The Stoplight Test: Did You Just Drive Past Jesus?

Let me paint a moment for you you probably know too well. Picture this. You're driving home. Your mind is racing. You got bills on your mind, emails, all kinds of family stuff.That one conversation you can't stop replaying in your head. And as you're driving, that light turns red and you're like, great. Another delay. You're just trying to get home.You got a laundry list of stuff to do, and you just sigh and you glance out the window and you see him. You really don't want to see him, but you do.A man on the corner, cardboard sign in hand, clothes worn face, tired, eyes heavy with a kind of exhaustion you feel in your chest. And your eyes meet for just half a second. And in that split second, you feel it uncomfortable knot in your stomach.The guilt, the pity, maybe the frustration, maybe even an urge to do something mixed with an even stronger urge to make this feeling just go away. Just hope that light turns. So what do you do? Well, first thing you do, you look at your phone. You fiddle with the radio.You adjust that rear view mirror like it suddenly matters. Try to build that little wall around your heart until that light turns green and you can escape.Seems like it's been a long life, but finally the light changes you. Your foot hits the gas, the man shrinks into your rearview mirror, and you tell yourself, it was nothing. I don't even know him.There's nothing I could have done. But what if it wasn't nothing? What if that wasn't just a stranger on the corner, but a divine appointment with the king of cakes?What if you didn't just drive past a man? You drove past Jesus and didn't know it.Today we're going to talk about the stoplight test, that uncomfortable moment when your faith and someone else's need collide in an intersection. And we're going to ask something honestly. What does my response in that moment say about my walk with Jesus?Though the culture shifts like sand, Your truth, O Lord, is where I choose to stand. Truth Unveil. Truth unveiled. Hi, I'm Ralph Estep Junior. I want to welcome you to Truth Unveiled.This is where we cut through cultural noise and shine the light of God's word on the issues shaping all of our lives. My purpose here is simple. To help you see truth clearly, to live it boldly and grow in a deeper walk with Jesus. But let's just be honest together.We live in a culture right now that is overstimulated and under compassionate. It's just true. Everywhere we turn, we see need, homelessness, addiction, broken families, refugees, people on the margins.But instead of becoming more tender, I hate to say this, we've often become more numb. We just scroll past suffering like it's just another post in our feed. We drive past poverty like it's just part of the scenery.We've learned how to look straight ahead and not really see anything. And here's another layer. Many of us have been taught a story about people in need that goes something like this. You've heard them yourself. I know.I sure have. Oh, they just made bad choices. They're lazy. They're dangerous. They'll just waste the help. So, so many of us protect ourselves with cynicism.We say things like, I can't help everyone. We say things like, this is too big for me. Or we say, someone else should fix this. And if we're really honest, sometimes the real thought is this.I just don't want my life interrupted. Have you ever felt that tension between the Jesus you love and the person in need you're trying not to see? I know I have.And I gotta admit, it's been more times than I want to admit. But let's bring some reality into the conversation.In the United States alone, on a single night in 2024, more than 770,000 people were were recorded as homeless. That's about 23 people for every 10,000 in the country of the United States. And that number has been rising up more than 18% in just one year.Listen to this. From 2018 to 2024, the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night has jumped nearly 40%. These aren't just statistics.These are names. These are stories. They're moms, Some are dads. They're sons, they're daughters.And at the very same time, most Americans still believe that homelessness is mainly caused by personal choice. Not the housing crisis, not mental health issues or broken systems. Just their choice.So we look at a man on the corner and think, well, he just tried harder. He wouldn't be there. But Scripture tells us a very different story.What if the bigger crisis is not just homelessness, but the hardness creeping into our hearts? Let me introduce you to two people. Mark and Sarah. Mark and Sarah have never met, but they both pull up to that same intersection on the same day.I want to start with Mark's story. Mark's day's been a disaster. Deadlines, unhappy clients, a tense meeting with his boss.And he's thinking about his mortgage, his braces for his son, that weird noise the car suddenly making. And his World has shrunk down to the sides of his own stress. And he stops at that red light. He's just wanting to get home like everybody else.And he sees him. A man holding a sign. Lost job. Anything helps. God bless. And that sign hits his heart like a stone dropped in a fragile pond. What's his first instinct?Avoidance. I'm just going to look away. He stares straight ahead. He pretends he doesn't see him. His inner lawyer goes to work. They don't have the cash.He'll waste it. This is a systemic issue. What can you do? But he remembers a whisper of scripture somewhere.Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. That's from Proverbs 21:13. But that thought is uncomfortable. And uncomfortable thoughts are easy to bury, aren't they? So the green light turns late.Gas pedal goes. Relief. A hollow ache he can't quite shake. He didn't just drive past a stranger. He missed a divine appointment he didn't even know he was taking.Well, now let's go to Sarah's story. A few minutes later, another car pulls up to that same light. This is Sarah. Her day has been hard, too. Budget is tight. She's tired.And she sees the man. That same sign, that same pang in her heart. And those same excuses start to rise. I'm in a hearse. I don't have much. Is this even safe?But then another voice enters the conversation, not loud, but clear. And what she hears is, that's a person made in my image. And she takes a breath.He flicks on her blinker, pulls into a nearby lot and calls out, hey, sir. And he looks over. He's used to being invisible. She says, I don't have any cash, but. But I'm about to grab food.Can I get you something from the drive through? And his face softens. Yeah, that would be amazing. And she asked him, what's your name? And he says, david.And at that moment, Sarah is stepping straight into a story Jesus told. Jesus gives us a brick taping picture of the final judgment. Listen to his words.When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, the then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left.Then the king will say to those on the right, come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me.I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.Then the righteous will answer him, saying, lord, when do we see you hungry, or feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when do we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when do we see you sick or in prison and visit you?And the king will answer them, truly, I say to you, as you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. That's from Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31, 40. That's when you need to mark on your heart. Jesus is talking about the end of the age.He's separating those who truly belong to him from those who only claim to belong to him. And what, Evans does he point to? He's not pointing to their brilliant theology, not their platform, not their miracles that they did.He points to ordinary acts of mercy towards what is he called? The least of these. And do you notice something else? He doesn't say, you did it for me. He says, you did it to me.That man on the corner, Jesus says, that's me in disguise. Let's get back to our story. Let's talk about Sarah. Now, Sarah's choice to pull over sounds a lot like another story Jesus told.A man asked jesus, Jesus, who is my neighbor? And Jesus responds with this parable.A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now, by chance, a priest was going down the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.So likewise, a Levite who came to the place and saw him pass by on the other side, but a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.And on the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back. 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 him, you go and do likewise. That's from Luke chapter 10, verses 30 to 37. The priest and the Levite had religious credentials.They were the in the know people, but they walked around the need. Now, the Samaritan had every reason to ignore this man. Wrong ethnicity, wrong background. But when he saw him, Scripture says he had compassion.The Greek word here means a gut level moving, a deep internal ache that leads to action. What did he do? He crossed the road. In your life, are you walking around need or are you crossing the road towards it?In the Old Testament, God sums up what he really wants from his people. He. He says this.He says he has told you, oh, man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? That's from Micah, chapter 6, verse 8. Not just think about justice, not just feel compassion. Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly.This is not an extra credit for super Christians. This is the requirement for everyone who bears his name. I want to share one more powerful verse.Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. That's in Proverbs, chapter 19, verse 17. When Sarah buys that meal for David, God's word says she is lending to the Lord. She's not losing money.She's investing it in the only bank that will never collapse. No need for FDIC insurance with this bank. What if every act of mercy is a direct transaction between you and God himself?Well, now, let's pull this together in some clear truths that we can carry with us. Truth number one. Every interruption may be an invitation. Mark saw an interruption. Sarah saw an invitation.See, most of us treat moments of need as inconvenient detours from our real life. But in the kingdom of God, those Mormons are your life. They are the places where heaven leans in to see what you're going to do.What if the most important spiritual test you take in a week don't happen at church, but at red lights and grocery store parking lots? Here's truth number two. Compassion is evidence of real faith. Look at Matthew 25.Jesus doesn't separate sheep and goats by how emotional their worship was. Not at