Journey With Jesus: The Daily Trek of Discipleship
COMPASSION
Introduction
In our journey with Jesus we have studied…
-The foundation of the disciple’s life, the Beatitudes.
-The source of authority, Jesus is Lord.
-The divine help we receive, the Holy Spirit.
-The life of service in imitation of Jesus.
-The love we have for Jesus.
-The effort we put into pursuing Jesus.
-The growth in maturity we achieve in following Jesus.
-Today: developing a compassionate spirit like Christ.
Compassion is a word from Greek word splanchnizomai. (https://biblehub.com/greek/4697.htm) The word originally referred to the inner parts of a man, the heart, liver, but later became common to use this word in reference to the lower parts of the abdomen, the intestines, and especially the womb. This impresses on the readers the power and the force of God’s compassion. They may also have had in mind a physical feeling associated with compassion. Sometimes a sharp pain in the abdomen will accompany intense feelings of compassion or pity for those we love. The choice of such a graphic word served to impress the New Testament Christians that God’s compassion for them was rooted in his deep love for them and his sensitivity to their pain. (Jack Deere)
Compassion is a concern for the suffering of others; it means to “suffer with.” Someone else’s heartbreak becomes our heartbreak; another’s suffering becomes our suffering. Matthew 9:36 “…When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them…” The compassion of Jesus is to be our guide as disciples.
1. Compassion for the Lost (Matthew 9:35-38)
Matthew 9:35-38 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
The mission of Jesus is also the mission of the church: reach the lost. Everything we do ought to be aimed in that direction. Jesus taught us to pray for laborers to go into the harvest field.
Some reasons why this can be difficult:
-This is the most personal subject of all.
-We can come across as being the judge rather than pointing others to the Savior!
-We struggle with our own spirituality and wonder how we can talk to someone else.
-We sometimes fail to see the open doors and bravely walk through!
Romans 10:13-15 asks some important questions:
-How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?
-And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?
-And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
-And how are they to preach unless they are sent?
-As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
-Some might feel relief! “I’m not a preacher” - but we are all bearers of the good news. We are the laborers in the harvest! How can the world believe if we do not share with them the greatest news they will ever hear?
Jesus has compassion for sinners.
Hebrews 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." Jesus is able to sympathize with the struggle we have with sin. Wayne Jackson: “The Christian who struggles against the urgings of temptation may be assured that there is someone who understands this difficulty and is sympathetic to us as we engage the battle against carnality.”
Compassion drives us to care for the lost.
2. Compassion means to See, Feel, Act!
John Ruskin, famous poet and art critic, once said that a good artist must possess three qualities. (1) An eye to see and appreciate the beauty of the scene he desires to catch on canvas; (2) a heart to feel and register the beauty and atmosphere of the scene; (3) a hand to perform - to transfer to canvas what the eye has seen and the heart felt. These are essential qualities of compassion!
An eye to see the need of men and women around us.
-Their spiritual needs are the most important, but not always as easy to see.
-Their physical needs are important as well.
-Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
-With all of the sophisticated communication technologies we have, there are still hungry people in our city, country, and world. Jesus still cares about them, and so do we.
We need a heart to feel for the needs of men and women.
-We can see - and sometimes experience pity - but that doesn’t always move us to action.
-Compassion, by definition, means “to suffer together with”. It is the Latin form of the Greek word that gives us sympathy and identifies with the hurting person.
-Compassion is difficult when…
*We would rather pursue the things that make us happy.
*We become callous because we see so much and feel powerless, thus dismiss compassion.
*We overload on compassion and it becomes a bigger part of our world than we can handle.
Luke 19:41 "And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it."
Sanders: “What a concept - a weeping God! Tears streamed down his face in compassion for the very men who shortly would crucify Him outside that city! Imagine the incredulity of the angels. They were not the synthetic tears of television but tears of genuine concern for lost men and women.”
Acts 20:31 “Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.”
We need an eye to see, a heart to feel…
We need hands to perform!
Christ did something about what he saw. “Seeing and feeling are sterile unless we are moved to action” (Sanders).
Matthew 14:14 “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Luke 7:12-14 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. When the Lord saw her, 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.”
Sanders: “The highest expression of compassion is compassion action; otherwise it is only stillborn sentiment.”
Colossians 3:12 “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…”
3. Practical Compassion:
-Compassion For Someone Who is Hurting. Offer your full attention to someone. “Attention is the rarest and purist form of generosity,” said French philosopher Simone Weil.
-Compassion Preparedness! Be alert to opportunities for compassion. Arm yourself with a $5 bill in your pocket. Travel through your day seeking ways to spread compassion with cash. Buy coffee for someone who seems sad, get a sandwich for someone who seems hungry, purchase a flower for a loved one (or a stranger)! Open the door for someone whose hands are full, help carry groceries, see if anyone around needs some assistance!
