Touches of Compassion on Tons of Needs, Part 2

Today on Insight for Living, from Chuck Swindoll. You see, every time you find Jesus, unless it states that He's all alone, you can count on at least a few, if not all, of the disciples being right there. He's mentoring them.

They're right at His elbow. They're standing in His shadow. They've seen it all, which is part of their problem.

They're overexposed. When there's a death in the family, or a loved one who's suffering, nothing brings more comfort than a trusted friend who sits by your side, saying nothing but demonstrating genuine compassion. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll invites us to follow the footsteps of Jesus as He extends open arms to people in pain. Some are grieving. Some are suffering.

Some are just hungry. But in every case, we find a model of compassion that shapes our behavior even to this day. Chuck titled today's study in Matthew 15, Touches of Compassion on Tons of Needs. Each one of us has come with needs, some of them, many of them, most of them known only to us. Perhaps those closest to you do not know the deepest need of your own life. The reason we come together is to be still and learn again that God is God, to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

And as a result of the time together to leave different people than we came when we arrived. I cannot possibly represent all the needs that you have, but you can represent yours. I'd like you to do that as we bow together. Please close your eyes for the next few moments. Let's pause.

Let's be still. Let's bring our need. Whatever it may be, let's bring it before the Lord. I'm grateful today, Father, that you hear the cries of our hearts.

You are never informed as we bring our needs before you. You all already know them, but you find delight in our laying them before you, in our trusting you with the things that we cannot handle. For some, these are longstanding needs in the life, and they're unable to shake them.

And I pray for them that you would give them encouragement. As they learned today, again, the very familiar but not often mentioned fact that with you, nothing is impossible. That you've never seen a need you could not meet, though you may not choose to meet it as we would prefer or even as we have requested. There are times you answer us with no.

I will not grant that. Because you know what is best, and we only know what we want. You see the end from the beginning, we only see now.

And a little bit of a memory of days gone by. But because you know it all, you sometime tell us, no, that's not best. Other times, you do answer, and it thrills us when you do. Often it's in unexpected ways, as you do above and beyond all we could have even imagined.

And then more times than not, you tell us to wait. Some believe this room today still waiting, still longing to have that need met. Thankfully, when we leave this place, we leave nothing of you here, for you go with us. As we are your children, we have your father-like care and compassion.

And it is upon us and surrounding us at all times. I pray for those who represent your name in difficult places today. Those who are caregivers, serving faithfully, those who cannot take care of themselves. For those who are our friends on the streets, watching over us as officers of the law. How grateful we are for their presence, saving us from anarchy. Grateful also for those who nurse in hospitals, for those physicians who express compassion and wisdom as they diagnose and as they do their work, which is often selfless.

And frequently it is unappreciated. I pray that you would encourage them as well. For fellow ministers who declare the truth in places beyond our own familiar world, I pray. Some are missionaries, some are evangelists, some are serving you as counselors. Some are involved as faithful parents.

And some have set aside the work, having retired. And I pray that you would refresh them in their later years. But we come today, our father, anticipating that you will speak to us from these few verses. May we realize the truth that your word is alive and active and sharp, able to pierce where no surgeon's scalpel could ever touch, deep into our souls, in the realm of our spirits, down where decisions are made and conviction is formed, and where change begins. So seize our thinking. May we not wander as we hear your word proclaimed.

Help us to revisit the scene as if we were there, watching it all happen. Finally, father, I remember our nation today that you would grant us, by your grace, relief from the chaos, the mess we have made of things and others who have led us. Guide us, we pray, as only you can, into a time yet future where we remember and we realize you have sovereignly intervened. I pray that you would use those who give counsel to be people of wisdom, good timing, that they might speak the truth so that those who listen would really hear them and adapt accordingly. May you guide in all of that as well as we render to Caesar that which is Caesar's, while never forgetting we give you those things that are yours. Like our gifts today, how grateful we are for our occupation or our ability to give, and we pray that you would use the gifts in unique ways. May these monies be handled with integrity as they are used for ministry here and beyond. In the name of Christ, we pray these things.

Everyone said, Amen. It doesn't get a lot more interesting than this scene, for this is God's love on display. He's been busy with crowds for a long time.

He has walked a long way. He's making his way back to a place called Ten Cities, Decapolis, which is alongside the eastern shore of the Galilean Sea, and he stops there and he goes up on a hill, I'm sure to find a little time of refreshment, but that was not to be because soon you could hear the crowd in the distance moving toward him. We read in verse 30 that a vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, and couldn't speak, and many others. According to verse 38, there were in all 4,000 men, not to mention women and children, we're talking a massive size crowd. Nameless, faceless human beings, all of whom had needs. Some had been caregivers and they're the ones that dropped them off. Look at how it reads. Verse 30 ends with the words, at least this version reads, they laid them down before Jesus. The word is an interesting term.

It means to kind of drop off in haste. They left them there, as if to say we've done all we can do here. And here's one man, Jesus, the God-man, to be sure. I love it that the verse ends rather rapidly, but it represents three days. He healed them all. He loved them all. He had compassion for them all. They were all human beings, and though they may have never met him, they were worthy of his time, as he saw them through the eyes of his father's love.

Look at this response. The crowd was amazed because he healed them all. They were amazed. Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking.

Can you imagine how much they talked? And the one who had been carried in is now dancing. The one who had not been able to walk is now walking around. Look, look, look. And the one who had not been able to see is now able to see. It was one great scene.