all. He separates them by whether love overflowed into action. And Scripture is very direct.But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? That's first John, chapter three. Seventeen. That one stings, doesn't it? That's a hard verse, but it's loving. Because God is saying this.If my love is truly in you, it will show up in how you respond to the person in need right in front of you. Let's look at truth number three. Small acts are huge in heaven. We think to ourselves, oh, it's just a burger. It's just five bucks.It's just a conversation. But what does Jesus say? He says this, when. When you did it to the least of these, you did it to me. He doesn't say when you solved world hunger.He says, when you gave a drink, when you visited, when you welcomed in the kingdom. Faithfulness in small things is never small.What if the act you're tempted to dismiss as insignificant is the very act God is highlighting over your life in heaven? Here's truth number four. You must confront the objections of your heart. We all have those internal objections that rise up at that stoplight.We battle cynicism. We think, oh, they'll just waste it. They're gonna go buy drugs with it, or they're gonna go drink it, or something like that. We battle cynicism.We battle scarcity. We think to ourselves, I don't have enough. I just have enough for me. We battle that fear. Oh, it's not safe. Like Sarah, she was worried about this.Is this safe? We fear that fear of, is it safe? And we battle futility. We think, oh, this won't fix anything. It's so big. It's systemic.Now, I want to talk about a practical framework to handle these in a minute, but here's the key. Those objections are not neutral thoughts. They are the spiritual battles over whether your heart will look like Jesus or look like the world.Here's truth number five. Compassion is a garment you put on. Colossians 3:12 says this.Put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Compassion is not a mood. It's not a personality type. It's a command. I want to say that again because you got to hear that. It's a command.You put it on like clothing. You wake up and say, lord, today, help me see people the way you see them. Help me cross that road instead of walking around.And today I want to give you a simple, memorable way to respond the next time you hit that red light moment. I'm going to call it the stop model. I came up with that to make it super simple.Because sometimes the holiest thing you can do is is simply not rush past. It starts with S. First you see them. Not the problem, not the stereotype, not that story you've been told. You see a person made in the image of God.That might mean actually making eye contact with them, not looking away. Like I can't see them. You silently pray, lord, help me see what you see. Second is the T. You take it to God right there in your car.Or as you walk by, you whisper this holy Spirit, how do you want me to respond right now? Sometimes he may nudge you to give money, sometimes to offer food, sometimes to simply say, hey, what's your name? How can I pray for you today?Honestly? Sometimes for safety or wisdom. He may lead you to pray from a distance. That's okay. But the point is this. You don't decide based only on your fears.You ask your father. Third is o open your hand. Maybe you keep a few granola bars or water bottles in your car. Maybe you keep a small gift card to a nearby restaurant.Maybe you are able to help financially. Maybe your open hand is simply your time or your attention or a prayer. You just let generosity become your default posture. Remember this.You're lending to the Lord, not just helping a stranger. And finally, p you partner with Jesus, but you remember this. You're not the Savior. You can't fix everything and you're not responsible for outcomes.Your job is faithfulness. Jesus is responsible for fruitfulness. So you give, you show mercy, and then you release that person to God.You don't carry their story as crushing guilt. You carry it as a reminder that you got to meet Jesus in disguise.Can you imagine how different our cities would look if every Christian simply practice stop once or twice a week? Just think about that for a second. How much compassion we could show as Christians. Well, let's get very practical.I want to give you a few simple ways to start living this out this week. That's what I do on the show. I always want to give you things that you can actually do. Number one thing, create one compassion moment this week.Don't wait for the perfect scenario. Doesn't have to be a Hollywood moment. Ask God. Show me one person I can love in a tangible way this week. Yes, it might be someone on a street corner.It might be that lonely co worker that you just kind of ignore. It might be a single parent in your church. Just find one person and do one act. Second thing, I love this idea. My wife does this.Prepare a simple compassion kit in your car. Put together what we call a small mercy kit.A couple bottles of water, a few granola bars, maybe a five dollar gift card and a handwritten note that says you are seen, you are loved. I prayed for you today. Keep it ready for those red light moments.Number three thing I'm going to encourage you to do, talk about this with your family. If you've got kids or you've got grandkids, sit around the table and ask this. We want our family to treat people in need.Let them help decide how your family