BIG IDEA:

Compassion is triggered by seeing what Jesus sees the way he sees it, and responding immediately with appropriate resources.

This Week’s Bible Reading: Acts 7 – 11

While not required for your D Group discussion, here’s an intro video to book of Acts:

Compassion:

A Great Convergence of the Greatest Commandments

and the Great Commission

The Big Idea: Compassion is triggered by seeing what Jesus sees the way he sees it, and responding immediately with appropriate resources.

This is a season of growth for people who are discovering the life they were meant to live, apprenticing their lives to Jesus. We’re experiencing metanoia - a radical reorientation to the way we use to think - realigning our worldview to the values, virtues, and vision His Kingdom. In fact, we’ve committed ourselves to the Disciple’s Priority - seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness - developing right character, going about our lives with right-setting activity, motivated by His right loving. We’ve also discovered the Disciple’s Freedom Formula - experiencing His freedom as we live out His truth for ourselves.

At the heart of it all, we’re first learning what it means to love like Jesus. So let’s continue our discussion around this important topic. Let’s talk about another critical dimension of love.

Remember from our last session the primary command Jesus gave us:

John 15:12 CSB
“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.”

And so it stands to reason, if Jesus said, “love one another AS I have loved you,” we need to pay close attention to the ways Jesus loved. If as his apprentice we have solidified our ambition as “The aim of my life is to be like Christ,” we need to look closely at his life and teachings to find out how to love like Jesus.

Now certainly, we’ve already talked about last week the dynamic of perfect, Trinitarian, agape love: self-giving, unconditional loving, mutual affirmation, promoting the welfare of each other. That’s the underlying selfless love that characterizes the Trinity, Jesus’ love toward us, and the love we are to have for one another. Agape love: a selfless love that is passionately committed to the well-being and success of others. This is at the root of the way we are to love like Jesus.

But as we look at the life of Christ, we something additional at play. There is another dimension of this kind of love that not only transforms the heart - the way we’ve been thinking and even feeling - but causes us to act in extraordinary ways. That love dynamic is compassion.

Mark’s Gospel is unique in that he seems in such a hurry to get to the heart of the story of Christ. In his first chapter alone, he gives us a virtual summary of the life and ministry of Christ. He wastes no time in getting us into Jesus’ life-rhythms of preaching, healing, discipling, delivering, praying, and solitude. You could get so much of your apprenticeship out of just this chapter if you walk through it carefully.

But what I want to pay close attention to first of all is this encounter Jesus has with a leper in these early stages of his ministry.

Mark 1:40-42 CSB
40 Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

If we’re not careful, we might think the main lesson in a story like this is God’s power to heal. Certainly we have to know that God is able to do such incredible things. No doubt, Jesus’ many miracles were evidence that he was truly the Son of God. But I think the deeper story is not just the power of God to heal, but his motivation to do so. As we apprentice our lives to his, let’s quickly notice four things that happened through the eyes and heart and hands of Jesus. First of all we see that:

1. He clearly saw the need. 

In this particular story, it’s pretty obvious why he would have seen the need - the leper came to him, on his knees begging no less. It would have been pretty hard to miss. But as we’ll be seeing as we move forward, for the apprentice of Jesus, practicing what Jesus did, seeing the need can not be understated here. But he didn’t just see the need, secondly...

2. He was moved with compassion.

 This is the pivotal moment. The need of the leper, the desperation of this man, the physical condition of his ravaged flesh, the humility he expressed falling to his knees stirred up within the heart of Jesus an already present agape love into something more. Something more intense. This was the impetus, the motivation. For this man, in this moment, Jesus determined to set things right. We’ll come back to talk much more deeply about this word compassion in a moment. But for now I want you to see the progression here as it lays out a pattern elsewhere. Thirdly we see that...

3. He reached out his hand. 

Jesus made the move. This inner experience of an intense love, this compassion could not be contained. He had to act. He made his move toward the one in need. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t care about what other Jews were thinking of him interacting with someone as unclean and undeserving as a leper. He just acted. Compassion says, “I must do something.” But he didn’t just make a move toward the leper, fourthly...

