The Mystery of Divine Compassion

It had been an ordinary day for the carpenter from Nazareth. As He was teaching in the home of a villager, Jesus had been interrupted by a noise from overhead. The make-shift roof had been removed and a helpless paralytic, confined to his pallet, was lowered to the feet of the One by whose stripes we are now healed. Jesus granted forgiveness to the man and healed his lifeless legs. The man picked up his pallet and walked from the home, a benefactor of Divine Compassion!

Later that same day, the Galilean healer was challenged by the religious leaders of His day. It seemed that His approach was unorthodox, His clients unwelcome, and His words offensive. Who did He think He was anyway? Challenged, misunderstood, and mercilessly hounded, the compassion of Jesus could not be thwarted. A Synagogue guard appeared before Him, begging the master to come to his house and lay His hand on his daughter who had just died, that she might live. Without hesitation, Jesus started out to the ruler’s home. Along the way, He was met by the bankrupt and hopeless woman who for twelve years had been disappointed by the doctors who took her money, but left her helplessly at the mercy of a disease that relentlessly robbed her of any real quality of life. As Jesus looked at her, His heart went out to her and as Divine Compassion exuded from His being, healing overflowed, and the pitiful woman, after more than a decade of brokenness, became whole.

From there He proceeded to the ruler’s house and was again moved with compassion as the mourners filled the streets, mourning the premature loss of this young life. He cleared the home, entered her room, took her lifeless hand in His, and immediately she arose. Divine Compassion had released resurrection power and the mourning outside was transformed into rejoicing. As Jesus left the transformed village, two blind men called out, begging for mercy. They too, became thankful recipients of Divine Compassion as their blinded eyes were able to see. Then a mute demoniac found out that even the best attempt of Satan was no match for Divine Compassion as the demon was exorcised and the mute man was able to verbalize his praise for the first time.

Through every village, city, and synagogue Jesus passed, everywhere He went, He preached the good news, set the bound free, and healed the sick. Wherever His feet trod, His compassion was felt. Matthew insightfully unpacks the dynamic catalyst of Christ’s ministry. “Seeing the people, He felt compassion…” (Matthew 8:31). He saw their dispirited countenances, their hopeless hearts, and their frustrated circumstances that kept them mired in defeat and despondency. He was moved with compassion. He then instructs the disciples to pray that God would send others, moved with that same compassion into the harvest field of hurting and helpless humanity so that hope might fill their lives and rescue their souls. The only hope as attested to by Jesus would be found in a deluge of Divine Compassion. Most of us can sign on to such a call. Oh, it might require an ongoing struggle with our selfish nature that wants to be catered to and pampered, but at the end of the day, most of us will at least somewhat willingly accept the call to serve the hurting, helpless, poor, and destitute and bring them an awareness of Divine Compassion. It is a cause that, though challenging, is at least somewhat sanitized and safe. We can be carriers of the Divine Compassion. But is there more to it than what Matthew records? What about the Old Testament story of Jonah? The prophet was called to preach to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian kingdom, known for there horrific atrocities, brutal treatment of their foes, and who boasted of their behavior and mocked the God of Israel. Jonah was called to them. And you know the story! He was called to go up to Nineveh, but he went down. First he went down to Joppa, then to the bottom of the ship, then to the bottom of the sea, and ultimately he went down to the belly of the great fish. He was called up….but he went down as far as he could go. Finally, he repented and the fish regurgitated him and Jonah reluctantly made his way to Nineveh. Only a third of the way to the city he lifted his voice and warned the wicked city of their impending doom that was headed their way. Led by the king and much to Jonah’s surprise and chagrin, the people fasted, prayed, and repented. And God relented from punishing them as Jonah sat outside the city with the proverbial egg on his face. There would be no judgment. Justice was being overturned by the compassion of God and Jonah was not happy. Jonah complained and asked that God just take him. “I knew you would do this God, and I would look like a fool.”

As Jonah sat in the hot sun wishing to die, God prepared a shade tree for Jonah to find relief. Jonah was “extremely happy” again but God appointed the worm to destroy the tree and left Jonah baking in the sun with no hope of relief. Again, Jonah was angry and said to God that his anger was justified. How could God forgive and even bless the wicked and evil Ninevehites and leave His prophet parched and without shade in the desert sun. It simply was not fair. It was not just. God had acted unfairly. The story in Jonah ends with a question. A question posed by God to Jonah. “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left, up from down, who don’t know what they are doing?” And there the story closes.

Holocaust survivor and Old Testament scholar Abraham Heschel closes his commentary on Jonah with these words….”Beyond justice lies the mystery of Divine Compassion.” How true it is! The compassion that healed the paralytic, the woman infirmed for 12 years, the ruler’s daughter, and hurled the wind is the same compassion extended to the wicked and undeserving people of Nineveh, the suicide bomber in Iraq, the murderer, the rapist, the adulterer, the jealous, the backbiter, your enemy and mine, and yes, to us as well. God never forgets justice but He is to be remembered for His compassion. And it is to demonstrate and reveal that same compassion, that we, His servants, laborers in the ripened harvest field are called. Picking up the towel to serve is not only a call to serve our friends, the loveable, or the safe. It is a call to serve our enemy and to enter the world with lives transformed by the cross, characterized by the towel, and infused with the Divine Compassion of a God whose love and mercy knows no limit!