The document discusses a biblical miracle where Jesus healed two blind men who called out for his mercy as he passed by. It emphasizes themes of faith, compassion, and the necessity of seizing opportunities for spiritual healing, highlighting that the blind men’s determination and belief in Jesus were crucial for their healing. Various commentators reflect on the spiritual significance of the miracle and the importance of persistent faith in seeking divine assistance.

1. JESUS WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 20:34
New InternationalVersion
Jesus had compassionon them and touched their eyes.
Immediately they receivedtheir sight and followed
him.
New Living Translation
Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes.
Instantly they couldsee! Then they followedhim.
English StandardVersion
And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately
they recoveredtheir sight and followedhim.
Berean Study Bible
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and
at once they receivedtheir sight and followedHim.

2. BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Importunity Revealing Character
Matthew 20:31
R. Tuck
Easternbeggars are very clamorous and persistent. But there seems to have
been something unusual in the energy and determination of these blind men.
They had their opportunity, and they made the best possible use of it. There
are many caseswhichindicate that our Lord was a keenand skilful observer
of character. The actions, movements, expressions, andwords of men and
women revealedto him the measure of their receptivity for that double
blessing - temporal and spiritual - which he was prepared to bestow. One of
the most striking instances is the response he made to those four friends who
carried the paralyzed man, and broke up the house roof in order to gethim
into the presence of Jesus. Reading characterin their act, "seeing theirfaith,"
Jesus gave the sufferer a higher blessing than they sought, but included with it
what they asked.
I. IMPORTUNITYREVEALS WILL. Many of the gravesttroubles of life
have their real cause in "weaknessofwill." Men cannot decide. If they decide,
they cannot do anything with their decisions. No doubt many sufferers lost
Christ's healing because they were too weak of will to seek him or cry to him.
The man who cankeepon is the man who has made a firm resolve;who
means something;who has an end before him. This "weaknessofwill power"
may be a natural infirmity; but it is largely remediable by skilful educational
influences; and yet to this precise work, "strengthening the will power," how

3. few parents, and how few teachers, bendcareful attention! The world yields
its treasures to those who show they have wills, by keeping on, fixing firm
hold; and refusing to let go. Illustrate Jacob, "Iwill not let thee go, except
thou bless me."
II. IMPORTUNITYREVEALS FAITH. This leads in the more familiar way
of treating such incidents as this of the text. What Jesus noticedin such cases
was "faith." If these men had not believed that he could heal them, and if
their faith had not blended with hope that he would heal them, they would
have been repressedby the rebukers, and would have ceasedto cry. The man
in earnestis the man of faith, who is open to receive. - R.T.
Biblical Illustrator
And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that
Jesus passedby.
Matthew 20:29-34

4. Jesus ofNazareth passing by
E. Griffin, D. D.
The time of this transactionwas critical. He never was to come that way
again. It was necessaryfor these blind men to be by the waywhile Jesus was
passing. Had they been elsewhere they could not have receivedtheir sight.
They caught the first sound of the approaching Saviour. Some men are too
buried in their merchandize to know that He is passing. It is not enoughto sit
idly by the way side. These men made no demands but for mercy.
1. Their earnestness. Theyfelt their need.
2. The difference betweenthe unfeeling multitude and the compassionate
Saviour. Put thine ear to the gospeland listen. "He calleththee."
(E. Griffin, D. D.)
Spiritual blindness
A. Barnes, D. D.
I. MEN ARE BLINDED BY REASON OF SIN. They do not see the truths of
religion.
II. IT IS PROPERIN THIS STATE OF BLINDNESS TO CALL UPON
JESUS TO OPEN OUR EYES. If we ever see, it will be by the grace ofGod.
God is the fountain of light, and those in darkness should seek Him.
III. PRESENTOPPORTUNITIES SHOULD BE IMPROVED. This was the
first time that Jesus had been in Jericho, and it was the lasttime He would be
there. He was passing through it on His way to Jerusalem. So He passes
among us by His ordinances. While He is nearwe should seek Him.
IV. WHEN PEOPLE REBUKE US, AND LAUGH AT US, IT SHOULD NOT
DETER US FROM CALLING ON THE SAVIOUR.
V. THE PERSEVERING OF CRYOF THOSE WHO SEEK THE SAVIOUR
ARIGHT WILL NOT BE IN VAIN.

5. VI. SINNERS MUST "RISE" AND COME TO JESUS. Castawayeverything
that hinders their confine.
VII. FAITH IS THE ONLY CHANNEL THROUGH WHICH WE SHALL
RECEIVE MERCY.
VIII. THEY WHO ARE RESTOREDTO SIGHT SHOULD FOLLOW
JESUS. WhereverHe leads — always — none else. He cannotlead astray. He
can enlighten our goings through all our pilgrimage.
(A. Barnes, D. D.)
The blind taught to see
Mr. MacGregor, in his recent"Voyage," gives a mostinteresting accountof
Mr. Mott's mission to the blind and lame at Beirut. He says, "Only in
February last that poor blind fellow who sits on the form there was utterly
ignorant. See how his delicate fingers run over the raisedtypes of his Bible,
and he reads aloud and blesses Godin his heart for the precious news, and for
those who gave him the avenue for truth to his heart. 'Jesus Christ will be the
first personI shall ever see,'he says, 'for my eyes will be opened in heaven.'
Thus even this man becomes a missionary .... At the annual examination of
this school, one of the scholars said, I am a little blind boy. Once I could see;
but then I fell asleep— a long, long sleep. I thought I should never wake. And
I slept till a kind gentleman calledMr. Mott came and openedmy eyes — not
these eyes,'pointing to his sightless eyeballs, 'but these,'lifting up his tiny
fingers — 'these eyes;and oh! they see suchsweetwords of Jesus, and how He
loved the blind.'"
Hearing of Christ
John Trapp.
Happy it was for these two blind beggars that, though blind, they were not
deaf. They had heard of Christ by the hearing of the ear, but that satisfied

6. them not, unless their eyes also might see Him. They waylay, therefore, the
Lord of Light, who gives them upon their suit both sight and light, irradiates
both organand object, cures them of both outward and inward ophthalmies
at once .... Few suchknowing blind beggars nowadays.Theyare commonly
more blind in mind than body, loose andlawless vagrants;such as are neither
of any church or commonwealth;but as the basersort of people in Swethland,
who do always break the Sabbath, saying, that it is only for gentlemen to
sanctify it; or rather, as the poor Brazilians, who are said to be without any
government, law, or religion.
(John Trapp.)
Necessitous
J. Parker, D. D.
men: — Here we have —
I. Such persons making the best of their opportunities — Christ was passing
by.
II. One class of such failing to sympathise with another — the multitude
rebuked.
III. Founding their appealon the right ground — mercy.
IV. Presenting a right condition of will" what will ye," as if all things were
placed at the disposalof the right will.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
Keep in the way of blessing
Erskine.
Be still in the King's highway, in the use of the means, for though the natural
use of the means and God's saving grace have no connection, yet there is far

7. less a connectionbetwixt that grace and the neglectof means. The poor
beggar, that needs an alms from the king, goes to the king's highway, where
he passes;and surely he is nearerto his purpose than if he should go to the top
of a mountain where the king never comes;so, be you still in the use of means,
in the Lord's way.
(Erskine.)
A wise use of the means of salvation
Clarkson.
Those that wait upon the Lord in the use of the means and ordinances, they
hereby spreadtheir sails, and are ready for the Spirit's motions. which
bloweth where it listeth. There is more hope of these than of such who lie
aground, neglecting the means of grace, whichare both as sailand tackling.
The two blind men could not open their owneyes; that was beyond their
power, but they could getinto the way where Jesus passed, andthey could cry
to Him for sight, who only could recoverit. Those that are diligent in the use
of means and ordinances, may sit in the way where Jesus passesby, who uses
not to rejectthose that cry unto Him.
(Clarkson.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(34) So Jesus had compassion.—Literally, andJesus. It was not His purpose to
meet the popular demand for signs and wonders, but compassiondrew from
Him the work of powerwhich otherwise He would have shrunk from here.
And then the two followedHim, glorifying God. In St. Luke’s narrative the

8. incident is followedby the story of Zacchæus and the parable of the Pounds.
Possibly(see Note on Matthew 20:30) they precededit.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
20:29-34 It is goodfor those under the same trial, or infirmity of body or
mind, to join in prayer to God for relief, that they may quicken and encourage
one another. There is mercy enough in Christ for all that ask. They were
earnestin prayer. They cried out as men in earnest. Colddesires beg denials.
They were humble in prayer, casting themselves upon, and referring
themselves cheerfully to, the Mediator's mercy. They showedfaith in prayer,
by the title they gave to Christ. Surely it was by the Holy Ghost that they
calledJesus, Lord. They perseveredin prayer. When they were in pursuit of
such mercy, it was no time for timidity or hesitation: they cried earnestly.
Christ encouragedthem. The wants and burdens of the body we are soon
sensible of, and canreadily relate. Oh that we did as feelingly complain of our
spiritual maladies, especiallyour spiritual blindness! Many are spiritually
blind, yet say they see. Jesus curedthese blind men; and when they had
receivedsight, they followedhim. None follow Christ blindly. He first by his
grace opens men's eyes, and so draws their hearts after him. These miracles
are our call to Jesus;may we hear it, and make it our daily prayer to grow in
grace and in the knowledge ofthe Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And touched their eyes - Mark and Luke say he added, "Thy faith hath saved
thee." Thy "confidence, orbelief" that I could cure, has been the means of
obtaining this blessing.
Faith had no power to open the eyes, but it led the blind men to Jesus;it
showedthat they had just views of his power; it was connectedwith the cure.
So "faith" has no power to save from sin, but it leads the poor, lost, blind
sinner to him who has power, and in this sense it is said we are savedby faith.
His "touching" their eyes was merely "a sign" that the powerof healing
proceededfrom him.

9. Here was an undoubted miracle.
1. These blind men were well known. One, at least, had been blind for a long
time.
2. They were strangers to Jesus. Theycould not have, therefore, "feigned"
themselves blind, or done this by any "collusionor agreement" betweenhim
and themselves in order to impose on the multitude.
3. The miracle was in the presence ofmultitudes who took a deep interest in it,
and who could easilyhave detectedthe imposition if there had been any.
4. The people followedhim. They praised or "glorified" God (Mark and
Luke). The people gave praise to God also (Luke). They were all satisfiedthat
a real miracle was performed.
Remarks On Matthew 20
1. From the parable at the beginning of this chapter Matthew 20:1-16 we
learn that it is not so much the time that we serve Christ as the "manner,"
that is to entitle us to high rewards in heaven. Some may be in the church
many years, yet accomplishlittle. In a few years, others may be more
distinguished in the successoftheir labors and in their rewards.
2. God will do justice to all, Matthew 20:13. He will give to every one of his
followers all that he promised to give. To him entitled to the leasthe will give
everything which he has promised, and to eachone infinitely more than he has
deserved.
3. On some he will bestow higher rewards than on others, Matthew 20:16.
There is no reasonto think that the condition of people in heavenwill be
"equal," any more than it is on earth. Difference of rank may run through all
God's government, and still no one be degradedor be deprived of his rights.
4. God does as he pleases with his own, Matthew 20:15. It is his right to do so -
a right which people claim, and which God may claim. If he does injustice to
no one, he has a right to bestow what favors on others he pleases. In doing
goodto another man he does no injury to me. He violated none of my rights
by bestowing greattalents on Newtonor greatwealth on Solomon. He did not

10. injure me by making Paul a man of distinguished talents and piety, or John a
man of much meekness and love. What he gives me I should be thankful for
and improve; nor should I be envious or malignant that he has given to others
more than he has to me. Nay, I should rejoice that he has bestowedsuch
favors on undeserving people at all; that the race is in possessionofsuch
talents and rewards, to whosoevergiven;and should believe that in the hands
of God such favors will be wellbestowed. God is a sovereign, andthe Judge of
all the earth will do that which is right.
5. It is our duty to go into the vineyard and labor faithfully when ever the
Lord Jesus calls us, and until he calls us to receive our reward, Matthew 20:1-
16. He has a right to call us, and there are none who are not invited to labor
for Him.
6. Rewards are offeredto all who will serve him, Matthew 20:4. It is not that
we deserve any favor, or that we shall not say at the end of life that we have
been "unprofitable" servants, but He graciouslypromises that our rewards
shall be measured by our faithfulness in His cause. He will have the glory of
bringing us into His kingdom and saving us, while He will bestow rewards on
us according as we have been faithful in His service.
continued...
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Mt 20:29-34. Two Blind Men Healed. ( = Mr 10:46-52;Lu 18:35-43).
For the exposition, see on[1332]Lu 18:35-43.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Ver. 29-34. Mark repeateththe same story, Mark 10:46-52, with severalmore
circumstances.
1. He mentions only one blind man, and nameth him Bartimaeus, the Song of
Solomonof Timaeus. He saith, the blind man was begging.

11. Mark saith, when Christ called the blind man, they said unto him, Be of good
comfort, rise; he calleththee. And he, casting awayhis garment, rose, and
came to Jesus. He further adds, that Christ saidunto him, Go thy way; thy
faith hath made thee whole. Luke relates the same, Luke 18:35-43. He saith,
As he was come nigh to Jericho. He mentions but one blind man. In repeating
Christ’s words he saith, Jesus saidunto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath
savedthee. And immediately he receivedhis sight, and followedhim,
glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
Our Lord presently gives his disciples a demonstration of what he had said,
that he came to minister, to serve even the poorestand most despicable
creatures. Jericho was a city not far from Jordan, Joshua 3:16; it was taken,
Joshua 6:1-27, and upon the division of the land fell within the lot of
Benjamin, Joshua 18:21. Our Saviour took it in his way from Galilee to
Jerusalem. Probably these blind men, or Bartimaeus at least, who alone is
mentioned by Mark and Luke, hearing Christ was coming, satfirst on the side
of Jericho next Galilee, and then got him on the other side, as our Saviour was
leaving the town. Which makes Luke say, as he was come nigh; and the two
other evangelists say, as he went out of Jericho, he satbegging. Bartimaeus
being (as it should seem) the most known, and the most famous, is alone
mentioned by Mark and Luke. Matthew (naming none) saith there were two;
which Mark and Luke deny not, but knowing only the name of the one of
them, they mention only one. They speak to our Saviour under the notion of
the Song of Solomonof David, by which they owned him as the true Messias;
for that was a title by which the Messias wasknownamongstthe Jews,
according to the prophecies of him. They ask him for mercy; they continue in
their cry, though the multitudes rebuked them, as possibly thinking they only
came to ask some alms, and were too importunate, seeing our Lord seemed
not to regardthem. God sometimes trieth our faith by delays, how it will hold
out, but he never frustrateth it. This minds us of our duty, to pray without
ceasing. Christstops, calleththem, asks them what they would have. They
seemmost sensible of their bodily wants, and answer, Lord, that our eyes may
be opened. Jesus hath compassiononthem, toucheth their eyes, (Christ
sometimes, but not always in healing, touched the affectedpart), and (as Luke
saith) he said, Receive thy sight. The miracle is wrought; they presently are
able to see. Luke addeth, that Christ said, Thy faith hath savedthee. We have

12. met with the same phrase before. I have made thee whole, but thy faith in me
hath prevailed with me to do it. Their faith in his power was seen,
1. In their owning him as the true Messiah;so able to do it.
2. In their imploring his mercy, and going on in their cries of that nature,
though they met with a rebuke.
Faith and fervent prayer do greatthings with God, because ofhis compassion.
The prayer of faith shall save the sick, Jam 5:15. The effectualfervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much, Jam 5:16. Nor is any man so mean and
contemptible in the world, (these two blind men were beggars), but if they can
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if they will lie in Christ’s way, if they will cry
unto him, and not give over their cries, they shall obtain at our Saviour’s
hands greaterthings than these. This miracle gains God glory from the
multitude, and from the blind man not only praise, but a resolution to follow
Christ. This should be the effectof all salvations wrought for us. Mercyis then
duly improved, when it bringeth forth in our hearts glory and praise to God,
and engagesus to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Saviour had wrought his
former miracles in Galilee, where the witnesses ofthem were remote; he hath
now two witnessesin the province of Judea, who go along with him towards
Jerusalem, where we shall find him in the next chapter.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
So Jesus had compassionon them,.... His bowels moved towards them as a
man; he pitied their miserable and distressedcondition, and discoveredthe
tenderness of his heart towards them by some outward sign, by his looks, or
by some gesture or another:
and touched their eyes;with his bare hand, without the use of any instrument
or medicine. The Ethiopic version adds; "and said unto them, according to
your faith shall it be unto you"; which seems to be takenout of Matthew 9:29.

13. The EvangelistMark relates, that "Jesus saidunto him (Bartimaeus) go thy
way, thy faith hath made thee whole":not that the virtue of healing came
from the actof faith, but from the object of it; his faith was not the cause of,
nor the reasonwhy, but the wayand means in and by which he receivedthe
cure:
and immediately their eyes receivedsight; or, as the Syriac and Persic
versions render the words, "that moment their eyes were opened":the cure
was wrought at once, directly; a clearproof of the omnipotence of Christ, and
of his true and proper deity: the words, "their eyes", are not in some copies:
and are omitted by the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, which
read thus, "they immediately saw". The Persic versionadds, and they saw the
world; the men and things of it, which they either had never seenbefore, or, at
least, for a considerable time; which must be a very surprising and agreeable
sight to them.
And they followedhim; in a corporalsense they joined the multitude, and
went after him to Jerusalem;partly to express their gratitude for such a
wonderful favour bestowedupon them; and partly that they might be
witnesses ofthe power of his deity, and the truth of his Messiahship, as they
went along, and at Jerusalem:and in a spiritual sense;they became his
disciples, they embracedhis doctrines, believed in him as the Messiah,
submitted to his ordinances, imitated him in the exercise of grace, andin the
performance of duty: for, at the same time he restoredtheir bodily sight, he
gave them a spiritual one to look to him, and follow him, the light of the
world, that they might enjoy the light of life in another world.
Geneva Study Bible
So Jesus had compassionon them, and touched their eyes:and immediately
their eyes receivedsight, and they followedhim.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 20:34. σπλαγχνισθεὶς. Note the frequent reference to Christ’s pity in
this gospel(Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:32, and here).—τῶν

14. ὀμμάτων, a synonym for ὀφθαλμῶν, as if with some regard to style which the
scribes might have been expectedto appreciate, but have not (ὀφθ., thrice,
T.R.). ὄμμα is poetic in class. Greek.—ἠκολούθησαν, they followedHim, like
the rest, without guide (sine hodego, Beng.), so showing at once that their eyes
were opened and their hearts grateful.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
34. they followedhim] It is probable that very many of those who had received
sight and soundness of limb by the word or touch of Jesus followedHim to
Jerusalem.
followed]Jesus Himself leads the procession. SeeLuke 19:28.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 20:34. Σπλαγχνισθεὶς, being moved with compassion)The
compassionofJesus was arousedby every human misery.—ἠκολούθησαν
Αὐτῷ, they followedHim) with the multitudes mentioned in ch. Matthew 21:8,
and without any one to lead them.[898]
[898]Sc. as formerly, when they were blind.—ED.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 34. - Touchedtheir eyes. Only St. Matthew mentions this action of our
Lord; but in all other casesofthe cure of blindness the healing touch of the
Man accompaniedthe word of the God (comp. Matthew 9:29; Mark 8:23;
John 9:6), and Christ did not now depart from his usual practice. Thus, as we
have noticed before, he connectedthe cure with himself. He proved that his
flesh takenunto the Godheadwas life-giving, remedial, efficacious;and he
confirmed the faith of the sufferers and bystanders by showing that there was
no deceit or collusion. The other synoptists give Christ's assurance to the men,
that the restorationof their sight was the reward of faith - a faith exhibited by
the invocationof Jesus as "Sonof David," by continued importunity amid

15. surrounding difficulties, by confidence in his powerand willingness to heal
brought to a point by Christ's question, "Whatwill ye that I shall do unto
you?" They followedhim. A fact only less remarkable than the miracle that
led to it. The impulse of a grateful heart drew them along the road which the
Saviour travelled. They may have accompaniedhim to Jerusalem, and joined
the applauding multitude which escortedhim to the holy city, and employed
their new powerof sight in observing that wonderful spectaclewhichthe next
few days afforded. One, at any rate, of these men, Bartimaeus, seems to have
become knownin the early Church as a devotedfollowerof Christ, and hence
his name is recordedfor all time in the sacrednarrative.
END OF BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
What Happens When Jesus is Moved With Compassion
Randy Willis Reflection March10, 2015
Recently, I was reading in Matthew 20 where Jesus askedtwo blind men,
“What do you want me to do for you?” They said, “Lord, let our eyes be
opened.”
I love what the Scripture says next: “Movedwith compassion, Jesus touched
their eyes. Immediately they receivedtheir sight and followedhim” (Matthew
20.32-34, NET).
Mark tells about a man with leprosy who “came and knelt in front of Jesus,
begging to be healed.” The man said, “If you are willing, you can heal me and
make me clean.”
Again, Scripture reports, “Movedwith compassion, Jesus reachedoutand
touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’ Instantly the leprosy
disappeared, and the man was healed” (see Mark 1.40-42).

16. There are other similar occurrencesin Scripture. Eachtime Jesus feeds the
multitudes, we’re told, Jesus “hadcompassionon them” (e.g., Mark 6.34;
Mark 8.2; Matthew 14.14).
Often, when Jesus saw crowds ofpeople who seemedlost, he was moved with
compassion.
I’ve always loved Matthew 9.35-38…
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in
the synagoguesandannouncing the GoodNews about the Kingdom. And he
healed every kind of disease andillness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had
compassiononthem because theywere confused and helpless, like sheep
without a shepherd. 37 He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is great, but the
workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask
him to send more workers into his fields.’
Jesus’compassionalways leads to action, whether healing, feeding, providing,
or calling others to serve!
What would it look like if we too were moved with compassion?
God, break our hearts for what breaks yours!
https://www.williswired.com/2015/03/10/what-happens-when-jesus-is-moved-
with-compassion/
Moved With Compassion
“And Jesus, whenHe came out, saw much people, and was moved with
compassiontowardthem, because theywere as sheepnot having a shepherd:
and He began to teachthem many things.” Mark 6:34, KJV
In different situations the Bible says Jesus was “movedwith compassion.”
Other versions sometimes translate this as “take pity”, “Indignant”, and

17. “heart went out to….” These are all good, but they fall short of the Greek
meaning. “Movedwith compassion” is more than feeling pity or sympathy for
someone[s]. This wordis a word that means feeling that comes out of the
innermost being. It is the gut-wrenching, pit-of-the-stomach feeling you get
when something really bad happens or you believe that it is going to happen.
But it is not a feeling powerlessness.
When you read in Scripture that Jesus was movedwith compassionit was a
deeply heart-felt emotion that lead to action. It was a horror that satanhad
deceivedpeople, or kept them in sickness orpossessedthem. It was a horror
that reactedto help, to undo the wrong, to setpeople free.
Some people have an image of a distant God who doesn’t really care. Or they
see Jesus as a one-dimensionalstick figure moving automaticallythrough the
gospels just doing what He was told. While it is certainly true that Jesus
always obeyedthe Father, it was not an emotionless routine action. Jesus
deeply caredfor the people and situations around Him.
In our own lives, we can think that Jesus does not know or does not care what
happens to us. Nothing could be farther from the Truth. When something
hurts you, Jesus is moved with compassion. Although it is hard for us to
imagine as we are reeling in pain and confusion, Jesus feels our pain deeper
than we do. That does not mean that He is going to rush in and put a Band-
Aid on it. Like going to the cross, sometimespainful things are necessary.
There can be no victory without a battle and the greaterthe battle the greater
the victory. What it does mean is that Jesus is right there with us through it
all - not as a callus observer or even as an encouraging coach. No, He is

18. experiencing it to the full with us and giving us the strength to carry on. Like
a parent weeping because his child has to undergo painful operations to
recoverfrom canceror burns, Jesus feels our distress.
While we can picture that about Jesus [sometimes], we can think that Godthe
Father is the distant callus One. Again nothing could be farther from the
Truth. That idea is a lie from satanto keepus separatedfrom the Father.
Jesus did only those things which He saw His Fatherdo. In other words,
Jesus being moved with compassionwas anexpressionof the Father’s being
moved with compassion. The Fatherfeels things as deeply as does Jesus. Sin,
sorrow, and sicknessrip at the Father’s heart. Becoming involved with His
creationwas no idle experiment. It was a total commitment. Since the Father
[and the Sonand the Holy Spirit] is a perfect Being, His capacityto feel pain is
also perfect - far greaterthan anything we can and do experience.
Let us rejectevery lie that satansends to us that God doesn’t care or
understand. That is nonsense. Ouremotions may say that but emotions are
fickle and not trustworthy. We stand on the Word of Godand we KNOW
Jesus loves us, is moved with compassionatour suffering and so are the
Father and the Holy Spirit. We stand in the face of satan’s lies and declare
the Truth!
When Jesus was moved with compassion, He did something whether it was
casting out demons, rising the dead, healing the sick or [as above] teaching to
bring people out of ignorance aboutthe True God and His ways. True
compassioninvolves angerat the wrong [hence some translations as
“indignant”] and action to correctit or, at least, comfortthrough it.
As we move passed[or even in], our own pain we need to look on others and
be moved with compassion - not merely pity or sympathy - for what they are

19. going through. We need to become the hand of Jesus in ministering to them.
They need to look into our eyes and see the love and compassionofthe
infinitely caring God looking back at them. We all do this imperfectly…but
let us be found doing it!
Moved With Compassion
Contributed by Patrick Oelund on Jun 28, 2013
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Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38
Denomination: Pentecostal
Summary: When ministering to people we need to have compassion
1 2 3 4
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Moved With Compassion
Patrick Oelund
Jesus has calledus to go out and “…go into all the world and preachthe good
news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Just the commandment “go” is something

20. that would simply move us out from our churches and houses to go and tell
everyone about Jesus Christ; but there are other things which compel us to go
and one of these things is COMPASSION.
Compassionis born out of love and love is found in God: “Whoeverdoes not
love does not know God, because Godis love” (1John 4:8).
I believe that many times, compassionorlove for people is not what drives us,
but instead, ministry, position and finding something to do is driving us to go
out. This will work for a short while but it will not last forever: wheneverwe
face problem; a high position or ministry will not encourage us to not let our
hands let go of the plow and look back, but compassionfor people will, the
love of Christ will.
My wife once askedGod what is the most important thing for Him – He
answered, “People.”
2. Compassionshownthrough the life of Jesus Christ
Jesus is our example in everything and also in doing ministry. What was it
that drove Jesus?
Matt 9:35-37
Jesus wentthrough all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the goodnews of the kingdom and healing every disease and
sickness. Whenhe saw the crowds, he had compassionon them, because they
were harassedand helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
1. Be attentive to people
As Jesus was going through all the towns and villages preaching and teaching
about the Kingdom of Godand healing every disease and sickness – He was
looking at the crowds and saw that they were harassed(tormented) and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus was looking atthe crowds – sometimes we need to take time to look at
the people we meet. Often we are so in a hurry to do our ministry so we forget
why we are here. When Jesus saw the people He was filled with a compassion

21. for them. They were like sheepwithout a shepherd. They were harassedand
helpless. Many times it is when we start to look upon the people God can
speak to us. We lift our eyes from our own situation to see other peoples’lives
and helplessness.
Mankind is lost without Jesus. Theyare on their way to hell.
2. Compassionis not just a feeling but involves action
• Many times when we see something, for example, we can see a young girl
that is crippled and can’t go
• We feelpity and sympathy for her, but it stays there
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• Literally it says that when Jesus had compassionon them – his bowels inside
was yearning
• Yearning that these people who were scatteredlike sheepwithout a shepherd
should come to know Him – the GoodShepherd
• And his feeling of compassionmade Him to do something… He appointed 12
apostles and send them out to preachthe Kingdom of God, heal the sick and
raise the dead to life
Ex: The Chinese female evangelistthat was out preaching.
The girl who fled from China to HK and when she saw the Bible for the first
time she said, “I am willing to go back the same way I came if I only could
give my people the word of God.”
Paul said in 2 Cor 5:14-15, “ForChrist’s love compels us, [the Russianbible is
not the right translation] because we are convinced that one died for all, and
therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longerlive
for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

22. “We can give without loving, but we cannotlove without giving.” – Alexander
Duff
Mark 1:40-42
A man with leprosy came to him and beggedhim on his knees, “If you are
willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesusreachedout
his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
• This man was unclean because ofhis sickness.
• The man had probably heard a lot about Jesus;how He was healing people
and casting out demons. He knew that Jesus was ABLE to cure him from his
sickness.
• What he didn’t know was if Jesus was WILLING to cure him.
• Jesus was filled with compassionfor this man.
• It didn’t bother Jesus that this man had an unclean disease, but He touched
him and made him clean
Ex: There was a businessmanwho was traveling in Japan and while there he
met a young American womanwho workedas a missionary among the lepers.
When he heard that she had left a prosperous life in the US, he was amazed
and told her: “I wouldn’t do this for 1 million dollar.” She replied, “Me
neither,” “but I’ll do it for Jesus!”
Luke 5:21-43
• A large crowd gatheredaround Jesus
• A Ruler from the synagogue came and fell down before Jesus and askedHim
to come to his house because his daughter was sick
• Jesus left the crowdto visit one person. Many times we do the opposite.
• A woman who had a blood disease and she had spent all her money on
different doctors but insteadof getting better she grew worse

23. • When she heard about Jesus she came up behind Him
• She touched the hem of his garment because she thought that by doing that
she could be healed.
• Immediately the bleeding stopped and she FELT in her body that she was
healed.
• When Jesus feltthat power had gone out from Him, He asked, “Who
touched me?”
• She trembled with fear. I don’t know why she was afraid, maybe she thought
that Jesus would be angry but Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has
healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
• When we read about Jesus we see that He never turned awayfrom someone
who came to Him. He always healed them and always caredfor them.
• After this, people came from Jairus’house and told him that her daughter
was dead and that he shouldn’t bother Jesus anymore. But Jesus IGNORED
them and told Jairus, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”
• The girl was dead and when they came to his house Jesus took Peter, Jacob,
John and Jairus and his wife and went into the room where the daughter laid.
He raised her up from death and told them to give her something to eat. Jesus
caredfor her.
Luke 7:11-15
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• Jesus came with His disciples to a town calledNain

24. • When they approachedthe town gate, a dead person was being carriedout –
the only son of his mother and she was a widow
• Jesus saw this woman and He was filled with compassionforher – She was
now alone without anyone and He told her:
• “Don’t cry.” And He raisedher boy back to life
When we read the Gospels, we see that Jesus was notonly filled with a feeling
of compassionfor people but He acted on that feeling and did something to
change the situation for the people He met.
Ex: William Boothand preaching to a hungry stomach.
Matt 15:29-39
• Jesus came to a mountainside and sat down and as always a greatmultitude
of people were surrounding Him
• He healedtheir sick;the mute spoke, the crippled were made well, the lame
started to walk and the blind saw
• Probably Jesus spokea lot to the people as well and I think that He was
really tired after so many people coming to Him asking Him to do something
for them
• But He is not worried about Himself but of the people:
v. 32
• “Jesus calledhis disciples to him and said: ‘I have compassionforthese
people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I
do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’”
Luke 19:1-10
• Zacchaeus wantedto see who Jesus was
• Jesus came where he was in the tree and called him by name. That means
that Jesus alreadyknew him. Jesus was interestedin people.
• Jesus came to seek andto save the lost.

