Compassion and Forgiveness
When Jesus was here, He displayed compassion, sometimes translated pity (see Matt. 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 6:34; Luke 7:13). In Greek, the word most commonly translated "compassion" or "pity" gives the idea of someone being moved to the very depths of his or her being. If, in our fallen condition, with our hard, selfish hearts, we can be moved with pity and compassion for others, how much more so would the sight of suffering humanity touch the innermost being of the sinless Son of God?
Look up those references listed above. What were the things that Jesus showed compassion over? Why is such compassion so important for us as disciples?
Besides compassion, Jesus showed forgiveness. Time and again the disciples observed Jesus forgive the sins of so many people. They saw how He treated Simon, the former leper, who looked down on Mary (Luke 7:36-50). The disciples saw Jesus' ultimate act of forgiveness in His prayer for His enemies while they hung Him on the cross (Luke 23:34). Peter, too, experienced Jesus' forgiveness in a special way. At the arrest, he forsook Jesus and fled. Later at the trial, three times he denied knowing Jesus. Yet Jesus forgave him, and restored him to fellowship in the presence of his fellow disciples (John 21:9-17).
What role should forgiveness play in our experience as disciples, and in our work of making disciples? See Luke 17:3-5; Eph. 1:7; 4:32; Col. 1:14.
Our God is a compassionate God, and one result of that compassion was that He chose to save us from our sins, to forgive what, otherwise, would have led to our eternal loss. How crucial that, as disciples, we keep before ourselves this compassion and forgiveness; after all, what better motivation could we have for leading others to, and nurturing them in, what means so much to us?
No comments:
Post a Comment