MARK 6:30-34   The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”  So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.  But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  So he began teaching them many things.

This passage speaks to us of compassion, specifically the compassion of our Lord. Let’s set the scene for this passage.  It begins by saying The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. Jesus sent out His disciples to preach the message of repentance, to cast out spirits, and to heal.  So they return to tell Jesus that they had done what He commanded. The compassion of Jesus had led Him to send them out on this mission of mercy.

Upon their return, notice what Jesus does. He knows that they had labored hard in the task He had given them, and he wants to give them time to recuperate:  Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Once again, we see the compassionate nature of our Lord, in wanting to care for His disciples’ physical needs.

When Jesus and His disciples tried to get away by themselves, they were unsuccessful.  The crowds followed them.  And Jesus told them to leave Him alone, right?  No, we are told that He had compassion on them. Rather than turn them away, He taught them what they needed to know.  Truly our Lord is full of compassion.

So then, just what is compassion? The dictionary says it is a deep feeling for the suffering of others. That’s not a bad definition, but it doesn’t even begin to describe what this word means in the original language. The Greek word here is SPLAGXNIZOMAI. This word is untranslatable into one word in English. It is more than just pity. It is not just that He felt sorry for them. It speaks of a tenderness that comes from deep down inside you–literally a gut feeling. This feeling wells up inside of you until it becomes like a lump in your throat. This feeling for another person is so deep that it is not just something you feel: it causes you to act. You can’t feel that much without doing something about it. Such is the compassion of our Lord. He felt for those around Him and He did something about it.  His compassion led Him to send out His disciples to preach repentance and the Good News. His compassion dictated that He allow His disciples a period of rest. And His compassion told Him that He could not turn away this crowd without giving them something, so He taught them.

We are not told here exactly what Jesus taught these people. However, I would imagine that it was pretty much the same message He shared throughout His ministry. He most likely told them about the love of their compassionate heavenly Father. He felt for mankind, His perfect creation which had corrupted itself through disobedience. And God’s compassion was such that it led Him to act: He acted by sending a Savior, someone who would bear the burden of our disobedience to bring us back to God. Jesus was that very one sent to save us. Not only did He come to us, but He came as one of us. He was human, though without sin.  And since He was one of us, His compassion was rooted in knowing who we are and what we go through. He understood us completely, and dedicated His entire being to helping us out of the hopeless situation we had entered through out sin. Faith in His life of perfect obedience and His sacrifice for sins makes us acceptable before the throne of God.

More thoughts on compassion tomorrow.