25. Acts 3:1-10
• Peterand John went to the temple at the time of prayer
• A crippled man was carried to the temple gate calledBeautiful where he was
put every day to beg
• When he saw Peterand John he askedthem for money
• Peterand John lookedstraight at him: Probably they had seenthis man
many times as they were going to the temple to pray, but not until today they
SAW him
• “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you…”
• Peterunderstood that he really had something to give this man to change his
life
When Jesus was here on earth He gave as an example how we as the Church
of God shall live. He said that He had come to serve and to give his life as a
ransom for many (Matt 20:28). We are also to be servants and serve people
and not expect people to serve us.
The Church is the hope for this world! It is not the government that is the
answerand has all the answers.
We need to understand that if we don’t go out and show the world the love of
God no one will do it. By feeding some people every week will make an impact
in these peoples’life. By doing this, you show the love of God to these people.
They will see that someone cares.
We don’t have a hidden agenda. With that I mean that we want the people we
serve to be savedand come to God. But, even if they won’t, we will anyhow do
whateverwe do, because we wantto show them the love of God and that there
is someone who cares for them and love them.
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3. Compassionboth for the people in the world and the people in the church
a. They healedthe sick and showedthe love of God (Acts 5:12-16). When
Philip preached Christ in Samaria, people were being healed and there was
greatjoy in that city (Acts 8:4-8). People outside of the Church had respectfor
them because they saw that they were nice people doing well.
What are people speaking of us: Maybe that we are a sect, strange, and
introvert people. Many times this is what people speak about us. Why? One of
the answers is that we are introvert and we close ourselves inside the
churches. We need to go out and be someone that goes to the people giving
them love, compassion, healing by being there when no one else cares.
b. But the First Church didn’t only care for the people outside of the Church
they caredfor their brothers and sisters in the Church.
Acts 4:32
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No-one claimed that any of his
possessionswas his own, but they shared everything they had.
I don’t mean that we shall give awayall our belongings but I think that we as
a church, a fellowship of brothers or sisters must be open to eachother’s
needs. Whenever we see someone ofour brother or sisterin need, we do
something about it.
2Cor8:8-15
Paul is speaking to the Corinthian Church that they should give to the
believers in Judea in their suffering.
But it is not only by giving of one’s belongings we show compassionand love
for eachother, it is also by treating eachother in a loving way.
1Pet3:8-9

27. Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as
brothers, be compassionateand humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult
with insult, but with blessing, becauseto this you were calledso that you may
inherit a blessing.
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We shall lift eachother up. Look not only on our own interests but also for the
interests of others (Phil 2:4). We shall be attentive to eachother and love one
another even when it means that we need to sacrifice something.
John 15:13
Greaterlove has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
THE CHARACTER OF JESUS:
Compassion
160.050.000 Torrey: p123, T:V
Topic 50: The CompassionofJesus Christ. (Main Topic)
160.052.000 Torrey: p123, T:V(1)
Topic 52: The Objects of Christ's Compassion.
160.052.010 Torrey: p123, T:V(1), P:1
POINT 10: Jesus Christhad compassionon the multitude who were
distressedand scatteredabroadas sheepnot having a shepherd.

28. Mark 6:34 When Jesus landedand saw a large crowd, he had compassion
on them, because they were like sheepwithout a shepherd. So he began
teaching them many things.
Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassiononthem,
because they were harassedand helpless, like sheepwithout a shepherd.
What if Jesus were in Chicago? How does He feeltowards the billion people
in China? Contrastthe Pharisees:
John 7:48-49 [48] "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in
him? [49] No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law -- there is a curse on
them."
Which are we more like, Christ or the Pharisees?
160.052.020 Torrey: p123, T:V(1), P:2
POINT 20: Jesus Christhad compassionon the hungry multitude.
Mark 8:2 I have compassionforthese people;they have already been with
me three days and have nothing to eat.
Not only the spiritual destitution of men, but their physical need as well
appealedto the compassionofJesus Christ.
160.052.030 Torrey: p123, T:V(1), P:3
POINT 30: Jesus Christhad compassionon the multitude in general.
Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had
compassiononthem and healed their sick.
When Jesus saw a crowd of men He was moved with compassion. His
compassiononthe multitude is mentioned five times. A crowdof men is a
pitiful sight. It represents so much of sorrow, so much of pain, so much of sin.
What is your feeling when you look out on a crowd? Judging by the contextof
this passage, the sick seemto have especiallydrawn out His compassion.
160.052.040 Torrey: p124, T:V(1), P:4

29. POINT 40: Jesus Christhad compassionon the blind.
Matthew 20:34 Jesus had compassionon them and touched their eyes.
Immediately they receivedtheir sight and followedhim.
160.052.050 Torrey: p124, T:V(1), P:5
POINT 50: Jesus Christhad compassionon the demonized, the victims of the
powerof unclean spirits.
Mark 9:22, 25 [22] "It has often thrown him into fire or waterto kill him.
But if you cando anything, take pity on us and help us." [25] When Jesus saw
that a crowdwas running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf
and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter
him again."
In the last case mentionedthere was much in the man that was repulsive and
hateful, but Jesus beheld him with compassion.
160.052.060 Torrey: p124, T:V(1), P:6
POINT 60: Jesus Christhad compassionon the leper.
Mark 1:40-41 [40] A man with leprosy came to him and beggedhim on his
knees, "Ifyou are willing, you can make me clean." [41]Filled with
compassion, Jesusreachedouthis hand and touched the man. "I am willing,"
he said. "Be clean!"
The world, even the religious world of that day, met the leper with repulsion
and disgust and scorn. Christ met him with compassion. The world drew
awayfrom him, Christ drew toward him.
160.052.070 Torrey: p124, T:V(1), P:7
POINT 70: Jesus Christhad compassionon the one bereavedof a loved one.
Luke 7:12-13 [12] As he approachedthe town gate, a dead person was
being carried out -- the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a
large crowd from the town was with her. [13] When the Lord saw her, his
heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

30. This is the only recordedcase in which Jesus met a funeral procession, and
we see what His feeling was toward the mourner. What is your feeling toward
mourners? What is your feeling when you meet a funeral procession?
160.052.080 Torrey: p125, T:V(1), P:8
POINT 80: Jesus Christhad compassionon the sinful, the lost, the spiritually
dead.
Luke 15:20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a
long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassionfor him; he
ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissedhim.
Compare Luke 15:1-2 [1] Now the tax collectorsand "sinners" were all
gathering around to hear him. [2] But the Phariseesand the teachers of the
law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
160.052.090 Torrey: p125, T:V(1), P:9
POINT 90: Jesus Christhad compassionon all men afflicted by any form of
misfortune, or wretchedness,ordegradation.
Mark 3:5 He lookedaround at them in anger and, deeply distressedat
their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretchout your hand." He stretched
it out, and his hand was completelyrestored.
Jesus Christ did not go about His work from a coldsense of duty, but His
own heart drew Him out towards those He helped and saved. His deeds of
mercy costHim something more than the sacrifice ofleisure and the
expenditure of effort and power. They costhim heartaches. He made other
men's sorrows His own sorrows, other men's agonyHis 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.
John 11:33 When Jesus saw herweeping, and the Jews who had come
along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

31. Herein lay one greatsecretof His power. It is the misery that we make our
own that we can comfort; it is the want that we make our own that we can
fully satisfy; it is the sin we make our own that we cansave another from.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness ofGod.
Realpowerto help men is a very expensive thing, but anyone can have it
who is willing to pay the price. But the one who is not willing to give up
lightness of heart, and take instead burden of heart over the world's sin and
sorrow and shame, may as well give up the thought of being a helper, much
less a saviorof men. Men can not be savedby burning words, by mere
bleeding hearts.
160.054.000 Torrey: p126, T:V(2)
Topic 54: The way in which the compassionofChrist was manifested.
160.054.010 Torrey: p126, T:V(2), P:1
POINT 10: The compassionof Jesus Christwas not manifested in mere
feelings or words, but in action, in self-sacrificing and persistent and
thorough-going ministration to the needs of the one upon whom He had
compassion.
Luke 10:33-36 [33]But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man
was;and when he saw him, he took pity on him. [34]He went to him and
bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his
own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. [35]The next day he
took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. "Look afterhim,"
he said, "and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you
may have." [36] Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man
who fell into the hands of robbers?
In the final analysis, the goodSamaritan is a picture of Jesus Christ.
160.054.020 Torrey: p126, T:V(2), P:2

32. POINT 20: The compassionof Jesus Christtoward the unshepherded was
manifested in His patiently teaching them when He himself was wearyand
sore at heart.
Mark 6:34 When Jesus landedand saw a large crowd, he had compassion
on them, because they were like sheepwithout a shepherd. So he began
teaching them many things.
He taught before he fed. Why? In this manifestationof compassionthere is
abundant opportunity for us all to imitate. Get an unshepherded child of the
street, if you cando no more.
160.054.030 Torrey: p126, T:V(2), P:3
POINT 30: The compassionof Jesus Christtoward the unshepherded was
manifested in His healing the sick.
Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had
compassiononthem and healed their sick.
160.054.040 Torrey: p127, T:V(2), P:4
POINT 40: The compassionof Jesus Christwas manifested in feeding the
hungry.
Matthew 15:32 Jesus calledhis disciples to him and said, "I have
compassionfor these people;they have already been with me three days and
have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them awayhungry, or they may
collapse onthe way."
160.054.050 Torrey: p127, T:V(2), P:5
POINT 50: The compassionof Jesus Christwas manifested: (a) In standing
still to listen to the cry of two blind beggars althoughHe was on most
important and urgent business. (b) In opening the eyes of the blind.
Matthew 20:32-34 [32]Jesus stoppedand calledthem. "What do you want
me to do for you?" he asked. [33]"Lord," they answered, "we wantour
sight." [34] Jesus had compassiononthem and touched their eyes.
Immediately they receivedtheir sight and followedhim.

33. 160.054.060 Torrey: p127, T:V(2), P:6
POINT 60: The compassionof Jesus Christwas manifested in casting
unclean spirits out of men.
Mark 5:8 For Jesus had saidto him, "Come out of this man, you evil
spirit!"
Mark 9:25 When Jesus saw thata crowd was running to the scene, he
rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you,
come out of him and never enter him again."
160.054.070 Torrey: p127, T:V(2), P:7
POINT 70: The compassionof Jesus Christwas manifested: (a) in putting
forth His hand and touching the leper (For years the leper had not felt the
touch of a cleanand loving hand. That is what many a moral leper needs
today, the touch of a cleanand loving hand.) (b) In healing the leper.
Mark 1:41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reachedout his hand and
touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
160.054.080 Torrey: p128, T:V(2), P:8
POINT 80: The compassionof Jesus Christwas manifest: (a) In bidding the
sorrowing to weepno more. (b) In restoring the departed to the bereaved.
Luke 7:12-14 [12] As he approachedthe town gate, a dead person was
being carried out -- the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a
large crowd from the town was with her. [13] When the Lord saw her, his
heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." [14]Then he went up and
touched the coffin, and those carrying it stoodstill. He said, "Young man, I
say to you, get up!"
160.054.090 Torrey: p129, T:V(2), P:9
POINT 90: The compassionof Jesus Christwas manifest in welcoming and
pardoning the sinner and bidding her to go in peace.

34. Luke 7:48, 50 [48] Then Jesus saidto her, "Your sins are forgiven." [50]
Jesus saidto the woman, "Your faith has savedyou; go in peace."
In all this let us remember:
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterdayand today and forever.
1 John 2:6 Whoeverclaims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
(c) 1999-2003by Rick Reinckens
Jesus and His TenderCompassion
Weldon E. Warnock
One of the greatestqualities in the life of Jesus was his willingness to enter
into the human situation and to be deeply moved by tender compassionthat
compelled him to help and to heal. Jesus was neverdetached from, nor
indifferent to human sorrow and suffering. People were never a nuisance to
Jesus but an opportunity to serve.
According to Webster, compassionis "to suffer with another; hence,
sympathy; sorrow for the distressedor unfortunate with the desire to help"
(Webster's New TwentiethCentury Dictionary, Unabridged, SecondEdition).
Websterthen gives a poignant statement from South, "There never was a
heart truly greatand generous, that was not also tender and compassionate."
William Barclaywrote, "If there was one thing the ancientworld needed it
was compassion, pity and mercy." There was no concernfor the sick and
feeble, no provision for the agedand no feeling for the mentally and emotion-
ally disturbed. Christ, however, in his appearance brought love, affectionand
care to a world of apathy and complacency.
Jesus and Compassion

35. Compassionwas anoutstanding feature in the life of Jesus. He is spokenof
severaltimes as being moved with compassion. Actually, he is our perfect
example of compassion. Let us notice:
1. He lived it. On various occasions he alleviated the suffering and pain of
others. At Jericho he had compassionon two blind men sitting by the wayside,
and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes receivedsight (Matt.
20:30-34). Seeing a greatmultitude near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus wasmoved
with compassionand healedtheir sick (Matt. 14:14).
When Jesus came nigh to the gate of the city Nain, He beheld the coffin which
containedthe body of the only son of a widow. When the Lord saw her he had
compassiononher sorrow and said, "Weepnot. And he came and touched her
bier. . . . And he said, young man, I say unto thee, Arise" (Lk. 7:11-14). Seeing
the hunger of the multitude Jesus saidto his disciple, "I have compassionon
the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and they have
nothing to eat, and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in their
way" (Matt. 15:32).
The loneliness ofbeing lepers moved Jesus to touch them and heal them (Mk.
1:41). On going through the cities and preaching and teaching in the
synagogues, Jesuswas movedwith compassionwhenhe saw the multitudes as
sheepwithout a shepherd (Matt. 9:35-36). Is he any less compassionatetoday
when he observes ourbewilderment in so-calledChristendom?
2. He taught it. All of us are familiar with the story of the GoodSamaritan
(Lk. 10:25-37). In response to a lawyer's question, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus answeredby relating the story of a certain man who went down from
Jerusalemto Jericho and fell among thieves. Religious devotees,a Jewish
priest and Levite, passedby with indifference, but an unknown Samaritan
came by, and when he saw him he had compassionon him. At his own expense
and effort, the Samaritan provided for his needs. Jesus then askedthe lawyer,
"Which now of these three thinketh thou, was neighbor unto him that fell
among the thieves?" And the lawyer said, "He that showedmercy on him."
Then Jesus saidunto him, "Go and do likewise."Friend, let us be good
neighbors! Also, compare the parables of lost things (Lk. 15).

36. 3. He expects it. Through revelation(Gal. 1:12; Eph. 3:3) Jesus saidto the
apostles, "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted (compassionate, NIV),
forgiving one an-other. . ." (Eph. 4:32). Again, "Finally, all of you, live in
harmony with one another; he sympathetic, love as brothers, be
compasssionateand humble" (1 Pet. 3:8). John says if we have this world's
goods, and shut up our bowels of compassionhow dwelleth the love of God in
us" (1 Jn. 3:17). Let us heed the teaching of Jesus.
Jesus Versus Stoicism
Characteristic ofthe world in which Jesus lived was a philosophy which was
espousedby a greatnumber of people not affectedby passion, able to
suppress feelings, manifesting or maintaining austere indifference to joy,
grief, pleasure or pain. In this dearth of inhumanity of man toward man,
Jesus came, bringing a fountain flowing with pity and compassion.
In fact, the Stoics were incapable of feeling. They reasonedthat if a man could
sorrow or joy it meant that someone else couldaffecthim, alter his feelings,
making him happy or sad. They erroneouslysurmised that if God could feel
sorrow or joy at anything that happens to man, it would mean that man can
affectGod, and, therefore, man has powerover God.But since it is impossible,
they thought, for man to influence God, therefore he must be essentially
without feeling. Hence, a divine Being would have no compassion.
Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher, wrote of how we should teach and train
ourselves not to care when we lose some-thing. He said: "This should be our
study from morning to night, beginning from the leastand frailestthings,
from an earthen vessel, from a glass. Afterwards, proceedto a suit of clothes,
a dog, a horse, an estate;from thence to yourselves, body, parts of the body,
children, wife, brothers. Lose anything, see your nearestand dearestdie, and
say: `It doesn't matter; I don't care.'
Mostof us often think that God is love and that the Christian's life is love, but
we would do well to remember that without Jesus'entrance into the world,
the feeling of compassionwould have not been exemplified for us to fully
learn. "The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion;slow to angerand of

37. greatmercy" (Psa. 145:8). It is comforting to know that Jesus is touched with
the feeling of our infirmities (Heb. 4:15). We sing the beautiful hymn:
O yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the longs nights dreary,
I know my Saviour cares.
Jesus and the Christian
Can we as followers ofJesus, be any less compassionate than he? No! We must
show compassiontowardthe spiritual and physical needs of people. All of us
should be ready to respond to human anguish and misery, not allowing our
hearts to be hardened by selfishinterests and materialistic goals.
Some practicalsuggestions to show compassioninclude: (1) Visit the sick and
shut-ins. (2) Send cards to those who are ill and bereaved. (3) Notice the needs
of those around about us, such as the distressed, the discouraged, the
destitute, etc. (4) Encourage fellow-Christians, rememberthe difficulty and
struggle in living the Christian life. (5) Remember when you were lost in sin,
and what it means for someone to care and teachyou the truth. Other points
could be mentioned.
Let us be challengedto be like Christ! Let us be compassionate!One of the
essentialtasks ofNew TestamentChristianity is to reappraise the meaning
and application of compassionfortoday.
Guardian of Truth XXXVIII No.23,p. 11-12
December1, 1994
CompassionofChrist
Bible / Our Library / Classics/ The GospelAwakening / CompassionofChrist

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Confessing ChristNo Roomfor Jesus
COMPASSION OF CHRIST.
"And Jesus went forth and saw a greatmultitude, and was moved with
compassiontowards them, and he healedtheir sick." Matthew 14 : 14.
I want to call your attention this evening to just one word—Compassion.
Some time ago I took up the Concordance,and ran through the life of Christ
to see what it was that moved him to compassion;for we read often in his life,
while he was down here, that he was moved with compassion. Iwas deeply
pleased, in my own soul, as I ran through his life, and found those passagesof
Scripture that tell us what moved him with compassion. In the 14th chapter of
Matthew and 14th verse, we find these words: "And Jesus wentforth and saw
a greatmultitude, and was moved with compassiontowards them, and he
healed their sick." He saw the greatmultitude, and he was moved with
compassion, andhe healedtheir sick. And in another place it says that he
healed all that had need of it. Tin xe didn't any one need to tell him what was
in the hearts of the people. When I stand before an audience like this I cannot
read your history; but he knew the history of eachone. It says in one place in
Scripture, "Eachheart knows its own bitterness;" and when Christ stood
before a multitude like this, he knew the particular bitterness in eachheart.
He could read every man's biography; He knew the whole story. And as he
stoodbefore that vastmultitude, the heart of the Son of God was moved with
compassion;just as in the preceding verses we find him, when John's disciples
had come to nim with their sad story, and with broken hearts. Their beloved
Masterhad just been beheaded by the wickedking; they had just buried the
headless body, and came to Jesus to tell all their sorrow to him. It was the best
thing they could do. No one could sympathize with them as Jesus could; no
one had the same compassionwith them that Jesus had. In all our troubles,
the bestthing we can do is to follow in the footsteps ofJohn's disciples, and
tell it all to him. He is a high-priest that can be touched with our infirmities.
We find after this, in a little while, that he, too, had to follow in the footsteps
of the disciples. He had to lay down his life for that nation; but he forgotall

39. about that as he lookedupon the multitude, and his heart was moved with
compassion. He sought to do them good;He aought to heal their sick.
In Mark, 1st chapter and 41stverse, there is a story that brings
out the compassionofChrist. There came to him a leper, and when he saw
him his heart was moved with compassion. The poorleper was full of leprosy
from head to foot; he was rotten with leprosy. I can just imagine how the leper
told his whole story to Christ; and it was the very best thing he could do. He
had no friends to be interested for him; he might have had a wife and family,
or a loved mother, but they could not be there to plead for him. The law
forbid any one speaking to him or touching him; but undoubtedly some one
had some day come out and lifted up his voice, and told him that a great
prophet had arisenin Israel who could cure him of the leprosy; that he was
quite sure that he could do it, because he had performed miracles equal to
that, and that he could give him life if he would only ask him. This leper told
his sadstory. Let us bring that scene downto our own day. Suppose that any
one in this assemblyhere to-night should find that he was a leper, and the law
required him to leave home. What a scene it must have been when that poor
leper left his home, left the wife of his bosom, left his own offspring, with the
thought that he never was to see them again!It was worse than death; he had
to go into a living sepulchre—to vanish from home, wife, from mother, father,
children, friends, and live Outside the walls of the city. And while he was out
there, if any man should come near him, be had to cry, "Unclean, unclean,
unclean!" He had to weara certain kind of garment, so that all men should
know him. You cansee him outside the walls of the city. It might happen in
the course ofyears, that some one came out and shouted at the top of his
voice, and told him that his little child was dying; but he could not go to see
his dying child, or comfort his wife in her affliction. There in exile he had to
remain, banished from home, while his body was rotting with that terrible
disease, withno loved friends to care for him, nothing to do to occupy his
time. That was the condition of the poor leper; and when he heard that Jesus
could cure him, he went to him and said: "Lord, if thou wilt thou canstcure
me; Lord, hear my pitiful story; Lord, have mercy upon me; Lord, save me."
And Jesus was movedwith compassion;and he reachedout his hand and
touched him. The law forbade him doing it, forbade any one touching him;

40. but that great heart was moved, and he touched the man. And the moment he
touched him the leprosy was gone;he was healed that very moment. He went
home, and told his wife and family what a greatblessing had come to him.
Did you ever stop to think that the leprosy of sin is a thousand times worse
than that Easternleprosy? All that it could do was to destroy the body. It
might eat out the eye; it might eat off the hand; it might eatoff the foot—but
think of the leprosy of sin! It brought angels from heaven, from the highest
heights of glory down, not only into this world, but into the very pit of hell.
Satanonce lifted on high hallelujahs of heaven; but sin brought him out of
heaven down into darkness. Look into the home of the drunkard; look into the
home of the libertine; look into the home of the harlot; look into the homes of
those who are living in sin! The leprosyof sin is a thousand times worse than
the Easternleprosy6f the body. But if the poor sinner, all polluted with sin,
will come to Christ, and say as this leper did, that we have just read about,
"Lord, thou cansthave compassionon me: thou cansttake awaythis desire
for sin; if thou wilt, thou canstsave me," he will save you to-night. O sinner,
you had better come to him; he is the very best friend that you have. It is
Jesus that we preach here to-night, the Son of God. He has come to help you;
he stands in this assembly, now. We cannot see him with the bodily eye; but
we can with the eye of faith; and he will save every sinner who will come to
him to-night! My dear friends, will you not come to him and ask him to have
mercy and compassionupon you? If I were an artist, I would like to paint that
scene, and bring out vividly that poor, filthy leper coming to the Sonof God;
and the Son of God reaching out his hand and touching and cleansing him.
And if I were an artist, I would like to draw another picture, and hang it up
on yonder wall, that you might see it; and that is of the father that came to
Christ with his beloved boy. He had been up on the mountain with Peter,
James and John, and there he met Elijah the prophet, and Moses the law-
giver. Heaven and earth had come together, and there he had met his Father,
and he had spokento him that memorable night on the mountain. In the
morning when he came down, a crowdof people gatheredround him, and
some were laughing and talking; they had been trying to castthe evil spirit
out of this boy, and told his pitiful story. No one knows but a father how much
that man loved that boy; his heart was wrapped up in that child; but the boy

