Daily Devotional: BE!
Day 14: Be Compassionate
Today I would like us to see how Jesus was compassionate, and what caused Him to be so.
1. Compassion for the Sick, Harassed, Helpless and those without a Shepherd — or we could say a Pastor or a Mentor
Matthew 9:36 [NIV]
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”
Even though Jesus was God in the flesh, both the Son of God and the Son of Man, He needed a larger team than just twelve disciples to help with the Mission God had given Him.
2. Jesus Had compassion on the sick, even though He Himself was grieving
Jesus had just heard about the brutal death of His cousin, John the Baptist, who had prepared the way for His Coming by preaching to the people about the coming Kingdom of God.
Jesus decided to get into a boat privately and go to a solitary place to take time to grieve with His Father in Heaven. The people found out where He had gone to, and rushed to get there so that they could meet Him when He arrived.
We read in Matthew 14:14
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
3. Jesus had compassion on the hungry who faithfully stayed with Him for three days to hear Him teach. This is reminiscent of the words of Hosea, in chapter 6:2, where he says:
“After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.”
Jesus Himself was raised from the dead on the third day, just as He prophesied that it would occur.
And because, according to the word of God, through Moses “a day is as a thousand years, or a watch in the night” [Psalm 90:4] we can expect a time of immense reviving of very tired souls on “the third day” after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and at any time in between, according to “a watch in the night”.
God has compassion on those who have “nothing to eat” — because of a famine of the Word of God in certain time periods, when people are without a Shepherd, or a Pastor.
Matthew 15:32
“Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for these 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.”
4. Jesus has compassion on the blind — those without vision
Isaiah 29:18 says “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.”
And in Chapter 35, of Isaiah, God promises again, “
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.”
In Isaiah 42:7 God promises healing again, “To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.”
And again God promises in Isaiah 42:16
“I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.”
And with a creative Word, God declares to everyone in Isaiah 42:18, “Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see.”
In Isaiah 56:10 God speaks of those who have eyes and ears, but they aren’t doing their job as watchmen. God desires to restore the vision He gave people to accomplish their God-given purpose.
“His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.”
These left their post in complacency and no longer brought warning to the people when danger was imminent, spiritually or physically.
But Jesus met two people, and once again for the sake of two people, He went to a place to save them, irregardless of what the crowds said they couldn’t do.
Matthew 20:29-33 [NKJV]
29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.
30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”
34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.”
Don’t let anyone take your God-given vision from you. The Book of Revelation, in chapter 3:11, states, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”
5. All people, of all ethnicities, cultures, and beliefs, will stand before God, and they will be judged based on how they lived, and how they treated others.
When God showed Moses His glory, as recorded in the Book of Exodus, He showed Moses His goodness, and He said that He would have “compassion on whom I will have compassion.” [Exodus 33:19]
Without discrimination as to who they were, where they came from or what they have or have not done according to the will of God. This gives everyone a fair chance to be loved by God, and to receive help from God.
God provides rain for the righteous and the unrighteous, to show all people His loving-kindness and goodness to them, so they will have everything they need to help one another.
In Matthew 5:43-48 [AMP], Jesus teaches us:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’
44 But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].
46 For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?
47 And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that?
48 You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
And so we are without excuse, because we have had ample teaching, and empowerment to obey God in all things, so that when we stand before Him we can be told, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
Matthew 25:31-40
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Encouragement:
I remind you of the words of the Apostles of Christ:
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
1 Peter 3:8
“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”
