Diving Deeper
Beloved People of God,
When was the last time you stopped and thought about compassion? Between the ice storms and kids out of school, the responsibilities of work and the endless demands of life, it feels like compassion gets missed. We’re so busy running from one thing to another, not receiving mercy ourselves, we have little bandwidth to give mercy in return.
In the Torah—after the giving of the law and the Balaam debacle—we find Moses in prayer. Looking out at the people; he is rightfully concerned for them. He knows how our hearts drift from compassion. How, like sheep, we go astray. And so Moses intercedes for them, asking the Lord to raise one up “who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd” (Numbers 27.17). To this prayer, the Lord first tells His servant to “Take Joshua (Yeshua) the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him” and set him before the people. Then, centuries later, the Father sends His own Son.
In Matthew’s Gospel, after proclaiming to God’s people the fullness of the Law (chapters 5-7), we see Jesus (Yeshua), the one promised to Moses (Deuteronomy 18.15-19) “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 9.35). Why? Because “when [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (9.36). In this, we see Jesus as the compassionate fulfillment of Moses’ prayer that goes beyond what Moses could have asked or imagined!
Beloved, those around us need a compassionate response (Hosea 2.1). As servants of Christ, we must seek not only to assess the needs of others but also to respond compassionately “in spiritual and material terms” (Joe Kapolyo). Jesus is calling to all people, and part of His compassionate response surprisingly comes through us! So, in the way of Jesus, let us extend compassion to those around us, seeking the Lord’s best for them, and intercede that more followers of Jesus will take up the Messiah’s call to compassion.
For Christ the King,
Brett