Pastor Melinda Song
11 & 12 February 2023
What would be your answer if you were asked, “How are you feeling?” This is usually a question about a person’s physical health but it is equally valid for us to ask about a person’s emotional state of being.
During the 1970s, psychologist Paul Eckman identified six basic emotions that he suggested were universally experienced in all human cultures. The emotions he identified were happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and anger. He later expanded this list to include such things as pride, shame, embarrassment, and excitement.
Another psychologist, Plutchik proposed eight primary emotional dimensions—anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust, and joy. Plutchik argues for the primacy of these emotions by showing that they serve as triggers of behaviour with high survival value.
However, you can mix these to create new ones. For example…
– At the thought of a holiday, anticipation + joy = excitement.
– At a sudden death, sadness + surprise = grief.
– In our spiritual walk, anticipation + trust = belief or faith.
God has given us emotions, yet Christians are often uncertain, even wary of emotions. Often we find two extremes in the religious world when it comes to emotions.
– One extreme is excessive “emotionalism” where what people “feel in their hearts” is placed above what the Scriptures teach.
– The other extreme is a stoic faith seen in a cold, emotionless religion with empty rituals and exercises.
But when we look into the Bible we find the gospel writers painting their portraits of Jesus using a kaleidoscope of brilliant “emotional” colours. In his study of the four Gospels, one author found biblical texts identifying 39 different emotions that Jesus experiences. That’s a lot of emotions!
Jesus was God in the flesh – fully God and also fully human. He expressed and felt very real emotions. His emotions reflect the image of God without any deficiency or distortion. Yet in our quest to be like Jesus, we often overlook and damp down his emotions.
Today we shall look at one of the emotions of Jesus – compassion – and see how it is extended to us and how it will in turn help us to express that emotion toward others.
Luke 7:11–16 (NKJV)
11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”
In this short passage, we see the power of Jesus being activated and expressed through deep and sincere compassion. Just visualize this: Jesus is walking with his disciples with a large crowd following him (from the sermon on the Mount) when he meets another large crowd that made up a funeral procession.
Verse 13 says, “the Lord saw her.” Do you know that there are over 40 references in the Gospels where we’re told that Jesus saw someone?
The author is drawing our attention to the difference between looking and seeing.
• Some of us can look and just not see, e.g., the husband not noticing his wife’s new hairstyle. It could be that we might have no eye for detail but, more often than not, it’s just that what we are looking at does not attract our attention or interest us.
• Other people have an eye for detail and some are even trained to make certain observations, e.g., a secret agent will be aware of all available exits in the room.
Very often we easily overlook things that are right in front of us. For example, blind spots crop up when you are reading your own work or reviewing something you have already looked at several times before because our brain tricks us into reading what we think we should see on the page instead of actually reading the text word for word.
Likewise in many facets of life, we see what we want to see. Sometimes we just need a fresh pair of eyes.
Jesus didn’t just see a crowd or another funeral procession. Instead, he zoomed in on this single mom, a widow who has lost her husband and who has now lost her only son. The Lord saw her.
The population of the world is 8 billion on November 15, 2022, according to the United Nations. You might seem lost among the mass of humanity’s troubles, sorrow, and pain. You might feel that no one sees you, understands you or knows the burdens you bear. Let me tell you Jesus sees you.
Compassion begins with…
THE GOD WHO SEES
El Roi is the Hebrew name for God meaning the God who sees me. The first person to call God by the name El Roi was Hagar, a maidservant to Sarai, Abram’s wife. She was a slave from Egypt, whom Sarai gave to Abram to try and produce an heir.
Once Hagar became pregnant, she became arrogant and the tensions between the two women boiled over. Sarai began mistreating Hagar who could not take it anymore so she ran away, into the desert. In the midst of a dry, barren wilderness, Hagar experienced God’s presence and sustenance. She saw her Creator for who He was, becoming the only biblical woman to give God a name: “El Roi” (the God who sees me).
Genesis 16:13 (NLT)
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
Then God commanded her to return to her mistress. Hagar submitted to God and returned to Sarah. She gave birth to a son, Ishmael, and remained a faithful servant to her masters until she was sent away after the birth of Isaac.
Hagar learned a precious lesson that day: God was watching over her and had plans to bless her. When she was feeling the most dejected and invisible, El Roi came to her. He had seen her mistreatment by Sarai but also saw Hagar’s pride and arrogance. He saw it all and came to her; bringing blessings and guidance.
What He did for Hagar continues for us today. How comforting to know that El Roi fully sees us, the struggles we are going through, and comes to us. Scripture assures us:
•“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”Proverbs 15:3 (NIV).
God sees everything- and sees it clearly. I love the term “keeping watch”- He not only sees you but is observing with discernment and protection.
•“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9a (NIV)
What a comforting verse! He sees us- nothing escapes His mighty vision. He comes to strengthen us in our times of need.
•“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb… When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.” Psalm 139:13, 16a (NIV).
God saw you before you were born. He exquisitely formed you and saw you in your preborn state. Why would we think He stops seeing us now?
Most amazing of all, the God Who Sees Knows Your Name
•“I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43: 1b NIV.
Throughout Hagar’s story, she is only referred to as “my maidservant”(16:2), “my servant” (v 5), and “your servant.” (v 6). To Abram and Sarai, it seems Hagar was a nameless possession.
When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar, however, His first word to her was “Hagar.” He called her by name. Not only did He see her in her distress, but knew her name.
God knows your name, sees you, and He wants to – is ready – to act on your behalf; especially when you are hurting. There is never a time when He is not loving, guarding, and protecting you!
