Scripture: Luke 8:40-56
Paul says in 1 Cor. 13 the most excellent way to live is the way of love.
Paul tells us in v. 4 - love is kind. Today, I would like to bring God’s Word for God’s people i.e. ‘Expressing Kindness’.
If you were describing our world, would you describe it as a kind world? As we look at the things going on in our world we would probably answer “No.”
We see even in 2 Tim 3:1-5…
Today let us study about kindness from the Bible. They are found in Luke 8:40-56. In this passage we see Jesus showing kindness to two people who are entirely different.
One is a man & the other is a woman. One is an outcast, poor & unknown. The other is rich & influential & the ruler of a synagogue. And yet, Jesus treats both of them with great kindness.
We have seen in Bible, wherever Jesus is to go, multitudes of people used to follow Him.
We have seen in Bible, in spite of Jesus’ busy schedule of ministry, whenever and whoever used to call Him, He used to stand and used to give His attention. He is used to see their needs or their healing problems.
Jesus not only talked about love & kindness, but He modeled it for us, too.
Friends, now let us from the Bible, that how Jesus shows His kindness to people and also today let us learn to show kindness to others…
1) Jesus expressed kindness by listening to them -
First of all, Jesus expressed kindness by listening to people, by paying attention to their needs.
Listen to Luke 8:40-42. “Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed Him, for they were all expecting Him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came & fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with Him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about 12, was dying. Once again here also we see that multitudes of people were around Him.
Now we’re not told where Jesus was going. Probably He was on His way to some open place where He could teach & preach to the crowds surging around Him. And that was something very important to do.
But as soon as Jairus came & told Him about his daughter, the very next words we read are “As Jesus was on his way…” Evidently, Jesus immediately changed directions & started following Jairus because this little girl’s situation was much more pressing than whatever else He had scheduled.
Here we see that actually Jesus was on His way for some other place, but He got an interruption from Jairus to go to his house. At that time, Jesus would have told him, let me finish the work which is in my hand and then I will come and heal your daughter. But He did not do that way. He changed His direction and went to Jairus’ place to heal the child.
Often times, when we are doing God’s work if any interruptions comes, we leave that job in half way only.
Jesus paid attention to Jairus & changed His plans & direction. But Jairus was not only the interruption, & Jesus was flexible & kind enough to pause & meet another need as they were on their way to Jairus’ house.
What was that? We see it in v.43 to 46 “And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him & touched the edge of His cloak, & immediately her bleeding stopped.
“‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding & pressing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.'”
There were crowds of people surrounding them, & everyone was in a hurry. Yet Jesus was able to differentiate between the touch of the crowd & the personal touch of the woman who needed His help.
Our world is becoming more & more impersonal, isn’t it? Go to a gasoline service station & you don’t even have to talk to anybody anymore. Just put your card in the slot, pump the gas & you can drive away without ever looking at another human being. And it’s the same way at the bank, isn’t it?
How about the airlines? In any major city, call & you’ll hear a computerized voice, “If you want information regarding departing flights, press 1. For arriving flights, press 2.” You press 1, & it says, “If you know your flight number, press 1.”
You press 1 again, & it says, “Enter your flight number.” You punch that in, & the computerized voice then tells you the correct gate #. You never have to talk to another living, breathing, and human being. It’s become a very impersonal world.
Can you imagine what would happen if they did this to “911”? You dial 911 & hear, “If your emergency is a murder, press 1. If it is a burglary, press 2. If the burglar is still in the house, press 3. If he has a gun, press 4 real quick.”
I don’t know what we are coming to, do you? It has become a very impersonal world. But Jesus took time to stop in the midst of a crowd to give a woman His personal attention as though she was the only one there.
2) Jesus expressed kindness by being considerate of others -
Then, secondly, Jesus expressed kindness by being considerate of others. Vs’s 47-48 tells us, “Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling & fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him & how she had been instantly healed.
“Then He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'”
We need to realize that because of her disease she was considered unclean & therefore was an outcast. They treated her like someone with leprosy. So because of that, she had not been living with her family for 12 years.
Her self-esteem must have been as low as it could possibly be. So Jesus surprises her, first of all, by stopping & listening to her story of woe. I mean, this is probably the first time in a long time that she really had anyone’s attention.
So I imagine that she poured out her heart to Him, & Jesus listened. And by listening, by looking at her, by paying attention to her he was displaying real kindness.
Are you a good listener? Most of us probably aren’t. We pass each other & say “How are you?” And we expect an automatic, “I’m fine.” But have you ever been caught off guard & someone really told you just how they felt?
Once woman was trying to tell her life story to another passenger in the airport to another lady, I am going to Chicago to attend my husband’s funeral; he was staying with my son. We were married for 53 years. Well, when they boarded the plane she went and sat in another seat. As soon as she sat, she started telling the same thing to the passenger who was seating next to her.
Friends, there are so many of us who just need somebody, sometime, to listen, just to focus on us and listen to what we have to say. Many times we don’t do that. We give deaf ears.
But Jesus did that day. When that woman, in v. 47 came trembling and fell at His feet, in the presence of all the people, Jesus, our Lord, gave His ear to her calling, He had compassion and He healed her. Jesus did on that day.
