The compassion of Jesus

Again and again, the Gospels describe Jesus as a man with deep and constant compassion. After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus retired alone on a boat to mourn his death. He knew that John was in heaven, but He suffered for those he left behind.

When Jesus returned to the shore, He saw a crowd of five thousand gathered to see Him. Matthew reports that He "was moved with compassion." Then He took five pieces of bread and two fish and gave them all to eat (Matthew 14: 14-21). His heart was touched by his people who had come to be with Him and He could not bear to see them hungry. Not only did He nourish them, He also healed those who were sick.

When Jesus saw two blind men on the road to Jericho : "Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes ; and immediately they recovered their sight, and followed him" (Matthew 20:34). His compassion for these men surpassed all the other tasks He had to do at that time.

On the road between Samaria and Galilee, as he entered a small village, Jesus noticed ten lepers and healed them (see Luke 17: 12-14). Lepers instinctively kept their distance, even from Jesus. Society avoided them and they were rejected by the world. But Jesus saw them and He had compassion. He saw them as people who needed a Savior.

How do we react to the lepers of our time - the excluded in our society ? What does our culture do for the poor, the drug addicts, the alcoholics, the sinners ? Does the Body of Christ see them as people in need of help, lost and searching ?

We must never forget what Jesus did for us and for those around us. Without His saving grace, we would be just as lost and hopeless as these lepers. Without Jesus, we are nothing and without compassion, we have no place in the kingdom of God.

Nicky Cruz