His love and mercy and compassion again.
Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
The world see’s you and see’s a pretty good person,
but your enlightened eyes see yourself as one who cannot justify yourself and always in need of receiving Jesus’ mercy and compassion and His completed work from the cross.
Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
Sinful flesh see’s Jesus of Nazareth, a man claiming to be God, that’s a strong claim, and yet this man seemed so weak that He couldn’t stop Himself from falling the among the robbers to be crucified,
but your enlightened eyes see God at His strength, His merciful, compassionate strength, choosing to come to you, sacrificing Himself because He loves you.
He chose it. He doesn’t begrudge you. He wanted you found and belonging to Him and you do now.
“Lord, of glory, You have bought us; With your lifeblood as your price, Never grudging for the lost ones; That tremendous sacrifice.”
Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
For sinful flesh’s eyes see a man, stripped, naked, dying on a cross,
but your enlightened eyes see Him clothing you in His righteousness, and promising that God sees you through the honor and glory and beauty of His own beloved Son, and His completed, fulfilled work.
God’s wrath is not just a little appeased – but completely answered for.
Your sins are not just a little forgiven – but fully forgiven.
You are not just beginning to be God’s child.
You are. And you have eternal life as your inheritance.
Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
For while the world see’s Jesus beat up, dead, and gone for good,
we see Jesus alive, and here!
We see that by His stripes we are healed,
and we see this wine, this healing wine that is His blood,
that was poured out on the cross,
and is now being poured into us,
to forgive us,
to heal us,
to bind us up and wrap us up and pick us up, placed again on strength,
and to assure us that He never leaves us nor forsake’s us until He carries us all the way home.
And blessed are your eyes that see hurting people all around you and try and do what you can.
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”
And Jesus said [to the one’s with blessed eyes that see,] “You go, and do likewise.”