God is Compassionate

Growing up in San Diego County, one of our favorite family outings was to what was then called (and always will be in my mind) The San Diego Wild Animal Park. On special days, we would stop at Kentucky Fried Chicken to take a picnic lunch with us to the park. The bucket of chicken displayed an outline of Colonel Sanders’ head, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

There is a popular story about Colonel Sanders. “The late Colonel Sanders… was on an airplane when an infant screamed and would not stop even though the mother and flight attendants tried every trick they could think of. Finally, the Colonel asked if he could hold the baby. He gently rocked it to sleep. Later, a passenger said, ‘We all appreciate what you did for us.’

Colonel Sanders replied, ‘I didn’t do it for us, I did it for the baby.’”^[1]

I don’t know about you, but I would have been that passenger who was thinking of her own comfort. Colonel Sanders didn’t think of himself. He saw a baby whose ears probably hurt from the change of pressure and didn’t understand the force on his or her little body from the accelerating and ascending plane. Colonel Sanders saw a little one who was scared and expressing that fear in the primary way that babies know how to be heard – crying. Colonel Sanders showed compassion for the baby.

Like gentle, compassionate was not an attribute in any of the books I have on the attributes of God, but also, like gentle, God’s compassion is throughout Scripture. Dr. John Frame, a retired seminary professor of systematic theology and philosophy wrote that “compassion is a necessary ingredient of the love of Christ.”^[2]

Dr. Frame further outlines how the Hebrew and Greek words translated as compassion: “’Compassion’ is perhaps the best general way to translate raham, hamal, splanchnizomai, oiktirō, and metriopatheō as used in Scripture. Hamal is sometimes translated “pity” or “love,” and raham as “be merciful.” These words indicate a sympathetic view of another’s distress, motivating helpful actions. Raham and splanchnizomai  relate etymologically to the inner body, particularly to the womb. Perhaps for that reason they often have strongly emotional connotations…Raham is the “mercy” of Exodus 33:19 and 34:6, which I have identified as significant expositions of the divine name… Since “compassion” expounds his covenant name, we are not surprised to find him showing compassion for the sake of his covenant (2 Kings 13:23, below).”^[3]

“But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.”

Timothy Keller, in his sermon “The Compassion of God” based on Jonah 4:1-11, expressed God’s compassion as “His heart is voluntarily attached to us.”^[4] He went on to say that Jesus was completely attached to us not just emotionally but physically on the cross.

We see what Keller means in this next definition from Karrie Hahn, Biblical counselor and editor for Ligonier Ministries. “Compassion is being moved in the affections of our inner being when we see the distress of others, coupled with a subsequent outer movement of action in which we seek to alleviate that distress out of love for God and love for neighbor.”^[5]

We might think of compassion like a three leaf clover.

There are three equally important components. The first is seeing. This may seem obvious, but it is important, especially when we examine how we reflect His compassionate nature. Compassion first requires seeing.

We will cover several verses in detail in a minute, but one example of God “seeing” in the Old Testament is found in Exodus: “Then the Lord said, ‘I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters.” (Exodus 3:7, emphasis added). Seeing the Israelites affliction proceeded God’s miraculous deliverance of the Israelites. The words “Jesus saw” comes before many of His acts of compassion. If Jesus hadn’t taken time to see those around Him, how could He have been moved inwardly or outwardly with compassion?

As I’ve recently been reading through the Gospels, the account of the woman with the flow of blood has tugged at my heart as well as convicted me. Let’s turn to Luke 8:42b-48:

“^42bAs Jesus went, the people pressed around him. ⁴³ And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, ‘Who was it that touched me?’ When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!’ ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.’ ⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace’” (see also Mark 5:25-34).

Jesus was following Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, to his house because Jairus’ daughter was dying. If it had been me, I would have been on a one track mission. Tunnel vision. A girl is dying. I need to get there. Clear the way. Don’t talk to me or slow me down.

As Jesus made His way with Jairus, the crowds pressing around Him, a woman with a discharge of blood for twelve years dares to reach out and touch Him. I don’t know about you, but I always cringe a little when I read the woman had a discharge of blood for twelve years. That would be miserable enough to deal with today, but back then the flow of blood made her unclean. Anyone who touched her was made unclean. She would have been cut off from worship at the Temple and avoided by people. To top it off, she’d spent all her money on doctors. She was a hurting soul.

