Jesus, the Compassionate One

Thank you, David. Amen. We got to get right into it, you guys. Is that okay? If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Matthew 9. Matthew 9.

And as David mentioned, we have been in a study called the Names of God. And I was praying, and knowing that we were going to have a couple from our church share, I really feel like the Lord wants us to see His heart today. Anybody else sense that? That we would know not just what He can do, but who He is.

And so I was really praying and just asking, Lord — I really had a sense that He wants us to know that He is the compassionate one. That He’s the merciful one. And in fact, we see this in Scripture, and I’m going to go there in just a moment. I’m going to adjust a little bit, so forgive me if I’m a little bit all over the place.

The God of compassion

But the compassionate one — we see a direct name of God in Deuteronomy 4:31. It says, “The Lord your God is a compassionate God.” That word compassionate also means merciful, and it’s the root rachum, which means womb. And so this word of compassion is almost this internal, holding close, maternal, taking care of the people that He cares for and longs for. 2 Corinthians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies.”

So before we get into our Scripture, can we do this today? Can we just pray? Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You, Lord, that it is food for us. It is bread. And Lord, as we break this open, we ask that You would speak to us by Your Holy Spirit as You always do. Lord, that You would feed us and give us what we need today, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

We see in Scripture, and Jesus makes it very clear, that to see Him is to see a perfect picture of who the Father is. And so if you’re ever wondering, well, what is God like? Look no further than the person of Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus is God. Hebrews 1:3 says He is “the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.” The English Standard says it this way: Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”

And so I just felt moved that we would look at the life of Jesus here as we’re talking about how He is the compassionate one. Everybody say, “He’s the compassionate one.” Can we say that? As we look at Him as the compassionate one, I want to start off by looking at none other than Jesus.

When He saw the multitudes

And we come to Matthew chapter 9, and I want to start at verse 35. Matthew 9, verse 35. And we’re going to take a look at the heart of the Lord here. It says, “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogue, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes” — everybody say, “He saw the multitudes” — “when He saw the multitudes,” notice, “He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and they were scattered like sheep having no shepherd.”

“And He said to His disciples” — so now Jesus saw the multitude, and now He looks to His disciples who were with Him, and He says — “‘The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”

I want us to first notice that in verse 35, it says Jesus went about all the cities, all the towns, all the villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every sickness. How many sicknesses did Jesus heal? Every one. And every disease among the people. It sounds to me like Jesus was a pretty busy guy. It sounds to me like there was a lot on the to-do list. There was a lot that was in front of Him. There was a lot of need.

But I want you to notice He Himself — He didn’t just say, “I’m just going to sit here. I’ve already done everything I need to do; you guys just go do it.” I’m so touched by the heart of the Lord that He Himself went and healed the sick. How many of you know Jesus is our healer? He went to every city. He went to every village. He taught in all the synagogues. And He healed every sickness and every disease.

But I want to focus on verse 36. It says, “But when He saw the multitudes.” How many of you know, even though Jesus had a full plate, even though Jesus was very busy, He still could see people. He could still see the need. He saw the multitudes. And He was what? Moved with compassion.

Moved into action

How many of you know compassion — there is something in Him. That word compassion is the Greek splagchnizomai, which means to be moved into action. That you are moved so deeply that you have to do something about it. And here’s Jesus looking at the multitudes, and it says that He was moved with compassion for them, because He saw the need. He saw that they were like sheep without a shepherd. They were scattered. They were wandering. They were all over the place.

Now, just a little context: the people He was looking at were the Jewish people, and they were people who were under serious oppression. They were under Roman rulership. They were heavily taxed. They were paid low. They didn’t have a lot, and there was really nothing they could do about it. Have you ever felt like, I don’t even know what I can do to get out of this mess? Aren’t you thankful we serve a God who has compassion on us and mercy on us? Amen?

And so Jesus saw them in this weary condition, and He recognized it. Listen, there’s no one here to help them. There’s no one available to help put this into perspective for them, to show them what they need. But notice, it says when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with splagchnizomai. He was moved with compassion.

It’s when you see someone suffering and there’s just something in you — you can’t just observe or say, “Hey, thoughts and prayers.” You can’t just say, “Well, good luck. I’m sorry you’re going through that,” and kind of put on a kind face and all that. It’s when you are so filled with compassion that you have to do something. It moves you to action.