3) Jesus expressed kindness through an understanding spirit -
Finally, Jesus expressed kindness through an understanding spirit. Notice what it says in vs’s 49-56. “While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ he said. ‘Don’t bother the teacher anymore.’
“Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, He did not let anyone go in with Him except Peter, John & James, & the child’s father & mother.
“Meanwhile, all the people were wailing & mourning for her. ‘Stop wailing,’ Jesus said. ‘She is not dead but asleep.’ They laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead.
“But He took her by the hand & said, ‘My child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, & at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but He ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.”
Now let’s concentrate on those last few verses. The miracle is exceptional, & we praise God for it. But notice what Jesus told them after the miracle was over. He said to them, “Don’t tell anyone what has happened.”
Now remember, those people outside the house had mocked Jesus. They had laughed at Him before He went in to raise the girl back to life again.
If I were Jesus, I know what I would have done. I would have raised the girl back to life, & then I would have taken her by the hand & we would have walked up & down in front of all those mockers. And I would have said, “I told you so, I told you so.” That would have been a lot of fun.
But Jesus didn’t do that. He was concerned about how they felt, too. He didn’t try to get even with them. He didn’t try to get back at them. He didn’t try to glorify Himself.
Instead, in kindness, He tells the parents “Don’t tell anyone what has happened here.” Sometimes it is not so much what you say as how you say it.
Some construction workers were building a high rise across the street from a hospital. As they were working on the 3rd floor they noticed a little girl standing in the 3rd floor window of the hospital watching them work.
One day they looked across & saw the little girl hold up a poster that said, “My name is Lisa. What are your names?”
So the next day the construction workers came back with some poster board & magic markers, & they all wrote down their names. “My name is Bob. My name is Bill. My name is Harry. How old are you?”
The next day the little girl held up a sign that said, “I am 7 years old. How old are you?” Well, this went on for several days.
But one day they noticed that Lisa wasn’t at her usual place in the window. So at break time one of the workers called the hospital & asked for a third floor nurse. He asked if she could tell him anything at all about Lisa.
The nurse said that Lisa had taken a turn for the worse & was now in Intensive Care. So the workers pooled their money & bought some flowers & a card & wrote a note on it, & sent it to Lisa in Intensive Care.
Several days passed, & then another sign appeared at the window, “Lisa passed away. Thank you for caring!”
Love is kind. We need to learn to be kind to one another even as God has been kind through Jesus Christ, & offered Him as a sacrifice for all our sins.
We give you the opportunity to respond as you read this message.
Edwin James
Paul says in 1 Cor. 13 the most excellent way to live is the way of love.
Paul tells us in v. 4 - love is kind. Today, I would like to bring God’s Word for God’s people i.e. ‘Expressing Kindness’.
If you were describing our world, would you describe it as a kind world? As we look at the things going on in our world we would probably answer “No.”
We see even in 2 Tim 3:1-5…
Today let us study about kindness from the Bible. They are found in Luke 8:40-56. In this passage we see Jesus showing kindness to two people who are entirely different.
One is a man & the other is a woman. One is an outcast, poor & unknown. The other is rich & influential & the ruler of a synagogue. And yet, Jesus treats both of them with great kindness.
We have seen in Bible, wherever Jesus is to go, multitudes of people used to follow Him.
We have seen in Bible, in spite of Jesus’ busy schedule of ministry, whenever and whoever used to call Him, He used to stand and used to give His attention. He is used to see their needs or their healing problems.
Jesus not only talked about love & kindness, but He modeled it for us, too.
Friends, now let us from the Bible, that how Jesus shows His kindness to people and also today let us learn to show kindness to others…
1) Jesus expressed kindness by listening to them -
First of all, Jesus expressed kindness by listening to people, by paying attention to their needs.
Listen to Luke 8:40-42. “Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed Him, for they were all expecting Him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came & fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with Him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about 12, was dying. Once again here also we see that multitudes of people were around Him.
Now we’re not told where Jesus was going. Probably He was on His way to some open place where He could teach & preach to the crowds surging around Him. And that was something very important to do.
But as soon as Jairus came & told Him about his daughter, the very next words we read are “As Jesus was on his way…” Evidently, Jesus immediately changed directions & started following Jairus because this little girl’s situation was much more pressing than whatever else He had scheduled.
Here we see that actually Jesus was on His way for some other place, but He got an interruption from Jairus to go to his house. At that time, Jesus would have told him, let me finish the work which is in my hand and then I will come and heal your daughter. But He did not do that way. He changed His direction and went to Jairus’ place to heal the child.
Often times, when we are doing God’s work if any interruptions comes, we leave that job in half way only.
Jesus paid attention to Jairus & changed His plans & direction. But Jairus was not only the interruption, & Jesus was flexible & kind enough to pause & meet another need as they were on their way to Jairus’ house.
What was that? We see it in v.43 to 46 “And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him & touched the edge of His cloak, & immediately her bleeding stopped.
“‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding & pressing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.'”
There were crowds of people surrounding them, & everyone was in a hurry. Yet Jesus was able to differentiate between the touch of the crowd & the personal touch of the woman who needed His help.
