The Compassion Of God

Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. Psalm 112:4

People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Consider the case of Jesus Christ. He was the most forceful and demanding teacher who ever lived. He was the one who taught that even one’s closest family members must give way to our absolute loyalty to Him, and that a true disciple must be willing to “bear his cross” for the Master (Matt. 10:34-39). In view of such rigorous requirements, how does one account for Jesus’ amazing popularity? There can be only one answer—compassion. It was Jesus’ tremendous compassion for people that made Him an extremely attractive person. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infi rmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (KJV).

Jesus doesn’t just feel sympathy for the broken, He empathizes with us. In Mark 1:40, a leper kneeled before Him and begged, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus, “moved with compassion,” responded, “I am willing; be cleansed.” What is amazing here is the fact that while Jesus could have just spoken a word of healing over the leper, He went one step further. He stretched out His hand to touch him (1:41). For a Jew to touch a leper was absolutely unthinkable. But such was Jesus’ compassion for the sick and rejected.

In another occasion, when Jesus heard the news that His cousin John the Baptist had been killed, He took His disciples apart into a remote area near Bethsaida. But the multitudes followed Him. When Jesus saw them tailing Him, He “was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd” (6:34). So Jesus began to teach them heavenly truths and feed them food. Think about it. The Lord set aside His own grief to minister to these people who so desperately needed direction in their lives!

“Does Jesus care, when my heart is pained, too deeply for mirth and song? When the burdens press and the cares distress, as the day grows weary and long?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes! He does!” When we are affl icted with disease and pain, He cares. When wegrieve the loss of dear ones, He cares. When we are confused, desperately needing leadership, He has compassion for us. When we are mistreated, He feels for us. When we dredge ourselves into the mire of sin, He grieves over that disaster. When, in hardness of heart, we even hatefully oppose Him, He continues to feel for us. No wonder the “goodness of God” leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4)! May we all say, “I will show compassion to others, because my Jesus first showed compassion to me” (1 John 4:19p).