Compassion of Jesus

As Jesus “stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then He began to teach them many things.” So wrote Mark in his account of Jesus’ feeding of the crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children (Mark 6:34; vv. 30-44 for the context; in addition, see Matt.14:14, which also says Jesus “felt compassion…and healed their sick”). Significantly, Jesus fed the multitude first with the truth of His teaching, then with five loaves and two fish with more than enough to go around (see Mark 6:43). The word translated “compassion” in Mark 6:34 appears a total of 12 times in the New Testament. Here are the additional 10 occurrences in their probable chronological order. (The feeding of the 5,000 took place between the third and fourth items listed below; the fourth item in the following list of nine incidents cites two Scriptures where the word translated “compassion” appears.)

• Jesus was “moved with compassion” when a man with a serious skin disease came to Him on his knees begging for cleansing (Mark 1:41; vv. 40-45 for the context).
• Jesus “had compassion” on a widow who was grieving the death of her only son, and He brought the young man back to life (Luke 7:13; vv. 11-17 for the context).
• Before sending out His disciples to minister in pairs (see Mark 6:7), Jesus looked at the crowds and “felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36; 9:35–11:1 for the context).
• Before feeding a crowd of 4,000 men, plus women and children, Jesus expressed to His disciples that He had compassion on them (see Matt. 15:32; vv. 29-38 for the context; see also Mark 8:2).
• A man with a son suffering from seizures and demon possession pled with Jesus to have compassion and to help (see Mark 9:22; vv. 14-29 for the context).
• In Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant, Jesus said the king to whom an enormous amount of money was owed had compassion on the servant who owed him the money, and he forgave the debt (see Matt. 18:27; vv. 15-35 for the context).
• The good Samaritan had compassion on the Jewish man who had been beaten, robbed, and left to die on the side of the road (see Luke 10:33; vv. 25-37 for the context).
• The father in the parable of the lost son had compassion on his son when he saw the young man off in the distance, making his way home (see Luke 15:20; vv. 11-32 for the context).
• Jesus had compassion on two blind men, and He restored their sight (see Matt. 20:34; vv. 29-34 for the context).

The compassion of which Jesus spoke and that He felt deep within compelled Him to act to help, heal, and guide people who otherwise would have been helpless, hopeless, and aimless. We are the beneficiaries of this compassion; and having been shown this compassion ourselves, we are obligated to demonstrate it to others, with God’s help.