41. was not only deaf and dumb, but he was possessedwith a devil, and sometimes
this devil would throw him into the fire, and sometimes into the water. And
when the father came to Jesus, he said to him, "Bring him unto me." And
when he was coming, the devil casthim down to the ground. So every man on
his wayto Christ must first be castdown. There he lay foaming, wallowing,
and Jesus only said, "How long has this been?" "Fromhis birth," was the
answer;"Oh, you do not know how much I have suffered with this boy! When
a child he was grievously tormented; he has brokenmy heart." Some of you
here perhaps have children who are suffering from some terrible disease,and
who are breaking your hearts. You cansympathize with that father. How that
father wept when he brought that poor boy! And when Jesus saw that pitiful
scene, his heart was moved with compassion, andwith a word he castout the
devil. I cansee the boy coming home with his father, leaping, and singing, and
praying. Let us learn a lesson. Mother, father, have you got a sonthat the
deril has takenpossessionof? Bring him to Jet"'" He delights to
r
nave; He delights to bless. All we have to do is to take him in the arms of our
faith, 'and bring him to Jesus. I want to call your attention to a difference
betweenthe father we read of in the 9th chapter of Mark, and the poor leper
in the 1stchapter. The leper says:"If thou wilt, thou canstmake me whole."
There was the "if in the right place. The other said: "If thou canst, have
compassion."He put the "if" in the wrong place. The Lord said: "If thou
canstbelieve, all things are possible." Let us believe that the Son of God can
save our sons and our daughters. Oh, have you got a poor drunken son? Have
you a poor brother who is a slave to strong drink? Come; bring him to the
meeting here to-morrow night, and let your cry be: "Lord, have compassion
on my darling boy, and save him."
About Jesus there was a greatnumber of disciples as he was going near the
little city of Nain; and what met his eye? Why, there was a dead man carried
out, and I cannot help but think of that passage.WhenI was preaching to the
men last Sunday night, a poor man fell dead; and while we were preaching he
was carried out. And here there was a dead man being carried out of the city
of Nain, and there was a greatcompany of the friends accompanying that

42. widow, to lay awayher only child, her only son. He was an only son, it says;
and his mother was a widow. The father, the head of the house, had died
perhaps long before, and long before that mother had watchedover that
husband, and at last sne closedhis eyes in death. It was a terrible blow, and
now death had come again. You who are mothers can see how through all that
sicknessthat mother was not willing to let the neighbors come in and watch
over that boy. For weeks,you cansee a light burning in that little cottage in
Nain. There is that mother; she is watching over that boy, her only son. How
she loved him! You that are mothers can sympathize with her. You that are
mothers can enter into full sympathy with her. You can see how hard it was to
lose that only son. She will never look into that beautiful face again. She will
never look into those beautiful eyes again. They have been closed;she hat
closedthem with her own loving hands. She has imprinted the last kiss upon
that lovely cheek. Now they lay him upon the coffin, or upon the bier, and
perhaps four men take him up just as they did the man with the palsy, and
they bear him awayto his resting-place;and there is a greatmultitude coming
out of Nain. All Nain is moved. The widow was loved very much, and there
was a greatmultitude attending her. And now we see them as they are coming
out of the gate of the city. The disciples look, and they see a greatcrowd
coming out of Nain, and the two crowds, the two greatmultitudes, come
together;and the Sonof God looks upon that scene. We readoften where he
lookedtowardheaven and sighed. He had followers on his right hand,
followers on his left hand, followers behind him, and followers before him. He
saw the woe and suffering in this wretchedworld; he lookedupon that
weeping mother. Death had gotits captive. And shall not the Son of God look
upon that widow? He saw those tears trickling down her cheeks, and the great
heart of the Son of God was moved. He would not suffer that sonto pass. He
commanded the young men to rest the bier. "Young man, I sayunto thee,
arise!" and the dead heard the Toice ofthe Son of God, and he arose. I can
imagine him saying, "Blessedbe God, I am alive."
You know Christ never preachedany funeral sermons. Here death had met its
conquerer; and when he spoke the word, awaywent death. The Son of God
was moved with compassionfor that poor widow;and there isn't a poor
widow in all New York but that Christ sympathizes with her. You that are

43. widows mourning over loved ones, let me say to you Jesus is full of
compassion. Letme sayhe is the same to-night that he was 1800 years ago,
when he bound up that poor widow's heart in Nain. He will comfort you; and
to-night, if you will just come to him and ask him to bind up your wounded
heart, ask him to help you to bear this greataffliction, the Son of God will do
it. You will find that his arm is underneath you to help you carry the burden.
There isn't a poor, suffering, crushed, bruised heart in all New York but that
the Sonof Godis in sympathy with it; and he will have compassionon you, if
you only come home to him, and he will bind up that heart of yours. Yes;
Jesus was moved with compassionwhen he saw that poor widow. They did not
need to tell him the story. He saw how the heart of the mother was broken;
and so he just spoke the word. He didn't take him with him. He might have
takenhim along with him to glorify himself; but he gave him back to the
mother. He took him right oatof the arms of death, and handed him back to
the mother. Yes, there was a happy home in Nain that night. How surprised
the mother must have been; she could hardly believe her eyes. Oh, my friends,
Jesua has got the same power to-night; and he will bind up your aching
hearts, if you will only just come to him.
Did you ever hear of one coming to Christ that he did not accept? He don't
care what position in life you hold. No matter how low down you are; no
matter what your disposition has been. You may be low in your thoughts,
words and actions;you may be selfish; your heart may be overflowing with
corruption and wickedness;yet Jesus will have compassionupon you. He will
speak comforting words to you, not treat you coldly or spurn you, as perhaps
those of earth would, but will speak tender words, and words of love and
affectionand kindness. Just come at once. He is a faithful friend —a friend
that stickethcloserthan a brother. He is a brother born for adversity. Treat
him like a brother, and like a friend; and you will have a heavenly balm
poured upon your wretched, broken heart. He is real; he is tangible. We don't
worship a myth; we don't praise an unreal being. He is an everlasting, living
person; a Man sitting at the right hand of God, full of the powerand majesty
of heaven. He comes here to-night in the Spirit. He is present with you. Oh,
accepthim! and he will deliver you, and save you, and bless you. My friends,
just treat him as if you saw him here in person, as if he stood here in person,

44. the same as I do now. Come to him, then, with all your troubles, and he will
bless you. If he were here, and you saw him beckoning unto you, you would
come, wouldn't you? Well, you would be saved then by sight; but he wants us
to take him by faith. There are those here to-night that believe he is here now.
Mr. Dodge, you came here for Christ's name, didn't you? [Mr. Dodge.—
"Yes."]Isn't it Christ's name that has brought you here, Dr. Hep worth? [Dr.
Hepworth.—"Yes."]And you, Dr. Booth, didn't you come here in Christ's
name? [Dr. Booth.—"Yes."]Yes, you have come hew for Christ, and are
willing to confess nis name. You are witnesseito his name Yes; here are two or
three gather togetherin the name of Christ; and he is here because he has
promised. Take him at hi* •word, then, my friends. The Sonof Godis here to-
night. Do you doubt it? Is there a man or woman in this assembly to-night
that doubts it? I tell you he is here. He is just here as much as if you saw him.
Press up to him. He is infinite in compassion, andwill take pity upon you.
Oh, my friends, that was earthly compassion;but what conceptioncan you
form of the compassionofJesus? If you come and tell him your sad stories his
heart will be moved. Oh, come and tell him your sins and misery. He knows
what human nature is; he knows what poor, weak, frail mortals we are, and
how prone we are to sin. He will have compassionupon you; he will reachout
his tender hand and touch you, as he did the poor leper. You will know the
touch of his loving hand. There is virtue and sympathy in it. That story of the
soldier reminds me of another. A mother receiveda dispatch that her boy had
been wounded. She resolvedto go down to the front to see him; she knew that
the nursing of the hospital would not be as tender as hers would be. After
much solicitationshe saw the doctor, and after repeatedwarnings from him
not to touch the boy or wake him up—he had only a few days to live, at any
rate, and waking him up would only hasten his death—she went to hia
bedside. When she saw the poor boy lying there so still and lifeless, and with
the marks of his suffering so fresh upon him, she could not resistthe
temptation to lay her hand on his brow. Instinct told him it was his mother's
loving hand, and without opening his eyes, he said, "Oh, mother, have you
come?" LetJesus touch you to-night. His is a loving, tender hand, full of
sympathy and compassion. Oh, my brother (looking at a young man in one of
th» front rows), will you have him to-night? You will? Thank God, th»nk

45. God! he says he will accepthim. We have been praying two or three days for
this young man; and now he says he will take Christ Oh, bless the Lord! Let
us pray; and as we pray, let ua make room for Jesus in our hearts as this man
has done, upon whom be hag had compassionand whom he has saved.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/classics/moody-gospel-
awakening/compassion-of-christ.html
March 18, 2013 by PastorKris Belfils
A Heart Of Compassion(Move with compassionlike Jesus did!)
From the beginning of time Godhas always had mercy. It is Who He is. He
never changes. His compassionforus never fails.
Compassionin the dictionary means:“A deep awarenessofthe suffering of
another coupled with the wish to relieve it.”
Websterdefines the word “Compassion” as;“Pity or Sympathy.”
From the Greek “Compassion” is defined as “Inward Affection, Pity or
Sympathy, yearning.”
What compassionmeans to us today literally is “Suffering With Another!”
Compassionis action. Compassionmoves. It doesn’t stand still. It doesn’t
ignore the problem. And it surely doesn’t turn awaywhen someone is in need.
Lam. 3:22 – 23 NKJV
“Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His
compassions failnot. They are new every morning; Great is Your
faithfulness.”
BecauseofGod’s mercy we are not consumed. God’s charactertowards us
can be describedwell with the word: “mercy.” Its His “tender mercies” that
moves Him to help us.

46. The Old Testamentwordfor mercy incorporates three things. His:
Covenantof compassion.
Consuming commitment to bring us into..
Everlasting communion with Himself.
Mercy and compassionare interchangeable. God’s mercy is His compassion
towards us even when we deserve punishment. He is committed to restore us
even though we deserve to endure the consequencesofour sin, and His
covenantof love and communion overwhelms us in the middle of our
foolishness.
In this verse in Laminations “mercy” describes the Father’s intense emotional
yearning for a waywardpeople – You and I.
God’s mercies are new every morning. This tells us that we need God’s mercy
more then we think. Whether we feel weak orstrong, we need God’s mercy
everyday.
Psalm78:38 – 39 NKJV
“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy
them. Yes, many a time He turned His angeraway, and did not stir up all His
wrath; Forhe remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes away
and does not come again.”
God is FULL of compassion. Iam so thankful for this. Too many times I have
messedup and deservedjudgement and punishment. There are times God
does bring correction. It is God’s compassionthat brings correction, but with
correctionGod’s compassioncomforts us and gives us strength to endure any
consequenceswe may have to walk through because ofour bad behavior.
The Bible tells us many times that God is compassionate orhas mercy for us.
Jesus is exactly like His Father. Jesus was movedwith compassionoftenin His
earthly ministry.

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We have been looking at “The Roads ThatJesus Walked.” This week we look
at the road of compassion. Without compassionJesus wouldn’t of had such
an impact on the world. He wouldn’t have come to save us because there is
actionto compassion.
CompassionofJesus
Jesus has compassionforthe Demoniac.
ReadMark 5:1 – 19
Mark 5:19 NKJV
“However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, ‘Go home to your
friends, and tell them what greatthings the Lord has done for you, and how
He has had compassiononyou.”
This man was demon possessedand lived in the tombs or caves. He was an
outcastand rejectedby society. No one could tame him. Nothing could hold
him, not even iron shackles. Nightand day he cried out and cut himself with
stones. But when He saw Jesus, eventhe demonic, have to worship Him. He
ran to Jesus and worshiped Him. Jesus castout the demons and they went into
the pigs. 2000 pigs couldn’t take the legionof demons and they ran violently
down the steephill into the sea and drowned. This man was extremely
tormented! Scripture doesn’t say how he became that way. But it gives us
some light on the compassionofJesus. When the man wanted to follow Jesus
where ever he went, Jesus told him to go back home. Jesus gave His live back
to him. His family and friends. No more being an outcastor a reject. No more
torment! Remember compassionis seeing the suffering and doing something
about it. Jesus totally setthis man free and restoredhis life back to him. This
is compassion!
2. Jesus has compassionfor the lost.

48. ReadMatthew 9:35 – 38
Matt. 9:36 NKJV
“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassionfor them,
because they were wearyand scattered, like sheephaving no shepherd.”
Jesus was moved with compassionoverthe multitudes. He saw them
wondering and weak. He saw the greatwork that needed to be done. The
people were ripe for harvest and many workers are neededto reach them.
This is the very heart of God: people. We too must have this heart of
compassion.
Jesus was moved with compassion! Lost souls moved Christ to cry out to
them, to seek them, to save them. Again in the book of Mark we see Jesus
moved with compassion.
Mark 6:34
“And Jesus, whenhe came out, saw much people, and was moved with
compassiontowardthem, because theywere as sheepnot having a shepherd:
and he began to teachthem many things.”
3. Jesus has compassionfor the sick.
Any miracle that Jesus performedwas out of compassion.
ReadMark 1:40 – 45
Mark 1:41 NKJV
“Then Jesus, movedwith compassion, stretchedout His hand and touched
him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.”
Matt. 14:14 NKJV
“And when Jesus went out He saw a greatmultitude; and He was moved with
compassionfor them, and healed their sick.”
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The phrase “moved with compassion” here means “stirred to action.” Jesus
didn’t just sit back and notice the needs of the people. He was moved, stirred
in His heart. He felt their pain. There was more then an awarenessoftheir
situation, there was action.
So, what did Jesus do? He didn’t just talk. His heart was stirred at what He
saw and He had a consuming desire to change things. The feelings of pity and
sympathy He felt moved Him to action.
Compassionis not just pity or sympathy. It is more than being moved to tears
or stirred up emotionally. Compassionmeans pity and mercy accompaniedby
a desire to help change things. True compassionmoves us to do something!
“Compassionwillcure more sin than condemnation.”
Henry Ward Beecher
“Compassionwithout action is a wastedemotion”
Unknown
We need to have compassionforothers. Notonly do we need it, but it is a
command in God’s word.
It’s not enough to have “pity” for someone. We need a deep awareness ofthe
suffering of others and have the desire to do something about it. Compassion
is actually something we are to put on and wear.
Colossians 3:12 – 14 Message
“So, chosenby God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked
out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be
even-tempered, contentwith secondplace, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive
as quickly and completely as the Masterforgave you. And regardless ofwhat
else you put on, wearlove. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Neverbe
without it.”

50. This is a powerful eye-openerof what we are to weareachday. Your life is not
all about you. Your life is about others. Just loving yourself and being kind
and compassionate to yourself is NOT the way to live, not according to God’s
word. We are to be doers of the word and not hearers only.
James 1:22 – 25 HCSB
“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because
if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his
own face in a mirror; for he looks athimself, goes away, and right away
forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the
perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearerbut a
doer who acts — this personwill be blessedin what he does.”
If you call yourself a Christian, actlike one! Show actionwith your
compassion!
PastorKris Belfils
The antonyms of the word “compassion”are:“Cruelty, harshness, hatred,
indifference, meanness, mercilessness,and tyranny.”
Do you have any of these traits? There is hope! We can ask Jesus to help us be
more like Him and He will. The key is to be willing to change.
Christ didn’t HAVE TO do anything He did. He did the gracious, loving,
kind, compassionate, wonderfulthings He did because He wanted to do them!
They were the natural expressionofHis nature.
Christ’s compassionis available to us when we are hurting because He loves
us and automatically wants to help us. In turn, we are to be compassionate
towards others.
Of all the roads that Jesus walked, the “roadof compassion” showedHis love
for others. I am thankful for the compassionof Christ. You and I need it
desperately. To the degree Christ had compassionon you is the degree you
should have compassiononothers. We are all wretchedpeople. There is no
goodin us apart from God. Any compassionin you is from God. When you
think of it, we are helpless, hopeless until God, who moved with compassion,

51. took actionand sent His Sonto save us. Shouldn’t we, in turn, move with
compassionto give hope to others who don’t know Christ?
I leave you with this last verse:
1 Peter3:8 – 9 Message
“Summing up: Be agreeable,be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be
humble. That goes forall of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-
tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless – that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing
and also geta blessing.”
Your compassionatesisterin Christ,
PastorKris Belfils
Question:"What does the Bible sayabout compassion?"
Answer: The Hebrew and Greek words translated“compassion” in the Bible
mean “to have mercy, to feel sympathy and to have pity.” We know that,
according to the Bible, God is “a compassionate andgracious God, slow to
anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15). Like all of God’s
attributes, His compassionis infinite and eternal. His compassions neverfail;
they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, exemplified all of the Father’s attributes,
including His compassion. WhenJesus saw His friends weeping at the grave of
Lazarus, He felt compassionforthem and wept alongside them (John 11:33-
35). Moved with compassionforthe suffering of others, Jesus healedthe large
crowds who came to Him (Matthew 14:14), as well as individuals who sought
His healing (Mark 1:40-41). When He saw the large crowds as sheepwithout a
shepherd, His compassionledHim to teach them the things the false

52. shepherds of Israel had abandoned. The priests and scribes were proud and
corrupt; they despisedthe common people and neglectedthem, but Jesus had
compassiononthem, and He taught and loved them.
When askedwhat was the greatestcommandment, Jesus respondedthat it is
to love God with all our heart, mind and strength. But He added that the
secondcommandment “is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew
22:34-40). The Pharisee had askedHim which single command of God is the
greatest, but Jesus provided two, stating not only what we are to do, but also
how to do it. To love our neighbor as ourselves is the natural result of our
loving devotion towardGod.
First John 3:17 asks, “Ifanyone has material possessions andsees his brother
in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
Originally made in His image, man is to exemplify God’s traits, including
compassion. Fromthis it follows that “If anyone says, ‘I love God’ yet hates
his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he
has seen, cannotlove God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). The Bible is
clearthat compassionis an attribute of God and of God’s people as well.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-compassion.html
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
STRENGTHAND SYMPATHY
‘And Jesus … touched him.’
Mark 1:41
There is a terrible disease ofwhich we, in England, happily know nothing, the
disease ofleprosy. The leper can only be described as a broken, helpless,

53. hopeless man. A leper came to Jesus. He had doubtless heard of Him and of
His wonderful cures, for he kneels down before Him and says, ‘If Thou wilt,
Thou canstmake me clean.’He had cured others. He had castout devils, He
could, if He would, cure the leper. It is easyfor us to say so;it was a very
different thing for a leper to say so.
I. Look at the man’s faith.—People puzzle over this word ‘faith.’ What does it
mean? How are we to getit? Have we got it? See this leper. ‘Jesus has cured
others,’he says;‘He can cure me. I will go and ask Him.’ That is faith, to
believe in the power of Christ and to go and ask Him to help us. It was a
wonderful faith, and yet, observe, it was a very imperfect faith. ‘If Thou wilt,
Thou canst.’He was sure of the power, but he was not sure of the will.
II. The Lord’s touch.—What does the Lord do? The very lastthing that the
leper would have hoped or dared to ask. He touches him. No hands but leper
hands had touched that man for long years past. His own mother dare not
touch him. What did that touch mean? It meant that the Lord’s will was as
ready as His power. He touches him; then He is willing. Before He speaks a
word, He touches him. He changes the man’s whole faith towards Him. He
completes his faith. He believes now in His will to help him as well as in His
power. That touch has told him already what the words go on to explain to
him, ‘Be thou clean.’And straightwaythe leprosywent out of him, and he was
made clean. It was the same powercome into play again, and with the same
result. It carried everything before it; but observe the new lessonwhich this
story gives us. He must getinto perfect sympathy with the man. He must, as
we say, come into touch with him before He canhelp him.
III. Strength and sympathy.—This narrative reveals to us a new feature of the
characterand work of Jesus Christ. It shows us that His strength was
equalled by His sympathy. Mere powernever yet reachedthe heart of man.
Strong characters are oftenunsympathetic, just as gentle characters are often
weak;but here is strength, perfectly blended with gentleness, arousing in
hearts that have long been dead to hope the response of a living trust. The
powerof Christ had been enough to stir the hope in the leper’s heart, enough
to bring him to exercise faithand kneelbefore the Lord, but his faith was not
the full confidence of perfect trust. It brought him to the feet of Jesus, and

54. then the utterly unexpected thing happened. He touched him. So his faith was
completed, and a new life raced through his blood and drove disease before it
and restoredhim to perfecthealth.
IV. This is the very Gospel.—This miracle of healing is a parable of our life, of
its leprosy and its defilement, its failures, its disappointment. The Divine
powercannot but terrify us, the Divine power and the Divine purity are even
more terrible together. They plunge us into the deep abyss. The Divine love
must be manifested as wellin such a wayas to awakena response of
trustfulness. God must be seenin perfect sympathy with man. Out of the
heaven of heavens, He must come to getnear to man on the earth. The Son of
God became the Son of Man. He did not despise the Virgin’s womb, the
manger-cradle, the carpenter’s shop, and then, when He went forth to seek for
whom He would save, He found him leprous and broken-hearted. He put
forth His hand and He touched him.
—DeanJ. Armitage Robinson.
Illustration
‘It is relatedin the legend of Count Fulc the Good, how that, journeying along
the Loire towards Tours, he saw a leper full of sores, who put by his offer of
alms and beggedto be borne to the sacredcity. Amid the gibes of his
courtiers, the good count lifted him in his arms and carried him along bank
and bridge. As they entered the town, the leper vanished from their sight, and
men told how Fulc had borne an angelunawares. In many an old legend a
kindred truth is embodied. We are never so like Christ as when we are kind
and pitiful to some of God’s needy children.’
Alexander MacLaren's Expositions ofHoly Scripture
Mark
A PARABLE IN A MIRACLE

55. CHRIST’S TOUCH
Mark 1:41.
Behold the servant of the Lord’ might be the motto of this Gospel, and ‘He
went about doing goodand healing’ the summing up of its facts. We have in it
comparatively few of our Lord’s discourses, none of His longer, and not very
many of His briefer ones. It contains but four parables. This Evangelistgives
no miraculous birth as in Matthew, no angels adoring there as in Luke, no
gazing into the secrets ofEternity, where the Word who afterwards became
flesh dwelt in the bosom of the Father, as in John. He begins with a brief
reference to the Forerunner, and then plunges into the story of Christ’s life of
service to man and service for God.
In carrying out his conceptionthe Evangelistomits many things found in the
other Gospels, whichinvolve the idea of dignity and dominion, while he adds
to the incidents which he has in common with them not a few fine and subtle
touches to heighten the impression of our Lord’s toil and eagernessin His
patient, loving service. Perhaps it may be an instance of this that we find more
prominence given to our Lord’s touch as connectedwith His miracles than in
the other Gospels, orperhaps it may merely be an instance of the vivid
portraiture, the result of a keeneye for externals, which is so markeda
characteristic ofthis gospel. Whateverthe reason, the factis plain, that Mark
delights to dwell on Christ’s touch. The instances are these-first, He puts out
His hand, and ‘lifts up’ Peter’s wife’s mother, and immediately the fever
leaves her [Mark 1:31]; then, unrepelled by the foul disease, He lays His pure
hand upon the leper, and the living mass of corruption is healed[Mark 1:41];
again, He lays His hand on the clammy marble of the dead child’s forehead,
and she lives [Mark 5:41]. Further, we have the incidental statementthat He
was so hindered in His mighty works by unbelief that He could only lay His
hands on a few sick folk and heal them [Mark 6:5]. We find next two
remarkable incidents, peculiar to Mark, both like eachother and unlike our
Lord’s other miracles. One is the gradual healing of that deaf and dumb man
whom Christ took apart from the crowd, laid His hands on him, thrust His

56. fingers into his ears as if He would clearsome impediment, touched his tongue
with saliva, said to him, ‘Be opened’; and the man could hear [Mark 8:34].
The other is, the gradual healing of a blind man whom our Lord againleads
apart from the crowd, takes by the hand, lays His own kind hands upon the
poor, sightless eyeballs, andwith singular slowness ofprogress effectsa cure,
not by a leap and a bound as He generallydoes, but by steps and stages;tries
it once and finds partial success,has to apply the curative process again, and
then the man can see [Mark 8:23]. In addition to these instances there are two
other incidents which may also be adduced. It is Mark alone who records for
us the fact that He took little children in His arms, and blessedthem. And it is
Mark alone who records for us the factthat when He came down from the
Mount of TransfigurationHe laid His hand upon the demoniac boy, writhing
in the grip of his tormentor, and lifted him up.
There is much taught us, if we will patiently considerit, by that touch of
Christ’s, and I wish to try to bring out its meaning and power.
I. Whateverdiviner and sacrederaspectthere may be in these incidents, the
first thing, and in some senses the most precious thing, in them is that they are
the natural expressionof a truly human tenderness and compassion.
Now we are so accustomed, and as I believe quite rightly, to look at all
Christ’s life down to its minutest events as intended to be a revelation of God,
that we are sometimes apt to think about it as if His motive and purpose in
everything was didactic. So an unreality creeps over our conceptions of
Christ’s life, and we need to be reminded that He was not always acting and
speaking in order to convey instruction, but that words and deeds were drawn
from Him by the play of simple human feelings. He pitied not only in order to
teachus the heart of God, but because His own man’s heart was touched with
a feeling of men’s infirmities. We are too apt to think of Him as posing before
men with the intent of giving the greatrevelation of the Love of God. It is the
love of Christ Himself, spontaneous, instinctive, without the thought of
anything but the suffering that it sees,whichgushes out and leads Him to put
forth His hand to the outcastbeggars,the blind, the deaf, the lepers. That is
the first great lesson we have to learn from this and other stories-the swift

57. human sympathy and heart of grace and tenderness which Jesus Christhad
for all human suffering, and has to-day as truly as ever.
There is more than this instinctive sympathy taught by Christ’s touch, but it is
distinctly taught. How beautifully that comes out in the story of the leper!
That wretchedman had long dwelt in his isolation. The touch of a friend’s
hand or the kiss of loving lips had been long denied him. Christ looks on him,
and before He reflects, the spontaneous impulse of pity breaks through the
barriers of legalprohibitions and of natural repugnance, and leads Him to lay
His holy and healing hand on his foulness.
True pity always instinctively leads us to seek to come near those who are its
objects. A man tells his friend some sad story of his sufferings, and while he
speaks, unconsciouslyhis listenerlays his hand on his arm, and, by a silent
pressure, speaks his sympathy. So Christ did with these men-not only in order
that He might revealGod to us, but because He was a man, and therefore felt
ere He thought. Out flashed from His heart the swift sympathy, followedby
the tender pressure of the loving hand-a hand that tried through flesh to reach
spirit, and come near the sufferer that it might succourand remove the
sorrow.
Christ’s pity is shownby His touch to have this true characteristic oftrue pity,
that it overcomes disgust. All real sympathy does that. Christ is not turned
awayby the shining whiteness of the leprosy, nor by the eating pestilence
beneath it; He is not turned awayby the clammy marble hand of the poor
dead maiden, nor by the fevered skin of the old woman gasping on her pallet.
He lays hold on each, the flushed patient, the loathsome leper, the sacred
dead, with the all-equalising touch of a universal love and pity, which
disregards all that is repellent, and overflows everybarrier and pours itself
over every sufferer. We have the same pity of the same Christ to trust to and
to lay hold of to-day. He is high above us and yet bending over us; stretching
His hand from the throne as truly as He put it out when here on earth; and
ready to take us all to His heart in spite of our weaknessand wickedness,our
failings and our shortcomings, the fever of our flesh and hearts’desires, the
leprosy of our many corruptions, and the death of our sins,-and to hold us
ever in the strong, gentle claspof His divine, omnipotent, and tender hand.