4. He actually touched him.

Compassion not only causes us to move toward a person’s greatest need, it causes us to set aside our own selfish worries about what will happen to us. Others might think, “What will happen to me if I touch this leper? What will other people think about me? What’s it going to cost? Do I have time for this?” But true compassion moves us to get involved, to not just feel sorry for or to take pity, but to actually get involved in the right setting of another person’s life.

So here we see a simple pattern: Seeing the need, being moved with compassion, which leads to not only moving toward the need, but actively engaging in the solution regardless of the cost or sacrifice involved. At the heart of it is, of course, compassion, so let’s think even a little more deeply about this word, this concept.

Now, this word compassion here in the original Greek has to do with a feeling you get in your gut. It could even refer to the contracting of muscles in your abdomen. In other words, the writers used it to express something more than just a feeling of the heart. It goes deeper than that. It triggers an internal, almost physical reaction. That’s actually the original language here in Mark 1: Jesus was moved with compassion. And as we’ll see in a moment, every place we see that Jesus felt compassion, there was a movement of compassion that surged out of Him to meet the needs of people.

So for just a few moments, let’s take a look at just a few of the places we see the compassion of Christ in action. We see in Matthew 14 that...

Matthew 14:14 CSB
When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd, had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

This is similar to our first story in Mark 1 - Jesus saw the need, was moved with compassion, and took action. Notice these actions are related to meeting the physical needs of those who are hurting and wounded. Jesus supernaturally heals them. But compassion moves him to even greater acts. Listen to this story in Luke 7:

Luke 7:12-15 CSB
12 Just as he neared the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was also with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said, “Don’t weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And he said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Incredible. Right? But again, look at the progression: Verse 13 “When the Lord saw her...he had compassion...he came up and touched the open coffin.” Seeing the need, moved with compassion, moving toward the need, taking direct action.

Now I know what you might be thinking. “This is Jesus, the Son of God. He is the Miracle Man. Raising people from the dead is pretty intense. Is that what I should expect in my own life?” Well, for one thing, I wouldn’t rule it out! Jesus said we would do even greater things in His name. But the real point we are trying to see is thatGodly compassion should always produce action.

One more quick example before we move on. In Matthew 15,

Matthew 15:32, 37 CSB
Jesus called his disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they've already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.” This is the story of Jesus feeding the 4,000. We are pretty familiar with the miracle that happens next. But look at the result: 37 They all ate and were satisfied.

He saw the need, he was moved with compassion, he took action to set things right.
These are but a few cases where we see Jesus being moved with compassion. By this observation we see that

Compassion should be common for the disciple of Christ.

Now, many times we think of compassion primarily as it might relate to the physical needs of others. Rightly so as we’ve seen here already. Jesus met the needs of the sick and hurting, the hungry and thirsty. I believe with my whole heart that Christ cares about the whole person. Followers of Christ should absolutely be engaged with the least of these, the prisoner, the widow, the orphans, and the list goes on.

But of course, if God cares about the whole person, that means his compassion certainly extends to the spirit of man. The heart condition of man, the broken hearted, the confused, the lonely, those wandering through life disoriented to the life they were meant to live. Listen to this in Matthew 9:

Matthew 9:35-38 CSB
35 Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Oh, now we’re seeing the bigger picture of Jesus’ mission in the world to set things right. Here we see the pattern of compassion again. Jesus saw the crowds. But what did he see in them this time? He’s not focused on physical needs so much this time. He sees that they were distressed and dejected. Here are just a few other translations of what Jesus saw: Dispirited and distressed; confused and worried; the ESV says harassed and helpless; aimless; hurting; deeply distraught and heart-broken. We often use the term disoriented to describe it.

Boy, if you look at that list, it sure sounds like many of the people we encounter in our everyday walking around lives, doesn’t it? We don’t have to just visit the homeless camps under the interstate, we don’t have to go out of our way to visit the hospital or nursing home to see the kind of brokenness that Jesus saw as he looked at the crowds. They’re everywhere. The harvest is abundant, as he said. And what was Jesus’ response this time? He said, “We don’t have enough people on mission yet. Something has to be done. It’s going to take a lot more help. Pray that God will give us people ready to work, ready to engage in this great mission. We need people who see what I’m seeing here and will be moved with compassion to give their lives away to accomplish this great work.”