When Jesus saw the woman verse 13 tells us that “he had compassion on her.” The NIV translates it as “his heart went out to her”, and the NLT as “His heart overflowed with compassion.”
The God who sees is…
THE GOD OF COMPASSION
Psalm 86:15 (NLT)
15 But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (NIV84)
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
The God of the Bible is a God of compassion. He is a God of grace, love, and mercy. John 3:16 could read, “Since God had compassion on the world that he gave his one and only son…” From Old Testament through the New Testament, we see the same theme that the one true God is a God of compassion. It is so much a part of God’s nature to be compassionate and loving that John describes Him in 1 John 4:8 as being love.
We always talk about compassion but what is compassion?
The Latin root for the word compassion is pati, which means “to suffer”, and the prefix com- means “with”. Compassion, originating from compati, literally means “to suffer with.”
“Empathy,” “sympathy,” and “compassion” are three words that many use interchangeably. While these words are close cousins, they are not synonymous with one another.
- Sympathy means you can understand what the person is feeling.
- Empathy means that you feel what a person is feeling.
- Compassion is the willingness to relieve the suffering of another.
It is the component of action that separates compassion from sympathy and empathy which are grounded in emotion and feeling.
Compassion gets involved and prompts us to act on their behalf when others keep their distance from those who are suffering. A good example is the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Author Fredrick Buechner describes what it means to have compassion in this way:
“Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.”
Compassion means someone else’s heartbreak becomes your heartbreak. Another’s suffering becomes your suffering. True compassion changes the way you live.
ILLUSTRATION:
Compassion International, a Christian organisation that runs a Child Sponsorship Program for children living in poverty all over the world, was originally the Everett Swanson Evangelistic Association, founded in 1952 by the Rev. Everett Swanson to help children orphaned by war in South Korea. Swanson had travelled there to preach the gospel to the US Army troops, but during his visit, he was deeply moved by the plight of the scores of abandoned children he saw. In 1953, he began to raise funds, and the next year he developed sponsorship programs to help support orphans for a few dollars a month.
When you sponsor a child through Compassion International you are personally connected with a boy or girl who will know your name and cherish the thought that you care for them. Sponsoring a child allows you to share the meaning of compassion through your prayers, letters, and financial support and show the child how loved and cherished he or she is by God.
The name of the association changed to Compassion, Inc., in 1963, inspired by Jesus’ words “I have compassion on the multitude. I will not send them away hungry” (Matthew 15.32).
This is the definition of compassion given on the website of Compassion International:
The meaning of compassion is to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help. Compassion embodies a tangible expression of love for those who are suffering.
The God who sees, this God of compassion is also…
THE GOD WHO ACTS
He says, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
Jesus saw her pain and moved with compassion he acted – he reached out in mercy.
MERCY IS THE FRUIT OF COMPASSION. Mercy is the compassionate treatment of those in distress; it is the gift given to the suffering of those living out their compassion. In the New Testament, Jesus is often moved to mercy out of his compassion for the people. He shows His compassion by giving sight to the blind, making the lame walk, and curing people with extreme sickness. In His parables, He consistently shows that God’s heart is geared toward compassion and His desire is for His followers to be similarly compassionate.
It was scandalous for Jesus to touch the coffin. According to the law, you don’t touch a dead body or anything that touched a dead body because if you do, you become ceremonially unclean. The people were horrified that Jesus, a prophet claiming to be the Son of God would touch something that would make Him spiritually unclean. When Jesus touched the coffin, what He did was He crossed a line.
Jesus is a line-crosser. Religion is all about drawing lines but every time religion drew a line, Jesus would cross that line, why? Because love crosses lines.
God crossed a line when He became one of us. He didn’t just like shout His love from heaven but He showed His love on earth.
Penal Substitutionary Atonement is not simply a weighty theological concept, it is a phrase that describes the beautiful compassion of God. Moved with compassion, God took on flesh to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). However, Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross for sinners is the culmination of His compassion. He died a sacrificial death in our place so that we could be saved.
To die for someone who never wronged you is considered a great sign of compassion. But Christ’s sacrificial death for those that sinned against Him is the ultimate display of compassion.
God is a God of compassion, therefore we ought to be a people of compassion. Colossians 3:12 tells us “as God’s holy ones” to “put on compassion”. If anyone in the world should show compassion, it should be those of us who are born again. None of us deserves salvation and if it wasn’t for God’s grace, none of us would have it; so as we have experienced God’s compassion and mercy, how can we not extend it to others?
But remember this: compassion is not just a word or sentiment, but is also expressed in action. That’s why missionaries go to foreign countries, and dangerous places, why TOP is here in Jelutong, and why we run the CHC.
This God who sees, this God of compassion who acts on our behalf is…
JESUS, THE LIFE-GIVER
15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
Moments before she had nothing – she had lost all whom she loved and she couldn’t even support herself. Not only does Jesus give her her son back but He gives her hope back.
God raised Jesus from the dead so that what’s dead in your life can come back to life. All you need is just one touch from Jesus – the author of life, the giver of life who brings dead things back to life.
You can experience that healing, life-giving touch today. It could come in many forms. It could be one moment, one word, one song, one prayer, that brings the goodness and the grace of our God – the One who crosses lines to show His love.
So how are you doing today?
God brought you here today to show you He notices, He sees, He cares and He cares about you more than you can imagine. Just as this widow’s only son experienced the resurrection life from the only Son of God, there was nothing that was dead that His compassion couldn’t bring back to life.
He sees you, and cares about you and a touch from the Lord is all you need to get your hope back – hope in a God who is good, hope in a God who does care. Hope in a God who notices and hope in a God who sent Jesus so you could know His love.
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