In a desperate act of faith likely mixed with superstition, the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. The blood stops. Jesus felt power go out from Him, and He stopped, asking who it was that touched Him. I can understand why the woman came trembling to Jesus and fell down before Him. She is unclean and being called out. She had no idea what Jesus or the crowds might do, but she told her story.

I don’t think I would have slowed down. I wouldn’t have stopped. I wouldn’t have wasted time trying to figure out who among the thick crowd had touched me. I wouldn’t have seen, but Jesus saw. He called her out not to shame her, but so she could know she was seen. Magic hidden in the hem of Jesus’ garment didn’t heal her. Jesus, the Messiah, healed her, and He made it lovingly, personal.

Even though the words compassion and saw aren’t used in this passage, Jesus poured forth compassion for this woman. He, the spotless Lamb, had made her clean. No more being an outcast, ignored, or excluded. As Jesus looked at her, He said: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Nowhere, else does Jesus call someone daughter. Jesus saw and then felt and acted in compassion (the second and third components of compassion).

Jesus was often moved in His inner being towards sinners, outcasts, and the hurting. He deeply felt – bowel deep, womb deep – their grief, hurt, and loneliness. But Jesus’ compassion didn’t stop with an inner emotion. It led to outer physical action. He acted compassionately by healing, providing food, or teaching.

We observed the same inner and outer movement of compassion in 2 Kings 13:23 which we already read. God is compassionate in nature, He felt compassion for Israel as they were being oppressed (inner), and He turned toward them (outer). It is the same with the Israelites when they were enslaved in Egypt. He saw their affliction. He had compassion for them and acted in compassion by delivering them.

Lest you think God’s compassion is limited to a few isolated events, let’s explore other accounts of God’s compassionate nature.

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13). In verses 4 and 8, mercy can also be translated as compassion: “who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy [compassion]” and “The Lord is merciful [compassionate] and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” In Psalm 103, God is both compassionate in His nature and shows compassion.

In Psalm 78, Asaph highlights Israel’s history of unfaithfulness and God’s compassion even in their unfaithfulness: “³⁷ Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant. ³⁸ Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath” (Psalm 78:37-38). God had compassion even when Israel rebelled against Him.

The book of Hosea illustrates Israel’s spiritual adultery in Hosea’s marriage to an adulterous wife. Yet, hear God’s words through Hosea: “⁸ How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. ⁹ I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” God is holy in the midst of idolatrous Israel, but He assures them that instead of coming in wrath, His compassion is actually growing warm and tender.

Numerous passages in the Old Testament describe God as gracious and merciful, using the Hebrew word raham that we looked at earlier which reflects God’s compassion (Nehemiah 9:17; 2 Chronicles 30:9; Psalm 86:15; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8; Joel 2:13).

In Israel’s exile, God through the prophet Isaiah spoke encouragement to them: “For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you” (Isaiah 54:7).

Again addressing Israel’s sin and His covenant with Abraham, God conveyed through Micah: “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

As we have noted in our study of “God is…” truths, Jesus is the exact image of God, so we would expect Jesus to be compassionate as the Father is compassionate.

“³⁵ And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:35-36).

In Leon Morris’ commentary, “H. Köster comments, “outside the original parables of Jesus there is no instance of the word being used of men. It is always used to describe the attitude of Jesus and it characterizes the divine nature of His acts” (TDNT, VII, pp. 553, 554).”^[6] Köster is emphasizing that compassion isn’t something Jesus merely feels. It is His nature. Shepherdless sheep is an image of people who are harassed and helpless, wounded, lost, and prostrate. Without a shepherd, they are in danger and can’t help themselves. For this, Jesus has compassion.

Jesus had compassion when He healed people. As Jesus passed by, two blind men sitting on the side of the road called out to Jesus using a Messianic title: “Lord, have mercy on us Son of David!” Jesus stopped. He called to them and said: “’What do you want me to do for you?’ ³³ They said to him, ‘Lord let our eyes be opened.’ ³⁴ And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him” (Matthew 20:29-34). Often we see Jesus’ compassion accompanied by touch.

Matthew and Mark both record the account of a leper who came to Jesus for healing. “2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, ‘ Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’ 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3; Mark 1:41).

“The word “will” in both the leper’s request and in Jesus’ answer is the Greek word for wish or desire. The leper was asking about Jesus’ deepest desire. And Jesus revealed his deepest desire by healing him.”^[7]Jesus’ compassion came from deep within Him, and again He used touch as He showed compassion through healing.