-Compassion in the Mail! Bring back snail mail and send a letter of encouragement. Remember stamps? Send a hand-written note to a friend who could use a pick-me-up. It’s a small investment of time that provides big dividends because your friend can revisit the card whenever she is feeling down.
-Compassion for Strangers.Join the Smile and Compliment Club! Greet a stranger with a smile and kind word. You can brighten the days of others by looking them in the eyes and smiling. Be Gracious to Cashiers. They are often unappreciated, not to mention rude customers. Set an intention to treat everyone with kindness today. Never underestimate a kind word.
-Compassion For a great cause! Volunteer. Sometimes volunteering is as simple as going to a retirement home and offering your time or being a tutor for underprivileged kids. Your time is a valuable asset that demonstrates great compassion. Joining an outreach effort is a great way to volunteer. Meals on Wheels needs drivers and cooks every 8 or 9 weeks!
-Compassion through Giving! Donating to a charity store — help people out by giving away what you don't want or need anymore. Our monthly collection is an opportunity to give directly to helping organizations. Our weekly giving impacts our benevolence efforts directly. Honduras mission is available weekly. Compassion International is something several of us do - helping a child in an impoverished nation.
4. The Positive Effect of Compassion (Saur)
Caution: Some "side-effects" of compassion may include lifted spirits, a feeling of connection to those around you, greater mindfulness, and reduced depression.
According to Dr. James Doty, Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University: “practicing compassion has a positive physiological effect on [our bodies].
-It can lower blood pressure, boost [our] immune system and lessen our anxiety.”
-Brain imaging shows that being compassionate stimulates the same pleasure centers associated with our drive for food, water and other necessities of life.
-In a study by Elizabeth Dunn, at the University of British Columbia, participants were given a certain amount of money.Half the participants were told to spend the money on themselves; the other half were told to spend the money on others. At the end of the study, participants who had spent money on others felt significantly happier than those who had spent the money on themselves. Other studies show that practicing compassion can help fight disease and increase our lifespan.
Wayne Jackson, “How the environment of our society, our homes, and our churches would be transformed if more adorned themselves with the mantle of compassion.”
Since the Bible tells us to be compassionate, we would do so even if it didn’t lead to such great results. But the Creator who knows us and loves us knows we need compassion and we need to give compassion!
Conclusion
Compassion is an act of the heart. Compassion grows when we regard the lost. Compassion follows the process of seeing, feeling, acting! It’s part of the Journey with Jesus: the Daily Trek of Discipleship.
One of the great stories of compassion is found in Luke 15 - a wasteful son who takes his inheritance into the world and wastes it all. When he realizes what he has done, he plans to come home and be a slave on his father’s farm. But his father has a different plan.
Luke 15:20-24 “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
- This tells us the Father’s disposition toward us - we have all been the wasteful son.
- Because of the compassion we have received, we can offer it to others.
- 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
This is what our world needs more than anything else—people living with the compassion of Christ in their hearts and living out this compassion in their everyday lives. (Saur)
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Discussion Questions
1. What are some ways that our efforts to be compassionate can be a reflection of the Good News of
Christ? Should helping others always have an evangelistic purpose?
2. Jesus taught us in Luke 9:23 to deny ourselves and take up his cross and follow him. What are some ways that ‘self’ gets in the way of the teaching to ‘follow him’? How is ‘self’ in the way of compassion?
3.How can we strive to imitate Christ’s compassion and mercy in our interactions with others?
4. Does this imply that He merely understands our struggles, or does it go deeper? How does His sinlessness impact His ability to empathize with us?
5. One of the qualities of compassion is An eye to see the need of men and women around us. What are some attitudes/feelings that interfere with seeing the needs around us?
6. In the lesson there were six practical ways to express compassion. Which one is easiest for you? Which one is hardest? Which do you think makes the most difference in someone else's life?
7. What else did you want to talk about today?
Resources
Deere, Jack. Surprised by the Power of the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993.
Jackson, Wayne. The Compassion of Christ. https://christiancourier.com/articles/the-compassion-of-christ
Mahoney, Kelli. Ways to Show Compassion.
https://www.learnreligions.com/ways-to-show-compassion-712495
Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Discipleship. Moody Press, 1994.
Saur, Ken. Compassion of Christ Sermon.
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-compassion-of-christ-ken-sauer-sermon-on-compassion-282041
Schairer, Sara. Compassion in Action
https://chopra.com/blogs/personal-growth/compassion-in-action-15-easy-ways-to-spread-kindness
Acts of Kindness and Compassion
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/acts-of-kindness-and-compassion
55 Easy Ways to Spread Kindness Everyday
https://joyfulstateofmind.com/30-simple-ways-to-spread-kindness/#h-55-easy-ways-to-spread-kindness-everyday
