Blog
Christlike Compassion
This post by Chris Anderson is from Gospel Meditations for Missions (Day 23).
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them.” (Matthew 9:36)
Matthew 9:35–38 is a heart-stirring depiction of Christ’s compassion for the harassed and shepherdless multitudes. It appears at first glance that Jesus was moved by a faceless throng, the way we might feel while watching masses of humanity as they bow toward Mecca, wind through a bazaar, or sit in numb silence in a refugee camp. We think of multitudes in a non-personal, distant way. But Jesus didn’t see just a crowd. He saw individuals—real people with real needs. His pity on the multitudes and His lamenting call for laborers in Matthew 9:35–38 climax two chapters in which He repeatedly engaged sufferers and sinners face to face, providing a model of compassionate ministry for every believer. Look again at Matthew 8–9, and ask the Lord to help you see people as Jesus did.
Jesus Stopped for the Overlooked
Matthew 8:1 bridges the gap between the Sermon on the Mount and a series of miracles. Having just preached the best sermon in history, Jesus was descending the hillside with throngs of people. They gathered around Christ as though He were a living magnet, perhaps wanting to thank Him, or ask Him a question, or have Him sign their Bibles. (Okay, I made that last part up.) Try to imagine the exhilaration and exhaustion you would feel after delivering such a message to such an assembly. Christ, however, refused to get caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment. Instead, He used the opportunity to demonstrate how very different His recently announced kingdom would be from the world’s.
Unexpectedly, in the midst of the commotion, Jesus’ attention was arrested by the most unlikely of people. A leper called out to Him for mercy (8:2). Lepers were the most feared people of Jesus’ day—exiled and reviled by men, tortured by a creeping, nibbling death. We might expect the Lord to pass the beggar by, perhaps muttering something to him about making an appointment. But we misunderstand our Savior. Christ shocked the multitude by stopping for the man—by listening to him, by pitying him, by touching him and healing him (8:3).
Jesus Saw the Individual
This is but one example of Christ’s engagement of individuals. These two chapters (Matthew 8–9) go on to tell several similar stories of Christ’s attentiveness and compassion. He healed a centurion’s servant (8:5–13). He restored an aged mother-in-law (8:14–15). He rescued two demoniacs (8:28–34). He healed and forgave a man who was physically and spiritually paralyzed (9:1–8). He reached out to tax collectors and sinners (9:9–13). He delivered a man’s daughter from death (9:18–19, 23–26). He healed a desperate woman of a hemorrhage (9:20–22). He gave sight to two blind men (9:27–31). He restored speech and sense to a demon-possessed mute (9:32–34). As if all that weren’t enough, we’re twice told that He ministered to countless others in the same way (8:16–17; 9:35). Christ was moved by individuals—young and old, male and female, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, revered and reviled.
Jesus Sends Us to Do the Same
Learn the story behind the face, and enter into it—one person at a time.
A missionary friend of mine has provoked me to this kind of Christlike compassion by urging me to “learn the story behind the face.” We live in a broken world, filled with broken people. Not just mobs in markets and mosques. Individuals. A single mom. A successful but empty man. An athletic teenager. An addict. An abused child. A widow. An intellectual. An AIDS patient. A loving father. A prostitute.
The world is indeed a ripe harvest. Pray for laborers. And be part of the answer to that prayer by pitying broken people, just like Jesus did. Notice them. Listen to them. Engage them with the gospel. “Learn the story behind the face,” and enter into it—one person at a time.
Let the gospel produce in you a Christlike compassion for real people.
Explore the whole book!
Gospel Meditations for Missions
This devotional book is intended to stir ordinary Christians with urgency for the Great Commission. Written by Chris Anderson (pastor and church planter), JD Crowley (missionary), David Hosaflook (missionary), Tim Keesee (mission board director), and Joe Tyrpak (pastor), each of the 31 articles is biblical, warm-hearted, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