Now, this exact word splagchnizomai is used to describe the compassion of Jesus when Jesus sees the crowd here, but it’s also used when Jesus heals the sick in Matthew 14. It’s also used when He fed the 4,000 people, and He called His disciples to have this same kind of compassion. And it was the same compassion when Jesus healed the blind man in Matthew 20. It was the same compassion when Jesus heals the leper. It was the same compassion when He taught the crowd in Mark chapter 6. And it was the same compassion when Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead.

There was this compassion in Him that Jesus was moved with. And Jesus was moved with compassion, looking to His disciples and saying, “Who’s going to help them? Who is going to help them?”

You already have what you need

We see in Luke 9, Jesus looks to His disciples again. In Luke chapter 9, starting at verse 1, it says, “Jesus called His twelve disciples together, and He gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Who did He send to heal the sick, by the way? Come on, this is an open screen test. Who did He send? He sent the disciples.

So now it’s not just Jesus going about every town and every village. He’s saying, “No, I’m giving you the authority. Now you go and have compassion and heal the sick and raise the dead and preach the gospel.” He says in verse 3, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staff nor bag, nor bread, nor money, and do not have two tunics apiece.” Jesus is saying, “Listen, you already have what you need. All you need is what I’ve already given you.” Come on, if you’ve been given something in the Lord Jesus, say amen.

I think too often we look at what we can do. What is my gifting? What are my talents? What resources do I have? What can I do? I don’t have anything to offer them. How many of you know, if you are a believer in Jesus, you already have everything you need. You have Him. You have Him. And so verse 6 says they departed and went through the towns, and what did they do? Preached the gospel and healed everywhere.

I’m moving at blazing speed. It’s okay. I was praying this morning, and I was like, there’s a lot going on, and I don’t want to go overtime. And I feel like in this season the Lord is asking me to be respectful of your time. So we’re going to get you out of here on time. But also, there will come a day where people won’t want to leave because the glory of the Lord will be so thick. There will come a time. We’re not there yet, but somebody say, “It’s coming.” It’s coming.

The promise of power

Right before Jesus ascends into heaven, Jesus says to them, “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you. Wait in Jerusalem until you are filled with power from on high.” We talked about this last week. And then we see in Acts 1, Jesus ascends into heaven, and the disciples were praying in the upper room, and they were waiting for the promise of the Father. Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” And we see in Acts that the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began speaking in other tongues, and they were filled with something called power. Somebody say, “Power.”

And so we have to understand that you not only have everything you need, but we’ve been given the Holy Spirit. We’ve been given a Helper. So when we’re talking about the compassion of Jesus — how can I have the same compassion that Jesus had? How many of you know His Spirit lives in you? And if His Spirit is in you, there’s this ability for every believer to have the same compassion and the same heart for the people and for the multitudes that are in need.

Jesus said, “I will build My church.” And the church that He builds is a church that is full of the Holy Spirit, and it is a church that is full of faith. And so I would ask you: do you believe in what Jesus has done for you? Do you actually believe that Jesus died for you? Do you believe that Jesus was buried and has defeated death? Do you believe that Jesus was raised to life? Do you believe that He has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father? And do you believe that He has poured out His Spirit to help the church, to fill His people with something called power? Do you guys believe that?

Then may we never say, “I don’t have enough.” May we never say, “I can’t do what Jesus has asked me to do.” May we never say, “I don’t know how to pray.” May we never even say, “I don’t know how to hear God.” Listen. You may not have heard Him in a way that you understand or know, but the Lord says, “My sheep hear My voice.” So if you haven’t heard Him yet, ask the Lord: “Lord, I want to hear You, and You’ve already given me everything I need to hear Your voice.” We need to have faith and believe that God really is who He says He is.

And so Jesus fills His disciples and He gives them power to preach the gospel, to teach the good news, to heal every sickness and every disease. Let me ask you: do we have a junior Holy Spirit that lives in us, or is it the same Holy Spirit? Scripture says He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. Does Jesus change? Does the Holy Spirit change? God is eternal, and He lives inside of us.

So when we believe — Scripture says that we are to believe and be baptized. And if you are reading with us in our daily reading plan, we see that there are many times where Paul comes to them and says, “You believe in Jesus? That’s phenomenal. This is amazing.” There are so many people who believe in what Jesus has done. And he will say, “Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?” It’s one and the same. “What baptism have you been baptized with?” Many have said just John’s, the baptism of repentance. He says, “Let me pray for you, because you need something called the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” And he would pray for them, and the Holy Spirit would come upon them, and they too would be filled with the Spirit to go and to what? To be witnesses.

