What Does Compassion Feel Like?
By Meg Bucher
“Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Matthew 14:14 NLT
Pictures of life jackets covering the ground came to my mind when my family started talking about a movie about the Syrian refugee crisis. As we watched, my daughter went through a gamete of emotions, imagining what it must have been like for the young girls featured in the movie. They were swimmers, just like her. They had a family and a home they had to flee. When other people hurt, we often hurt, too. Especially when those people are close to us or we relate to them on a specific level or shared experience. The closer the proximity, the more acute the empathy and compassion we feel for them. It’s a pit of the stomach feeling. A gut feeling. An emotion that brings forth physical symptoms.
Jesus was compassionate to the people He met while He walked the earth. Particularly for His apostles and for those who followed and listened to His teachings and asked for healing. The verse above prefaced the miracle made famous by the loaves and fish. Jesus already had compassion for the people and followed through in His care for them by making sure they had enough to eat, too. “But we only have five loaves of bread and two fish!” His disciples pointed out to Jesus. (Matthew 14:17 NLT) The apostle Mark records today’s verse this way:
“Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” Mark 6:34 NLT
There were many other times recorded in Scripture when Jesus had compassion enough to perform miracles. When asked by a leaper if Jesus was willing to heal him, the apostle Mark recorded His response: “Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’ (Mark 1:41 NLT)
When a funeral procession crossed Jesus’ path, and He learned a boy, a widow’s only son, had died, he had compassion on the grieving mother enough to raise her boy from the dead! “When the Lord saw her,” Luke wrote, “his heart overflowed with compassion. ‘Don’t cry!’ He said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. ‘Young man,’ he said, ‘I tell you get up.’ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.” (Luke 7:11-15 NLT)
Compassion is compelling! It is love in action. The movement of our heart is connected to the will of our minds and the physical reaction to our bodies. We are propelled into action by the compassion we have for each other. Life within the love of Christ Jesus makes us especially sensitive to others when we are willing. Willing to listen, pray, give of our time and treasure, and support one another selflessly.
Interesting Faith and Life:
“Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” John 20:25 NLT
Jesus is love. The compassion overflowing in His heart for the people He came to save was displayed in all kinds of miracles! However, I imagine the comfort of His presence was miraculous as well, for those who had the privilege to befriend Him on earth. The apostle John was Jesus’ earthly best friend. And He wasn’t shy about it either! He refers to himself often as “the one whom Jesus loved.” In a final moment of compassion on the cross, Jesus tells John to take care of His mother, Mary.
In our everyday lives, there are people God has placed in our paths to care for. It’s important for us to move throughout our lives with awareness for others so that we can lend the same compassionate care to them Jesus does for us daily. His heart is moving on our account. The cross is all the proof we’ll ever need to remind us how He compassionately saved us for eternity.
Further Reading:
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