Now get this. This is one part of our Big Idea for this session:

Compassion is triggered by seeing what Jesus sees the Way Jesus sees it. 

Sure, there’s a reason those commercials for child sponsorships show us such graphic images. When we are subjected to seeing such things, our hearts naturally break. We feel that life shouldn’t be that way for anyone. If something can be done, then it should. And so some of us pick up the phone or go online to do our part. Many folks at Northway have done that for our own dear friends at Acres of Hope in Uganda. It is what you see. Our videos and testimonies we bring home with us stir up your compassion to action.

But listen friends. There are people we are dealing with every day that are dispirited and distressed; confused or worried, harassed and helpless; confused and aimless; hurting; deeply distraught and heart-broken. And we are the harvest hands that Jesus and his disciples prayed for. You and I.

These people may be the ones we interact with every day. Coworkers, family members, fellow parents at tee-ball and dance, classmates and team members. They are not in some far off country experiencing famine or unjust wars. They are among us, everywhere, and are simply disoriented to the life they were meant to live.

Perhaps they’re that cranky coworker that no one can get along with. Maybe they’re the kid that dresses weird and listens to strange music. Maybe they’re that person that’s just sour toward life and you’d just rather not be around.

And how often do we see their actions as a nuisance or an inconvenience or an annoyance? How often do we let them frustrate us or even anger us? You see, the problem most of us have is that we don’t see them the way Jesus sees them. Our hearts should break for the things that break the heart of God.

This is why having a deeper understanding of repentance is so important. Metanoia: Think about how you’ve been thinking. Experience a fundamental transformation of how you look at life, how you look at other people, how you look at God. Apprenticing your life to Christ is about transforming your vision, to see life in the Kingdom the way Jesus sees it. Let me say that again. Apprenticing your life to Christ is about transforming your vision, to see life in the Kingdom the way Jesus sees it. Not just as a utopian place for you to enjoy in eternity, but to see those living around you the way he does, and to always be on mission with him to do something about it, driven by a deep compassion.

You see, Compassion is God’s loving heart being moved into action. It is central to the Gospel of the Kingdom. Now, of course, we all should be very familiar with the two primary rules of the Kingdom. They’re revealed to us several times throughout the Gospel accounts. I find one particular account to be so compelling. It’s found in Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10:25-29 NLT
25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

So there’s no question about it. Love is THE central theme for the disciple of Christ. Loving God and loving people. I think we would all agree on that, at least in theory. But what does it look like? What is expected of us? Look at verse 29: The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Now I know we’re very familiar with it, but let’s listen in on Jesus’ response:

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. (Notice the first phase of potential compassion - he saw the man there - but didn’t even make a move toward him.) 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. (He got a little closer - he saw the great need and he even walked over closer to him - but he still passed by.)

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. (Do you see it? He saw him - he felt compassion - we went over to him - he engaged in the action of setting things right.) Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

What an incredible parable. You’ve heard it told and preached about so many times. We could say so much about it if we had time. Things like this:

• Don’t let your busy, judgmental religion get in the way of your first responsibility and calling to love.

• Your neighbor may not look like you. They may not even believe like you do. They might be of a completely different ethnicity and religion.

• Bottom line: when it comes to compassionate love, you don’t get to prequalify your neighbor.

But here’s the bigger point from this familiar story from today’s perspective:

Compassion is recognizing the wounded and/or disoriented and immediately responding with the appropriate resources. This Samaritan should have never stopped for a Jew. But he didn’t hesitate. He saw the real problem, was moved with compassion, reached in his bag and pulled out just what was needed for the wounded man’s need. He didn’t think about the cost, he didn’t think about how much time it would take, he didn’t worry about what other Samaritans might think of him for helping a Jew.

You see, we take on the role of Good Samaritan every morning when we wake up and embark on our responsibilities for the day. We’re on the lookout for the wounded and hurting, the distressed and disoriented. If you’ll just slow down to see them the way Jesus sees them, you’ll find them everywhere.

Here’s a clue: If someone’s behavior frustrates you, disrupts your emotions, makes you feel uncomfortable, causes you to want to get out of their way, chances are pretty strong that the reasons behind their behavior is either woundedness or disorientation. Now, in the moment, you might not be able to bring complete healing, but what do you have available? Sure, you could jump right back in their face and argue. You could try to get the upper hand with insults and intimidation. Worse yet, you could simply avoid them all together, passing by on the other side of the road.