58. This Christ lays hold on us because He loves us, and will not be turned from
His compassionby the most loathsome foulness of ours.
II. And now take another point of view from which we may regardthis touch
of Christ: namely, as the medium of His miraculous power.
There is nothing to me more remarkable about the miracles of our Lord than
the royal variety of His methods of healing. Sometimes He works at a distance,
sometimes He requires, as it would appearfor goodreasons, the proximity of
the personto be blessed. Sometimes He works by a simple word: ‘Lazarus,
come forth!’ ‘Peace be still!’ ‘Come out of him!’ sometimes by a word and a
touch, as in the instances before us; sometimes by a touch without a word;
sometimes by a word and a touch and a vehicle, as in the saliva that was put
on the tongue and in the ears of the deaf, and on the eyes of the blind;
sometimes by a vehicle without a word, without a touch, without His presence,
as when He said, ‘Go washin the pool of Siloam, and he washedand was
clean.’So the divine workervaries infinitely and at pleasure, yet not
arbitrarily but for profound, even if not always discoverable, reasons, the
methods of His miracle-working power, in order that we may learn by these
varieties of ways that He is tied to no way; and that His hand, strong and
almighty, uses methods and tossesaside methods according to His pleasure,
the methods being vitalised when they are used by His will, and being nothing
at all in themselves.
The very variety of His methods, then, teaches us that the true cause in every
case is His own bare will. A simple word is the highest and most adequate
expressionof that will. His word is all-powerful: and that is the very signature
of divinity. Of whom has it been true from of old that ‘He spake and it was
done, He commanded and it stoodfast’? Do you believe in a Christ whose
bare will, thrown among material things, makes them all plastic, as clay in the
potter’s hands, whose mouth rebukes the demons and they flee, rebukes death
and it looses its grasp, rebukes the tempest and there is a calm, rebukes
disease andthere comes health? But this use of Christ’s touch as apparent
means for conveying His miraculous power also serves as anillustration of a
principle which is exemplified in all His revelation, namely, the employment in
condescensionto men’s weakness, ofoutward means as the apparent vehicles

59. of His spiritual power. Just as by the material vehicle sometimes employed for
cure, He gave these poor sense-boundnatures a ladder by which their faith in
His healing power might climb, so in the manner of His revelation and
communication of His spiritual gifts, there is provision for the wants of us
men, who ever need some body for spirit to make itself manifest by, some
form for the etherealreality, some ‘tabernacle’ for the ‘sun.’ ‘Sacraments,’
outward ceremonies, forms of worship, are vehicles which the Divine Spirit
uses in order to bring His gifts to the hearts and the minds of men. They are
like the touch of the Christ which heals, not by any virtue in itself, apart from
His will which choosesto make it the apparent medium of healing. All these
externals are nothing, as the pipes of an organare nothing, until His breath is
breathed through them, and then the flood of sweetsoundpours out.
Do not despise the material vehicles and the outward helps which Christ uses
for the communication of His healing and His life, but remember that the help
that is done upon earth, He does it all Himself. Even Christ’s touch is nothing,
if it were not for His own will which flows through it.
III. ConsiderChrist’s touch as a shadow and symbol of the very heart of His
work.
Go back to the past history of this man. Ever since his disease declareditself
no human being had touched him. If he had a wife he had been separated
from her; if he had children their lips had never kissedhis, nor their little
hands found their way into his hard palm. Alone he had been walking with the
plague-clothover his face, and the cry ‘Unclean!’ on his lips, lest any man
should come near him. Skulking in his isolation, how he must have hungered
for the touch of a hand! Every Jew was forbidden to approachhim but the
priest, who, if he were cured, might pass his hand over the place and
pronounce him clean. And here comes a Man who breaks downall the
restrictions, stretches a frank hand out across the walls of separation, and
touches him. What a reviving assuranceoflove not yet dead must have come
to the man as Christ graspedhis hand, even if he saw in Him only a stranger
who was not afraid of him and did not turn from him! But beside this thrill of
human sympathy, which came hope-bringing to the leper, Christ’s touch had
much significance, if we remember that, according to the Mosaic legislation,

60. the priest and the priest alone was to lay his hands on the tainted skin and
pronounce the leper whole. So Christ’s touch was a priest’s touch. He lays His
hand on corruption and is not tainted. The corruption with which He comes in
contactbecomes purity. Are not these really the profoundest truths as to His
whole work in the world? What is it all but laying hold of the leper and the
outcastand the dead-His sympathy leading to His identification of Himself
with us in our weaknessandmisery? That sympathetic life-bringing touch is
put forth once for all in His Incarnation and Death. ‘He taketh hold of the
seedof Abraham,’ says the Epistle to the Hebrews, looking at our Lord’s
work under this same metaphor, and explaining that His laying hold of men
was His being ‘made in all points like unto His brethren.’ Just as he took hold
of the fevered womanand lifted her from her bed; or, as He thrust His fingers
into the deaf ears of that poor man stopped by some impediment, so, in
analogous fashion, He becomes one of those whom He would save and help. In
His assumption of humanity and in His bowing of His head to death, we
behold Him laying hold of our weakness andentering into the fellowship of
our pains and of the fruit of sin.
Just as He touches the leper and in unpolluted, or the fever patient and
receives no contagion, or the dead and draws no chill of mortality into His
warm hand, so He becomes like His brethren in all things, yet without sin.
Being found in ‘the likeness ofsinful flesh,’ He knows no sin, but wears His
manhood unpolluted and dwells among men ‘blameless and harmless, the Son
of God, without rebuke.’Like a sunbeam passing through foul water
untarnished and unstained; or like some sweetspring rising in the midst of the
salt sea, whichyet retains its freshness and pours it over the surrounding
bitterness, so Christ takes upon Himself our nature and lays hold of our
stained hands with the hand that continues pure while it grasps us, and will
make us purer if we grasp it.
Brethren, let your touch answerto His; and as He lays hold of us, in His
incarnation and His death, let the hand of our faith clasp His outstretched
hand, and though our hold be as faltering and feeble as that of the trembling,
wastedfingers which one timid womanonce laid on His garment’s hem, the
blessing which we need will flow into our veins from the contact. There will be
cleansing for our leprosy, sight for our blindness, life driving out death from

61. its throne in our hearts, and we shall be able to recount our joyful experience
in the old Psalmist’s triumphant strains-’He sent me from above, He laid hold
upon me, He drew me out of many waters.’
IV. Finally, we may look upon these incidents as being in a very important
sense a pattern for us.
No good is to be done by any man to his fellows exceptat the costof true
sympathy which leads to identification and contact. The literal touch of your
hand would do more goodto some poor outcasts than much solemn advice, or
even much material help flung to them as from a height above them. A shake
of the hand might be more of a means of grace than a sermon, and more
comforting than ever so many free breakfasts andblankets given
superciliously.
And, symbolically, we may say that we must be willing to take those by the
hand whom we wish to help; that is to say, we must come down to their level,
try to see with their eyes, and to think their thoughts, and let them feel that we
do not think our purity too fine to come beside their filth, nor shrink from
them With repugnance, howeverwe may show disapproval and pity for their
sin. Much work done by Christian people has no effect, nor ever will have,
because it has peeping through it a poorly concealed‘I am holier than thou.’
An instinctive movement of repugnance has ruined many a well-meanteffort.
Christ has come down to us, and has taken all our nature upon Himself. If
there is an outcastand abandoned soul on earth which may not feel that Jesus
has laid a loving and healing touch on him, Jesus is not the Saviour for the
world. He shrinks from none, He unites Himself with all, therefore ‘He is able
to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him.’ His conduct is the
pattern and the law for us. A Church is a poor affair if it is not a body of
people whose experience ofChrist’s pity and gratitude for the life which has
become theirs through His wondrous making Himself one with them, compels
them to do the like in their degree for the sinful and the outcast. Thank God,
there are many in every communion who know that constraintof the love of
Christ. But the world will not be healedof its sicknesstill the greatbody of

62. Christian people awakesto feel that the task and honour of eachof them is to
go forth bearing Christ’s pity certified by their own.
The sins of professing Christian countries are largelyto be laid at the door of
the Church. We are idle when we ought to be at work. We ‘pass by on the
other side’ when bleeding brethren lie with wounds gaping to be bound up by
us. And even when we are moved to service by Christ’s love, and try to do
something for our fellows, our work is often tainted by a sense of our own
superiority, and we patronise when we should sympathise, and lecture when
we should beseech.
We must be content to take lepers by the hand, if we would help them to
purity, and to let every outcastfeelthe warmth of our pitying, loving grasp, if
we would draw them into the forsakenFather’s House. Lay your hands on the
sinful as Christ did, and they will recover. All your holiness and hope come
from Christ’s laying hold of you. Keep hold of Him, and make His greatpity
and loving identification of Himself with the world of sinners and sufferers,
your pattern as well as your hope, and your touch, too, will have virtue.
Keeping hold of Him who has takenhold of us, you too may be able to say,
‘Ephphatha, be opened,’ or to lay your hand on the leper, and he will be
cleansed.
Jesus MovedBy CompassionHealed
Submitted by Mark Virkler on May 01, 2014 -17:40
“When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion
for them and healed their sick.” (Matt. 14:14 NASB)

63. Compassion!Really! I’m not even sure I know how to define compassionor
how compassionmight be different from love, even though these are two
distinct words in the New Testament. Bothwords sound like emotions to me. I
have been taught that emotions are part of my soul and that I am to cut them
off (which I quite successfullydid in my early Christian life). I even passedout
tracts saying emotions were soulish, un-reliable, not necessaryand to be
avoided. Hmmm. Perhaps that was un-wise.
There are many reasons I might pray for the sick. As a workaholic, I might do
it to get the job done; or I might pray out of the guilt of performance
orientation, feeling that if I don’t meet people’s needs I have failed God. I
might pray because there is a biblical law telling me I am supposedto pray for
the sick and my goalis obedience to God’s laws. Well…
Jesus healedbecause He felt compassion!
Eleven years into my Christian life, God drew me into two-wayjournaling.
One of the early visions He gave me was of Jesus holding my head againstHis
chestand tenderly caressing my hair (WOW!). He said, “Mark, I want you to
know that tenderness is OK. I want to restore emotions to your life and I want
you to do three things to restore the emotions you have cut off. I want you to
read through the Gospels andsee that Jesus, movedby compassion, healed,
and that it is OK to have emotions and to let them leadin your life and
ministry.
“Next, I want you to read the Psalms and notice that David had emotions and
expressedthem ALL to Me, and that was goodand fine. I canhandle all your
emotions as you present them to Me. Finally, I want you to notice how
tenderly I love you in your two-wayjournaling, and then I want you to love
yourself and others with that same tenderness.” So I did those three things,
and God did restore emotions to my life.
Since I am a theologian, He also lovingly revealedto me from Scripture the
truth that we have emotions in our spirits (Ezek. 3:14), so it was wrong of me
to relegate emotions to the soul, and then try to ignore compassionas a
foundational piece in Jesus’healing ministry. During the period of my life that

64. I didn’t express compassion, no miracles flowed through my hands. (There
might be a clue in there!)
My daughter, Charity Kayembe, shareda greatpicture in the natural that
could be analogous to what’s happening in the spirit. She suggestedthe
possibility that “compassionis a carrier wave of God’s healing power.” In
telecommunications, a carrier wave is what the message (word, image, music,
signal) is carriedon. The message is encodedin the carrier wave by modifying
the carrierwave’s frequency, amplitude or phase.
Perhaps, compassionis the divine frequency through which God’s grace is
carried and released.
The “CarrierWave Principle” as revealedin a dream
Setting of the Dream: Charity went to bed having just meditated on the need
for compassionto be present in order to release spiritualpower and energy,
and she had the following dream.
The Dream:
I was at the office and my co-worker, Karen, gave me a homeopathic remedy
from a lady I’m ministering to.
Interpretation of the Symbols in the Dream:
The office = where I work (so to make healing work…)
Passedthrough Karen’s hands = Karen sounds a lot like “caring” and she
actually is one of the most caring, compassionate people I know (healing
works when moving through the hands of care and compassion)
Homeopathic remedy = a healing frequency (i.e. God’s healing power/energy)
Being given from the person I was ministering to = miracles begin with a need
(The person I was ministering to has a need and when that was united with
care/compassion, then healing occurred.)

65. Messageofthe Dream: So compassionwas presentin Caring Karen, and it
was through her that the energizedfrequency for healing was transferred and
flowed. It was through Karen’s hands that the frequency passed. It was in her
presence that the gift was given and received. “Caring” was the conduit and
connectorand conductor of the healing frequency.
This dream is saying that the divine frequency of compassion
must be present for God’s healing powerto work.
Compassionis the “spiritual carrier wave” that carries God’s
wisdom, healing, powerand gifts to us and through us to others.
Compassionis an emotion. So where do emotions come from? Are they a head
thing or a heart thing? Emotions flow from our hearts. In Genesis 6:6 we see
an emotion listed as a function of the heart: The LORD was … grievedin His
heart (NASB). Another indication that emotions are in the heart is that when
my heart speaks atnight through dreams, I find that emotions accompany
and are a large part of these dreams.
We are also told that the River of the Holy Spirit flows from our hearts:“Out
of our innermost being flows… this He spoke concerning the Spirit” (Jn. 7:37-
39). It would stand to reasonthat the release ordischarge of the flow of His
Spirit is enlarged when releasedin conjunction with compassion, anemotion
which also flows from our hearts.
We also have eyes in our hearts (Eph. 1:17,18), which can see in the spirit
realm. When we dream at night, our heart is communicating to us using
pictures. In Acts 2:17 the outpouring of God’s Spirit involved dreams and
visions. So heart includes seeing.
Two additional things which arise from our hearts are faith (Mk. 11:22-24)
and flow (Jn. 7:37-39).

66. I would like to suggestthat the bottom line is that “heartflow is strengthened
when it is carried on the wings of pictures, emotions, faith and flow, as these
are all heart realities.” To sayit another way:
God’s healing power rides on the wings
of divine visions, faith, compassionandflow.
Therefore, whenministering healing, I want to be looking with the eyes of my
heart into the spiritual world and seeing God’s Kingdom. As I do, His
emotions, His faith and His Spirit’s powerwill flow and will be present.
Practicallyspeaking, we look to see how Jesus is ministering grace to the
person before us (Dan. 8:2,3; Heb. 12:1,2;2 Cor. 3:18;4:18). We then do and
speak that which we see Jesus doing and speaking.
We canbegin this process by doing what King David did. He pictured the
Lord before him, at his right hand (Ps. 16:8). Then we pray for the eyes of our
hearts to be enlightened (Eph. 1:17,18), flow takes overthese pictures, and we
find ourselves stepping into a divine vision. We see the Kingdom, and we
declare with authority, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it
is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). We command to earth what we have seenin the
heavenlies, and the kingdom of God is manifested as the sick are healed and
demons castout (Lk. 10:9; 11:20).
The reality is that I need to be retrained to honor and live in these realities, as
I was in times past taught to shun emotions and visions and flow, and even
faith for miracles was downplayed during my early Christian years. I was
taught to acceptas reality what I saw with my natural eyes, rather than the
reality I saw with the eyes of faith. I was trained to live in analytical reason
rather than in flow. Looks like satan has been working overtime to ensure I
have plenty of roadblocks in place to keepme from releasing God’s miracle
working power! It is time for me to tear down these roadblocks and throw
them into the garbage and embrace the spiritual realities of the Kingdom
instead.

67. Another verse that would suggestthe idea of spiritual carrier waves is
Galatians 5:6, “faith working through love.” The exactGreek meaning of
“working through” is “energizedby.” Faith, which is a key ingredient in
miracles and healing, must be energizedby love for it to work. This makes it
clearthat I cannotbe in a critical mood when I am ministering divine healing.
I must be loving, kind, compassionateand non-judging to the one I am
ministering to as well as towardmyself. I must be in sync with God’s
command to “Honor all people…” (1 Pet. 2:17). Lord, deliver me from
judgment I pray - judgment towardmyself and judgment toward others.
Thank You, Lord.
Spurgeonsaid, “The word compassionis a very remarkable one. It is not
found in classicGreek. Itis not found in the Septuagint. The factis, it was a
word coined by the evangelists [Gospelwriters]themselves. They did not find
one in the whole Greek language thatsuited their purpose, and therefore they
had to make one. It is expressive of the deepestemotion; a striving of the
bowels—a yearning of the innermost nature.”
As I researchedthis claim, I found that the verb form of this word shows up in
the Gospels,and only the noun form was presentin the Greek culture before
this. So in this sense, Spurgeonwas right, a new word was created. Jesuswas
moved so deeply that there wasn’t even a word in their entire language to
describe it! There was a need to create a brand new word, specificallyto
attempt to capture an emotion that He was living out of. Amazing!
Greek definitions for the word Splankna, translated“felt compassion”
σπλαγχνιζομαι – splagchnizomai - splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee (Strong’s # -
G4697)
Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary:“To have the bowels yearn, be moved
with compassion”
Thayer Greek Definitions:“to be moved as to one’s bowels, hence to be moved
with compassion, have compassion;Part of Speech:verb”
The Apostle Paul uses the noun form of this word to signify an expressionof
one’s total personality at the deepestlevel.

68. A working definition for the Greek wordtranslated “compassion”
Splankna is the yearning compassionof God flowing from our innermost
beings
carrying with it a release ofGod’s grace, powerand mercy to the personin
need.
This compassionwouldbe considereda wave of God’s divine love moving us
into action.
For Jesus, this compassionmoved Him to heal, deliver, teach, provide food to
the hungry and in the case ofthe GoodSamaritan, provide money and care.
Innermost being can be viewed as “gut.” For example, we say“gut instinct.”
It is a place below our hearts, in our navel area. The navel is where the
umbilical cord connects us to our mothers and we receive sustenance;
spiritually speaking our navel is also where we are connectedto God’s Spirit
and receive the in-working powerof the Holy Spirit. We cansense His energy
arise from that spot within.
There are ONLY 12 occurrencesofthe word Splankna/Compassionin the
Bible
They are all found in Matthew, Mark and Luke – John either does not
specificallyaddress these stories, orif he does, he does not address the heart
motivation. (It is not that John used a different word than “compassion.”)
Let’s explore in depth how God’s "compassion" relatesto miracles and
healing. Prayerfully meditate and journal through the 12 verses below,
recording what Godreveals to you concerning compassion. The underlined
words in the verses are the translation of Strong’s word numbered G4697
which is the Greek word for “compassion.”
You will note in eachof the verses the following pattern: They saw a need and
felt deeply to meet it, and so actedin an appropriate way to meet the need. In

69. severalof these stories, it is also stated that there was a release ofGod’s mercy
into the person’s life (i.e. Lk. 10:37 is one example of this).
Seeing the people, He felt compassionfor them, because they were distressed
and dispirited like sheepwithout a shepherd. (Matt. 9:36 NASB)
When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassionfor them
and healedtheir sick. (Matt. 14:14 NASB)
And Jesus calledHis disciples to Him, and said, "I feelcompassionfor the
people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing
to eat; and I do not want to send them awayhungry, for they might faint on
the way." (Matt. 15:32 NASB)
And the lord of that slave felt compassionand releasedhim and forgave him
the debt. (Matt. 18:27 NASB)
Moved with compassion, Jesus touchedtheir eyes;and immediately they
regainedtheir sight and followedHim. (Matt. 20:34 NASB)
Moved with compassion, Jesus stretchedoutHis hand and touched him, and
said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."(Mk. 1:41 NASB)
When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassionfor
them because they were like sheepwithout a shepherd; and He beganto teach
them many things. (Mk. 6:34 NASB)
"I feel compassionfor the people because theyhave remained with Me now
three days and have nothing to eat.” (Mk. 8:2 NASB)
And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the waterto destroy
him. But if You can do anything, have compassionon us and help us. (Mk.
9:22 NKJV)
When the Lord saw her, He felt compassionfor her, and said to her, "Do not
weep." (LK. 7:13 NASB)
But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw
him, he felt compassion. (LK. 10:33 NASB)

70. So he gotup and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his
father saw him and felt compassionfor him, and ran and embracedhim and
kissedhim. (LK. 15:20 NASB)
https://www.cwgministries.org/blogs/jesus-moved-compassion-healed
Moved By Compassion
Matthew 9:35-38
This week I spent a gooddeal of time trying to get our lift pump to work the
way it was supposedto work. I appreciate those who were willing to help out,
and right now it is working!Praise the Lord. The problem was it would run,
but nothing would really happen. It would stir the waterin the pit, but it
wouldn't move it out like it was designedto do. It turns out that we weren't
getting it connectedproperly; once we did it beganto work.
Now, you may be wondering why I am telling you this sadstory. As a pastor, I
often see illustrations in the most interesting places. This week in the pit, I saw
an interesting parallel. That pump, like many of us, made a lot of noise and
expended a lot of energy, but didn't get much accomplished. You ever feel this
way? I know that I do.
Read:Mt. 9:35-38
Speaking with Randy the other day, he related to me some of the needs he has
seenin the church in Ames. They need workers. He expressedhow much he
needed someone to help with music, children, and with the teens. He needs
someone to help with follow-up and discipleship. He needs help with visiting.
But I want you to understand that it isn't just the Heartland BaptistChurch
that needs workers…itis also Grace BaptistTemple!
Mostsurveys will agree that 80% of the work accomplishedin a church is
done by 20% of the people. A recentcheck of our membership list proves that

71. we fall into that categoryas well. Why is this true? Why don't more believers
get involved in ministry? One problem is motivation.
I. The Importance of Motivation
A. What motivated Jesus to save the lost?
1. What prompted Him to come to this earth?
2. What propelled Him to go from city to city with the gospel?
3. What moved Him to endure the shame and pain of dying on the cross?
B. Severalfactors couldbe listed...
1. His strong sense ofpurpose (to do His Father's will)
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will
of him that sent me.
2. The Father's love (which He wanted to share)
John 17:26 And I have declaredunto them thy name, and will declare it: that
the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
3. The potential condemnationthose He sought to save (of which He warned)
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Sonhath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
4. But the primary factoris what we find in our text today...Compassion
II. Jesus'Compassion
A. Jesus Had CompassionForThe Lost...
1. We find His compassionrecordedona number of occasions
a. In our text - Mt 9:36
b. Prior to feeding the five thousand - Mt 14:14
c. Prior to feeding the four thousand - Mt 15:32

72. d. Towardvarious individuals
1) A leper - Mk 1:40-41
2) A demon-possessedman - Mk 5:19
3) The widow of Nain who had losther son - Lk 7:11-15
4) The two blind men - Mt 20:30-34
2. He was moved with compassionwhen He saw people:
a. Wearyand scattered, like sheepwithout a shepherd…
b. Suffering from diseases, demonpossession, and hunger
B. His CompassionMovedHim...
1. Compassionisn't the same thing as pity.
2. We may pity someone and walk awaysaying to ourselves, 'My what a
shame.'
3. But compassionalways moves us to action.
4. Jesus was movedto heal the sick, deliver the demon-possessed, raise the
dead, and feedthe hungry.
5. To those in need of a Shepherd, He became what they needed.
Mr 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with
compassiontowardthem, because theywere as sheepnot having a shepherd:
and he began to teachthem many things.
C. He DesiredTo Communicate That Compassion
1. First, to His disciples.
2. He called them to see the need.
Joh 4:35 Saynot ye, There are yet four months, and then comethharvest?
behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are
white already to harvest.

73. 3. And then calledthem to pray for more laborers
4. Later He sends out His disciples as laborers in the harvest.
5. Ultimately, He commissions you and I to do the same!
III. How Is Our Compassion?
A. Do We Have CompassionForOthers?
1. Are we moved when we see...
a. Multitudes of people who are without Christ?
b. Individuals who are lost in sin?
c. What people who are hurting and in need?
2. Can we say we have compassionif we've made...
a. No effort to getinvolved in meeting the needs of others?
b. No effort to share the truth of the Gospelwith them?
c. Little effort to even get to know those who are lost?
3. What have we done in the past year to reach someone who needs the
Gospel?
a. The answerto this question reveals much about our compassion
b. Are we pleasedwith the answer?
c. Does it seemthat we make noise and stir the water, but not much is
accomplishedin this area?
B. What Can We Do To DevelopCompassion?
1. Let God teachus how to love
1Th 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for
ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

74. 1Jo 3:16-17 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life
for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath
this world's good, and seethhis brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels
of compassionfrom him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
a. God teaches us through the example of His Son
b. By frequent contemplation of God's love for us, the more we will love
others!
c. So the Word of God is essentialfor developing compassion
2. Invest our lives into people.
a. To love people, we need to getto know them
b. The more we come to know people, the more likely we become concerned
about their well being
c. We need to beware ofbecoming isolatedfrom people
d. In our societytoday it is easyto remain anonymous.
C. Why Should CompassionMove Us?
1. Note the results of a survey takena few years ago.
2. The survey revealedhow people come into a relationship with Christ and
the church?
a. 5 % = Walk-ins
b. 7 % = Pastor
c. 3 % = Church programs
d. 1.5 % = Visitation
e. 4.5 % = Sunday School
f. .0001%= Evangelistic crusades orTV
g. 79 % = Friends and relatives

75. 3. If we are to fulfill our God-given responsibility to reachothers with the
Gospel, we MUST be moved with compassion.
4. We must allow God to open our eyes to the needs of those around us, and to
move us to action.
5. That we might do whateverit takes to see them come to Christ, to see them
mature, to see their needs met.
The songwriterput it this way:
Let me see this world dear Lord as though I were looking through Your eyes.
A world of men who don't want You Lord. But a world for which You died.
Let me kneelwith You in the garden. Blur my eyes with tears of agony. For if
once I could see this world the way You see. I just know I'd Serve You more
faithfully.
The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
1. To those who are without Christ … come now
2. Forthose who need motivation … compassion
3. Forthose who are in the harvest … pray
http://brandonweb.com/sermons/sermonpages/matthew80.htm
Jesus The Compassionate(Matthew 9:18-38)
RelatedMedia

76. 00:00
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77. I. Intro and Recap:
a. It’s been said that studying God is like studying a diamond. Eachfacet
has it’s own splendour. And eachfacetcomes togetherto display something
of glorious worth.
i. This morning we are looking at Mathew’s gospelwhere He displays the
glory of Jesus in His compassionand mercy on the desperate.
ii. Indeed, He is Jesus the compassionate.
iii. That’s the simple messageofthis Matthew’s gospelin this
section.
iv. Jesus is compassionin the flesh. He pities the pitiful and the
helpless and the hurting.
b. This will be enouraging to those who are hurting.
i. Has anyone among us not felt beatendown and in dispair?
ii. Has anyone among us never been miserable?
iii. Some of you are hear this morning with heavy hearts. Maybe
fighting back the tears because ofpain and hurt, and dissapointments.
iv. This is for you.
v. The messageMatthew is preaching is that Jesus doesn’tjust
bring a message,He IS the message,and that’s the message.
vi. You don’t just need compasssion, youneed Jesus who IS
compassion.
c. B.B. Warfield is one of America’s premier theologicalscholars.
i. He was a professorof theologyat Princeton in the late 19th century and
early 20th.

78. ii. There’s an old story about Dr. Benjamin Warfield.
iii. While he was still at the height of his academic powers, his
wife gotsick. In fact it happened on their honeymoon.
iv. The newlyweds travelled to Germany and were hiking on top
of a mountain when Mrs. Warfield was struck by lightning and she became an
invalid. He took care of her the rest of her life and it was reported he rarely
(although some have saidnever) spent more than 2 hours awayfrom his wife.
Even though she was handicapped, she still loved to read. And so Dr. Warfield
would sit at her bedside day after day. And read to her. He was always gentle
and caring with her. One day, someone askedhim, "Have you ever thought
about taking your wife to an institution?" Then you could write bigger books
and have a biggerministry." But Dr. Warfield said, "No way. My wife is my
ministry. I will never leave her side. I am going to love her and take care of
her as long as God grants us life."
v. Maybe that’s what makes Warfield’s careeras a theologian
and thinker even more impressive?
vi. It was during this time he wrote books and continues to teach.
d. One of Warfield’s most important book is called“The Personand Work
of Christ”
i. There is a chapter in that book is entitled, “The EmotionalLife of Our
Lord.”
ii. He tried to synthesize the biblical passagesthat spoke ofthe
emotiuons of our Lord Jesus.
iii. He stated, “His whole life was a mission of mercy...His entire
ministry is summed up as going around the land and ‘doing good.’”
iv. The world that best summarizes Jesus our Lord is no doubt
the word “compassion.” It is the emotion most frequently attributed to Him.
v. Personally, I prefer the synonym “pity.” He went around and
felt pity on people.

