Nov 5

Compassion

“He had compassion on them.” Matthew 14:14

The Greek word for compassion is splanchinizomai. If you are in the medical field you might be familiar with the word splanchnology, which is the study of the gut. When the Scriptures say that Jesus felt compassion for the people, it does not mean that he had casual pity on them or he felt sorry for them; no, it means he felt like he had gotten hit in the stomach. He felt the alienation and loneliness of the leper. He felt the isolation of the deaf man. He felt the limp of the crippled man. He felt the hurt and pain of every disease he healed. Jesus was moved by their torment. He could not sit idly by and not do something to relieve their pain. This Jesus, whom Matthew describes, is the same Jesus who is reaching out to us today. He is the same compassionate Savior who felt the pain of the world and had to do something about. He died on the cross so that he might relieve the world of the torments of sins. Unfortunately, until the Kingdom comes, we have to live in a sin-filled world. We still experience disease and the sorrows of sin, but Jesus still feels our pain and our heartaches and he wants to help us. He had compassion on the people when he lived on this earth, and he still has compassion on us. He feels your pain and he wants to help. Run to Jesus with your heartaches and let him touch you with his healing touch!  

Father, we thank you for Jesus and allowing us to see how deeply he felt for mankind. We know he is a reflection of you. How grateful we are for that revelation! Dear Jesus, have compassion on us. Heal our hurts and help us to become more like you. Give us a compassionate heart. Help us to feel the pain of the world around us and let it move us to take action. Use us to draw others to you, dear Lord. Amen