The Compassion of Jesus - Mark 8:1-3
Mark 8:1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
Remarkable! A large crowd gathering around Jesus that eats nothing for 3 days, some of who have come a long distance. A crowd that is so mesmerized by His teaching that they loose sight of the rumbling in their tummies, they were more hungry for what He had to say than they were for their own bodies. A crowd so caught up in what He has to say that taking a break even to eat was unthinkable to them. There was something more important to them than their own sense of comfort. Sleep must have overcome them, but they would have made some very conscious choices to not eat.
When was the last time you or I were in a group of people who had not eaten for 3 days because we were so captivated by a worship time, or reading the words of Jesus...or anything? When was the last time i was so 'caught up' in what Jesus was teaching me that I lost track of the time, where everything else in my life went in a screeching halt?
Jesus had compassion for these people. He knew what they had been enduring. He didn't shorten his time with them to look after their needs, but instead he pushed them to the point that if they were to exert themselves any more they would reach a breaking point. And it is precisely at this point that He has compassion for them, and His compassion took on extraordinary dimension. When Jesus expresses His compassion, it goes far beyond mortal compassion. He meets their need in an extraordinary way, by feeding thousands on a few loaves of bread and a couple of small fish. A logistical impossibility but not for the Son of God. When Jesus meets a need, he completely satisfies.
I am challenged by these 2 verses; How serious am I about knowing Jesus, who He is and what He has to say. Is this more important to me than food? When was the last time you or I experienced the compassion of Jesus in an extraordinary way as a result of being with him?
Remarkable! A large crowd gathering around Jesus that eats nothing for 3 days, some of who have come a long distance. A crowd that is so mesmerized by His teaching that they loose sight of the rumbling in their tummies, they were more hungry for what He had to say than they were for their own bodies. A crowd so caught up in what He has to say that taking a break even to eat was unthinkable to them. There was something more important to them than their own sense of comfort. Sleep must have overcome them, but they would have made some very conscious choices to not eat.
When was the last time you or I were in a group of people who had not eaten for 3 days because we were so captivated by a worship time, or reading the words of Jesus...or anything? When was the last time i was so 'caught up' in what Jesus was teaching me that I lost track of the time, where everything else in my life went in a screeching halt?
Jesus had compassion for these people. He knew what they had been enduring. He didn't shorten his time with them to look after their needs, but instead he pushed them to the point that if they were to exert themselves any more they would reach a breaking point. And it is precisely at this point that He has compassion for them, and His compassion took on extraordinary dimension. When Jesus expresses His compassion, it goes far beyond mortal compassion. He meets their need in an extraordinary way, by feeding thousands on a few loaves of bread and a couple of small fish. A logistical impossibility but not for the Son of God. When Jesus meets a need, he completely satisfies.
I am challenged by these 2 verses; How serious am I about knowing Jesus, who He is and what He has to say. Is this more important to me than food? When was the last time you or I experienced the compassion of Jesus in an extraordinary way as a result of being with him?
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