A Cry Of Compassion Part 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. With His life, Jesus taught us how to live. In His death, He taught us how to sacrifice, others first, ourselves last. As Jesus committed His mother into John's care, He commissions us to care for those around us who have nowhere else to turn.

Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, in your series on cries from the cross, we've come to John chapter 19, where John is given the care of Jesus' mother. And you know, Dave, I think someday in heaven we might have the opportunity of talking with Mary, helping us understand what it is that she went through, but possibly also, when Jesus Christ died, Joseph had already passed away. We say that because it's interesting that Jesus Christ would commit His mother to John. If Joseph were living, we'd expect him to take care of his wife.

But the point to be made is simply this, and you've already made it, Dave. We all have the responsibility of helping those around us, those in need. But most of all, when we look at the cross, we see the selflessness of Jesus, not just toward Mary, but toward us as well. He died for us, the just for the unjust. I've written a book entitled Cries from the Cross, a Journey into the Heart of Jesus. I wrote this to help us to understand the cross much better, to contemplate what happened there, and even as we anticipate the Easter season, we're reminded that we must prepare our hearts to, as far as possible, enter into what Jesus Christ accomplished there. For a gift of any amount, it can be yours. Simply go to rtwoffer.com.

That's rtwoffer.com, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember, it's all about Jesus. Now, of course, it was the responsibility of the firstborn son to take care of his mother, and he takes care of her to the very end. This is his last will and testament.

Now, I have a question for you. Why does he entrust his mother into the hands of John rather than some of his half-brothers? And Jesus did have brothers. They're listed for us in Matthew chapter 13, 55. They're named as James and Joseph and Simeon and even the name Judas, to be sharply distinguished between that and one of Jesus Christ's disciples. The name Judas was very popular in those days.

It was as popular as the name John is today. Now, because of what Judas the disciple did, people don't name their child Judas, and therefore, we're not very acquainted with the name. But the simple fact is that Jesus had these brothers. Why were they not entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of Mary? I think the answer is in John chapter 7, where Jesus is going up to the feast in Jerusalem and it says, neither did his brothers believe in him.

Can you believe that? You know, the Bible has to be the word of God because if we were to work out a story of Jesus Christ being the Son of God, we wouldn't have written it that way. We'd have said that his brothers very much believed on him because they saw him at close range, but they didn't believe on him until after the resurrection. And we read in the book of Acts chapter 1 as they are in the upper room now as the 120 are gathered, it says they all join together constantly in prayer along with a woman and Mary the mother of Jesus with his brothers. They accepted Jesus Christ, their half-brother, as the Messiah.

They accepted him after the resurrection. And so you have Jesus as our example as he's thinking about his mother and concerned about her and entrusting her to John. So we've looked at a mother's love, we've looked at a son's example, and now let us look at the disciples' responsibility. And I'm thinking here, of course, of John. Now the Bible says that when Jesus was taken into custody, all the disciples forsook him and fled, all of them, and that includes John. And there was a divine prediction that was in a sense fulfilled when that happened because it says in Isaiah, speaking of Christ, I have trodden the winepress alone. There's a sense in which when the agony began, Jesus had to be alone. And of course, we know that in the end he really did endure everything alone. People could offer him sympathy, but there's no way they could participate in his suffering. Mary, and I'm sure John too, would have given anything if they could have traded places with Jesus, but that was impossible.

There was no way that they could participate in the redemption of the world. And so all the disciples forsook him and fled, but John came back to his everlasting credit. He did, because he is mentioned here, of course, in the passage of scripture that we read in the 19th chapter of the book of John. They were offended because of Christ, and so they left. The Greek word is scandalized.

They were scandalized because of him. Years later, years later, Jesus and John are going to meet, because you remember the story of how on the Isle of Patmos, John is going to receive this revelation, and it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. And he's going to see Jesus in all of his glory. He's going to see Jesus in his strength and his might. In fact, his face shone like the sun, we read.

But now he has the responsibility of taking care of his mother. You know, it's interesting that when the resurrection occurred, the Bible says that Peter and John ran into the tomb, and they looked around, and John believed. John believed. He finally grasped it, and then it says the disciples went to their own homes.

You know what that means? That means that John would have hurried back home, and he'd have told Mary that her son was risen from the dead. And so John now has the responsibility, does he not?

He has to take into account all that Jesus Christ has asked him to do. Behold your son. Behold your mother.

And the Bible says, from that time on, this disciple took her into his own home. Now we've sketched the picture. What I want us to do in our imaginations and in our hearts is to come closer to the cross. Let us stand there. Let us look at the people that are near the cross. Let us take away all of the things that distract us, and let us come and stand with those who stood close to Jesus. What does the cross teach us? What does the cross mean to us?

