Matthew 9:35-37; Matthew 14:14 ; Mark 2:3-5
Compassion is a deep feeling of sympathy for someone who is suffering. Having compassion entails showing mercy, feeling sympathy, and having pity for the plight and struggle of broken people living in a broken world. This includes, foremost, the sinners around us.
- Compassion sees. Matthew 9:36
- Compassion acts. Matthew 14:14
- Compassion pities and forgives. Matthew 18:27
- Compassion touches lives. Matthew 20:34
P1. Compassion: Christ’s Character
Exodus 34:6–7
“The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth”
Compassion:
- Reflects God’s Nature. (Exodus 34:6–7; Psalm 111:4; 145:8)
- Urged Christ to seek more laborers through prayer. (Matthew 9:35-38)
- Inspired Christ to perform healings. (Matthew 14:14)
- Compelled Christ to provide for the multitude. (Matthew 15:31-33)
- Guides Christ in revealing eternal truths. (Mark 10:21)
P2. Compassion’s Competence and Conquest
Compassion:
- makes us refuse to be a disengaged distant observer. Matthew 14:14; 15:32
- produces supernatural wonders. Matthew 14:14-21; Mark 6:34-46; Luke 9:11-17; John 6:3-15
- breaks boundaries. Mark 1:41
- heals the broken-hearted. Luke 7:13
- resuscitates and resurrects in hopeless situations. Mark 5 and Lazarus in John 11
P3. Cultivating and Conveying Compassion
Matthew 18:32-34; 9:36; 14:14;Mark6:34; 2:1-5
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them…” Matthew 9:36
Around us are people in desperate need of Christ. The Lord wants us to have compassion on them and bring them to Him. Have compassion on:
- The Prodigal sons and daughters. Luke 15:13-20
- The battered and broken. Luke 10:30-35
- The hopeless. Mark 1:40–45
- The grieving. Luke 7:12-15
- The ignorant wanderer. Hebrews 5:2