79. vi. He pities and relives the miseries of His people.
e. That is what we will see this morning as we study Matthew’s gospel.
i. At once we will see a Jesus who is moved with pity on the suffereing and the
desperate.
II. Out of compassionJesus Heals (9:18-34)
a. Out of compassionthe dead are made alive (9:18-26)
i. “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she
will live.”
1. This man’s name is Jairus, although Matthew doesn’t mention his name,
Mark and Luke do.
2. He’s a synagogue ruler. He’s a popular man. A man of influence, and
an unlikely candidate to come and plead to Jesus.
3. Clearly he is desperate.
4. He knelt before Him, in a posture of humility.
5. “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she
will live.”
ii. Sandwichedin this story is anotherstory, a story of a woman
in desperation.
1. On his way to Jairus’s house, Jesus meets a womanwho has been
hemorrhaging blood for 12 years.
2. She came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment.
3. She is ceremoniallyunclean. Like a leper, she was cut off in some ways
from her community. She certainly couldn’t touch anyone or be touched.
4. She was desperate. She believedthat if she could just touch Jesus, she’d
be healed. She had faith.

80. 5. Luke’s gospeltells us that “no one could heal her” and “she had spent all
her living on physicians, but no one could heal her.”
a. You canjust feel the emotion in this story.
b. How many people can identify with this?
c. She has an incurable problem.
d. Doctor’s can’thelp her.
e. She has depleted her savings accounton medical bills.
f. This woman is sick and tired of being sick and tired.
6. Nonetheless, in faith she sneaks up behind Jesus touched his cloak…
7. Jesus says to her, “Takeheart, my daughter.”
a. This is similar to what Jesus saidto the paralytic, “Takeheart, my son.”
b. Jesus comforts her. I’m sure she was scared.
c. Jesus calls herhis daughter.
d. Ladies, imagine Jesus calling you His daughter.
e. You realize you are, right?
f. If you are “in Christ” you are His daughter, part of His family.
g. On the inner circle.
8. She is instantly healed.
iii. When Jesus gets to Jairus’s house there’s a crowdof people
and greatcommotion.
1. The professionalmourners are already there, playing their instruments
and singing away.
2. Hebrew law statedthat, “Eventhe poorestin Israelshould hire not less
than two flutes and one wailing woman.”

81. 3. The first time I witnessedsucha site I was in Africa and gotoff a plane
in Eldoret Kenya, got off this small little plane in the middle of rural Kenya,
and walkedoutside this shanty of an airport and right to my left I heard this
loud wailing and I could immediately see it was a funeral of some kind. But it
was different than anything I had seen. Loud wailing and mourning. There
was no holding back of emotions, but pure unfiltered and raw. Bodies flung
up and down near the casket,which was still above ground.
4. I imagine this to be a similar scene to what we see in this passage.
5. Emotions are high. People are weeping and mourning and music is
playing. There is a greatcommotion.
6. Jesus gets there and says, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but
sleeping.” This was euphemism.
7. …and they laughed at Him…
a. The so-calledhealerhas arrived, but He’s a little too late! Maybe He
could have healed, but now the little girl is dead. The story has ended.
b. This is comicalto them.
c. The laughter serves to underscore the greatnessofthis miracle.
8. Jesus goesinside, takes her by the hand, and the girl arose.
a. The girl who was dead, is now alive.
9. And this was reported all through the district.
10. Imagine how the parents felt…
a. From the deepestfearand pain, to the heights of joy and celebration.
b. Their little 12 year old girl is back from the dead!
iv. These two stories highlight some of the two most painful
experiences ofhuman existence.
1. Parentallove.

82. a. I have never lost a child to death. But I get it. I cannot imagine the pain
and the loss.
b. Even the thought of my child going though pain evokessome ofthe
strongestemotions that I have ever felt.
c. How many parents would gladly take the pain or the place of their son
or daughter?
2. Chronic pain.
a. Then you have this lady who has gone through doctorafter doctor to the
point of depleting her finances. No help.
b. Not to mentioned dealing with a chronic, never-ending problem that not
only leaves her sick, but leaves her alone. This is horrible.
c. How many of you have chronic pain, or know someone who lives with
chronic pain?
d. How many of you have physical problems that the Doctor’s cannot
diagnose orfigure out, or know someone who has physical problems that have
not been diagnosed?
e. I was talking to one Doctorin the EmergencyRoom who told me, “You
would be shockedto hear how many people come to the ER and we never get
to the bottom of their problems. There is so much we don’t know.”
f. Or a neurologistwho saidthat 80% of the people who come to her office
leave without a diagnosis.
3. These two stories illustrate the some of deepestpossible pains and hurts
that humans can experience.
a. Again, I just think of my kids…I am a man who seriouslystruggles with
Jesus’command to not love sonor daughter more than Him.
b. “Whoeverloves sonor daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
4. Others of you are sitting here, and you are desperate.

83. a. You may have a smile on your face, but inside you are barely keeping it
together.
b. It could be health. It could be medical bills. It could be your family is
falling apart. It could be secretsin. It could be people you care about who are
suffering.
5. But one thing we see here is that our faith will only grow in proportion to
our desperation.
a. Their desperationled them to Jesus!
b. The greatestthing that could happen to you is for you to sense your need
for Christ.
b. Out of compassionthe blind receive their sight (9:27-31)
i. These two blind men follow Jesus, andcried out!
1. They call Him “Sonof David” which implies his messianic authority to
heal.
ii. Jesus walks into the house and the blind men follow him
inside!
1. Even though they are blind—they can see, in a sense.
2. It’s Ironic, they see before they cansee.
3. They call Him Son of David and when Jesus asks thema question they
say, “Yes, Lord” They perceive that He is the Lord!
iii. Jesus asksthem what they believe…
1. He doesn’task them what they want, that’s obvious.
2. What do you believe? “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
3. They said, “Yes, Lord”
4. And their eyes were opened.

84. iv. Jesus tells them to keepit a secret, because (Ithink) he doesn’t
want the miracles to eclipse the cross. He wants a mob of proclaimers after,
not before, the cross.
v. Understandably, these two men, after they can see, tell
everyone they meet.
vi. They displayed faith, but evidently lackedobedience.
1. A greatlittle illustration of people who like what they hearfrom Jesus
and like what they receive, but are not willing to obey His Words.
vii. Nonetheless, the blind can now see.
c. Out of compassionthe mute can talk (9:32-34)
i. Evidently, the reasonthis man couldn’t talk was because ofa demon.
1. We should note that we live in a world that thinks anything supernatural
is phony.
2. But Jesus and the Bible couldn’t be more clearthat demons are real.
Satanis personal. There is a power of darkness that comes over people and in
some case possesses people.
3. This man couldn’t speak and it was because ofa demon.
ii. Jesus casts the demon out, and the man starts talking.
iii. The people see this miracle as unprecedented.
iv. The Pharisees, however, seethis as evidence that Jesus is
demon-possessed.
1. They ascribe this miracle to Satan.
2. Notice, they can’t deny the reality of what they have just seen, but they
do deny that Jesus is empoweredby God.
d. Think about these three stories, whatdoes Matthew want us to observe?
i. #1- These stories illustrate salvation:

85. 1. The woman, for instance. She is unclean, isolated, and hopeless.
a. That’s all of us without Christ.
2. We are unclean because ofour sin.
a. Is. 6:5
3. We are isolatedbecause ofour sin.
a. Sin isolates us from God and others.
b. Sin thrives in isolation.
c. Is. 59:2
4. We are hopeless because ofour sin.
a. Eph. 2:1
ii. #2- Desperationand need leadus to Jesus.
1. Weaknessdoesn’tgetenough press. We give waytoo much credence to
giftedness, sufficiency, talents, and abilities. It’s wayoverated. In fact, it can
be a distraction.
2. Needand poverty and desperationare the place of blessing.
3. The best thing that could happen to you is to be led to Jesus because of
your need!
4. These people would have never come to Jesus if all was well.
a. Jesus wouldhave never been precious to them!
b. The ruler never would have come to Jesus.
c. The woman never would have reachedout to Jesus.
d. The blind men never would have followedJesus.
5. The sickness, the death, the blindness made them poor in spirit and
needy.

86. 6. Their deperation was GOOD and designed by God.
7. The worstthing that could happen to a person is to sense no need for
Christ.
8. The worstthing that could happen to you is to sense no deperation for
Jesus.
9. When we lose our health its as though God is pulling back the mask!
a. We suddenly see things more clearly!
b. We become poor in spirit.
c. We are needy, and Christ is rich.
d. Sickness leads us to Jesus.
iii. #3- Jesus is merciful.
1. Phil Rykentells a simple but marvelous illustration of a merciful love
took place during a baseballgame betweenthe Philadelphia Phillies and the
WashingtonNationals during the 2009 pennant race. Phillies fan Steve
Montforto was sitting with three-year-old daughter Emily when a foul ball
curled back into the upper deck. Montforto leanedover the railing to catch
his first and only foul ball—every fans dream. But when he handed the ball to
little Emily, immediately she threw it back over the railing and down into the
lowerdeck. Everyone gasped. Monforto himself was as surprised as anyone to
see her throw the ball away. But rather than getting irritated with his little
girl, he did what a merciful father would do: he wrapped his daughter up in a
tender embrace.
2. “This is the way God loves us. He puts gifts into our hands that we could
never catchfor ourselves. Without realizing what we are doing, sometimes, we
throw them away. Yet rather than getting irritated with us, he loves us again.
Then he gives us the freedom to go love someone else with the same kind of

87. love. He even gives us the grace to go back to people who throw our love away
and love them all over again.”
3. That’s the kind of mercy and compassionJesusgives and fosters. He’s
merciful.
iv. #4-Jesus is Lord over death, Jesus is Lord over disease, and
Jesus is Lord over the Devil.
1. Jesus has come to reverse the curse!
2. Jesus has come to right the wrongs of the curse!
3. Jesus has come to introduce the Kingdom!
4. Jesus is doing something new!
5. Deathis defeated! Disease is defeated! The Demons are defeated!
6. Crawford Loritts, “100%of the people Jesus healedand raised and
delivered all died. The point is not the miracles, the point is the Messiah.”
7. All these miracles point to the coming Kingdom.
v. #5-There is no person or circumstance that is beyond the reachof the
Savior.
1. Crawford Lorritt’s tells the story of a man who was a master chess
player who was walking down the streets of Manhattan and looking at store
windows and he saw in the store window of an art gallery a painting of two
players playing chess, andthe name of the painting was “check-mate.” It was
a picture of two men playing chess. And the pieces on the board were
arrangedin such a wayin which it appeared the one player was in check-
mate. And the chess player kept looking at this piece and something just
wasn’t right. And left and he came back. And it bugged the dickens out of
him. Three times he did this. Then he finally said, “you know, that painting
is wrong…There is one more move.” God always has another move…And
other move…Another move. God is never out of options. Our problems are
nothing to Jesus. God’s solutionto all of our problems is Jesus.”

88. III. Out of compassionJesus prays for workers (9:35-38).
a. Summary: V. 35
i. First of all I want you to see that Matthew summarizes the ministry of Jesus
in V. 35.
1. The inclusio:
a. Mat. 4:23-5:2 and Mat. Mat. 4:23-5:2 and Mat. 9:35-10:4.
b. We have seenJesus authority in his words (5-7) and in His deeds (8-9).
2. This sectionbeganat 8:1, and ends here.
3. We have seenJesus healleprosy, paralysis, fever, demon possession,
blindness, and muteness. Notto mention He raiseda girl from the dead.
4. This was all done out of compassion.
5. These miracles were not so much about the felt needs, as they were about
God’s ultimate deliverance from sin and it’s affects.
6. All the people Jesus healedeventually died.
7. Sin is the root of all the problems in the world. Jesus is dealing with it,
and will ultimately deal with it on the cross.
ii. Summary of Jesus ministry:
1. Teaching.
2. Preaching.
3. Healing.
a. He taught out of compassion.
b. He preachedout of compassion.
c. He healed out of compassion.
iii. His entire ministry is summed up by the word “compassion.”

89. b. His ministry is summarized by compassion (9:35-36).
i. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassionfor them.”
1. “Theywere harassedand helpless.”
2. “Theywere like sheep without a shepherd”
ii. Jesus has compassion:
1. Mat. 14:14, “Whenhe went ashore he saw a greatcrowd, and he had
compassiononthem and healed their sick.”
2. Mat. 15:32, “ThenJesus calledhis disciples to him and said, “I have
compassiononthe crowdbecause they have been with me now three days and
have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them awayhungry, lest they
faint on the way.”
3. Mat. 18:33, “And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant,
as I had mercy on you?’”
4. Mat. 20:34, “And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they
recoveredtheir sight and followedhim.”
5. Jesus has compassiononthe desperate…
c. His prayer for world missions is motivated by compassion(9:37-38).
i. World missions is directly connectedto compassion.
1. Notice, right after he sees the crowds and feels compassion, he prays for
workers.
2. We have seenJesus compassionforsick and outcasts, now we see it for
the harvest.
a. Jesus seesthe crowds because they were harassedand helpless, and then
He prays for laborers to show them mercy
b. This is a prayer for world evangelism.
c. This is a callfor missions!

90. 3. This prayer comes from a heart of compassion!
4. Out of compassionworkersare called.
ii. As much as this is a prayer for workers, this is a prayer that
compassionwouldbe instilled in the disciples.
1. Jesus wants to awakena similar compassionin His disciples.
2. Jesus has compassiononthe people and He wants His disciples to have
compassiononthe people.
iii. Pray!
1. Jesus seems to be saying that prayer matters! Prayerdoes things! This
isn’t a disingenuous command because God’s just gonna do it anyways! This
is a call to pray!
2. This is a call world the gospelto go out to the nations!
3. Jesus says this as though prayer is actually effectualand changing
things, because it does. Goduses means to bring about his purposes, and
prayer is one of these means.
iv. Why should we be concernedwith world missions?
1. BecauseGodis!
2. BecauseHe tells us tp pray about!
3. BecauseHe tells us to pray for workers!
4. BecauseHe tells us to develop and cultivate a compassionforthe lost.
For the helpless.
v. How do we cultivate a heart for the helpless? How do we
cultivate a heart of evangelism?
1. Think about how lostyou were with without Christ.
2. Think about the reality of heaven and hell.

91. 3. Pray to God that you would FearGod more than you fear man.
4. Ask for God to increase your heart for the lost.
vi. We will see this more in the weeks to come starting in chapter
10 where Jesus begins a discourse ondiscipleship and what it means to follow
Him.
IV. Application: Two Lessons…
a. Jesus is compassionate:
i. Jesus is not far from the brokenhearted.
1. Even if you feel your issues don’t warrant the attention of the MostHigh.
The Lord knows our frame. He knows our weakness. He sympathizes with
hurting and the outcast.
2. He is near to the poor in spirit.
ii. Notice how in many of these stories in chapters 8-9 Jesus
touches the people.
1. Jesus stretches outHis hand and touches the leper.
2. Jesus touches Peter’s motherin law and her fever is healed.
3. Jesus took the little girl by the hand.
4. Jesus touchedthe eyes of the two blind men.
iii. He is not afraid our put off by our deformities and
inadequacies.
1. He is drawn to the hurting and the needy.
2. If you are miserable. If you are poor in spirit. If you have no other
options. Than know this. Jesus cares. Jesus has pity. Jesus takes thought of
you.
3. Is your heart heavy? Are you burdened?

92. 4. Jesus cares. Jesuscares. Jesus is merciful. Jesus will provide you with
rest for your souls.
iv. Illustration:
1. John Knight and Denise Knight were happily anticipating the birth of
their first child, a son. They had already decided to name him Paul. But when
Paul was born, there was a big problem: Paul was born without eyes. John
and Denise would later discoverthat their sonhad other serious issues,
including severe autism and a growth hormone deficiency.
2. Two months after Paul's birth, as John was looking at his sonhookedup
to tubes and sensors and surrounded by medical professionals, he quietly told
God, "God, you are strong, that's true, and you are wicked. You are mean. Do
it to me—not to this boy. What did he ever do to you?" Shortly after that
prayer, John and Denise stopped going to church.
3. But one couple from the church refused to give up on them. Karl and
Gerilyn never pressured John and Denise aboutspiritual issues. Instead, they
would often stopby and leave simple gifts, like a loafof fresh bread or a
basketof soapand shampoo for Denise. John said that it was like Karl and
Gerilyn were saying, "I notice you. I see you. I know you're hurting and I love
you."
4. Eventually John and Denise accepteda dinner invitation from Karl and
Gerilyn. During dinner John told Karl, "You canbelieve whateveryou want.
I don't care. I have evidence that God is cruel." Karl softly replied, "I love
you, John. I have regard for you, and I love your boy."
5. Karl and Gerilyn's four children also showedand lived unconditional
love for their son. John describedit this way:
a. They'd throw [my son]up in the air and make him laugh and do funny
bird sounds and—and that was confounding, because mostpeople, most
adults couldn't do that. And so I would have this extraordinary expressionof
love and affectionat the dinner table here, and I would turn to my left—and
there would be at leastone of these children playing with my boy like he was a
real boy. I wasn't even sure he was a realboy at times.

93. v. This family illustrates the accurate kind of love and
compassionthat Jesus has for us.
vi. Jesus is compassionate!
b. Jesus is calling His disciples to be compassionate.
i. CompassionmarkedJesus, it should mark His disciples.
1. Jesus evenprays that His followers with be moved with compassionlike
He was.
2. If one of the chief characteristicsofJesus was His compassion, is it going
to far to say that the same should apply to His disciples?
3. If Jesus was knownfor His compassion, is it a stretch to saythe same
ought to apply to His followers?
4. If we claim to be disciples of Jesus we are calledto be compassionate.
a. We are to have a heart for the hurting and the lost.
5. This means, among other things, that we will spread the gospelout of
compassion, notcompulsion.
a. We have a gospelof compassion.
b. No compassionequals no mission.
c. No compassionequals no evangelism.
d. No compassionequals no church planting.
ii. Compassionadds validity to the gospel.
1. Illustration:
a. In 1967 Doug Nicols was doing missions work in India when he
contractedtuberculosis and was committed to a sanitarium for several
months. In the TB sanitarium, Doug found himself in a lonely, confusing, and
troubled place. He did not know the language ofthe other patients, but he
wanted to share the GoodNews ofJesus with others.

94. b. All Doug had in the sanitarium were a few gospeltracts in their
language, Parsee.He tried to pass them out, but nobody wanted them. Then
one night, Doug woke up at 2:00 AM, coughing so violently that he could not
catchhis breath. During this coughing fit, Doug noticed a little old emaciated
man across the aisle trying to getout of bed. He was so weak he could not
stand up. He beganto whimper. He tried again, but to no avail.
c. In the morning Doug realized that the man had been trying to getup to
use the bathroom. The stench in the ward was terrible. The other patients
were angry at the old man for not being able to contain himself. The nurse
cleanedup the mess and then slapped the man.
d. The next night, againDoug saw the old man trying to getout of bed, but
this time Doug gotout of bed, icedup the old man, and carried him to the
toilet (just a hole in the floor) and then brought him back to his bed. The old
man kissedDoug on the cheek and promptly went to sleep.
e. Early the next morning, Doug awoke to a steaming cup of tea beside his
bed. Another patient had kindly made it for him. The patient motioned that
he wanted one of those gospeltracts. The next two days, one after another
patient asked, "CouldI have one of those tracts too?"
2. World magazine last year had as their “book ofthe year” a book by a
sociologistRodneyStark.
a. I don’t know whether or not Rodney is a Christian. The book is not
written from a Christian perspective, but from a historicaland sociological
perspective.
b. Rodney askedthe question, “How did the birth of Jesus change the
world?”
c. Stark argues that there was one huge factorthat helped capture the
attention of the ancient world—Christianity's revolutionary emphasis on
mercy.

95. d. Stark writes: In the midst of the squalor, misery, illness, and anonymity
of ancient cities, Christianity provided an island of mercy and security ….. It
started with Jesus ….
e. In contrast, in the pagan world, and especiallyamong the philosophers,
mercy was regardedas a characterdefectand pity as a pathologicalemotion:
because mercyinvolves providing unearned help or relief, it is contrary to
justice …. [Thus] humans must learn "to curb the impulse [to show mercy]";
"the cry of the undeserving for mercy" must go "unanswered." "[Showing
mercy] was a defect of characterunworthy of the wise and excusable only in
those who have not yet grown up." This was the moral climate in which
Christianity taught that … a merciful God requires humans to be merciful.
iii. LBC, this passage is a call for us to be knownfor our
compassion. Letus be know for being merciful.
1. Not only in our ministries (like drilling waterwells in Central America),
but in our neighborhoods and our workplaces.
2. This is a reminder to seek to cultivate a life of compassionand mercy.
3. If you don’t naturally have this, pray for it!
4. If you do naturally have this, pray for more!
5. Our compassionis directly connectedto evangelism.
a. If you have no compassionfor people, why would you feelcompelled to
share the gospel?
6. Is there suffering you can help alleviate?
7. Is there spiritual needs around you?
8. Are their sick people around you?
9. Are there lonely people around you?
10. Be a man, be a woman, of mercy and compassion.
V. The Gospel.

96. a. The Good News ofChristianity. The Good News from God to us. Is
that God has had pity on us. God has pitied you. God has had compassionon
you.
b. He loves you. He pities you. He feels for you.
c. And He sent His Sonto redeemyou and purchase you.
d. Respondto Him today!
e. Respondwith faith and repentance and thanksgiving!
BI: Jesus is compassionate. There is a direct connectionbetweenthe Great
Commissionand mercy.
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-20-jesus-compassionate-matthew-918-38
What Is Compassion?
What Is Compassion?
535-a
In our last lessonwe learnedthat Christians alone can show true mercy,
because mercyis a gift from the Holy Spirit to those who respond to the Word
and receive Jesus Christ. Mercyis to be shown by Christians to unbelievers
and even more so to believers, especiallyto those who are of the household of
faith. Even showing mercy to fellow believers is to be a testimony to the
unbeliever. Paul tells us this is to demonstrate the grace of God. Mercy is to be
shown especiallyto those who need it. The more they need it, the more we

97. show it. Lastly, mercy should be shown in proportion to a person�s
awarenessthathe needs it. Thus, this gives him the ability to receive it.
Mostimportant of all in the last lesson, we closedwith the truth that man�s
real problem is spiritual. He has a heart problem. As a primary essentialfor
Christians, in the meeting of physical and emotional needs, we need to have as
a root purpose the leading of men and women to the realizationof their
spiritual need. This canbe met only in Jesus Christ. In other words, you and I
are God�s R.N.�s, RegisteredNeighbors. Our responsibility is to be an
assistantto a heart specialist.
Showing mercy is an activity whose objective is spiritual. We see needs and in
obedience we meet those needs. In doing so, we are extending mercy. Now I
suppose we could stop here in our study of mercy and go on to the next
Beatitude; but I think if we did that, we would circumvent the realcrux of the
matter. We would be obedient perhaps, evenmerciful Christians, but I
wonder if we would not be without compassion. Ibelieve mercy can be
subdivided into five basic aspects.
Aspects of Mercy
You see with the mind. You sense, yousearchand you suffer with the heart.
Then you serve with the will. We have mind, emotion and will. Forthe last
two lessons we have basicallydealt with the mind and the will. You see a
person�s need, and you become aware ofit. By an actof the will, you choose
to meet that need through mercy by showing them the love of God when you
tangibly meet their needs. What I want to share with you is that in doing that,
there is something lacking. It is cold. It is factual and to a degree, it may be
effectual;but I believe both we and the objects of that mercy miss the point. It
is the actof the emotion, entering in, that we will define as compassion, that
turns an actof mercy into fruitfulness and gives the glory of God.
We see a person in need. Then we sense his heart�s desire, his realheart�s
need. We then searchour own hearts for the capacityto identify with that
need. We suffer emotionally, if necessary, withhim in his need. Then, having
become compassionate, we have the ability to serve with mind, emotion and
will. In other words, to really exhibit mercy, we must experience compassion.

98. What is compassion?
Cruden defines compassionas:�literally suffering with another.�Bullock
describes it: �to feel the bowels yearn, to have pity in the inward parts, the
seatof one�s feelings and affections�. In other words, compassionis to be
turned inside out by experiencing another�s torment. That is compassion. It
is, in essence, experientiallyentering into the perspective of one who is in
need, until you share his hurt or his loneliness or his fears with him.
I was trying to get a handle on it as I prepared this lesson, and I just couldn�t
do it. Some friends were down at our business having their car workedon.
While they were there, lunch time came around. The husband suggestedgoing
down to an elegantdiner a few doors awayto try the Blue Plate Special. We
walkeddown the streetto the restaurantand gorgedourselves. As we walked
back, I felt my foot come down on something that didn�t feellike sidewalk.
When I lifted my foot, there was a tiny sparrow on the concrete. I hadn�t
squashedhim, because I had lifted my foot up in time. He was looking a bit
bewildered and obviously couldn�t fly. I said something to my friends, and
the wife and I walkedon. We lookedback and the husband was not with us.
He had picked up this little sparrow and had nursed it and takenit to some
high shrubs next to a telephone pole so that if there was any way it could
make its wayto fly, it would be safe. The wife turned to me and said, "That is
his mercy."
This example kept coming back through my mind all week. I was totally
concernedfor the sake ofmy consciencewhetherI had killed the bird or not,
but I wasn�treally concernedabout the bird. I can�tspeak for the wife, but
the husband had a compassionforthat bird. A greatconceptkept rolling
through my mind, that the Scripture tells us that not a sparrow falls, but that
the Godof eternity stops what He is doing, stoops down and makes note of it.
The husband gave me a realpicture of that. That is compassion. It is reaching
out to the sparrows of this world, who maybe aren�t so important, who are
wounded, falling, and unable to fly on their own, and helping to put them
somehow into the shelterof the one who canprotect and perhaps heal them.
In all cases, we must love them. That is compassion.

99. Jesus, Our Example
The compassionofJesus may have been the most remarkable characteristic to
the people of His day. Barclaytells us in his commentary that "God�s
compassionto the world must have been a staggering thing. The noblestfaith
in antiquity was that of stoicism. The Stoics believedthat the primary
characteristic ofGod was apathy. By apathy, they meant the incapability of
feeling. If someone canmake another one sad or glad or joyful, it means, at
leastfor that moment, that they caninfluence another person. The Stoic felt
that if he could influence anyone for that secondor even for that moment, he
is greaterthan or superior to the one he influences. Therefore, their reasoning
went on, no one can influence God, so God must be incapable of feeling. Into
this philosophy men were presentedwith the amazing conceptof one who was
the Sonof Godand yet was moved with compassion, movedto the depth of
His being, againand againand again. Formany that is the most precious
thing about God.�
What kind of conceptof God do you have? Have you ever stopped to think
about it? Do you see Him as cold, factual, uncaring, evenvindictive? If you see
God in that light, you do not know the God of Scripture. Look at Psalm145:8-
9 sometime and diagram it. You will geta picture of the God of compassion.
Draw a triangle to represent God. From that triangle, draw out at leastfive
circles. In those circles, put the demonstrated characteristicsofGod. Through
the week, concentrate andfocus on these characteristicsandidentify them by
using a concordance orBible dictionary. You will be amazed. Psalm145:8-9
says that,
God the Lord is gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger, of great mercy
and His mercies are over all of His works.
Watch that unfold sometime and you will see who God is and what God is like
and how He feels about you and about me.
In this lessonwe are going to follow Jesus. We will superimpose our
circumstances upon His responsesand see if in some�supernatural way God
might communicate to us the essenceofcompassion, thatinner emotion that
motivates the Christian to actin mercy. First of all, we will walk with Jesus as

100. He had compassionon those who crossedHis path in His regular, day to day
life. As Jesus walked, He preached. Consideryour life as a housewife, a
salesman, a clerk, a manager, a laboreror whateverwalk of life you have.
Visualize Jesus�response inspecific situations. We will try to grasp what the
word compassionreallymeans.
Before we begin in Matthew 20:30-34, Iwant to give you a little backdrop by
looking at the contextof the passage. In verses 17-19, Jesus hadcalled His
disciples aside and cautioned them that He was about to be betrayed, tried
and crucified. Have you everstopped to realize how heavy the heart of Jesus
must have been about this time? Think of His unfinished business from
man�s perspective:the establishing of the church, the discipling of His
followers, the preaching of the principles. There was so much to be done, and
so little time remained. By now, we would have imagined that His followers
would have such a burden for souls that they couldn�t stand it.
In verses 20-24, we readof the absence ofsensitivity of those who were closest
to Him. James and John�s mother approaches Jesusto ask if her sons could
have reservedseats in heaven, the best in the house. I don�t know how Jesus
felt about that, but have you ever had your children or those you were
discipling, finally geta handle on humility and spiritual things, then they
come up with the question, "What�s in it for me?" You just sigh in disbelief
and think, "Oh, I thought they had the picture." But you see, we all suffer
from the same self-centeredness.
In verse 22, Jesus rebukes and corrects the disciples, and they argue with
Him. He says, "Do you think you can drink from the same cup I can?" They
respond, "You bet, Lord, we�re the ones who can. Don�t tell us what we
can�tdo." The Lord said, "No you can�t, you don�t even understand the
question, how canyou give Me an answer." He goes onto explain the reverse
order of the Kingdom one more time. He says that the loweryou get, the
greateryou are. The more you serve, the higher you go. The more you reach
and claw for the top, the loweryou go. It is a reverse order of spirituality. He
that wants to be at the top must begin at the bottom. He that would be
greatestamong others must be a servant. That is Christianity.