Richard Sibbes, a Puritan preacher, captures the above well: “When [Christ] saw the people in misery, his bowels yearned within him; the works of grace and mercy in Christ, they come from his bowels first…whatsoever Christ did… he did it out of love, and grace, and mercy… he did it inwardly from his very bowels.”^[8]

We should note that touch on its own can be compassionate, but some that Jesus touched were considered unclean. Normally, if one touched an unclean person, the clean one also became unclean, but Jesus reverses this. His touch resulted in the unclean one becoming clean. His compassion takes on even more depth. Like the woman with the blood flow, Jesus didn’t shy away from those who were unclean, sinners, lost, hurting, and outcasts. He moved toward them in compassion.

Several years ago, I converted all my parents’ home movies recorded on Super 8 film to digital. In one of the movies, the extended family was gathered at a park for a birthday. There were several shots of us kids running around playing, that is all of us kids but one, my older brother.

My older brother has cerebral palsy. Unlike many who are confined to wheelchairs, my brother has been able to walk, but he falls often especially if he tries to go fast. In the movie, the camera zoomed in on my brother, trying to run and keep up with the rest of us kids. The rest of us were too busy with our own fun to notice we had left him behind. He fell several times as he tried to catch up to us. I cried as I watched it. Compassion would have moved me towards my brother. It would have helped him up. It would have gone at a slower pace. Compassion would have included my brother, but I didn’t truly see him until I watched the video some forty years later.

Jesus further had compassion for those who were hungry: “Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way’” (Mattthew 15:32). Jesus compassion moved Him to feed the four thousand.

Jesus had compassion for those who needed to hear God’s Word: “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34).

Jesus’ compassion was most clearly seen on the cross. C.H. Spurgeon, an English preacher in the 1800s, stated in a sermon: “Jesus was moved with such compassion for the lost that He willingly went to the cross.”^[9] Healing and food are good but temporal. Someone can be healed or fed and still go to hell. Jesus had compassion for our greatest need – our sin. Jesus’ had such a deep compassion for sinners that He willingly suffered and died in our place and then rose to life and ascended to the right hand of the Father. Jesus’ compassion for sinners didn’t lead Him to ignore sin. His compassion for sinners led Him to the cross.

We’ve considered God’s compassionate nature which should motivate us to reflect His compassion. Being compassionate was something Jesus taught. You are probably familiar with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23-25). The king called one servant in to settle accounts with a man who owed him an enormous debt, more than the servant could ever pay back. The servant pleaded with the king, and the king forgave the great debt. The same servant then went out and found a fellow servant who owed him a good amount of money, although peanuts compared to what the first servant had been forgiven. The first servant seized and choked the second servant demanding the second servant pay him back. The second servant pleaded, but the first servant threw him in jail. The other servants told the king, and it did not go well for the first servant:

“³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’… ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:23-35).

We have been forgiven more than we could even come close to repaying. Because of our sin, we deserved death. But, at the cost of His own Son’s life, God shows us mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. How can we not show the same mercy, compassion, and forgiveness to others?

Let’s look at another familiar parable, the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37):

²⁵ “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ ²⁶ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ ²⁷ And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ ²⁸ And he said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’

²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ ³⁰ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

In this parable we observe all three components of compassion. The Samaritan saw the man, he had compassion (inner), and then he acted by binding up the man’s wounds, putting the man on his own animal, taking the man to an inn to care for him, and paying the innkeeper additional money to care for the man. When Jesus finishes the account, He tells the lawyer, and us as hearers of God’s Word now, to go and do likewise. Compassion is a characteristic mark of a true believer.

In Colossians 3, Paul by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, commands us to “put on compassionate hearts (vs 12). We are to have sympathy for others in our deepest inner man that results in outer acts of compassion. Our compassion will go beyond seeing or emotion, to sacrificial care, mirroring God’s own heart (Psalm 103:13).

As Paul put it in his letter to the Roman church: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Some may argue at this point that they are not naturally compassionate. That may be true, but Jesus said, “Go and do likewise”.

God uniquely created each one of us, so weeping may not always be in the form of physical tears. My dad did not often express emotions in noticeable outer ways, but when he sat with my mom and husband in the waiting room during the third or fourth surgery for cancer above my eye, and said, “I love you, kid” when I came out, I knew he was weeping with me. He showed me compassion.

