By: Scott Adkins, Sling ‘n Stone Ministry
Carter County Times
By: Sling ‘n Stone Ministry
Last week, we introduced Gentleman Jesus and His mercy and compassion towards downtrodden suffering women. We continue this week with Part Two and focus on how Jesus viewed and treated widows, the most disadvantaged of all. The Bible declares God to be “a defender of widows.” (Psalms 68:5). Jesus said He came “to fulfill the law,” or the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17), which He proved in countless ways, including His being a defender of widows.
Gentleman Jesus – Part II
Scripture details several examples when Gentleman Jesus showed mercy and compassion towards widows. For example, Luke’s Gospel describes a scene that unfolded at the gate of a city called Nain, where Jesus encountered a funeral procession as a “dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow.” Imagine the soul-rendering grief this poor woman suffered, then totally alone in the world – both husband and now son, dead. A large crowd accompanied the procession, but only Jesus when He saw the widow and her grief “had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’” (Luke 7:11-13). But Jesus’s compassion was no empty gesture; rather, Jesus’s compassion moved Him to act and relieve the widow’s grief. How? He raised her son from the dead and gave the widow back her only son. (Luke 7:12-15).
In an instant, Gentleman Jesus mercifully and compassionately did what no mourner in that crowd could do: He took away the widow’s grief.
Another scene unfolded in the temple as rich folks put their offerings into the collection plate. (Luke 21:1). Along came “a poor widow,” who gave “two mites,” or about 1/8 of one cent. Jesus “saw” that and declared the “poor widow hath cast in more than” everyone else—that she gave “all the living that she had.” (Luke 21:3-4). True to His nature as “defender of the widow,” Jesus then pronounced judgment on those who exploited this poor woman, prophesying that the temple would be destroyed, and in 70 A.D., the Romans did just that.
What should this teach us? Throughout scripture, God urges us that compassion move us to action. John’s First Epistle tells us that if we see one in need and do nothing, how does God’s love dwell within us. (I John 3:17). James likewise tells us that relieving the widows’ afflictions stands “pure… and undefiled before God.” (James 1:27). Here, Gentlemen Jesus demonstrated just how utterly selfless God’s love is for those among us who’ve lost the most and have the least. If we are to mirror Gentlemen Jesus’s example, we must do likewise, and He will repay us. See (Luke 14:13-14) (“[W]hen thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”).
/s/Sling ‘n Stone Ministry