101. After this, Jesus and His disciples started walking that treacherous walk from
Jericho to Jerusalem. It was one of the most dangerous journeys in the Middle
Eastbecause ofthe looters, bandits and wild animals. As they journeyed, as
always, a crowd had formed that was pushing and shoving. Try to imagine
what it would be like. Celebrities have experiencedthis as they try to go about
their daily lives with people pushing and shoving to gettheir autographs, or
touch them or gettheir picture. They experience photographers with their
professionalflashbulbs glaring in their faces. Theynever have a moment of
peace or quiet. Visualize the shoving and clamoring to be heard. People were
wanting to just touch Him or to be heard.
We learn from this and other passagesthat all of this annoyed His disciples.
They resentedthe crowdas an intrusion on their privacy. Some of these
people were just curious, like they were going to a circus, waiting to see who
Jesus would heal next. Some were evil men seeking a way to trap Him in a
contradiction. They were as cunning as the religious Mafia. Some of them
were dirty, lame, blind and helpless. They were unlovely and unlovable
outcasts. TheyslowedJesus down. They calledout to Him while others were
trying to hear. The disciples were nauseatedat their gall.
Two such men were sitting by the roadside on this occasion. The Scripture
tells us, �Behold, two blind men who were sitting by the wayside.�Here the
men were. They heard that Jesus was passing by. We read in Luke and in
Mark that probably one of these men was Bartamaeus. Maybe he was
someone ofmore noble birth. Maybe he was someone more important than
the secondone, because we don�tread about him anywhere else. Regardless,
two blind men were sitting there. The Scripture tells us that they cried out,
�Have mercy on us oh Son of David!�They knew who He was. They called
Him the Messiah. Theywere desperate to be helped.
Let�s look at the compassionofthis crowd. We read in the next verse, �The
multitude rebuked them.�The people said, �Keepstill! We can�thear the
message.�In verse 31 we read, �They just cried louder, �Have mercy on us,
oh Lord, Thou Son of David!��By now, the crowdmust have been ruthless.
The disciples were still, no doubt, irritated over their recentpower struggle.

102. They were not too perceptive of needs of others anyway. They were no doubt
saying, �Hush those blind men. We want to hear the Master.�
Now here is the keyto the whole experience. The next sentence says in verse
32, �And Jesus stoodstill.�The God of the universe stopped dead in His
tracks. Whatwas He going to do? Would He have them floggedfor
disrespect? Would He speak a word and strike them dead? What insensitivity
they had to cry out to the God of heaven. Jesus stopped. Now this wasn�tthe
governorof Jerusalemorthe head of the Sanhedrin that Jesus stopped for;
this was two blind beggars, sparrows,if you will, and Jesus stoppedcold.
I want to ask you a question before we go on. Would you have stopped? You
have a ministry to perform to all of the people around you who are just
feeding on every word you say. A couple of socialoutcasts sitting over in the
corner are screaming at the top of their lungs, �Have mercy! Have mercy!�
What would you have done? You and I would probably walk faster. What
about you? You may have encounteredpeople who have been blinded in a
spiritual sense and are all but crying out for help. Or there may have been
people who are suffering or lonely or sick. Did you stop, or were you late to
the grocerystore? Late to Bible study?
Jesus stoodstill. God always stands still when people cry out for mercy. The
next verse tells us that He calledthem. Having stopped, He lookedatthem,
focusedHis penetrating eyes on them and addressedHis voice of authority to
them and said, "What can I do for you?" That is the literal translation of that
passage. "WhatcanI do for you?" By now the crowd must have stilled to a
whisper. "Whatneed do you have that I can meet?" saidJesus. You can
almost hear them cry out in unison, "We want to see!" In verse 34 we read,
�So Jesus had compassiononthem.�The literal translation of that is, His
heart broke and there welled up within Him what it might feel like to be blind,
begging for all you canget, being made fun of, being neither useful nor
productive. This broke His heart. Jesus, just for a moment, experiencedthe
agonyof blindness. Have you everdone that? Jesus did what He could do. He
touched their eyes. They receivedtheir sight and followedHim.

103. Now let me ask you, have you tried spending a day with both eyes taped shut
just so you could learn how a blind person really feels so you could minister to
them better? Have you ever spent a day in a wheelchairjust to experience the
immobility, the frustration or the dependence of those who are lame? Have
you ever gone even 3 days without food just so you can find out what a
starving beggarreally feels like? Have you ever gone into isolationand cut
yourself off from everyone just for the purpose of understanding the heart of
those who are emotionally lame, crippled in mind, depressedorunable to
cope. Let me tell you that is how you develop compassion. Thatis why those
who have a disease have so much mercy towardthose who get it after them.
They have been there. It means emotionally taking on their affliction. Jesus
had compassion, andHe exercisedmercy. The end result is the same as it
always is- the blind men who had receivedtheir sight followed Him.
Let�s look at a secondsetting as we turn to Mark 1. We see the compassionof
Jesus on one who is unlovely, unclean and unwanted. Again we geta backdrop
of what had been taking place by reading in verse 28. Jesus had just removed
a demon from a man in the synagogue, and then healedPeter�s mother-in-
law. We will begin reading in verse 32.
Mark 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that
were diseased, and them that were possessedwith devils.
They emptied the sanitariums and the hospitals and dumped the whole load
on Jesus�s doorstep. We continue,
Mark 1:33 And all the city was gatheredtogetherat the door.
We see here that the rest were spectators. Theyhad come to see the action.
Every sick person and every personwith a demon was on Jesus�doorstep
waiting to be healed, and the rest of the city was standing behind them just
like they had bought tickets to a circus. Verse 33 tells us that everyone in the
city was gatheredtogetherat the door. Here is one of the most beautiful
concepts ofhow to build a church. You meet people�s needs. It doesn�tsay
that it was visitation night. It doesn�tsay it was a �Bring-A-Neighbor�
campaign. It simply says that Jesus was meeting the needs of people where
they were. There were so many people at the door that He couldn�t getout.

104. That is how the Kingdom grows. Thatis how churches are built. They meet
people�s needs. Let�s continue in verse 34:
Mark 1:34 And He healedmany that were sick of divers diseases, andcastout
many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because theyknew Him.
A loose translationis that He told the demons to �Shut up!�, and they knew
who He was and obeyed. Satan�s troops are always paralyzed at the name of
Jesus. It tells us in this passagethat it is because they know who He is, and
they tremble. We continue in verse 35. This is a beautiful passageas Jesus
dealt with the priority of being alone with God.
Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a greatwhile before day, He went
out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
We need to realize that the night before, He had been healing and dealing with
sick people. He gets up early. If anyone deserved a goodnight�s sleep, it was
Jesus;but He setHis alarm clock at4:00 A.M., and then tiptoed out to a quiet
place to spend time alone with His Father. He wasn�ttrying to be religious.
He wasn�ttrying to be a martyr and punish His body. Jesus just had a list of
priorities, and the list says that you never gettired enough or busy enough to
skip priority number one, time alone with God. So He slipped out, hopefully
to have time with His Father.
Let�s look at the sensitive saints who were following Him.
Mark 1:36 And Simon and they that were with Him followedafter Him.
37 And when they had found Him, they said unto Him, "All men seek for
Thee."
What sensitivity, what consideration? Theytold Him that He had a problem,
because everyone was looking forHim. He knew that. He was just trying to
take time alone to be with the Father. We see in the next verse what His
response was, "Don�tinterrupt My quiet time! Can�tyou see I�m working
on My Scripture memory? And I�ve gotto preachtomorrow." No, He
didn�t saythat. We see His sensitive response:

105. Mark 1:38 And He saidunto them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may
preach there also:for therefore came I forth."
We see in Jesus�response thatperfect balance betweenpeace and urgency.
He knew God was in control, so there was no panic. He also knew that the
people had a need, and there was no time to waste. It was a perfect balance.
We see in verse 39:
39 And He preachedin their synagogues throughoutall Galilee, and castout
devils.
His love continued to express itself through spiritually alleviating the
afflictions of the people around Him. In verse 40, we read a startling one-liner,
Mark 1:40 And there came a leper to Him.
Now here was Jesus in the midst of a busy evangelistic campaign, and a leper
came up to Him. We can�tpass over this verse lightly, because we must
visualize what it must be like to be a leper, then we can visualize what went on
in the mind of Christ and those around Him. In Matthew 10:8, Jesus sentthe
twelve out and said, "Heal the sick and cleanse the lepers." In the New
Testamentthere is no disease regardedwith more terror and pity than
leprosy.
There are three kinds of leprosy. The first is nodular or tubercular leprosy. It
begins with an unaccountable lethargy then unaccountable pains in the joints.
The victim has a hard time moving. Then there appears symmetrical,
discoloredpatches on the skin. On these patches little nodes form, especially
in the facialarea. The whole appearance ofthe face changes until it becomes
grotesque. The victim loses his appearance as a human being. The eyes begin
to stare, the voice changes its sound as it wheezes to the point of being
indistinguishable. The hands and the feet ulcerate with growths everywhere,
making it painfully impossible to walk or to work. At this time of history,
leprosy took about nine years to run its course, before the victim died.
The secondkind is anesthetic leprosy. This initially begins with the loss of
feeling in your nerve endings. The victim might get scaldedwith boiling water
and not realize it because ofthe lack of feeling. Patches and blisters begin to

106. appear on the skin. The fingers and toes begin to fall off. The victim canlose
whole hands and feet. This is a slowerkind of torture that often took twenty to
thirty years to gnaw out its victim. This left him in total humiliation, wracked
with pain, sociallybanned from society, emotionally scared, unclean,
deformed and tormented. This is hard to talk about.
The third type is a combination of the two. This kind was the most prevalent
in Jesus�day. Can you imagine it? In eachcase, the victim had to walk about
with torn clothes, a bared head and a covering on his upper lip. Everywhere
he went, he had to announce his presence with his own feeble cry, "Unclean,
unclean, unclean." Even in the Middle Ages, it was the same. The church had
a burial service and read over the victim as if he were dead though he was still
alive. He had to wearblack, live in a leper colony and couldn�t come to the
church service but had to peek through a leper�s squint, a little hole cut in
the wall. This was the lot of the leper. He was like a dead man, tortured,
rejected, humiliated and unclean. We have seenfew actuallepers in our day,
but there are hoards of people whose lot in life seems just as hopeless.
It is with this in mind that we canvisualize the circumstances in this passage.
It says,
And there came to Him a leper, begging him, kneeling down to Him saying,
"If You will, You canmake me well�.
As we look at this man, we need to know that he was risking his life to speak
to Jesus. Legally, he was not supposed to. Secondly, he was revealing his faith
to speak to Jesus. There was no known cure for leprosy, yet somehow in his
faith, he claimed total healing from the Master. He said, "You can do it. The
question is, will You?"
Mark 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion.
Here is that phrase again. Lockedin its context, I believe is the following
unavoidable interpretation. Jesus enteredinto the lepers body, so to speak, in
His mind�s eye, in an instant felt the pain, the reproach, the hopelessness and
the helplessnessofa leper. Jesus, atthat moment, had His body disfigured,
His face indistinguishable, His coarse voice wheezing, "Unclean, unclean,

107. unclean." Literally, Jesus emotionallybecame a leper. That is what those
three words mean, moved with compassion.
Having entered emotionally in His bowels, in His deepestafflictions, into the
lepers life and lot, He extended mercy. He touched him as we see in verse 41.
Jesus�pure, undefiled life, touched the untouchable, the outcast. He risked
becoming unclean to healanother. He spoke to him gently and
compassionately. Jesus said, "Iwill. I choose to heal you." At whatever the
cost, having entered into his suffering, Jesus said, "I want to be a part of his
healing."�We then read, immediately, this is a goodword to study in
Scripture. It ought to take the skeptics and leave them by the wayside.
�Immediately, he was cleansed.�Obeying the law, Jesus orderedhim to go to
the priest and declare himself cleanas is taught in Leviticus 13 and 14.
Now the keyto this passageseems obvious. Firstof all, Jesus was aware that
He always needed time alone with the Father. Secondly, Jesus was nevertoo
busy or too tired or too spiritually drained for people. His life was not an
organizationfilled with planning meetings and the like. His life was people.
Look at your calendar sometime, at what you have written in the little boxes.
Do you have activities, meetings and functions, or do you have the names of
people that you are meeting with, having fellowship with and ministering to?
Use your time to be with people- people who need you. Men, you can use your
breakfastor lunch hours or coffee breaks to be with other men who have
spiritual needs and whose lives you can minister to. Women, don�t waste the
precious opportunities you have whether in person, or on the telephone, to
pour your life into people.
Another key to this passageis that the socialoutcasts ofsocietywere Jesus�
favorite people to reachout and touch. They were aware of their need, and
they were usually crying for help. Jesus would always stop. He would always
look. He would always listen. He would always reachout and touch them no
matter what societythought and no matter what it costHim. The source of
His mercy was His compassion. When He saw a blind man, emotionally He
became blind. When the leper cried out, emotionally, He became a leper,
grotesque and hopeless. Thenhaving totally identified with the person who
had the need, He was moved with compassionand extended mercy.

108. In the next lesson, we will continue to follow Jesus. We will watchHis
compassionwith those who had chronic needs, with those who were stricken
with grief, with those who had no food and see how He viewed them. We will,
also, see how He viewed the mob and life�s unplanned interruptions.
As you go about your daily tasks, ask Godto give you a spirit of compassion
for the widows, the orphans, the prisoners, those who are terminally ill, those
who are jobless, for that blind beggaron a downtown streetcorner, for the
dirty addict, unshaven and friendless who is prowling the city streets like an
animal. Ask God for the grace to somehow enterin experientially to that
persons�life, imagine their hurt and humiliation. Ask for the grace to
emotionally enter your husband, your wife or your children. We need to try to
live in their world in order to know how to extend mercy and compassion. We
don�t appreciate one another. We don�t think about one another, because
we don�t walk in their shoes, we don�t breathe their breath, we don�t think
about what they go through. Mercy means that you live the hurts of another
in your own emotions. That is compassion. Compassionleads to mercy.
When people cross your path, if possible, stopand look at them. Having
stopped, speak gentlyto them. Having spoken, listen compassionatelyto what
their real needs are. If possible, let your life touch their life with Jesus. We
have a promise, oh what bliss will be ours.
http://higherpraise.com/outlines/lessons/535a.htm
The end of slavery
At the close ofthe eighteenthcentury the slave trade was a thriving and very
big business. Prominent families held slaves and interests in the slave business,
a vast swathe of people depended on slavery for their livelihoods, and public
opinion was undisturbed by it. When Clarksonthrew in his lot with a small
group of Quakers in opposition to the trade the odds of success were
seemingly impossible.

109. On May 22, 1787 Clarksonand about a dozen others met in the James Phillip
Bookstore forthe first official meeting of the Committee of the Slave Trade.
They devised a strategyto gather intelligence on the trade, expose it’s
inhumanity via pamphlets, posters and public lectures, and build momentum
for a banning of the British slave trade. Clarksonbecame their only full time
anti slavery campaigner. He travelled tirelesslythroughout England seeking
to gather intelligence on the slave trade and to draw people’s attention to its
cruelty and inhumanity.
The task was incredibly difficult. Few of those involved in the slavery business
would talk to him; he receiveddeath threats, and at leastone attempt on his
life; many mockedhim. In that first year he noted
I begannow to tremble, for the first time, at the arduous task I had
undertaken, of attempting to subvert one of the branches of the commerce of
the greatplace which was then before me…. I questioned whether I should
even getout of it alive.
Yet the tide of opinion beganto turn. Petitions containing thousands of names
started to find their way to Parliament. More people joined themselves to the
cause, including the potter JosiahWedgewood, who crafteda relief of a
kneeling slave with the words “Am I not a man and a brother?” that became a
popular and influential adornment, and parliamentarian William
Wilberforce, who championed the cause in Parliament. Hundreds of
thousands stopped using sugar, the major slave produced goodin England,
and slave-free sugarstartedappearing. The autobiography of freed slave
Olauda Equiano became a best sellerand many heard him speak.
Within five years of that first meeting at the James Phillip bookstore public
opinion had turned againstthe slave trade. Parliamenthowever would take
longerto conquer. William Wilberforce was the spearheadof the
parliamentary campaign.
So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the trade’s wickednessappear
that my own mind was completely made up for abolition. Let the
consequencesbe what they would; I from this time determined that I would
never rest until I had effectedits abolition

110. Like Clarkson, Wilberforce met with fierce opposition and derision. Admiral
Horatio Nelsonfor example, condemned “the damnable doctrine of
Wilberforce and his hypocritical allies”. He also found the support of
colleaguessuchas the Prime Minister, William Pitt.
Bills againstthe trade were moved in 1791, 1792, 1793, 1797,1798, 1799, 1804,
and 1805, allwithout success,until on February 27, 1807 a bill for the
abolition of the slave trade passedthe House by a vote of 283 to 16.
The anti slaveryactivists had assumedthat once the shipping of slaves was
outlawedslavery would collapse. This assumption proved naive. While no
more slaves were shipped, slaves continued to be held on British owned
plantations in the WestIndies and their children enslaved. This setoff
continued campaigning. A mass uprising of slaves in 1831 signalledthe
oppressionof slaves was no longersustainable, and in 1833 the Emancipation
Act finally saw the end of British slavery.
It took fifty six years, but who’d have thought that from that meeting of a
dozen people in the James Phillip Bookstore onMay 22, 1787, armedwith
nothing but their determination and their voices, would issue such a result?
We canwait no longer. Martin Luther King’s Letter to White Church
Leaders
In 1960, Martin Luther King was imprisoned after leading a civil rights
march. His dream seemeda long way off. Criticisedby white church leaders,
he responded with his famous “Letter from an Alabama Jail”, which included
this section:
We have waitedfor more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given
rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speedtoward
gaining political independence, but we still creepat horse and buggy pace
toward gaining a cup of coffee ata lunch counter. Perhaps it is easyfor those
who have never felt the stinging darts of segregationto say, “Wait.” But when
you have seenvicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown
your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seenhate filled policemen
curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters;when you see the

111. vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight
cage ofpoverty in the midst of an affluent society;when you suddenly find
your tongue twistedand your speechstammering as you seek to explain to
your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusementpark
that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes
when she is told that Funtown is closedto coloredchildren, and see ominous
clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her
beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness
toward white people; when you have to concoctananswerfor a five year old
son who is asking:“Daddy, why do white people treat coloredpeople so
mean?”;when you take a cross county drive and find it necessaryto sleep
night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no
motel will acceptyou; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging
signs reading “white” and “colored”;when your first name becomes “nigger,”
your middle name becomes “boy” (howeverold you are) and your lastname
becomes “John,” andyour wife and mother are never given the respected title
“Mrs.”;when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that
you are a Negro, living constantlyat tiptoe stance, neverquite knowing what
to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments;when
you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of“nobodiness”–thenyou will
understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup
of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the
abyss of despair.
Facedwith injustices like these, it would be understandable if King had
become stuck in “the abyss of despair”. His letter oozes a compassionfor the
suffering of his fellow African-Americans and a smouldering angerat the
injustices heaped upon them. But his movement arousedviolent opposition.
Even the white church, which he had hoped would side with his cause,
opposedwhat he was doing. At times the challenge must have seemedtoo big,
the forces ofoppressiontoo powerful, and the future fated to be an endless
rerun of the past.
But to his compassionand anger King added hope. He was convinced that his
dream was in factGod’s dream; that God too had

112. Wally and the Christmas Play
What to do with Wally? Wally was an awkwardand shy child who belonged
to the church kids club. It was time to hand out roles for the Christmas play,
but what role should the teachergive Wally? She decided on the inn-keeper. It
was an important role, but required Wally only to shake his head and say one
line “Sorry, we’ve no room.” Wally grinned from ear to ear when he learned
of his important role and he couldn’t wait for the big night.
It arrived soonenough, and the play was proceeding according to plan. Mary
and Josephhad traveled to Bethlehem and come to the door of the inn. Joseph
knockedon the door and it opened to Wally. “Pleasesir, do you have a room
we could take?” askedJoseph. Wallyshook his head and replied. “I’m sorry,
we’ve no room”.
Now the boy playing Josephwas a particularly confident child, and while the
script called for he and Mary to turn awayat this point, Josephdecidedto
exercise some dramatic license. “But sir” he said to the innkeeper, “My wife is
about to have her baby and we need somewhere to stay. Couldn’t you find us
a room.” Wally’s face went white – this was not planned for! – and he paused
for a moment before repeating his line. “I’m sorry, we’ve no room.”
“But sir” replied Joseph, “We’ve traveledsuch a long wayand we’ve nowhere
else to go and my wife is very tired. Surely you canfind us somewhere.” Wally
bowed his head, shook it sadly and said, “I’m sorry, we’ve no room.”
Forlornly Josephand Mary started walking away. Wally, now fully into his
role, felt shamed and saddened. A tear trickled down his cheek. Then his voice
was heard calling out. “Wait! Pleasecome back. You can have my room.”
It may not have been according to script, but at that moment Wally gave
perfect expressionto the Christmas story.
Source:widely repeated story of unknown origins
Cory Weisman’s Basket
In February 2012 CoryWeissmanled out the men’s basketballteamof
Gettysburg College fortheir last game of the season. Fouryears earlier he had

113. suffered a stroke that left him paralysedon one side. Four years of rehab and
he was able to walk with a limp, but was still not able to play competitively.
But before his stroke he had been on the varsity team and the Gettysburgh
coachwantedto give him a few seconds oncourt as a senior. So Cory was
nominated captain and led out the starting five for what was both his first and
last game for Gettysburg, for he was now due to graduate.
Knowing the struggle it was just to be there, the crowd and the players from
both teams greetedhim with wild applause. The Gettysburg coachgave him a
few minutes on court before benching him.
With one minute to go Gettysburg was well aheadand the coachsentCory
back out on court. The Washingtoncoachcalledtime out and instructed his
players to foul Cory Weissman. Forthose who don’t know basketballthis was
a very generous act, for it meant Cory would be given two shots at the basket.
Cory takes his place at the free throw line, feels the weightof the ball in his
hands, lifts and shoots. It misses badly. But he has a secondand final shotleft.
Again he feels the weight of the ball in his hands, lifts and shoots. This time
the ball flies straight through the hoop, and the crowdbreaks out in
thunderous applause.
The assistantvice president for athletics at Gettysburg, David Wright, later
wrote to WashingtonCollege:“Your coach, RobNugent, along with his …
staff and student-athletes, displayed a measure of compassionthat I have
never witnessedin over 30 years of involvement in intercollegiate athletics.”
Source:reported by Frank Record, “Whenthere’s more to winning than
winning.” NPR Radio, Feb 22, 2012
A Party for a Prostitute
It was one of the most extraordinary birthday parties ever held. Not it wasn’t
in a plush ballroom of a grand hotel. No there weren’t famous celebrities, nor
anyone rich or powerful. It was held at 3am in a small seedycafe in Honolulu,
the guestof honour was a prostitute, the fellow guests were prostitutes, and
the man who threw it was a Christian minister!

114. The idea came to Christian minister Tony Campolo very early one morning as
he sat in the cafe. He was drinking coffee atthe counter, when a group of
prostitutes walkedin and took up the stools around him. One of the girls,
Agnes, lamented the factthat not only was it her birthday tomorrow but that
she’d never had a birthday party.
Tony thought it would be a greatidea to surprise Agnes with a birthday party.
Learning from the cafe owner, a guy named Harry, that the girls came in
every morning around 3.30amTony agreedwith him to set the place up for a
party. Word somehow gotout on the street, so that by 3.15 the next morning
the place was packedwith prostitutes, the cafe ownerand his wife, and Tony.
When Agnes walkedin she saw streamers, balloons, Harry holding a birthday
cake, andeveryone screaming out “Happy Birthday!” Agnes was
overwhelmed. The tears poured down her face as the crowd sang Happy
Birthday. When Harry calledon her to cut the cake she paused. She’d never
had a birthday cake and wonderedif she could take it home to show her
mother. When Agnes left there was a stunned silence. Tonydid what a
Christian minister should. He led Harry, Harry’s wife and a roomful of
prostitutes in a prayer for Agnes.
It was a birthday party rarely seenin Honolulu – thrown by a Christian
minister for a 39 year old prostitute who had never had anyone go out of their
way to do something like this and who expectednothing in return. Indeed, so
surprising was this turn of events that the cafe ownerfound it hard to believe
there were churches that would do this sort of thing, but if there were then
that’s the sort of church he’d be prepared to join.
Telemachus and the Colosseum
The story of Telemachus is the story of extreme courage in the face of evil.
Telemachus was a Christian monk who, in 391CE, wenton a pilgrimage to
Rome. While there he noticed crowds flocking to the Colosseumto see
gladiators do battle. He followed them in, only to witness a sight that repulsed
him.

115. Emperor Honorius was celebrating his triumph over the Goths. Gladiators
armed with spears and swords reenactedthe battle. After their reenactment
the bodies of the dead were draggedfrom the arena and its bloodied surface
coveredwith a fresh layer of sand.
In came a new series of gladiators. Some were armed with swords and spears,
others with nets. The crowdwatchedwith excitement as they sought to outdo
eachother. When a gladiator was wounded, his opponent would loom over
him, waiting for the crowd’s verdict on whether to slayhim or let him live. So
greatwas the bloodlust that at times wealthierspectators wouldclimb down
to get a better view of the execution.
Telemachus watchedwith horror as people died, battles ragedand the crowds
cheered. Prompted into action, this bald headed, robed figure found his way
onto the arena floor. He ran towardtwo gladiators lockedin battle, grabbed
one of them and pulled him away. He exhorted the two gladiators to abandon
their murderous sport. He appealedto the crowd to not to break God’s law by
murdering.
The response was anything but favourable. Angry voices drownedout
Telemachus’, demanding that the spectacle continue. The gladiators prepared
to do battle again, but Telemachus stoodbetweenthem, holding them apart,
urging them to reconsider. Driven by the angerof the crowdand their rage at
Telemachus’interference, the gladiators cut Telemachus to the ground, as the
crowdthrew missiles at him. Telemachus was killed.
But his death was not in vain. In 405 Emperor Honorius declared gladiatorial
battles were to end at the Colosseum. Traditiontells us that it was
Telemachus’brave protestthat helped move him to do so.
Source:Reportedin Foxe’s Book ofMartyrs.
Inside the Walls
It is said that during the SecondWorld War some soldiers serving in France
wanted to bury a friend and fellow soldierwho had been killed. Being in a
foreign country they wantedto ensure their fallen comrade had a proper
burial. They found a well-keptcemeterywith a low stone wall around it, a

116. picturesque little Catholic church and a peacefuloutlook. This was just the
place to bury their friend. But when they approached the priest he answered
that unless their friend was a baptised Catholic he could not be buried in the
cemetery. He wasn’t.
Sensing the soldiers disappointment the priest showedthem a spot outside the
walls where they could bury their friend. Reluctantly they did so.
The next day the soldiers returned to pay their final respects to their fallen
friend but could not find the grave. “Surely we can’t be mistaken. It was right
here!” they said. Confused, they approachedthe priest who took them to a
spot inside the cemeterywalls. “Lastnight I couldn’t sleep” said the priest. “I
was troubled that your friend had to be buried outside the cemetery walls, so I
got up and moved the fence.”
Source:Unknown
Information Please
A man tells the story about a specialfriend he made while just a boy. When
quite young, Paul’s father had one of the first telephones in their
neighbourhood. Paul was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen
with fascinationwhen his mother talked to it.
Then Paul discoveredthat somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an
amazing person – her name was “Information, Please” andthere was nothing
she did not know.
“Information, Please”couldsupply anybody’s number and the correcttime.
Paul’s first personalexperience with this genie-in the-bottle came one day
while his mother was visiting a neighbour. Amusing himself at the tool bench
in the basement, Paul hackedhis finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible,
but there didn’t seemto be any reasonin crying because there was no one
home to give sympathy. He walkedaround the house sucking his throbbing
finger, finally arriving at the stairway.
The telephone!