And now I'm speaking to you personally. What does the cross mean to you? If we were to speak to John, John would say, to me the cross is a place of responsibility, because I was given the responsibility to take care of Mary. Let me ask you a question. If you had been asked to do that, let's suppose that Jesus would have asked you to take care of Mary.

Would you have done it? You say, of course. If we could have taken care of Mary, we'd have done anything to be able to take care of her. Well, I want you to know today that we have that privilege every single day of our lives. You see, Jesus said, as I am sent into the world, so you also are sent into the world, he said.

He makes that statement. And one day the scripture says some people were standing around and they were trying to get to him. Specifically, it says in the book of Mark then, Jesus' mother and brothers arrived.

Standing outside, they sent someone to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you. And he said, who are my mother and my brothers? Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, here is my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and my mother. You know, it's interesting that Jesus was always separating himself, always making sure that people understood that he was the heavenly son, even though these were his earthly relatives. But what Christ is doing is he's opening up the family, and he's saying that the family belongs to all who do the will of God. And so in a sense, you and I have the responsibility of saying that we have the responsibility one with another, just as John was given the responsibility to take care of Mary.

Let me be very specific. There are widows in this church who need some sons to take care of them and to help them. There are women who are single, single women, single mothers who need surrogate fathers for their children. And Jesus looks at us today and says, the cross is a place of responsibility. The nearer you get to the cross, the more responsibility you have for others. Years ago, I read a story about a man who committed adultery, and then he married the woman with whom he was involved, divorcing his wife. And in his new marriage, he had several children. And later on, when he got cancer and knew that he was going to die, he knew that his second wife could not take care of these children. So he actually asked his first wife if she would be the one that would take responsibility for the children of his second marriage. And she said yes, and she took care of them. And somebody said to her, how can you do that?

How can you have that much love? And she said, the love of God is put in our hearts in such a way that we can forgive and we can love and we can sacrifice. It's almost as if you think of the words of Jesus on the cross saying, woman, woman, behold thy children, and then to the children, children, behold thy mother. The cross, my friend, today is a place of responsibility. Who else was there at the cross?

Well, I mentioned it earlier. Notice it says, near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister. That would be Salome, who was the mother of James and John. For you went up to her and said, what is the cross to you? She'd say, the cross to me is a place of rebuke. Remember, she's the one who came to Jesus and said, is it possible for my sons, she said, to sit in your kingdom, one on the right hand and other, the other on the left. It was the cry of a mother, but it was a selfish prayer, actually. And now she's there at the cross and she sees the suffering of Jesus Christ and she is rebuked in her spirit.

How silly to think of things like that. How she misunderstood that you do not get to go to the crown until you have seen the cross. And, and she's thinking of what Jesus was willing to endure and his love for her.

And she's saying to herself, how, how foolish I was to request special places in the kingdom. I want you to know today that the cross of Jesus Christ rebukes all wrong values. The cross of Jesus Christ comes to us in our need and it destroys all of the ladder climbing and all of the desires of self-exaltation.

When we stand before the cross, we tremble and we say in light of what Jesus has done, why is it that the self-exaltation to me becomes so important? It can't happen if you see the cross. In many different countries, they have festivals in quasi-Christian places.

And in Brazil, when they were having a festival like this, they were having a festival like that. There was a sign that said cheap crosses for sale. You know these little trinkets that you buy? Cheap crosses for sale. All of us want a cheap cross. We want to come before the cross and we want to receive forgiveness and we want to live our lives our own way. But the cross properly understood will not allow us to do that. It rebukes us.

It humbles and reminds us of our great need. So if we came to Siloam, she would say that the cross was a place of rebuke. Who else is at the cross?

Well, notice it there. Mary Magdalene. Mary, what is the cross to you?

To me, it is a place of redemption. She's the one who had seven demons. We don't know what these demons were, but at some point in her life, she was infested by this this evil that came upon the evil personalities that lived within her and now she is there near the cross and she recognizes that the one who is dying there on the cross is the one who delivered her. And there are some of you here today who need redemption. You've come today and you may have come to this church for many different reasons, but in your heart of hearts, you know that you're struggling with evil and you need someone to be able to speak the word and and bring deliverance to your soul. And Mary Magdalene would say, this is my redeemer.

He's the one who delivered me from evil. For all of us, the cross is a place of responsibility. It's a place of rebuke. It's a place of redemption as we come there.

And so I want you to notice that. What about the other people that were at the cross? Well, for some people, it was a place of ridicule. You have the people looking at the face of Jesus and taunting him and saying to him, he saved others himself.

He cannot save. And so for them, it was a place of ridicule. What were the soldiers doing? It says in verse 23, when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them with his undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. Let's not tear it, they said to one another.

Let's decide by lot who will get it. This happened that the scripture would be fulfilled, which said they divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. So if you ask the question, what were the soldiers doing to them? Indeed, it was a place of ridicule. It was a place of relaxation. It was a place in which they just simply ignored the cross.

