In today’s hypersensitive, me-centered, feelings-driven culture, the biblical understanding of compassion has been all but lost such that anyone who dares to declare the truth, call sinners to repentance, and demand obedience from those who do repent is almost sure to be judged as one who lacks compassion. After this judgment is rendered, the one who dared to minister the gospel in this manner can be sure to face what is often felt to be a just sentence for their perceived error, that is a complete lack of compassion in return along with anger, rejection, and accusations of being prideful and arrogant. These judgments, however, will not stand the biblical test should one be willing to delve into how the Bible portrays compassion. To help in this effort, this short interaction with some relevant passages will reveal Jesus’ understanding of compassion.
Matt 9:9-13 – “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.””[1]
Notes: The Pharisees, in their legalistic self-righteousness, viewed sinners with abhorrence, but Jesus showed compassion by not turning away from them and instead ministering the gospel to them.
Matt 9:36-38 – “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’”
Notes: Jesus’ compassion for the people arose from His seeing that they lacked the guidance of a God-called, Word-centered shepherd. For this reason, He understood that the answer to their “distressed and dispirited” condition would be found in the preaching of the Word.
Matt 14:13-14 – “Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”
Notes: Jesus’ compassion for the crowd’s physical suffering led Him to heal their infirmities. This suggest that compassion requires one to put the Word of God into action according to one’s abilities and take action on behalf of those who are suffering in their midst. Practically speaking, it would mean that one should follow the guidance of James: “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (2:14-17).
Matt 18:23-35 – “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
Notes: In this parable, the king chose to have compassion on a slave who was deeply indebted to him after the slave, by his response, affirmed his just reason to pursue judgment against him and then sought mercy. Here, one learns that compassion works in conjunction with a response of repentance in the face of righteous judgment against sin. In practical terms, this would mean that God’s servant should rightly charge sinners with their sin and tells them about God’s pending judgment, even while they communicate the forgiveness made available to them through the ministry of the gospel. Should a confession of repentance be forthcoming, the gospel witness should show compassion by treating the person as if they have been totally forgiven and made righteous in Christ. In other words, they should not do as the legalistic, self-righteous Pharisees did earlier. As the parable continues to unfold, the king observes that the forgiven servant is refusing to show mercy to those who are in debt to him. By behaving in this manner, this merciless servant helps the reader further develop a biblical understanding of compassion for his lack of compassion was revealed when he refuses to accept a confession of repentance and went forward with his judgment against the person indebted to him.
Given the forgiven servant’s behavior, the king had sufficient evidence to prove that the earlier confession of repentance was not heart-felt. In response, the compassionate king chose to revoke his previous offer of compassion. This, once again, suggests that compassion, when sin is involved, must be meted out in conjunction with confession of sin and continued obedience in line with that confession.
Luke 10:30-37 – “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
Notes: In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, compassion occurs much in the same way it did in Matthew 14:13-14. The Samaritan serves as an example of the godly servant whose faith can be seen by his works. In helping the injured man who had wronged him in no way and who owed him no debt of any kind, the Samaritan exhibits a compassionate love that abides in the heart of a true saint of God. Despite having nothing to gain by his kind act of service, he served anyway with no expectation of return and with a selfless commitment to fully provide for the needs of the injured man. On the whole, his example of compassion demonstrates that true compassion takes no thought of self in its consideration of others and expresses this through a willingness to suffer loss should they be in need of help. To be clear, the injured man had a definite need for the compassion that was given as opposed to a conjured up need due to a lack of willingness to take responsibility. This suggests that compassion must be employed in conjunction with reasonable demands for personal responsibility. For further evidence of the connection between these two aspects, one should visit Paul’s teaching concerning widows in 1 Timothy 5:1-16.
[1]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.