117. Quickly, Paul ran for the foot stoolin the parlour and draggedit to the
landing. Climbing up, he unhooked the receiverin the parlour and held it to
his ear. “Information, Please,” he said into the mouthpiece just above his
head.
A click or two and a small clearvoice spoke into Paul’s ear.
“Information.”
“I hurt my finger,” Paul wailed into the phone.
“Isn’t your mother home?” came the question.
“Nobody’s home but me” Paul blubbered.
“Are you bleeding?” the voice asked.
“No,” he replied. “I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.”
“Canyou open your icebox?” she asked. He said he could. “Then chip off a
little piece of ice and hold it to your finger,” said the voice.
After that, Paul called“Information, Please”for everything. He askedher for
help with his geographyand she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped
him with his maths. She told Paul that his pet chipmunk, which he had caught
in the park just the day before, would eatfruit and nuts. Then, there was the
time Petey, the pet canary died. Paul called and told her the sad story.
She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child, but
Paul was inconsolable. He askedher, “Why is it that birds should sing so
beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers
on the bottom of a cage?”
She must have sensedhis deep concern, for she said quietly, “Paul, always
remember that there are other worlds to sing in.” Somehow he felt better. .
When Paul was nine years old, his family moved across the country to Boston.
Paul missed his friend very much. “Information, Please” belongedin that old
woodenbox back home, and he somehow neverthought of trying the tall,
shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.

118. As he grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations
never really left him. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity Paul would
recallthe serene sense ofsecurity he had then. He appreciatednow how
patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little
boy.
A few years later, on his waywestto college, Paul’s plane put down in Seattle.
He had about half an hour or so betweenplanes. He spent 15 minutes on the
phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what he
was doing, Paul dialled his hometown operatorand said, “Information,
Please.”
Miraculously, he heard the small, clearvoice he knew so well, “Information.”
He hadn’t planned this but he heard myself saying, “Could you please tell me
how to spell fix?”
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spokenanswer, “Iguess your
finger must have healed by now.” Paul laughed. “So it’s really still you,” he
said. “I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that
time.”
“I wonder,” she said, “if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never
had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls.” Paultold her how
often he had thought of her over the years and askedif he could callher again
when he came back to visit his sister.
“Pleasedo,” she said. “Just ask for Sally.”
Three months later Paul was back in Seattle. A different voice answered,
“Information.” He askedfor Sally. “Are you a friend?” She asked.
“Yes, a very old friend,” Paul answered.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said. “Sallyhas been working part-
time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.”
Before he could hang up she said, “Waita minute. Is this Paul?”
“Yes,” Paulreplied.

119. “Well, Sally left a messageforyou. She wrote it down in case you called. Let
me readit to you.” The note said, “Tellhim I still say there are other worlds
to sing in. He’ll know what I mean.”
Application: Listening – Information Please gave Paulone of the most
precious yet simple gifts a person cangive, the gift of listening.
Application: Hope, Death, Heaven. “There are other world’s to sing in”.
Beyond death lies the hope of a new life.
Application: Community, Friendship. This story reminds us that we need
eachother. Information Please andPaul both had their lives enriched in
powerful yet simple ways by the gift of their friendship with one another.
Application: Children. We adults often make the mistake of dismissing the
concerns ofsmall children. Yet coping with the death of a budgie or telling
someone that you’ve hurt your finger are the things that are important to a
small child. Sally reminds us of the importance of being attentive to the needs
of children, not expecting them to function as mini adults but nurturing their
journey as children.
Source:Unknown.
In the Silence Hearing the World Cry
Chaim Potok’s book Chosentells the story of Danny Saunders, the son of a
strict Hasidic Jew. Formany years Danny’s father, though very human, never
speaks to Danny, except when teaching him out of the Talmud. One day the
mystery is revealed. Rabbi Saunders explains that Godhas blessedhim with a
brilliant son, a boy with a mind like a jewel. When Danny was 4 years old his
father saw him reading a book and was frightened. The book describedthe
suffering of a poor Jew, yetDanny enjoyed it!
“There was no soul in my 4-year-oldDaniel, there was only a mind”

120. The rabbi cried to God “What have you done to me? A mind like this I need
for a son? A heart I need for a son, a soul I need for a son,
compassion…righteousness, strengthto suffer and carry pain…”
So Rabbi Saunders followedan ancient Hasidic tradition and brought the boy
up in silence, forthen “in the silence betweenus he beganto hear the world
crying.”
Source: J. Stott, The Contemporary Christian pp119-120
https://storiesforpreaching.com/category/sermonillustrations/compassion/
Jesus Movedwith Compassion
February 16, 20161. SermonOutlines, Compassion
Compassionwas atthe root of everything Jesus came here to do. If He had not
been compassionate, then He wouldn’t have left His home in glory (Mark
1:41; Matt 20:34).
I. JESUS, THE MODELOF COMPASSION
A. Compassionin His Incarnation:
1. Towardthe unborn (Matt 1:20-21;Rom 6:23; Eph 2:1-10)
B. Compassionin His Works:
1. Towardthe believing (Matt 20:30-34)– Jesus was onHis way to die.
2. Towardthe doubting (Mark 1:40-41)
3. Towardthe ignorant (Mark 5:19)
4. Towardthe lonely (Luke 7:13-15)
C. Compassionin His Words:

121. 1. Towardthe confused(Mark 6:34; Luke 9:10-12)– Jesus had just lost his
cousin.
2. Towardthe helpless, and sinful (Parables:Luke 10:33;Matt 18:26-27;Luke
15:20)
D. Continuing His Compassion:
1. Towardus (Heb 2:17-18;4:15-16)
II. RESPONDINGTO JESUS’COMPASSION
A. Come to Him (Matt 11:28-30;cf. Psa 145:8;Psa 90:13-14)
B. Emulate Him (Phil 2:1-4, 5-10)
Show others the same compassionthat He showedyou.
Watch for opportunities to do that!
https://greenmeadowchurchofchrist.com/?p=5274
Bowels ofCompassion
“But whoso hath this world's good, and seethhis brother have need, and
shutteth up his bowels of compassionfrom him, how dwelleth the love of God
in him?” —1 John 3:17 (KJV)
When Darlene and I were first married, we went on a three-week missiontrip
to Honduras. We were just twenty years old and had never really been
anywhere by ourselves. We jumped on a plane in Pittsburgh, joined a team of

122. strangers in Miami, and departed for Central America. On our team, we met
a couple who had been on earliermission trips, and were so moved by their
experiences that they returned home, left their business, and became the
missionaries leading our trip.
Throughout our three-week “vacationwith a purpose” I was waiting for my
moving moment, but it never came. I wondered if I was too hard hearted or
was God simply not calling me to missionary service. Was I too emotionally
detachedto be moved? Eventually, God calledme into pastoralministry and
confirmed for me that God was not calling me into overseasservice.
Since 1 John 3:17 (NIV) tells us, “If anyone has material possessions andsees
a brother or sisterin need but has no pity on them, how can the love of Godbe
in that person?” as Christians we should be concernedif we are not moved to
compassionwhenfacedwith the needs of others, questioning whether God’s
love really dwells in us. What about you? When you see sick and starving
children on TV, are you repulsed and turn the channelor are you moved?
When is the last time you opened your “bowels ofcompassion” to the needs of
others. In other words, when is the lasttime you allowedthe needs of another
person to move you so deeply that you acted?
I quoted the King James Version at the top of this article because it tries to
correctlyand graphically translate the original language ofthe New
Testament. To be moved to compassionliterally means to open your bowels
toward a personor circumstance, to become nauseous orsick over a need that
you canmeet. In the New Testament, when Jesus was movedto compassionit
actually says, His bowels were moved. The bowels were thought to be the seat
of love and pity. The verbal form of the noun “bowels”means to be moved as
to one’s bowels or to be moved with compassionor have pity.

123. Compassionconnects oureyes with our hands directly through the stomach.
We see a need with the eyes of Jesus, andare moved in our guts to do
something. Mostof the Bible passagesdescribing Jesus being moved to
compassionbeginwith Jesus seeing a person in need. Matthew 14:14 records
that Jesus saw a greatmultitude, was moved with compassiontowardthem,
and healedtheir sick. Luke 7:13 describes how Jesus saw a widow who lost
her only son. He had compassionon her and raisedher son from the dead.
In the Parable of the GoodSamaritan, Jesus describes a neighbor as one who
shows compassion. The Samaritan saw an injured man, was moved with
compassion, andoffered help (Luke 10:33). Jesus illustrates His Father’s love
for lostsouls by describing how the father of the lost sonupon seeing his son’s
return, had compassion, ranto him, and embracedhis son(Luke 15:20).
The recurring theme: Jesus, Godthe Father, and Christians see, are moved
with compassion, andact. Are you allowing yourself to be moved to
compassion? Youmust first be in a position to see. Secondly, you must open
your heart (our bowels)to be moved or touched. If you are truly moved to
compassion, youwill act to alleviate pain and suffering.
Postedby PastorRandy at 6:31 AM
August 24, 2012
MOVED WITH COMPASSION

124. Compassionis not just pity or sympathy. It is more than being moved to tears
or stirred up emotionally. Compassionmeans pity and mercy accompaniedby
a desire to help change things. True compassionmoves us to do something!
At one point, Jesus departedinto the wilderness to pray. When the multitudes
discoveredHis whereabouts, they followedHim by foot and brought Him
their lame, their blind, their dying, their demon-possessedones. The Bible tells
us: "And Jesus wentforth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with
compassiontowardthem, and he healedtheir sick" (Matthew 14:14).
Had Jesus beenhampered by our modern thinking, He might have gathered
His disciples for a committee meeting to analyze the problems and talk about
the sins that had brought societyto such a place. He would have pointed to the
frothing demoniacs and tearfully said, "Look at what sin does to people. Isn't
that tragic?"
Or He could have said, like so many sanctimonious people, "Look, I feel your
pain. I've workedhard ministering to you but now I'm exhausted, and I need
to talk to my Father. Later I’ll call My disciples togetherfor a prayer meeting
and we'll pray over your needs. Now, go in peace."
That is modern theologyin a nutshell. Everybody is willing to pray — but few
are willing to act.
Matthew 9 says of Jesus, "Whenhe saw the multitudes, he was moved with
compassiononthem, because they fainted, and were scatteredabroad, as
sheephaving no shepherd" (9:36). The phrase "moved with compassion" here
means "stirredto action."

125. So, what did Jesus do? He didn't just talk. His heart was stirred at what He
saw and He had a consuming desire to change things. The feelings of pity and
sympathy He felt moved Him to action.
"Jesus wentabout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and
preaching the gospelof the kingdom, and healing every sicknessand every
disease among the people" (verse 35). This was not some vain theology. Jesus
did not just get alone with the Father and say, "Lord, send laborers into Your
harvest field." No, Jesus wentHimself. He got deeply, practically, intimately
involved.
https://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/2012/08/moved-with-
compassion.html
Through the Eyes of Jesus
by Deborah Ann Belka
Oh, if I had the eyes of Jesus,
I could see past the temperate heart
I would be a witness to why
so many from God ~ are far apart.
I could see beyond eachSunday,
and those who fill up the pew
I would see the ones that follow Him

126. the restof the week ~ were but few.
I could look deep into the soul,
of those who confess His love
and then I would recognize
those who seek things of above.
I would be able to look past,
the sin, the lust, the greed
I could see that His salvation
is all that anyone will ever need.
Oh, if I had the eyes of Jesus,
I know that I too would weep
for all those who are unsaved
and for His very own lostsheep.
Matthew 9:36
King James Version
"But when he saw the multitudes, he was
moved with compassionon them, because
they fainted, and were scattered
abroad, as sheephaving no shepherd."

127. Volume 60 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 1
THE COMPASSION OF JESUS NO. 3438
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER24, 1914,
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,AT THE METROPOLITAN
TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
“He was moved with compassion.”Matthew 9:36.
THIS is said of Christ Jesus severaltimes in the New Testament. The original
word is a very remarkable one. It is not found in classic Greek. It is not found
in the Septuagint. The fact is, it was a word coinedby the evangelists,
themselves. They did not find one in the whole Greek language thatsuited
their purpose and, therefore, they had to make one. It is expressive of the
deepestemotion—a striving of the heart—a yearning of the innermost nature
with pity. As the dictionaries tell us—Ex intimis visceribus misericordia
commoveor. I suppose that when our Savior lookedupon certainsights, those
who watchedHim closelyperceivedthat His internal agitation was very great,
His emotions were very deep and then His face betrayed it—His eyes gushed
like fountains with tears and you saw that His big heart was ready to burst
with pity for the sorrow upon which His eyes were gazing. He was moved with
compassion. His whole nature was agitatedwith commiserationfor the
sufferers before Him. Now, although this word is not used many times even
by the evangelists, yetit may be taken as a clue to the Savior’s whole life—and
I intend thus to apply it to Him. If you would sum up the whole characterof
Christ in reference to ourselves, it might be gatheredinto this one sentence,
“He was moved with compassion.”Upon this one point we shall try to insist,
now, and may God grant that goodpracticalresults may come of it. First, I

128. shall lead your meditations to the greattransactions ofour Savior’s life;
secondly, to the specialinstances in which this expressionis used by the
evangelists;thirdly, to the forethought which He took on our behalf and,
fourthly, to the personal testimony which one’s own recollections canfurnish.
Let us take a rapid survey of— I. THE GREAT LIFE OF CHRIST, just
touching, as with a swallow’s wing, the evidence it bears from the beginning.
Before everthe earth was framed. Before the foundations of the everlasting
hills were laid. When as yet the stars had not begun their shining, it was
known to God that His creature, man, would sin—that the whole race would
fall from its pure original state in the first Adam, the covenant head as well as
the common parent of the entire human family, and that in consequence of
that one man’s disobedience every soul born of his lineage would become a
sinner. Then, as the Creatorknew that His creatures would rebel againstHim,
He saw that it would become necessary, eventually, to avenge His injured law.
Therefore, it was purposed, in the eternal plan, before the stream of time had
commencedits course, or ages had begun to accumulate their voluminous
records, that there should be an interposer— one ordained to come and re-
head the race, to be the secondAdam, a federal chief to restore the breach,
and repair the mischief of the first Adam—to be a surety to answerfor the
sons of men on whom God’s love did light, that their sins should be laid upon
Him—and that He should save them with an everlasting salvation. No angel
could venture to intrude into those divine counsels anddecrees, orto offer
himself as the surety and sponsorfor that new covenant. Yet there was one—
and He none other than Jehovah’s self— of whom He said, Let all the angels
of God worship Him, the Son, the well beloved of the Father, of whom it is
written in the Word, “WhenHe prepared the heavens I was there. When He
seta compass upon the face of the depth, when He establishedthe clouds
above, when He strengthenedthe fountains of the deep” then, “I was by Him
as one brought up with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always
before Him, rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth; and My delights
were with the sons of men.” He it is of whom the Apostle John speaks as the
Lord who was God, and was in the beginning with God. Was He not moved
with compassionwhenHe enteredinto a covenant with His Father on our
behalf, even on the

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behalf of all His chosen—a covenantin which He was to be the sufferer and
they the gainers—inwhich He was to bear the shame that He might bring
them into His ownglory? Yes, verily, He was even then moved with
compassionfor His delights, even then, were with the sons of men! Nor did
His compassionpeerforth in the prospectof an emergencypresently to
diminish and disappear as the rebellion took a more active form, and the ruin
assumedmore palpable proportions. It was no transient feeling. He still
continued to pity men. He saw the fall of man. He marked the subtle serpent’s
mortal sting. He watchedthe trail as the slime of the serpent passedoverthe
fair glades ofEden. He observedman in his evil progress, adding sin to sin
through generationafter generation, fouling every page of history until God’s
patience had been tried to the uttermost! And then, according as it was
written in the volume of the book that He must appear—Jesus Christcame,
Himself, into this strickenworld! Came how? O, be astonished, you angels,
that you were witnessesofit, and you men that you beheld it! The infinite
came down to earth in the form of an infant! He who spans the heavens and
holds the oceanin the hollow of His hand, condescendedto hang upon a
woman’s breast—the eternal King became a little child! Let Bethlehem tell
that He had compassion!There was no way of saving us but by stooping to us!
To bring earth up to heaven, He must bring heavendown to earth! Therefore,
in the incarnation, He had compassion, forHe took upon Himself our
infirmities and was made like unto ourselves. Matchlesspity, indeed, was this!
Then, while He tarried in the world, a man among men, and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the only-begottenof the Father, full of grace and truth,
He was constantly moved with compassion, for He felt all the griefs of
mankind in Himself. He took our sicknessesand carriedour sorrows. He
proved Himself a true brother, with quick, human sensibilities. A tear
brought a tear into His eyes, a cry made Him pause to ask what help He could
render. So generous was His soul that He gave all He had for the help of those
who had not. The fox had its hole, and the bird its nest, but He had no
dwelling place. Stripped even of His garments, He hung upon the cross to die.
Neverone as indigent in death as He, without a friend, without even a tomb,

130. exceptsuch as a loan could find Him. He gave up all the comforts of life—He
gave His life, itself—He gave His very Self to prove that He was moved with
compassion!Mostof all do we see how He was moved with compassionin His
terrible death. Oft and oft againhave I told this story, yet these lips shall be
dumb before they ceaseto reiterate the old, old tidings. God must punish sin,
or else He would relinquish the government of the universe. He could not let
iniquity go unchastened without compromising the purity of His
administration. Therefore, the law must be honored, justice must be
vindicated, righteousness must be upheld, and crime must be expiated by
suffering! Who, then, shall endure the penance or make the reparation? Shall
the dread sentence fall upon all mankind? How far shall vengeance proceed
before equity is satisfied? After what manner shall the sword do homage to
the scepter? Mustthe electof Godbe condemned for their sins? No! Jesus is
moved with compassion. He steps in, He takes upon Himself the uplifted lash
and His shoulders run with gore!He bares His bosom to the furbished sword
and it smites the shepherd that the sheepmay escape!“He looked, and there
was no man, and wonderedthat there was no intercessor;therefore, His arm
brought salvation.” He trod the winepress alone, and “bore, that we might
never bear, His Father’s righteous ire.” Are you askedwhatdoes the
crucifixion of a perfect man upon a felon’s cross, mean? You may reply, “He
was moved with compassion.” “He savedothers. Himself He could not save.”
He was so moved with compassion, that compassion, as it were, did eatHim
up! He could save nothing from the generalconflagration—He was utterly
consumed with love and died in the flame of ardent love towards the sons of
men! And after He had died and slept a little while in the grave, He rose
again!He has gone into His glory! He is living at the right hand of the Father!
But this is just as true of Him—“He is moved with compassion.”Is proof
needed? Let faith pass within the veil and let your spirits, for a moment, stand
upon that sea of glass mingled with fire where the harpers stand tuning their
never ceasing melodies!What? Do you see there, conspicuous in the very
midst of heaven, one who looks like a lamb that has been slain, and still wears
His priesthood? What is His occupationthere in heaven? He has no bloody
sacrifice to offer, for He has perfectedforever those that were setapart! That
work is done, but what is He doing now? He is pleading for His people! He is
their perpetual advocate, their continual intercessor!He never rests until

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they come to their rest! He never holds His peace for them, but pleads the
merit of His blood, and will do so till all whom the Father gave Him shall be
with Him where He is! Well, indeed, does our hymn express it— “Now,
though He reigns exaltedhigh, His love is still as great!Well He remembers
Calvary, Norwill His saints forget.” His tender heart pities all the griefs of
His dear people. There is not a pang they have but the head feels it, feels it for
all the members! Still does He look upon their imperfections and their
infirmities, yet not with anger, not with loss of patience, but with gentleness
and sympathy, “He is moved with compassion.” Having thus briefly sketched
the life of Christ, I want you to turn to— II. THOSE PASSAGES OF THE
EVANGELISTS IN WHICH THEY TESTIFYTHAT HE WAS MOVED
WITH COMPASSION. Youwill find one case in Matthew 20:31—“Two
blind men sat by the wayside begging, and when they heard that Jesus passed
by, they said, “O Lord, You Sonof David, have mercy on us.” Jesus stoodstill,
calledthem, questioned them and they seemto have had full convictionthat
He could and would restore their sight, so Jesus had compassiononthem,
touched their eyes and immediately they receivedsight! Yes, and what a
lessonthis is for any here present who have a like conviction! Do you believe
that Christ can heal you? Do you believe that He is willing to heal you? Then
let me assure you that a channel of communication is opened betweenHim
and you, for He is moved with compassiontowards you, and already I hear
Him command you to come to Him. He is ready to healyou now! The sad
condition of a blind man should always move pity in the breastof the humane,
but a glance atthese two poor men—I do not know that there was anything
strange or uncommon about their appearance—touchedthe Savior’s
sensibility. And when He heard them say that they believed He could heal
them, He seemedto perceive that they had inward sight—andto accountit a
pity that they should not have outward sight too! So at once He put His fingers
on their eyes, and they receivedthe power of seeing. O soul, if you believe
“Christ can save you, and if you will now trust in Him to save you, be of good

132. cheer, you are saved! That faith of yours has savedyou. The very fact that you
believe that Jesus is the Christ, and rely upon Him, may stand as evidence to
you that you are forgiven, that you are saved!There is no let or bar to your
full redemption! Go your way and rejoice in your Lord! He has compassion
on you. The next case I shall cite is that of the leper, Mark 1:41. This poor
man was coveredwith a sadand foul disease whenhe said to Jesus, “Lord, if
You will, You can make me clean.” He had full faith in Christ’s ability, but he
had some doubts as to Christ’s willingness. Our Savior lookedat him, and
though He might very well have rebuked him that he should doubt His
willingness, He merely said, “I will, be you clean,” and straightwayhe was
made whole of that loathsome plague!If there is in this assembly one
grievously defiled or openly disgracedby sin, see the leprosy upon yourself
and do you say, “I believe He could save me if He would”? Have you some
lingering doubt about the Savior’s willingness? YetI beseechyou breathe this
prayer, “Lord, I believe, I believe Your power. Help You my unbelief which
lingers round Your willingness.” Thenlittle as your faith is, it shall save you!
Jesus, full of compassion, willpity even your unbelief and acceptwhatis faith
and forgive what is unbelief. That is a secondinstance. The third I will give
you is from Mark 5:19. It was the demoniac. There met Christ a man so
possessedwith a devil as to be mad! And instead of belief in Christ or asking
for healing, this spirit within the man compelled him to say, “Will You
torment us before the time?”—and rather to stand againstChrist healing him
than to ask for it. But Christ was moved with compassionandHe bade the evil
spirit come out of the evil man. Oh, I am so glad of this instance of His being
moved with compassion!I do not so much wonder that He has pity on those
that believe in Him, neither do I so much marvel that He has pity, even, on
weak faith—but here was a case in which there was no faith, no desire, nor
anything that could commend him to our Lord’s sympathy! Is there no such
case among the crowds gatheredtogetherhere? You do not know
4 The CompassionofJesus Sermon#3438
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why you have come into this assembly. You scarcelyfeelat home in this place.
Though you have led a very sad life, you do not want to be converted—not

133. you! You almostshun the thought! Yet it is written, “He will have compassion
on whom He will have compassion.”Well, we have known it in this house, and
I hope we shall know it againand againthat the Lord has laid violent hands of
love upon unprepared souls!They have been struck down with repentance,
renewedin heart and saved from their sins! Saul of Tarsus had no thought
that he would ever be an apostle of Christ, but the Lord stopped the
persecutorand changed him into a preacher—so that everafterwards he
propagatedthe faith which once he destroyed! May the Lord have compassion
on you tonight! Well may we offer that prayer, for what will be your fate if
you die as you are? What will be your eternaldoom if you pass out of this
world as soonyou must, without being sprinkled with the blood of Christ and
forgiven your iniquities? Jesus knows the terrors of the world to come!He
describes the torments of hell. He sees your danger. He warns you. He pities
you— He sends His messengers to counselyou. He bids me say to the very
chief of sinners, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” “Only return unto
Me and confess your iniquity, and I will have mercy upon you,” says the Lord.
May God grant that the compassionof Christ may be seenin your case! As I
turned over the Greek concordanceto find out where this word is repeated
againand again, I found one instance in Luke 7:13. It refers to the widow at
the gates ofNain. Her son was being carried out—her only son. He was dead
and she was desolate. The widow’s only sonwas to her, her sole stay— the
succoras well as the solace ofher old age. He was dead and laid upon the bier,
and when Jesus saw the disconsolatemother, He was moved with compassion
and He restoredher son. Oh, is there not refreshment here for you mothers
that are weeping for your boys? You that have ungodly sons, unconverted
daughters, the Lord Jesus seesyour tears!You weepalone, sometimes, and
when you are sitting and enjoying the Word, you think, “Oh, that my
Absalom were renewed! Oh, that Ishmael might live before You.” Jesus
knows about it. He was always tender to His own mother, and He will be so to
you. And you that are mourning over those that have been lately taken from
you, Jesus pities you. Jesus wept, He sympathizes with your tears. He will dry
them and give you consolation. “He was moved with compassion.” Stillthe
occasions onwhich we find this expressionmost frequently used in the
evangelists are when crowds of people were assembled. At the sight of the
greatcongregations that gatheredto hear Him, our Lord was often moved