will give and serve. This is discipleship. You're shaping how they'll see Jesus for the rest of their lives. Number four, pray for one person you once ignored.Maybe as you're listening to this right now, you're thinking of a moment that you didn't stop. You drove past, you looked away, you crossed to the other side of the road. And instead of drowning in guilt, take that to God, pray this.Lord, I lift up that person to you. Send someone to them with the love I didn't show that day. And next time, Lord, you nudge me, help me obey.And number five, let your church life match your street life. Ask this God, how can I serve the least of these through my local church? Maybe a food pantry, a shelter, a visitation ministry.Let Sunday worship and weekday mercy tell the same story about your Jesus. Let me ask you this. If someone followed you from the church parking lot to the stoplight, would they see the same Jesus in both places?Yeah, that one hurts a little bit, doesn't it? And maybe right now you're listening, you're realizing something deeper. You don't just struggle to see Jesus in the poor.You're not really sure you know Jesus at all. And you might believe in him, you might even respect him, but you don't have that personal living relationship with Him. I want you to hear this.Jesus is not calling you to help the poor. He's calling you to come to him as spiritually poor. We are all spiritually bankrupt without him.Romans tells us that all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God. But it also tells us this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.He left heaven, took on flesh, entered our brokenness, and died on a cross to pay the debt we could never pay. And then he rose from the dead, conquering sin and death, so that you and I can be forgiven and made new and friend.If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus or if you've wandered far from Him, I want to lead you in a simple prayer. Now, there's nothing magical about the words I'm getting ready to say. What matters is the posture of your heart.If this reflects what's happening inside of you today. Why don't you pray with me right now? Lord Jesus, I admit that I'm a sinner and I've tried to run my own life.I've walked past people in need and I've walked past you, Lord. Today I turn around. I believe you died for my sins and you rose again to give me new life. So I ask you to forgive me.I ask you to wash me clean, Lord. Make me new. I surrender my life to you. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Teach me to follow you and love people the way you do. Thank you so much for saving me.I ask this in your name, Jesus. I pray this. Amen.And if you sincerely prayed that today, heaven's rejoicing and I want to rejoice with you, I would love to hear about and support your decision.If you made that decision today, please reach out to me at Truth unveiled with Ralph.com decision Again, that's TruthUnveiledWithRalph.com decision We want to support you in your new life in Christ, friend. One day you and I will stand before the King and he's going to say this. I was hungry. I was thirsty. I was a stranger.And the story of our lives will answer that statement not with perfection, not with performance, but with a trail of ordinary moments where we either looked away or across the road. That stoplight in your life is not just an interruption. It's a sanctuary where you meet Jesus in disguise.So here's the heartbeat of this whole episode in one sentence. Every time you open your eyes to the least of these, you open your hands to Jesus himself. And my prayer for you today is simple.That next time that light turns red. That next time you see him standing there, you're not going to rush past. You'll see the person. You'll take it to God.You'll open your hand and you'll partner with Jesus. And when you do, you're going to discover something. He was closer than you ever imagined.And if you're able, would you just pause at me for just a moment? Let's pray together. Father God, open our eyes to see the people we've been ignoring.Open our ears to hear the cry beneath the cardboard signs and tired smiles soften the parts of our heart that have grown hard and numb and cynical. Teach us to see you, Jesus, in the least of these our families be known as people who cross the road, not people who walk around.Lord, right now we give you our fears. We give you our excuses. We give you our own selfishness make us more like you. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen, friend.If today's message had surge stomping in you, if you want help bringing this into your own home, your parenting, your digital life and your daily rhythms, I want to invite you to join our community.You can do that by going to truth unveiled with Ralph.com join and when you join us there, you're going to get access to our free resource, the Family Digital Wisdom Guide. It's a practical tool to help your family use technology and ways that build compassion instead of numbing it.It's my gift to you because I believe that God wants to raise up families whose eyes are open, whose hearts are soft, and hands are ready to serve. So thank you for spending this time with me.I'm praying that this week at some ordinary intersection, you'll recognize a holy moment and instead of driving past Jesus, you'll stop and you'll meet him face to face. God bless you, friend. I'll see you next time.