Jesus reveals God’s great compassion for us. As God in the flesh, Jesus had a special connection with the people He met. He truly cared for them and was interested in their problems, and He helped them in many ways. As He traveled from town to town, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God, Jesus healed many people from illness and disease.
In Matthew 14, King Herod ordered the execution of John the Baptist. John was Jesus’s cousin as well as His friend, and when Jesus heard of John’s death, He went by boat to a quiet place, probably to grieve. The people from the surrounding towns heard where Jesus was, and they followed Him. When Jesus reached the shore, a crowd was waiting for Him. Seeing the people, Jesus had compassion on them, and He healed those who were sick.
When it was starting to get dark, Jesus’s disciples suggested He send the people away so they could buy food for themselves. But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat†(Matthew 14:16). The disciples told Him they had only five loaves of bread and two fish. But Jesus said, “Bring them here to me†(Matthew 14:18). And He broke the food into pieces so that— miraculously—there was more than enough to feed over five thousand people! Again, this is another example of the enormous compassion of Jesus.
Not long after this, Jesus displayed the full measure of God’s compassion when He let people put Him to death on a cross. He loved us so much that it was worth it to Him to take the punishment our sins deserved. When Jesus resurrected from the dead, He returned to His followers and instructed them to continue His ministry.
If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, God calls and empowers you to be compassionate. The Spirit of Christ lives in believers and helps us to be Christlike, to pay attention to the needs of people around us, to care about others’ needs, and to do something about those needs. As we follow Jesus, we get to be part of what our compassionate God is doing. • Doug Velting
• Can you think of a time when someone had compassion on you? What did they do?
• What opportunities might God be giving you to act compassionately toward others?
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14 (NIV)
Read Verses:
John.6.36-John.6.37|Rom.6.15-Rom.6.23|Rom.8.14-Rom.8.17|Col.1.13-Col.1.14
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