134. with compassion. Sometimes itwas because they were hungry and faint, and
in the fullness of His sympathy, He multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed
them. At the same time He showedHis disciples that it is a goodwork to feed
the poor. Jesus would not have them so spiritually-minded as to forgetthat
the poor have flesh and blood that require sustenance—andthey need to eat
and to drink, to be housedand clothed—the Christian’s charity must not lie in
words only, but in deeds!Our Lord was moved with compassion, it is said,
when He saw the number of sick people in the throng, for they made a
hospital of His preaching place. Wherever He paused or even passedby, they
laid the sick in the streets!He could not stand or walk without the spectacle of
their pallets to harrow His feelings. And He healed their impotent folk, as if to
show that the Christian does well to minister to the sick—thatthe patient
watcherby the bedside may be serving the Lord and following His example,
as well as the most diligent teacheror the most earnestpreacherof the
glorious gospel!All means that canbe used to mitigate human suffering are
Christ-like, and they ought to be carried out in His name, and carried to the
utmost perfectionpossible. Christ is the patron of the hospital—He is the
president of all places where men’s bodies are cared for. But we are also told
that the multitude excited His compassionbecausethey were like sheep
without a shepherd. So He taught them as a guide that showedthe path by
leading the way—and He lookedafter their welfare as a shepherd who
regardedthe health of their bodies as well as the goodestate of their souls!
Surely, brothers and sisters, if you love Him, and wish to be like He, you
cannot look on this congregationwithout pity. You cannot go out into the
streets of London and stand in the high roads among the surging masses for
half an hour without saying, “Where are these souls going? Which road are
they traveling? Will they all meet in heaven?” What? You live in London, you
move about in this greatmetropolis and do you never have the heartache,
never feel your soul ready to burst with pity? Then shame on you! Ask
yourself whether you have the spirit of Christ at all! In this congregation,
were we all moved
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135. with pity as we should be, I should not have to complain, as I sometimes must,
that persons come in and out of here in need of someone to speak with them,
to condole, to console, orto commune with them in their loneliness, and they
find no helper! Time was when such a thing never occurred, but, in
conversing with inquirers lately, I have met with severalcases in which
persons in a distressedstate of mind have said that they would have given
anything for half an hour’s conversationwith any Christian to whom they
might have opened their hearts. They came from the country, attended the
Tabernacle, andno one spoke to them! I am sorry it should be so. You used to
watchfor souls, most of you. Very careful were you to speak to those whom
you saw againand again. I do pray you mend that matter. If you have a heart
of mercy, you should be looking out for opportunities to do good!Oh, never
let a poor wounded soul faint for want of the balm! You know the balm. It has
healed yourselves. Use it whereverthe arrows ofGod have smitten a soul.
Enough. I must leave this point. I have given you, I think, every case in which
it is said that Jesus was movedwith compassion. Very briefly let me notice—
III. SOME OF THE FORESIGHTSOF HIS COMPASSION. The Lord has
gone from us, but as He knew what would happen while He was away, He has,
with blessedforethought, provided for our needs. Well, He knew that we
should never be able to preserve the truth of God pure by tradition. That is a
stream that always muddies and defiles everything. So, in tender forethought,
He has given us the consolidatedtestimony, the unchangeable truths of Godin
His own book, for He was moved with compassion. He knew the priests would
not preachthe gospel. He knew that no order of men could be trusted to hold
fast sound doctrine from generationto generation, He knew there would be
hirelings that dare not be faithful to their consciencelestthey should lose their
pay—while there would be others who love to tickle men’s ears and flatter
their vanity rather than to tell plainly and distinctly the whole counselof God.
Therefore, He has put it here, so that if you live where there is no preacher of
the gospel, youhave the old book to go to. He is moved with compassionfor
you. For where a man cannot go, the book cango, and where in silence no
voice is heard, the still clearvoice of this blessedbook canreachthe heart.
BecauseHe knew the people would require this sacredteaching and could not

136. have it, otherwise, He was moved with compassiontowards us all and gave us
the blessedbook of inspired God-breathedScripture! But then, since He
knew that some would not read the Bible, and others might read and not
understand it, He has sent His ministers forth to do the work of evangelists.
He raises up men, themselves savedfrom greatsin, trophies of redeeming
grace, who feela sympathy with their fellow men who are reveling in sin,
recklessoftheir danger. These servants ofHis, the Lord enables to preach His
truth, some with more, some with less ability than others. Still, there are,
thank God, throughout this happy realm and in other favored lands, men
everywhere, who, because sinners will not come to Christ of themselves, go
after them and persuade them, plead with them and entreat them to believe
and turn to the Lord. This comes of Christ’s tender gentleness. He was moved
with compassionand, therefore, He sent His servants to callsinners to
repentance. But since the minister, though He may call as he may, will not
bring souls to Christ of himself, the Lord Jesus, moved with compassion, has
sent His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is here. We have not to say— “Come Holy
Spirit, heavenly Dove.” He is here! He dwells in His Church and He moves
over the congregationand He touches men’s hearts, and He subtly inclines
them to believe in Christ. Oh, this is greatmercy when a prince spreads a
feastand gives an invitation! That is all you can expecthim to do. But if he
keeps a host of footmen and says, “Go and fetch them, one by one, till they do
come,” that is more gracious, still! But if He goes Himself and with sacred
violence compels them to come in—oh, this is more than we could have
thought He would have done—but He is moved with compassionand He does
that! Furthermore, brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus knew that after we
were savedfrom the damning power of sin, we would always be full of needs
and, therefore, He was moved with compassion, and He sets up the throne of
grace, the mercy-seat, to which we may always come, and from which we may
always obtain divine grace to help in time of
6 The CompassionofJesus Sermon#3438
6 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 60
need. Helped by His Spirit, we can bring what petitions we will, and they shall
be heard! And then, since He knew we could not pray as we ought, He was

137. moved with compassionwhen He sent the Holy Spirit to help our infirmities,
to teachus how to pray! Now I do not know a single infirmity that I have or
that you have, my Christian brothers and sisters, but what Christ Jesus has
been moved with compassionaboutit and has provided for it! He has not left
one single weak point of which we have to say, “There I shall fail, because He
will not help there.” But He has lookedus over and over from head to foot,
and said, “You will have an infirmity there—I will provide for it. You will
have a weakness there—Iwill provide for it.” And oh, how His promises meet
every case!Did you ever getinto a cornerwhere there was not a promise in
the corner, too? Had you ever to pass through a river but there was a promise
about His being in the river with you? Were you ever on the sick bed without
a promise like this, “I will make your bed in your sickness”?In the midst of
pestilence have you not found a promise that, “He shall coveryou with His
feathers, and under His wings shall you trust”? The Lord’s greatcompassion
has met the needs of all His servants to the end! If our children should ever
need as much patience to be exercisedtowards them as Christ needs to
exercise towards us, I am sure there would be none of us able to bear the
house. They have their infirmities and they full often vex and grieve us, it may
be, but oh, we ought to have much compassionfor the infirmities of our
children—yes, and of our brothers and sisters, and neighbors—forwhat
compassionhas the Lord had with us? I do believe none but God could bear
with such unruly children as we ourselves are. He sees our faults, you know,
when we do not see them, and He knows what those faults are more
thoroughly than we do. Yet, still, He never smites in anger. He cuts us not off,
but He still continues to show us abounding mercies!Oh, what a guardian
Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ to us, and how we ought to bless His name at
all times, and how His praise should be continually in our mouth. One thought
strikes me that I must put in here—He knew that we should be very
forgetful—and He was moved with compassionwith our forgetfulness when
He instituted the blessedSupper, and we can sit around the table and break
bread, and pour forth the wine in remembrance of Him. Surely this is another
instance of how He is moved with compassion—notwith indignation towards
our weaknesses!And now let me close with— IV. PERSONAL
RECOLLECTIONSOF THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST. I shall only
recallmy own experience in order to stir up your pure minds, by way of

138. remembrance, my brothers and sisters. I do well remember when I was under
conviction of sin and smarted bitterly under the rod of God—that when I was
most heavy and depressed, there would sometimes come something like hope
across my spirit. I knew what it was to say, “Mysoul chooses strangling
rather than life,” yet when I was at the lowestebb and most ready to despair,
though I could not quite lay hold of Christ, I used to geta touch of the
promise, now and then, till I half hoped that, after all, I might prove to be
God’s prisoner and He might yet setme free! I do remember well, when my
sins compassedme about like bees, and I thought it was all over with me, and
I must be destroyed by them, it was at that moment when Jesus revealed
Himself to me. Had He waiteda little longer, I had died of despair, but that
was no desire of His! On swift wings of love He came and manifested His dear
wounded self to my heart. I lookedto Him and was lightened, and my peace
flowed like a river! I rejoicedin Him! Yes, He was moved with compassion.
He would not let the pangs of conviction be too severe—neitherwouldHe
allow them to be protracted so long for the spirit of man to fail before Him. It
is not His practice to break a leaf that is driven by the tempest. “He will not
quench the smoking flax.” Yes, and I remember since I first saw Him and
beganto love Him, many sharp and severe troubles, dark and heavy trials, yet
have I noted this, that they have never reachedthat pitch of severity which I
was unable to bear. When all gates seemedclosed, there has still been with the
trial, a wayof escape, and I have noted againthat in deeper depressions of
spirits through which I have passed, and horrible despondencies that have
crushed me down, I have had some gleams of love, and hope, and faith at that
last moment, for He was moved with compassion!If He withdrew His face, it
was only till my heart broke for Him, and then He showedme the light of His
countenance again. If He laid the rod upon me, yet when my soulcried under
His chastening, He could not bear it, but He put back the rod and He said,
“My child, I will comfort you.” Oh, the comforts that He gives on a sick bed!
Oh, the consolationsofChrist when you are very low! If there is anything
dainty to the taste in the Word
Sermon #3438 The Compassionof Jesus 7
Volume 60 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 7

139. of God, you getit then! If there are any hearts of mercy, you hear them
sounding for you then. When you are in the saddestplight, Christ comes to
your aid with the sweetestmanifestations, forHe is moved with compassion!
How frequently have I noticed, and I tell it to His praise, for though it shows
my weakness, it proves His compassion, thatsometimes, after preaching the
gospel, I have been so filled with self-reproachthat I could hardly sleep
through the night because I had not preachedas I desired. I have satdown
and cried over some sermons, as though I knew that I had missed the mark
and lostthe opportunity. Not once nor twice, but many a time has it
happened, that within a few days someone has come to tell me that he or she
found the Lord through that very sermon, the shortcoming of which I had
deplored! Glory be to Jesus—itwas His gentleness that did it! He did not want
His servantto be too much boweddown with a sense ofinfirmity, and so He
had compassiononhim and comfortedhim! Have not you noticed, some of
you, that after doing your bestto serve the Lord, when somebody has sneered
at you, or you have met with such a rebuff as made you half-inclined to give
up the work, an unexpected successhas been given you, so that you have not
played the Jonah and ran awayto Tarshish, but kept to your work? Ah, how
many times in your life, if you could read it all, you would have to stopand
write betweenthe lines, “He was moved with compassion.” Manyand many a
time, when no other compassioncould help, when all the sympathy of friends
would be unavailing, He has been moved with compassiontowards us, has
said to us, “Be of goodcheer,” banished our fears with the magic of His voice
and filled our souls to overflowing with gratitude! When we have been
misrepresented, maligned and slandered, we have found in the sympathy of
Christ our richest support, till we could sing with rapture the verse I cannot
help quoting, now, though I have often quoted it before— “If on my face for
Your dear name, Shame and reproach shall be, I’ll hail reproachand
welcome shame, Since You remember me.” The compassionofthe Master
making up for all the abuses of His enemies!And, believe me, there is nothing
sweeterto a forlorn and brokenspirit than the fact that Jesus has compassion.
Are any of you sad and lonely? Have any of you been cruelly wronged? Have
you lostthe goodwillof some you esteemed? Do you seemas if you had the

140. cold shoulder even from goodpeople? Do not say, in the anguish of your
spirit, “I am lost,” and give up. He has compassionon you! No, poor fallen
woman, seek not the dark river and the cold stream—He has compassion!He
who looks downwith the bright eyes of yonder stars and watches you is your
friend! He yet canhelp you! Though you have gone so far from the path of
virtue, throw not yourself awayin blank despair, for He has compassion!And
you, broken down in health and broken down in fortune, scarcelywith shoes
for your feet, you are welcome in the house of God, welcome as the most
honored guestin the assemblyof the saints! Let not the weightygrief that
hangs over your soul tempt you to think that hopelessnessand darkness have
settled your fate and foreclosedyour doom! Though your sin may have
beggaredyou, Christ can enrich you with better riches. He has compassion!
“Ah,” you say, “they will pass me on the stairs. They will give me a broad
pathway and if they see me in the streetthey will not speak to me—evenHis
disciples will not.” Be it so, but better than His disciples, tendererby far, is
Jesus!Is there a man here whom to associate withwere a scandalfrom which
the pure and pious would shrink? The holy, harmless, undefiled One will not
disdain even him—for this man receives sinners—He is a friend of publicans
and sinners! He is never happier than when He is relieving and retrieving the
forlorn, the abjectand the outcast!He despises not any that confess their sins
and seek His mercy. No pride nestles in His dear heart, no sarcasticwordrolls
off His gracious tongue, no bitter expressionfalls from His blessedlips. He
still receives the guilty. Pray to Him now! Now let the silent prayer go up, “My
Savior, have pity upon me! Be moved with compassiontowards me, for if
misery is any qualification for mercy, I am a fit object for Your compassion.
Oh, save me for Your mercy’s sake!” Amen.
8 The CompassionofJesus Sermon#3438
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EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON:MATTHEW 9:27-38.

141. Verses 27, 28. And when Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed
Him, crying and saying, Son of David, have mercy on us. And when He was
come into the house. I suppose the house at Capernaum, where he was known
to stay. 28. The blind men came to Him. Forcedtheir way in. They must be
attended to. Hunger breaks through stone walls, they say, and an earnest
heart will follow after what it seeks. 28,29. And Jesus saidunto them, Believe
you that I am able to do this? They said unto Him, Yes, Lord. Then He
touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you. That is, “If
you do not believe, you shall not see, but if there is faith in you, behold, you
shall have sight.” 30-32. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus at once
chargedthem, saying, See that no man knows it. But they, when they were
departed, spread abroadHis fame in all that country. As they went out,
behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessedwith a devil. Here we
have had the dead, those that were bleeding to death, the blind and the dumb,
and the possessedofa devil. 33. And when the devil was castout, the dumb
spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, it was never so seenin Israel. No,
but Jesus does wonders!Something off the common, and altogetherout of the
ordinary way, His work of grace must be! 34. But the Phariseessaid, He casts
out devils through the prince of the devils. There is always somebody or other
who has gotan ugly word to put in. It matters not how much God may bless
the gospel, there is no stopping the sneers and objections—but the mercy is
that it does not matter much. Our Lord was not hurt and the work went on,
notwithstanding all the quibbling of the Pharisees. 35. And Jesus went about
all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, andpreaching the
gospelof the kingdom, and healing every sicknessand every disease among
the people. That was the answerto the Pharisees. Christianactivity and
fervent devotion to the cause ofGod is the best answerthat can be given to
quibblers of any sort or every sort! In your work hold on, my brother, and
those who quibble at you, now, may come to honor you one of these days. 36-
37. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassionfor them
because they fainted, and were scatteredabroad, as sheephaving no
shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but
the laborers are few. We are all loiterers, but where are the laborers? Where
are they with the sharp sickle that can cut down the wheatand, with a ready
hand, can bind it and, with a strong shoulder, carry it? Alas, in this greatcity

142. the harvestis truly plenteous, but the laborers are few! 38. Pray you,
therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His
harvest.
Adapted from The C. H. SpurgeonCollection, Version1.0, Ages Software.
PLEASE PRAY THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL USE THIS SERMON TO
BRING MANY TO A SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST.
By the grace ofGod, for all 63 volumes of C. H. Spurgeon sermons in Modern
English, and 574 Spanish translations, all free, visit: www.spurgeongems.org
THE ATTRACTIVE CHRIST
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Mark 1:37
7-29-90 10:50 a.m.
We welcome the throngs of you who share this hour on radio and on
television. You are now part of our wonderful First BaptistChurch in Dallas,
and this is the pastor presenting the message. Itis an exposition of the first
chapter of the Book ofMark, the SecondGospel. The text, for the title The
Attractive Christ, is in Mark 1:37: "Theysaid unto Him," pantes, then in
italics you have, "men" – "All men seek for Thee";pantes, all, everybody,
men, women, and children, young people, "All seek forThee."

143. In this first chapter you have, over and over again, and then in the immediate
chapters thereafter, a presentation, a depiction, of the attractiveness ofour
Lord. For example, in Mark 1:28, "His fame spread throughout all the region
of Galilee." In verse 33: "All the city was gatheredtogetherat the door"
[Mark 1:33]. Then my text: "Theysaid unto Him, pantes – All seek forThee"
[Mark 1:37]. In verse 45, "He went out into the desert, but they came to Him
from every quarter" [Mark 1:45].
In chapter 2, verse 2, "Manywere gathered together, insomuch that there was
no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door" [Mark 2:2]. I
turn the page, in verse 15, "It came to pass, that, as He sat at the meal, many
publicans and sinners came, and they were many" [Mark 2:15]. In chapter 3,
verse 7, "Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples; and a great multitude
followedHim" [Mark 3:7]. Then in verse 20 of that third chapter, "The
multitude came together, so much that they could not eveneat" [Mark 3:20].
And the beginning of the fourth chapter, "He beganto teach by the seaside;
and there gatheredunto Him a greatmultitude" [Mark 4:1]. So He entered
into a boat, and sat in the sea;and the whole multitude was by the sea on the
land. And He taught them the Word of God[Mark 4:2]. It just goes onand
on. The picture you have of our Lord is one of extreme interest,
attractiveness. The multitudes thronged around Him to listen to Him, and to
look at Him, and to watchHim, and to hear Him.
There is a reasonfor that. In this same first chapter, verse 41, it tells a story
in the pericope there, 40 through 45 [Mark 1:40-45]. It tells a story of the
healing of a leper. And it begins with, "Jesus,movedwith compassion, put
forth His hand, and touched him" [Mark 1:41]. "Jesus, movedwith
compassion" is His ever enduring name. The scene there is dramatic,
dynamic. And it’s so reflective of the attitude and spirit, the compassionate
heart and response ofour Lord. It would be natural to ask, thronged as He is
on every side, how did that leper walk up to Him, just walk up to Him?
Well, when you remember, by law, a leper had to put his hand over his mouth
and cry, "Unclean. Unclean" [Leviticus 13:45], whereverhe walked – that’s
the waythat he walked, with his hand over his mouth, crying, "Unclean."
And, of course, allof the people fell awayfrom him. He lived in that chilling

144. circle, the falling awayof the people from whereverhe walked. Well, that’s
why he just walkedup to Christ; the people, the multitude, the throng fell
awayfrom him.
Well, why didn’t Jesus move back and away? Jesus, movedwith compassion,
stoodthere, acceptedhim, waitedfor him, welcomedhim. And to the
amazement of the throng, He reachedforth His hand, and touched him [Mark
1:40-41]. I can hear the throng gaspas the Lord touched that forbidden and
diseasedleper. Insteadof healing him as one would throw a bone to a dog, the
Lord touched him. I would think that was half of the cure. He hadn’t felt the
warm, loving touch of a human hand in the years and the years of his leprosy.
That’s our Lord. Jesus, movedwith compassion, receivedhim, touched him,
healed him [Mark 1:41-42].
His ministry was always there, there where people were, where need was. For
example, in verse 32: "At even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him
all that were diseased, allthat were possessedwith demons, and He healed
them" [Mark 1:32-34].
That is a magnificently moving picture of our Lord. When the sun went
down, at the end of a long busy day, wouldn’t you think that He would go
aside to rest? No, even at sundown, after the length of the day, He was there,
available, healing, putting His hands upon them, blessing them. And it says
that He not only soughtto heal there but said, "I must go to other towns
[Mark 1:38], to Galilee, to Judea, to Jerusalem, to Idumea, to Perea, beyond
the Jordan, to Tyre, to Sidon." His heart was whereverpeople were. And
that drew to Him the love and interest and affectionof the multitudes. He
never got away, in His heart and sympathy and compassionateremembrance
of these who so desperatelyneededGod.
I had a friend who was on the foreignmission field. And because ofa
breakdownin the health one of the members of the family, he came back
home to America and acceptedthe pastorate of one of our churches. And as I
talkedto him, he saidto me, "I am here in America and pastoring the church,
but my heart is still there on the foreign field, and how deeply I wish I could
return!" The Lord was like that. Wherever people were, and wherever

145. darkness made their lives miserable and unhappy, there the loving sympathy
of our Saviorwas manifest.
How different our Lord from some that we have known who are supposedto
be so gifted and greatin America in our generation. I remember Sinclair
Lewis. Do you remember when he stoodin a pulpit in St. Louis and lifted up
his fist and said, "I don’t believe in God. If there is a God, I defy Him to
strike me dead?" Rememberthat? And all of the infidels in America –
"bravo!" – clapped their hands. Remember that? Sinclair Lewis, who wrote
those acidulous novels, desecrating the sacredpulpit and the profession.
Remember that?
Well, when he came to the end of his way, he died in a resthome, alone in
Italy. Before he died, an interviewer was talking to him and speaking to him
about the heartaches andthe problems of humanity. And Sinclair Lewis
replied, "I do not know anything about anybody. I am not a reformer and
more than that, I don’t care." Do you remember that? And when I read it, I
thought how different from our Lord! If there was a burden, He soughtto
share it. If there was an illness, He soughtto healit. If there was a hurt, He
sought to assuageit. If there was someone lost, He sought to find them.
That’s our Lord.
And this beautiful text, "All men seek for Thee" [Mark 1:37] is a reflectionof
that same beautiful sentiment in the secondchapterof the Book ofHaggaiin
the Old Testament:"He is the Desire ofAll Nations" [Haggai2:7]. Whether
expressedor unexpressed, that is the deep longing of every human heart, to
know God and to find in Him a precious Savior. Theymay not avow it. They
may disavow it, actually. But it is still the heart hunger of the human soul.
Far and wide, though all unknowing
Pants for Thee eachmortal breast;
Human tears for Thee are flowing,
Human hearts in Thee would rest.

146. ["Savior, Sprinkle Many Nations" by Arthur C. Coxe]
That is for all humanity. When I picked up, years ago, the Confessionsof
Augustine, in the first paragraph and the secondsentence, "O God, Thou hast
made our hearts for Thee,andwe are restless until we rest in Thee" [The
ConfessionsofSt. Augustine, Bishopof Hippo, Book 1].
In the first part of this century, Rudyard Kipling, the greatEnglish poet,
came to visit America. In San Francisco,he became desperatelyill,
desperatelyill; so much that they thought he would die. And in his desperate
illness, he began to whisper, his lips beganto move, and an attendant put his
ear by the side the greatpoet and he was saying, "I want, I want, I want
God."
That is the cry of the human race, evenof the worldly and of the unbegotten
in the faith. They may live gorgeousand scintillating lives. If I were looking
for someone to commit suicide, I would look in Hollywood. All of the
accouterments and all of the rewards of this scintillating world in its pleasure
and in its advancement, all of it is depicted there. No thing like it in the earth.
And yet it is, beyond description, unhappy and miserable.
Do you remember this song?
After the ball is over,
After the break of dawn,
After the dance has ended,
After the stars are gone,
Many the hearts are aching,
If we but knew them all,
Many the hopes that are vanished,

147. After the ball.
[from "After the Ball," Charles K. Harris, 1891]
Remember that song? Who wrote it? A preacher? An evangelist? No, one of
them; one of them. There is not anything more empty, more destitute and
despairing than to seek the meaning and the rewards of life in pleasure.
Do you remember what Bobby Burns wrote, who gave his life in [dissolution]
awayfrom the meaning and purpose of God’s call?
Pleasures are like poppies spread
You seize the flower, the bloom is shed;
Or as the snow falls on the river,
A moment white – then gone forever;
Or like the borealis rays
That flit ere you can point their place;
Or like the rainbow’s lovely form,
Evanishing amid the storm.
[from "Tam o’Shanter," RobertBurns]
Do you remember Lord Byron’s famous poem?
My life is in the yellow leaf;
The flowerand fruits of love are gone;
The worm, the canker, and the grief

148. Are mine alone!
[From "On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year," Lord Byron, 1824]
Do you remember the title of that poem? "OnMy Thirty-Sixth Birthday."
And he died soonafter. O God, how empty and barren does life become when
we seek its definition in the pleasures of this world! A man askeda fellow in
Hollywood who was drinking heavily, "Why do you drink?" And he replied,
"It is the shortestway out of Hollywood."
Deepin the human heart, unknowing and unexpressedmany times, is that
heart-hunger after God, after our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. And how
much more and infinitely is that true of these who have fallen, who are
prodigal. I don’t think in human literature there is a more beautiful story
than that of our Lord Jesus in the fifteenth chapter of [Luke], the story of the
prodigal son, when the father receives him home again, and he says, "This my
son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" [Luke 15:24].
That’s the gospel, the attractive Christ, the doctrine of the meaning of life in
its beginning again.
You know, this week, Iread a book, and I was amazedat the author, just
come out. He says that if the church is to be living and is to be ministering, to
be vibrant and alive, it must change, it must change. And he gave an
illustration of it. A hundred years ago, the preacherwould preachand extend
an invitation. Now, that’s passé, he says, and it dates the preacher. He
hasn’t come to wrestle with and to face the current issues ofhis people when
he preaches and gives an invitation. That is belonging to generations ago.
You don’t do that, not today.
Well, of course, to me, O Lord, it is like a salesmanin an automobile
showroom. He is speaking ofthat beautiful car, and, "Look at it. It has all of
the accouterments andall of the refinements." And then he doesn’t ask him

149. to buy it; he just speaks ofall the prettinesses ofthe machine. That’s the way
it is to me to preach the gospel, to describe its beauty and its glory and all it
can mean. And then, not give an invitation to acceptthe Lord in all of His
glory and wonder – it’s unthinkable to me!
I, when I read the book, I thought of a thing that happened. There was a
glorious preacherin the South, an evangelisticallyheartedpreacher, and he
was invited to preachin one of those high liturgical churches in a great city in
the Northeast. All his preaching, he had been delivering the messagetoward
making an appeal. And he did so there, standing in that high pulpit, in that
high church, with its liturgical service. Whenhe gotthrough telling about the
Lord Jesus, he gave an invitation. And when he did, the paid quartet, seated
back of him, stoodup and walkedout, stalkedout. Oh, his heart sank! He
had offended them, he thought.
Do you know what had happened? There was a member of that quartet, a
woman, and in these days past, used to sing with them. She had fallen. She
had become a streetwoman. She had become a prostitute. But that Sunday,
somehow, in the longing of her heart, she came back to church, just to see, and
saton the back row. And when that preacherpreachedthe love of God and
the marvel of the giving, forgiving spirit and heart of the Savior, she came
down the aisle. And that’s what happened. That quartet saw her coming
down the aisle, and they left their place to kneelwith her, and to weepwith
her, and to pray with her, and to welcome herback.
That is the gospel;the attractive Christ, the open-hearted Lord Jesus. O God,
how preciously tender and understanding and forgiving Thou art! The
attractive Jesus; how much is that seenin the lives and experience of the
brokenhearted, of the burdened, of those boweddown in sorrow and tears?
Life is like that eventually for every one of the members of the human family.
If it isn’t today, it will be tomorrow. That’s what it is to live in this "vale of
tears."
When I was a boy, I saw my first president of the United States. It was Calvin
Coolidge, "silentCal." He was a most unusual fellow. There was a beautiful
parlor car at the back of the train. And when the trained stopped, the door

150. opened, and all of us saw the president of the United States come out of that
car and stand there. He stoodthere and never said a word, not a word, just
stoodthere. And all of us looking at him in awe and wonder, just stoodthere.
Then after a while, he turned around and went back in the parlor car. Never
said anything. Never said anything. Made an impression on me. I am in
favor of talking.
Do you remember his boy, Calvin Coolidge’s boy? He hurt his foot. He
developed blood poisoning, and the boy died. When Calvin Coolidge went
back to his home in Vermont, he had an interview with a reporter from the
Saturday Evening Post. And I remember one of the things that he said. He
said, "Whenmy boy died, the glory of the presidencyfaded away." That’s
life. That’s life. Our hearts cry out for comfort and strength and help from
God.
I remember reading about a wealthy man, his wife so devout, and he so
indifferent. They had a little boy, and the little lad died. Thereafter, every
evening, that man took his Bible and read and underscored, underlined as he
read. Upon a day when he was at his office, his wife took his Bible and opened
it to see what it was he was underscoring, underlining. And she found,
whereverin the Word of God it spoke aboutheaven, he had underlined it,
underscoredit.
That’s the human heart. Somewhere,sometime, the day will come when all of
us, in tears, in age, or in the providences that often overwhelm us, will seek
after God. And that’s why the multitudes crowdedaround our Lord. He had
a word of hope and salvation, and forgiveness, andlife.
I have to close. Do you remember reading in the twelfth chapter of the Book
of John? The Greeks came to see Jesus – Greeks, heathen, paganGreeks
came to see Jesus [John12:20-21]. And in His reply, our Lord saidthis, "And
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me" [John 12:32];
the attractive Christ. If there is thirst, He is the water of life. If there is
hunger, He is the bread of heaven [John 6:41, 51]. If there is the dangerof
drowning, He is the lifeboat. If there is hurt, He is the greatPhysician. If

151. there is death, He is the Savior of our souls. No one so precious as our blessed
Lord Jesus!