Eyes to see

You know, when the Holy Spirit is poured out, one of the last things that we think about is being a witness, right? We may say things like, “Well, I don’t have that gift,” or “I don’t have the ability to share my faith or to tell others what Jesus has done in me.” When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, one of the major things is that you will be compelled to be a witness.

But the sign that the Holy Spirit is in you — and I need everybody to hear this — the sign that His Spirit is in you is that you will have a heart of compassion. Because He’s the compassionate one. That means that when you go places, you’ll see people differently than maybe the way you used to see them, or differently than maybe the way some of the people around you see them. You’ll see them in their state, and you’ll see the things that they might need, and you can see them the way God has created them. You can see the way that God has called them. You can see the way that God loves them.

And when you look at them, you just know that they need to know something. They need to know what I have been given. Jesus said, “Freely you have received, now freely give,” right? So we have been given something. The question is, will you have eyes to see the way that Jesus saw? Because His Spirit lives inside of you. Everybody say, “Jesus, give me eyes to see.” We need eyes to see. Amen.

I’m going to close with this Scripture, but I want to look at Acts chapter 3, and if you have your Bibles, turn there with me. This is so good. Are we talking about Jesus, the compassionate one? Acts chapter 3. I pray that you leave here with a great desire — number one, to know Him, but number two, to be filled with His Spirit. And that we would all leave here with eyes to see Him, but also to see those He has sent us to.

We are celebrating, just so you guys know, 10 years of Laundry Love next month. So come on. It’s 10 years that we have been going to the laundromat on the second Wednesday of every month. Ten years to pay for people’s laundry, because everyone deserves clean clothes, and to pray with them and to love them. And it is probably the ministry that I think is most beautiful. It’s not the talent of our worship. It’s not the speaker. The most beautiful thing I think that we do as a church is to love people and to pray with them and to meet a need.

Silver and gold I do not have

Look at Acts chapter 3. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on His disciples. Peter and John, who had been filled with the Holy Spirit, are together. And it says in verse 1 that they “went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.” That’s around 3:00 p.m. “And a certain lame man from his mother’s womb” — this man was lame. He could not walk. And this wasn’t like this man just got hurt on the job and was going through a rough season. This man had been crippled all his life.

This was a serious need, and when you were crippled in those days, there was not this welfare system. The only system was you would depend on people to have mercy and to give you a little something so that you could eat and make it another day. And so this man was sitting at the gate of the temple, where there’s higher traffic, where there’s more people coming through, and he’s begging for alms.

And it says this man was lame from his mother’s womb, “who was carried, laid daily at the gate which is called Beautiful to ask for alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said” — notice, Peter did not just walk by this man. What did Peter do? He fixed his eyes on him.

A sign that the Holy Spirit is in you is you will see people, and you will see in a moment: the Lord wants to do something in your life. The Lord wants me to pray for you. The Lord wants me to give you something. The Lord wants to give you a word. Or, I feel like I just need to share what God’s been doing in my life — can I just share that with you right now?

And so Peter sees this man who is begging. And this guy who was filled with the Holy Spirit now has not just been given eyes to see people physically, but he now has eyes to see people spiritually. And if Jesus is the compassionate one and His Spirit lives inside of you, then we too should be moved with compassion. Somebody say amen.

And so Peter, seeing this man, was moved with compassion. And what did Peter say? Peter said, “Look at us.” Now, I’m sure this man saw them coming and kind of just looked down and was kind of just throwing it out like, here. But Peter wanted this man to see something. And even though Peter was the one speaking and saying, “Listen, I’m going to give you something,” it wasn’t Peter speaking, and it wasn’t Peter giving it. It was the Lord Himself saying, “Look at Me.” Do not underestimate that when the Lord calls you to something and you walk in obedience, people aren’t just seeing you. They’re seeing the Lord Jesus in you.

And so here they are. Peter says, “Look at us.” And what he was really calling him to was, “You need to see the Lord today. You need to know what He’s done for you. You need to know what He has paid for. You need to know what you can have right now.” And so as Peter says, “Look at us,” the lame man gives him attention. This man looks at him, expecting to receive something from him. He was expecting just another coin in the bucket. Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have. But what I do have I give to you.”

I think it’s very telling that we oftentimes think we know what we need. But He really knows what we need. Sometimes we have a very low level of expectation: would you give me just a couple coins — not knowing this man was about to be healed. And so Peter says, “Silver and gold I don’t have.” Notice, it’s not about what I have physically. I have been given the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives inside of me, and let me give Him to you.

