Compassion
is beautiful. It is when we change on our inside, love gets activated, we feel
for a suffering person and want to help.
In Bible times men were expected to follow societal rules: women were regarded as chattels; they could not argue with their husband, participate in religious worship or learning, or own land or vote, they were to do as they were told and stay in the background. Children were to be seen and not heard, they played no part in adult life. People of other faiths were seen as aliens and were to be avoided. Religious leaders regarded themselves as superior beings, elite, and had almost nothing to do with the common folk. And the Romans, well they were the hated enemy, the oppressors; Rome had had its boot on Israel's neck for generations.
Yet these are the people Jesus showed His compassion to. Time and again the people around Jesus would have been scandalised by His words and actions, He was so very counter-cultural.
I often wonder how it must have struck Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; to see these outlandish kindnesses from their Lord, and then to reflect that "God is love" (1 John 4:8), and "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind", and: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-40). They could see love in action from Jesus, the outworking of the "great and first commandment and the second like it" (Romans 13:10).
Some Favourite "Compassion" Bible Verses
• (Matthew 8:1–4) "I am willing" Jesus said to the leprous man, "be clean!"
• (Matthew 8:5–13) Jesus healed the Roman Centurion's son.
• (Matthew 15:21–24) Jesus healed the daughter of a Canaanite, a pagan.
• (Matthew 19:14) Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me".
• (Mark 2:13–17) Levi, a tax collector, was brought into Jesus' inner circle.
• (Mark 6:34) "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd".
• (Luke 7:11–17) "His heart went out" to the widow whose only son had died.
• (Luke 7:36–50) Jesus forgave "a woman in that town who lived a sinful life".
• (Luke 8:1–3) Jesus and His disciples were accompanied and supported by some devout women: this was totally counter-cultural.
• (Luke 8:42–48) Jesus was always open to people's needs, even when caring for one person, He was ready to help another.
• (Luke 8:42) Jesus went to heal the synagogue ruler's dying daughter.
• (Luke 8:43) On his way, the crowds almost crushing Him, Jesus healed "a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years". She was "unclean", especially for men.
• (Luke 10:33) Jesus taught how a Samaritan came to a man who had been robbed and beaten, took pity and helped him.
• (Luke 19:10) Jesus dined with Zacchaeus a tax collector, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost".
• (John 4:1–30) Jesus shared the Kingdom of God with a Samaritan woman and transformed her worldview and life.
• (John 8:1–11) Jesus showed that no-one could condemn a woman caught in adultery.
• (John 11:35) Jesus wept when He saw the distress of Martha and Mary after Lazarus died.
Many people came to Jesus, they could see that He was the kind of man who would know their hurt, He would see things as they did them-self, and be willing to help (Matthew 8:3). Jesus was not simply a "soft touch", He was genuine and responded willingly.
Jesus did not just seek out the lost and the lowly, He would help everyone, "he drove out evil spirits with a word and healed all the sick" (Matthew 8:16); "all the sick ..". Jesus is "all" (Colossians 1:16-17) and "all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28). In our day Jesus still seeks to help all the people and He also wants us to help. After we are saved Jesus wants us to "go" and "do the works" He has eternally planned for us (Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 2:10), these are works of help and kindness (Galatians 5:22).
Jesus did not exclude anyone. I know people like that, they will go to a stranger and begin to talk with them. Soon enough the person will share their troubles and my friend will be able to gently bring Jesus' light to shine on them. Such glimpses today bring Jesus' Bible times actions alive and they are so encouraging to us all.
One of our pastors, Phil, would remind us to pray and ask Jesus to give us divine encounters, to put people into our path so that He could reveal His glory by helping. We would ask that Jesus send hurting people, those suffering, in difficulty and lacking hope; people who felt that they were forgotten or overlooked or out-of-step with the world around them.
(Phil has now gone home and is with Jesus, he was such a lovely Christian man. He was a "natural" evangelist, where-ever he was he would start talking about Jesus to the person next to him; he always had a helpful testimony to share and a Jesus story to tell!)
Right now, in our own household, Trish and I are being gently reminded of our own need to be compassionate. There is a crisis housing shortage in our city. Our older daughter's landlord cut short Kate's shared lease; her share friends found new places and Kate moved in with us. This was not her choice but a sudden necessity.
We have moved everything out from Trish's office and given away the furniture. Trish is still working as a school teacher and often works at home. Her office was also her prayer room, her quiet place. Now we are brining in Kate and her belongings, it is a big job. Each one of us is going through our possessions and discarding everything we can, clothing, books by the hundred, music and teaching CDs, ornaments and mementos, kitchen things - everything. It is hard. Kate will have to make many adjustments in her life. She has ongoing health issues, so all of this is happening while she is unwell and low on energy.
Instead of living with friends in a sweet house in a funky part of the city, Kate now lives in our very ordinary suburb with her parents and her older brother. Praise Jesus we are all peaceful, we are getting along together and able to express our love towards one another. Every day Trish and I thank Jesus for His kindness and gentleness towards us, His compassion. We know His presence in our home.
One thing I see in Jesus; He makes no big thing of helping people, even when it is truly difficult or significant. He simply addresses the person and helps. When He is dealing with those of an "opposing spirit" (Acts 11:2 Amplified), like the Pharisees or the Jewish leaders, Jesus allows himself to fuss and speak boldly, but other times He is gentle.
For me, a great joy of being Christian is that I continue to grow under Jesus' influence. As a boy and young man I delighted in growing: I grew to be a six foot man, in my studies I was an above average student so could grasp ideas and see that I had the potential for a good job, and as a citizen because I was encouraged by my scout masters and the grown-ups around me. Now I am mature and am still growing because Jesus is in my life.
Scripture seems to me to say that this glorious inheritance can be different for different people. I do not understand how this is so, (since we are all saved to the "uttermost" (Hebrews7:25)). Perhaps it is to do with our compassion towards others: "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world .. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me'" (Matthew 25:34-40).
Trish and I are thanking Jesus for His examples of compassion towards others as we find ourselves close to a number of people with mental health issues. None of these consider their problems to be spiritual so we feel that Jesus biblical approach is not practical for us here and now. I believe Jesus is saying: "stay with this one John, and with that one too, show them My love, My acceptance. Give them practical help and encouragement. There will come a time for spiritual ministry".
The Bible does not talk about "mental illness" but has many instances of people with demons or under demonic attack, (Mark 6:13; Luke 10:17); I am reasonably sure we are all talking about the same kinds of trouble. Jesus always responded to such people with kindness, the Bible says He saw them with compassion, and the love of God flowed from Him.
So we press on. We remember how Jesus has delivered each of us from spiritual darkness. In my case it took a number of people ministering over many years before I was free. We are reminded to keep close to Jesus, by reading our Bibles (Acts 2:42), praying "without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and keeping short accounts with our Lord (Galatians 5:25).
Thank you Jesus for coming to so many of us, and to me, drawing me to yourself and introducing me to so many wonderful like-minded believers. And for continually growing me. So lovely. Amen.
Favourite Bible Verses
"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalm 103:2-5).
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed, free to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18–19, from Isaiah 61).
"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress" (Psalm 46:10-11).
"'Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?' Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand" (Psalm 77:9-10).
"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7).
Amen.
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