Enter into that scene. It was magnificent, and the best part is the crowning part of compassion. They, they praised the God of Israel.

How great is the God of Israel. How magnificent is this one who has healed me, given me sight, relieved me of the numbness. The paralysis is gone. I'm able to talk. I can hear again if ever I was able to hear. But it doesn't end.

This, this would make you think that's the climax. It is a great moment, and I'm sure by, by now, though I seldom see artists rendering of Jesus smiling and even laughing with groups, I think he had the best time with them as they're all rejoicing in, in their, in their whole new bodies. How great is that? It's like a physician who does his work on eyes and the patient can now see. The long time friends and ophthalmologists for many years in the city of Dallas, and he realized this is a great opportunity to witness because that was often his experience when corneas would be replaced and surgery would be done and sight would come back. So he worked out a deal that when the people came in after the surgery and they were first taking the bandages off, he had flip charts. You know how they do? They flip them down and you read as best you can in the doctors, in the patient's chair. But his flip chart read, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

How good is that? Or God so loved the world that he gave his son for you. First thing to see when the eyes are opened. These people saw Jesus and he is obviously thrilled with them. He's not only touched with our feelings of infirmities, he also rejoices with us as we experience his favor. Well now his next lines are addressed to the disciples.

Remember them? They've been waiting all this time for their moment with the Savior, not realizing this is mentoring at its best. Please observe what he says. Be careful not to read what he doesn't say. He says, I feel compassion for these people. By the way, the word is, it's one of my favorite words.

You don't say it right unless something lands on the back of the neck of the person in front of you. It's a guttural word. It's from the gut. They believed in those days that the deepest emotions came from the visceral, from the deep part of the abdomen. He felt deeply for these people compassion. He suffered with them. He entered into their feelings.

Why? Now they've been here with me for three days and they have nothing left to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the way.

Notice what he says. He simply points out their need for food. He doesn't say to any of the 12, what are you going to do about it?

Though they take it that way. And in good disciple fashion they respond, where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd? Well, what do you think, dodos? Only a few days ago you saw him walking on the water. And you saw him still the storm.

And the rain stopped and the waves were calm. And you claimed at that moment this is the Son of God. And he had fed the 5 plus thousands. You saw that. You even distributed the food. He made it all happen. You've just seen him heal thousands of people. And he simply says they're hungry.

I don't want to send them home hungry. This is their moment to go, Lord, with you nothing is impossible. Lord, you can do all things. You've done it before.

Do it again. We're here to usher. We'll pass out the food. You make it happen.

We'll applaud what you have done because you and you alone are the great I am. But they don't do that. No, you see, they're busy processing the crowd who have kind of interrupted their time with Jesus. Just get them out of here.

Where are we supposed to get the food? This is a huge crowd as if he didn't know it. You see, every time you find Jesus, unless it states that he's all alone, you can count on at least a few if not all the disciples being right there. He's mentoring them.

They're right at his elbow. They're standing in his shadow. They've seen it all, which is part of their problem. They're overexposed. It's another healing. It's another crowd.

Another set of needs. Oh, no, no, when will you men learn? Remember Mark 6 verse 52? They had not gained any insight from the loaves, the incident of the loaves.

Why? The verse states because their heart was hardened. Oh, heart, heart. That's what breaks when you have compassion. But when it's hard, there isn't compassion.

You tend to analyze why that person is in need and what he did wrong to get himself in this condition. That's when judgment replaces mercy. And there's none of that with Jesus.

In fact, when they respond like that, which is a question, Jesus answers them with another question. How much bread do you have? This is deja vu all over again, huh? Remember back when he fed the others?

What do you have? Well, we've got five loaves and a couple of little fish. So he says to them again, how much bread do you have?

See, he's mentoring. We're going through this again. I want you men to learn from this. They replied seven loaves and a few small fish.

Period. Why don't they say, Lord, you did it before. They're counting on you to do it again.

But they don't. We got seven loaves and we got a few fish. I mean, the implication seems to be we're hungry too.

You think Jesus wasn't? It had been three days for him as well. So he doesn't respond in any other way than have the people sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish and thank God for them.

Not a great moment. He's got a little tiny handful of food. He's got all these people sitting down. And he thanks God for this little tiny bit of food. Because he sees what it's to become.

He always does. And we read that he took the seven loaves and the fish, thank God, and broke them into pieces. And then he gave them to the disciples and then it started and they passed the baskets around. And by the way, these are not the small baskets like mentioned earlier in that previous occasion. But now these are large baskets. Very large. Acts 9 25 uses the word for the basket in which Paul was let down in when he was escaping a threatening situation.

Big enough for a man to lie in. These are seven huge baskets. Loads of leftovers. And we read that he gave them to the disciples who distributed the food.

They all ate as much as they wanted. The disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were 4,000 men who were fed that day in addition to the women and the children and then Jesus sent the people home.

Don't just close the chapter. Imagine going home. When they left they had been blind, lame, crippled, unable to speak, to hear. They left with these huge needs and they come home dancing and laughing and their bellies are full of food.

And they no doubt told their story and he leaves without any fanfare. Not even a word from the disciples. It's notable to see how Jesus lived in times when the population was divided and people who were treated with indifference felt like outcasts, but not by Jesus.

These touching scenes in Matthew chapter 15 reveal His love and compassion for those who were overlooked and disregarded. You're listening to Insight for Living. Chuck Swindoll titled today's message, Touches of Compassion on Tons of Needs. And to see what resources we have available for today's topic, please visit us online at insightworld.org.

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