Jesus Teaches Us to Care About Human Beings
Note: Thank you for praying for Ray’s test on Tuesday morning. Everything went great and the results were good. Praise God.
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Ray got me to thinking about compassion through his sermon on Sunday. He pointed out why Jesus fed the 4,000 in Matthew 15.
Jesus experienced everything it meant to be human. He got hungry. He got thirsty. He got tired. He felt pain. He cried. He felt grief. He suffered. He was tempted.
Therefore, He had to be made
like His brethren in all things,
so that He might become
a merciful and faithful high priest
in things pertaining to God,
to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 2:17
Sometimes, when someone has been repeatedly unkind to me, I confess to having thoughts of wearing a sign that reads, “HUMAN BEING.” In those times, we can understand why Jesus taught us to:
Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
Luke 6:31
Jesus did that. He understood being human, and He loved us enough to treat each person as living, breathing human beings, made in the image of God.
In Matthew 14, Jesus fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish.
Mark 6:31-44. Jesus, seeing the multitude, is moved
with compassion and miraculously feedeth them.
by William Hole (1846-1917),
courtesy of the Library of Congress
In Matthew 15, He performed the same kind of miracle again. When Matthew told us why:
And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said,
“I feel compassion for the people,
because they have remained with Me now three days
and have nothing to eat;
and I do not want to send them away hungry,
for they might faint on the way.”
Matthew 15:32
Jesus noticed. He understood physical need. He felt compassion. He acted.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;
give preference to one another in honor . . . .
Romans 12:10
Ray and I once heard of someone who was discouraged about being able to obey the teachings in the New Testament until she or he read the gospels. The life of Jesus revealed in the gospels teaches us how.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,
but with humility of mind
regard one another as more important than yourselves;
do not merely look out
for your own personal interests,
but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-4
Noticing, understanding, feeling compassion, and acting. This is how we can do nothing from selfishness, regard others as more important than ourselves, and look out for the interests of others.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you
and gave Himself up for us,
an offering and a sacrifice to God
as a fragrant aroma.
Ephesians 5:1-2