And so he says, “Silver and gold I do not have. But what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.” And Scripture says “he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.” This is such an interesting phrasing, because this man wasn’t just unable to walk; he was really weak. You know, if you haven’t walked your whole life, you got skinny legs. You got legs like me. No, I’m just playing. My legs are fine. Right? You got skinny legs. Even if you had this ability now, and whatever’s going on in the brain connecting to give you the ability to walk, you don’t have the coordination to do it, and you don’t have the muscle to do it.

How many of you know Jesus’ heart is to bring complete healing? Isn’t that what we prayed for today? Are we thankful for what the Lord’s done? Yes. But we pray for more, Lord Jesus. We pray for full healing, in Jesus’ name. This man received strength in his legs. This man received something that was so precious.

And too often we act like, I don’t have anything. I’m just going to go to church, do my time, and live my life. And we so underestimate the function and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Oh, that we would have eyes to see Him. Oh, that we would have eyes to see Him and what He wants to do in our lives. That we would see what we have been given, and that we would use it, in Jesus’ name.

And so Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, right? Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days. It says He came out of the wilderness filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, how many miracles did Jesus do? Everybody say, “Zero.” Zero. Jesus was modeling. He had given up everything. He became fully man. He was God, but He was fully man. And He’s saying, “Listen, I needed the Holy Spirit to fulfill My ministry. You need the Holy Spirit to fulfill your ministry.”

And Jesus said, “The works that I do, you will do also. And greater works than these you will do, because I go to the Father.” And so now, has Jesus gone to the Father? He is seated at the right hand of the Father. And the proof that He has poured out His Spirit is proof that He made His destination. The proof that He brings healing to bodies when we ask is proof that He is at the right hand of the Father, that He’s been given the name above every name, and He has given us His Holy Spirit. Amen.

The only appropriate response

Verse 8, and I’m going to close. In fact, let’s stand together. Verse 8 — let me read this to you. So this man, after he received strength in his legs, it says, “Leaping up, he stood and walked and entered the temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people” — how many people? — “all the people saw him walking and praising God.”

The only appropriate response for what Jesus has done in our lives is to praise Him. It’s to lift our voice and to give Him thanks. That’s why, when we are in our times of worship — how many of you know those aren’t just songs? It’s not just a set list. Just put on a CD, then. No, we’re here to gather as the body of Christ to worship the Lord together. And Scripture says that we enter His courts with thanksgiving and praise. When we give Him worship, He is in this place. The only appropriate response to the move of the Lord is to give Him praise.

So I’m going to ask that we do this right now. With every head bowed and every eye closed, can we just lift our hands to the Lord? And maybe you’ve never talked to the Lord. I’m going to make it very easy for you. Just say, “Thank You, Jesus.” Thank You, Lord. We thank You. Lord, we thank You for what You’ve done.

Lord, if all we ever had was salvation from sin, that’s everything. But Lord, You are so good. You give good gifts and You pour out healing. And Lord, You’ve given us Your Spirit. You are the compassionate one, and because Your Spirit is in us, Lord, we too can be people who are moved with compassion and see the power of the Holy Spirit move through people and move in people’s lives.

And so Lord, right now we say thank You for what You’ve done. But Lord, we say thank You for what You will do, because You are infinitely good. You are better than we could ever imagine, better than we could ever think. Lord, You are great. And so Lord Jesus, we invite You into our lives. Just say, “Lord, I invite You into my life. Open my eyes, that I would see You and that I would know You,” in the mighty name of Jesus.

Now, keep your hands up. I’m going to pray over you. Lord Jesus, I pray that You would fill every person here with Your Holy Spirit. Lord, that You would come upon us in power. That You would fill us with a heart of compassion, with hearts of love. Lord, it was the prerequisite. It was what moved You, Lord, to see healings, to see miracles, to pray for people. Lord, that we would mourn with those who are mourning, that we would rejoice with those who rejoice.

Lord, that You would do such a work in us — not just acknowledging, “Yeah, He’s given us a Spirit.” Lord, would You fill us with a spirit of faith, to fully believe and to fully trust in every word that You have said. And Lord, maybe we are here and we’re like, “I don’t know. He’s got to prove something.” Lord Jesus, if You prove anything, let us see Your love. Oh Lord, it’s already been proven. Maybe we don’t even have to look any further than the cross, the perfect demonstration of Your love for us. And so Lord, we give You thanks. We give You praise today. In the name of Jesus, we all said amen.

Amen. Can we thank the Lord for His Word this morning? Aren’t you glad we serve the compassionate one? He’s the compassionate one.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.