Our world is becoming more & more impersonal, isn’t it? Go to a gasoline service station & you don’t even have to talk to anybody anymore. Just put your card in the slot, pump the gas & you can drive away without ever looking at another human being. And it’s the same way at the bank, isn’t it?
How about the airlines? In any major city, call & you’ll hear a computerized voice, “If you want information regarding departing flights, press 1. For arriving flights, press 2.” You press 1, & it says, “If you know your flight number, press 1.”
You press 1 again, & it says, “Enter your flight number.” You punch that in, & the computerized voice then tells you the correct gate #. You never have to talk to another living, breathing, and human being. It’s become a very impersonal world.
Can you imagine what would happen if they did this to “911”? You dial 911 & hear, “If your emergency is a murder, press 1. If it is a burglary, press 2. If the burglar is still in the house, press 3. If he has a gun, press 4 real quick.”
I don’t know what we are coming to, do you? It has become a very impersonal world. But Jesus took time to stop in the midst of a crowd to give a woman His personal attention as though she was the only one there.
2) Jesus expressed kindness by being considerate of others -
Then, secondly, Jesus expressed kindness by being considerate of others. Vs’s 47-48 tells us, “Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling & fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him & how she had been instantly healed.
“Then He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'”
We need to realize that because of her disease she was considered unclean & therefore was an outcast. They treated her like someone with leprosy. So because of that, she had not been living with her family for 12 years.
Her self-esteem must have been as low as it could possibly be. So Jesus surprises her, first of all, by stopping & listening to her story of woe. I mean, this is probably the first time in a long time that she really had anyone’s attention.
So I imagine that she poured out her heart to Him, & Jesus listened. And by listening, by looking at her, by paying attention to her he was displaying real kindness.
Are you a good listener? Most of us probably aren’t. We pass each other & say “How are you?” And we expect an automatic, “I’m fine.” But have you ever been caught off guard & someone really told you just how they felt?
Once woman was trying to tell her life story to another passenger in the airport to another lady, I am going to Chicago to attend my husband’s funeral; he was staying with my son. We were married for 53 years. Well, when they boarded the plane she went and sat in another seat. As soon as she sat, she started telling the same thing to the passenger who was seating next to her.
Friends, there are so many of us who just need somebody, sometime, to listen, just to focus on us and listen to what we have to say. Many times we don’t do that. We give deaf ears.
But Jesus did that day. When that woman, in v. 47 came trembling and fell at His feet, in the presence of all the people, Jesus, our Lord, gave His ear to her calling, He had compassion and He healed her. Jesus did on that day.
3) Jesus expressed kindness through an understanding spirit -
Finally, Jesus expressed kindness through an understanding spirit. Notice what it says in vs’s 49-56. “While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ he said. ‘Don’t bother the teacher anymore.’
“Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, He did not let anyone go in with Him except Peter, John & James, & the child’s father & mother.
“Meanwhile, all the people were wailing & mourning for her. ‘Stop wailing,’ Jesus said. ‘She is not dead but asleep.’ They laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead.
“But He took her by the hand & said, ‘My child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, & at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but He ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.”
Now let’s concentrate on those last few verses. The miracle is exceptional, & we praise God for it. But notice what Jesus told them after the miracle was over. He said to them, “Don’t tell anyone what has happened.”
Now remember, those people outside the house had mocked Jesus. They had laughed at Him before He went in to raise the girl back to life again.
If I were Jesus, I know what I would have done. I would have raised the girl back to life, & then I would have taken her by the hand & we would have walked up & down in front of all those mockers. And I would have said, “I told you so, I told you so.” That would have been a lot of fun.
But Jesus didn’t do that. He was concerned about how they felt, too. He didn’t try to get even with them. He didn’t try to get back at them. He didn’t try to glorify Himself.
Instead, in kindness, He tells the parents “Don’t tell anyone what has happened here.” Sometimes it is not so much what you say as how you say it.
Some construction workers were building a high rise across the street from a hospital. As they were working on the 3rd floor they noticed a little girl standing in the 3rd floor window of the hospital watching them work.
One day they looked across & saw the little girl hold up a poster that said, “My name is Lisa. What are your names?”
So the next day the construction workers came back with some poster board & magic markers, & they all wrote down their names. “My name is Bob. My name is Bill. My name is Harry. How old are you?”
The next day the little girl held up a sign that said, “I am 7 years old. How old are you?” Well, this went on for several days.
But one day they noticed that Lisa wasn’t at her usual place in the window. So at break time one of the workers called the hospital & asked for a third floor nurse. He asked if she could tell him anything at all about Lisa.
The nurse said that Lisa had taken a turn for the worse & was now in Intensive Care. So the workers pooled their money & bought some flowers & a card & wrote a note on it, & sent it to Lisa in Intensive Care.
Several days passed, & then another sign appeared at the window, “Lisa passed away. Thank you for caring!”
Love is kind. We need to learn to be kind to one another even as God has been kind through Jesus Christ, & offered Him as a sacrifice for all our sins.
We give you the opportunity to respond as you read this message.
Edwin James
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