And Jesus, when He came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and He began to teach them many things. Mark 6:34
A friend of ours is the most lachrymose person I have ever met; she is moved to tears at the least possible provocation. If she hears about someone who is injured or sick, or even about an animal that has been hurt, she bursts into tears. Her sobs are a major distraction if anybody is with her watching a sad movie. There are times when she can’t explain why she is crying, except that she feels sad or sorry. Is she truly a compassionate person? I doubt it, her compassion is very shallow and meaningless most of the time. How different was the Lord Jesus when he was moved with compassion when he saw the multitudes around Him
There was nothing meaningless about Jesus’ compassion. He understood fully the condition that these folks were in. He knew their confusion, their weaknesses, and their desperate need of a Saviour. In His perfect understanding of their situation, He felt deeply sorry for them, just as He feels deeply sorry for us. While it is true that most of the griefs and sorrows we encounter are the result of our own waywardness and weakness, the Lord Jesus still feels compassion for us, and it really matters to Him when we suffer. In a hard hearted and uncaring world, amid all the cruelty and pain, there has never been one person who could ever truthfully say that the Lord Jesus did not care for them.
Most of the people who were gathered to listen to the Lord Jesus were curious, fascinated by His miracles, or simply looking for some entertainment. Very few were actually believers. Jesus knew that. And yet He cared. How much more does He care for and you and me, His own dear children? Unlike the lost around us who have no shepherd, He is our Shepherd. He knows us and leads us, calling us by name. He seeks to give us all that is best for our souls. And He is grieved when we stumble and sin. It matters to Him whether we are doing well spiritually.
It is an awesome thing to think of the God of Eternity moved with compassion toward poor worms of the dust like us. The fact that He cares should cause us to care for and appreciate Him. And we should learn to be compassionate, as He is. -Jim MacIntosh