Or, as an apprentice to Jesus, you could reach in your bag to see what Christ has to offer. If you’ve truly been abiding in His love, he has been reshaping your heart to be more like his. He’s been refocusing your vision to recognize what’s really going on. He’s been filling you with his Spirit and as such, you have at your disposal all the “oil and wine” you need for this moment. Paul actually calls it the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 CSB
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.

I would submit to you that the primary purpose of the fruit of the spirit is not just for your benefit. They’re formed within us for the sake of others. Think about it. What’s the point of the apple tree? To produce apples. Perhaps. But is the apple for the sake of the tree? Who is the apple for? Someone else to experience, right? The fruit is a product from the tree but the fruit is for someone else to enjoy. And to take it one step further - what is the potential purpose of the apple? Yes, it’s to be enjoyed by someone else - but what is at the core of the apple? That’s right - the seed.

So when you recognize what’s really going on in the lives of the wounded and disoriented people of your world, God’s compassion should kick in and you reach in your bag for perhaps a little patience, not for your sake, not so you’re more at peace, but for the sake of the one who is hurting or disoriented. For that kid sitting all alone at the cafeteria table, compassion compels you to pull out a little kindness and goodness and go sit with them - no matter what anybody else thinks. For that angry coworker, you see past their red face and foul language, and instead of getting into a shouting match, you pull out gentleness and self control. And maybe, just maybe, your willingness to offer even just a bit of compassionate love in these moments will be the seeds of Christ’s love being planted in their lives.

You see, I believe that compassion is the Great Convergence of the Greatest Commandments - to love God and to love people - and the Great Commission - to go and make disciples. Because when we see the people in our world the way Christ does, our hearts swell with compassion, we’ll make our move toward them and take action. Like Jesus looking at the crowd - seeing them as dejected, distressed, aimless and heartbroken - compassion is the motivation for evangelism and discipleship.

Now let’s see all of this fits together. You may remember from our discussion in the last session about perfect trinitarian agape love. If you download this week’s transcript, you’ll see the Love Diagram displayed there. You might want to have that in front of you as I remind you of it. At the top, we see The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in an eternal dance of self-giving, unconditional loving, mutual affirmation, promoting the welfare each other. In the center of the diagram, we see that Jesus invites us to join the experience of this community of love, encouraging us to abide in his love as he abides in the father’s love. And the final point in our last session was that God’s love is made complete or perfect within us as we love one another as his disciples.

So we have this vertical, double 8 figure of God’s perfect love, agape love, selfless sacrificial love that
desires to see the best for others. But we’ve also been invited to partner with Christ, to be his harvest
hands, so to speak, to be on mission with him, seeing the world the way he does. Today, we see to the right
hand side of the diagram this dimension of compassion, God’s love in action: seeing the wounded and the disoriented the way he does, moving toward the need and into action to meet the need. Ultimately, compassion is the motivation to invite others into God’s great love, to become a citizen of the Kingdom, the great convergence of the greatest commandments and the great commission. What a powerful display of learning to love like Jesus.

Now, keep in mind that at the center of it all is to abide in the love of Christ. We’ll be talking even more about what that means in the weeks ahead. But for now just realize that it is this abiding, this ongoing, intentional connection to His heart that is critical to the outflow of His love to others. It is not just something we manufacture on our own. But through Divine Intimacy, our hearts and lives are reshaped from the inside out. That’s where spiritual disciplines and the grace of the Holy Spirit comes into play. But then again, remember that only when we give His radical, agape love away is love made complete within us.

I’m praying for you this week. Greet each new day with eyes of compassion. See the needs around you. Don’t ignore them but allow his love to move you with compassion - to reach out and touch those that need his love the most. Don’t pass by on the other side. Get involved and get engaged. Let us truly Love Like Jesus.

Ways to Pray This Week

1. Fill me with your agape love. Make me more like you.

2. Help me to see others the way you see them. Clarify my vision.

3. Cause the fruit of your Spirit to be obvious in my life and freely available to all.

4. Give me boldness and courage to do acts of compassion, meeting to physical needs and sharing my faith with others, inviting them to experience your perfect love.