But how do we as women reflect God’s compassion in the specific roles He has given us? First, are you seeing? Are you seeing your husband, children, family, members, roommate, church family, and co-workers? We need to look for where other’s might be in need physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If we are overloading our schedules, rushing from one event to another, or buried in our phones, we won’t see.

Second, weigh whether or not the compassion you feel is fleeting or it is moving you to action? We can feel those flickers of compassion, but we move on. Don’t move on. Stop as Jesus stopped. Consider how your husband must feel after working overtime or your child was made fun of at school.

Third, compassion is sacrificial, so even if you have had a long day, you will make time for those around you. In general, women are more compassionate, but compassion may stretch even our natural inclinations.

Fourth, compassion is outer movement toward those who are hurting. It may mean staying up late with your husband, children, or friend, listening well, and being a steadfast presence. Compassion may mean rearranging your day to meet a specific need like a meal for a sick friend or helping your child with math homework he or she doesn’t understand. Compassion sees an overworked husband and finds a way to take some of his chores.

Compassion is intertwined with a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4). Compassion is seen in patient responses, particularly in stressful family situations.

In my stage of life, compassion means caring for aging parents, seeking to understand how they feel as they lose memory, mental processing, and physical ability. Compassion listens to the same story multiple times as if it is the first time. Compassion drives over at night to open a jar of food your parent wanted for dinner. Compassion sits at the bedside, holding a hand, while your dad is unconscious and dying no matter what else was on the agenda.

Compassion will move towards the sinner whether in our home, at church, or at work. We have been forgiven much, so we should move towards others with the forgiveness and mercy we have received. Compassion will create a secure environment for confession, repentance, and reconciliation.

Compassion may be shown in a touch, caring for a sick family member by picking up and making their favorite soup, showing hospitality in our homes (is there someone who doesn’t have family with which to share a holiday meal), or mentoring a younger woman.

Compassion will see and move toward the woman who has miscarried or is experiencing infertility. Compassion will see and move toward the mom with a difficult child instead of judging them. Compassion will see and move toward the single woman who longs to be married, including her in activities without reminders of her single state as if it is a sin. Compassion will move toward the married woman whose husband is an unbeliever and pray with her and encourage her to persevere in reflecting Christ in their home. Compassion moves toward the widow who is still bursting out in tears after six months with comfort and sacrificial time.

Compassion that reflects God’s compassion first sees, then feels a deep sympathy for another’s plight, which then moves toward that person with tangible, compassionate action.

Reflection

1.    When your family members are weak, needy, or difficult, what is your initial heart response – compassion or irritation? Why

2.    What idols tend to control you in the home (comfort, control, appreciation, quiet, my agenda)? How do these shape your responses?

3.    Do you view interruptions (husband, children, responsibilities) as inconveniences or as opportunities to show Christlike compassion?

4.    What would it mean for you to “put on compassion” in your home according to Colossians 3:12?

For Further Study

1.    Where have you responded harshly, impatiently, or selfishly toward your family this week instead of responding with compassion? Do you need to confess and repent?

2.    Do you minimize your lack of compassion by justifying it (e.g., “I’m tired”, “They deserved it” or “My hormones are wonky”)?

3.    How does God describe His compassion toward you (Psalm 103:8-13)? How should that shape your responses to your family?

4.    What habits can you build to cultivate compassion?

5.    Read the lyrics or listen to these songs: “Bless the Lord, O My Soul” (Sovereign Grace Music) and “Psalm 103 (O My Soul With All Thy Powers)” by Indelible Grace.

^[1] https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/colonel-sanders-and-the-baby. Original source: Using Humor for Effective Business Speaking, Gene Perret.

^[2] Frame, John. The Doctrine of God: A Theology of Lordship Volume 2 (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing Company, 2002), 442.

^[3] Ibid, 441.

^[4] Keller, Timothy. “The Compassion of God.” Gospel in Life Podcast, August 22, 2022, https://podcast.gospelinlife.com/e/the-compassion-of-god/

^[5] Hahn, Karrie. “What Is Compassion?” Learn.Ligonier, Ligonier Ministries, 8 January 2024, https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/virtues-vices-compassion

^[6] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 239.

^[7] Ortlund, Dane. Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 25.

^[8] Sibbes, Richard. The Church’s Riches by Christ’s Poverty, in The Works of Richard Sibbes, ed. A. B. Grosart, 7 vols. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1983), 4:523.

^[9] Spurgeon, C.H.. “The Compassion of Jesus” (sermon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Newington, UK, published December 24, 1914).