The Compassionate Jesus
Jesus demonstrated compassion for a widow whose son had just died. The word ‘compassion’ means to suffer with. Jesus feels her pain, shares in her brokenness, fear and anguish. He weeps with her, but his compassion extends beyond feeling. It goes beyond just sitting on the fence and doing nothing when He had the power to do something about the widow’s situation. He is ‘the Compassionate Jesus’ and as such, He is moved with pity to do something.
Jesus was not satisfied with merely accompanying the widow or saying a word of consolation. No, He goes beyond. He had compassion for her, touched her dead son and brought him back to life. He brought the dead man back to life to alleviate the widow’s pain and sadness. The compassion and mercy of Jesus are a testament to his great mission, and when compassion is combined with action, we participate in his great work.
The miracle of Jesus Christ was not just one individual act, but a life-giving one on multiple counts. He restored life to a dead man which brought ‘life’ to his mother who was a widow and practically on the verge of giving up on life due to the loss of her only child. Moreover, this miracle instilled hope in the people reminding them that there is always a compassionate God beside us.
This goes a long way to teach that just one act of kindness can have a great impact on many people unknowingly to us.
As we follow in the steps of the Compassionate Jesus, we are therefore called to not just feel and be compassionate with people, we are called to actively strive to lend a hand to persons in distress when we are in the position to do so.