KNOWING OUR SAVIOR - The Compassionate Christ

What a week it’s been. I think I’ve been more stirred and troubled by the footage of George Floyd and all that has ensued since than any one aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world around us is SPIRALING quickly downward. Sure, maybe this is just one of those weird times in history where things get crazy, and maybe it will calm down soon. Maybe it’s the birth pains coming more quickly together before God does something more…maybe before Christ comes back! One thing is for sure, the world will not be the same in the future as it was a week ago, definitely not three months ago. Another sure thing: everyone has an opinion.

Well, since it’s my week to share our blog lesson, I guess that’s as good a reason as any to share my opinion. It’s time for compassion. As a Christian, I find myself so at odds with the opinion of society that I responding to all the bad things happening in the world like this: “Well that’s what we can expect in a broken world full of sin.” But something else happened to me this week. I watched that footage, I saw the lack of feeling in a man sworn to serve and protect, and it changed me. It changed me as a husband and father…as a leader…and as a Christian.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not pro-riot. I don’t condone violence for violence. However, I am hearing and understanding the voices of those I have not taken the time to hear or understand in the past. Sure, many of those voices are attached to people who are serving themselves, looting for profit, rioting out of hatred, and so on. Many others are saying, “See. It’s different for us. Help us.”

As we turn our focus to Christ this week, I don’t want to make this lesson about this one issue that our society is facing this week. Rather, I want to encourage all of us to know Christ more closely, and get a sense for the compassion He had…and maybe pray that He can give us that same compassion, to all regardless of who they are.

So, let’s look at how compassionate Jesus was toward others. As you read this, please think of that word…compassion. It means “feeling or showing sympathy or concern for another.” As we’ll see from Christ, compassion isn’t pity; it’s sharing the pain. The prefix “com” means “together.”

Indeed, Christ’s compassion was focused on things beyond race and earthly justice. However, Christ had compassion for those on the margins. Let’s look at a few examples of Christ’s compassion:

–         Compassion for the Hungry (Mark 8:2)

o   I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.

–         Compassion for the Sick (Matthew 14:14)

o   When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

–         Compassion for the Blind (Matthew20:29-34)             

o   ²⁹ Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. ³⁰ And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” ³¹ Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” ³² So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” ³⁴ So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

–         Compassion for the Leper (Mark 1:40-41)

o   ⁴⁰ Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”⁴¹ Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

–         Compassion for Grieving (Luke 7:12-15)

o   ¹² And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” ¹⁵ So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

–         Compassion for the Lost (Matthew 9:35-38)

o   ³⁵ Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. ³⁶ But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Jesus Christ was more than just a man of emotion, though; he was a man of action. Jesus didn’t go about His work from a cold sense of duty, but His own heart drew Him out towards those He helped and saved. His deeds of mercy cost Him something more than the sacrifice of leisure and the expenditure of effort and power. They cost him heartaches. He made other men's sorrows His own sorrows, other men's agony His own agony, other men's sin and shame His own sin and shame. He could not look upon misery, pain, death or sin without heart pangs.

I’ll close with Christ’s call to action for us as His followers. He does not ask us to turn our heads to stay comfortable or ignorant. I don’t even think he allows us to do that. Read these closing scriptures from the Sermon on the Mount and consider: compassion that leads to action will cost us something – money, time, leisure, comfort, pain, friends and family, reputation, everything up to and including our lives. But we will gain so much more!

The Light of the World – Matthew 5:14

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Love Your Enemies – Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,^{[h] 45} that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brethren^[i] only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors^[j] do so? ⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.