And some of you may fit into that category. Some of you may be here today and the cross to you is an interesting event. It's an event that may even bring you some joy and it's an event that you might actually admire, but in your heart of hearts, you have never responded to Jesus Christ. You've never received his redemption. And so I challenge you today to come near the cross.

We sing so glibly, don't we? Beneath the cross of Jesus, I fain would take my stand. Let us stand there and let the cross speak to us as a place of responsibility, redemption, and rebuke. And so who are you here at the cross? Are you a John? Are you a Mary? Are you a Salome?

Are you a Mary Magdalene? No wonder Bonhoeffer said, it is not before us, but before the cross that the world that the world trembles. Jesus, keep me near the cross. Let's bow together in prayer. And our Father today, how grateful we are for the cross of Jesus Christ.

We thank you for the thoughtfulness of Jesus who thought not of himself, but thought of others as he was on the cross. Oh, we pray today, Father, lead us near to where Jesus was. And we pray, Lord, for those who have never trusted Christ as Savior.

They have never received him. We pray that at this moment you will cause them to believe that they might be saved. And now I'm going to just pause for a few moments and I want you to pray and I want you to tell God whatever it is that you need to tell him in light of what you've heard. Who are you near the cross?

You talk to him. Father, we do pray today in the name of Jesus that you might just grant openness of heart and honesty to all who have prayed. We pray that those who have never trusted Christ as Savior might do that, and those who know him. Oh, Father, may it be there that we see our responsibility. Grant, oh Lord God, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. Well, this is Pastor Lutzer. I want to thank the many of you who listened today, and I want to ask you a question. Are you blessed as a result of the ministry of running to win? Did the message that you have just heard touch your soul?

Did it remind you of the greatness and the wonder of the redemption that was accomplished? If the answer is yes, it's because people just like you invested in this ministry. You've heard me say before that this is not the ministry of a man or a church or an organization. This is your ministry, people holding our hands people committed to helping us make it all the way to the finish line. Would you consider becoming an endurance partner?

That's someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Of course, you need more info, so here's what you can do. I hope that you have time to get a pencil or a pen. Go to rtwoffer.com. As you've already guessed, RTW offer is all one word, rtwoffer.com, or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337.

By the way, when you go to rtwoffer.com, be sure to click on the endurance partner button, because it will give you the information you are looking for. And if God so leads you, I want to thank you so much for becoming a part of this ministry. And those of you who pray for us, we want you to know that your prayers are deeply appreciated.

In a world that has lost its way, we need a center. We need that which is solid, and the solid rock of running to win has to do with the work of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord. It's time now for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Baptism. The various denominations have differing perspectives on what it means.

This got one running to win listener thinking. Aaron asks, I grew up in a church that did believers' baptism. I am currently a member of a United Methodist church that does baby baptism. It's said that the Holy Spirit is the only active person in baptism, and that's why we do baby baptism.

I'm not sure what to think about that. First, what is the Holy Spirit's role in baptism? What is the Holy Spirit's role in baptism? And second, how does the Holy Spirit play an active role in a non-believer's life?

Well, Aaron, thanks for asking a question. And as you know, it is a very controversial question and one that has been debated throughout the centuries of church history. So let me answer it according to what I've studied and according to what I believe very deeply.

A couple of things. First of all, I believe that the Bible teaches believers' baptism. You read the book of Acts and you discover that when people believed, they were baptized.

Even the Philippian jailer, it says that they preached the word to all those who were in the house, and they believed and were baptized. So I don't think that they were preaching the word to infants, as some people want to think. So I believe that we should be baptized upon profession of faith. With regard to baby baptism, there are those who teach that the baptism of an infant is important because it washes away original sin. For example, in Roman Catholic theology and also among Lutherans, if a baby is thought to be in danger and perhaps going to die, the priest will come to the hospital to make sure that the infant is baptized. I don't believe that that is taught in scripture, that baptism washes away original sin.

So you can see that I'm coming from this from a different standpoint. Now, according to your question, you're asking, what is the role of the Holy Spirit in relationship to baptism? Well, I certainly believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe that when we come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells us. But I don't believe that there is any special connection between the Holy Spirit and your baptism. Your baptism is a decision to follow Christ.

It is a willingness to be identified with him. It is symbolic of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You go down into the water and then you're being brought up, Romans chapter 6. But it in itself does not wash away sin. It in itself does not give us the Holy Spirit.

It simply represents what the Spirit has done in our hearts. Thanks for asking, Aaron. And this could be, of course, a longer discussion, but that's all that I have time for today. God bless you. Keep studying.

Keep thinking. Thank you, Aaron, for your question. Thank you, Dr. Lutzer, for those perspectives. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer. Or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to Win comes to you from the Moody Church in Chicago. Next time, the most heart-rending cry of all as Jesus asks, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.