The Lutheran Hour
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"Divine Compassion"
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Text: Matthew 14:13-21
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Human sympathy may calm and comfort But divine compassion can heal your soul. This compassion stands alone, through Christ alone! We pray:
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Amen.
Our text is the account of the feeding of the 5,000 as recorded in St. Matthew the 14th chapter.
Pain and suffering are common afflictions. As part of our fallen world, darkness covers the globe! From the cradle to our time of passing, human misery is often measured by the burdens we bear. Sin truly does bring anguish to our lives. And while this may appear as a dark and terminal condition, Christ Himself assures the sinner, “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? (Psalm 27:1). Jesus offers compassion that shines!
He’s the Master of miracles. The Bible assures every listening heart, “With God nothing is impossible.” Trust Him! You can trust Him! St. Paul declares, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phillipians 4:13). Through Him, you can overcome hunger and disease of the body; poverty and depression of the mind. Even more, through Him are destroyed the pall of sickness and death that covers the soul. All this is God’s work of restoration.
You see, human sympathy may calm and comfort, but divine compassion can heal the soul. Compassion stands alone, through Christ alone. Sympathy may reach out to affliction; but divine compassion enters into that sorrow, “hands on.” Just as the Good Samaritan actively cared for the wounded man, so God connects Himself to heal the soul. This is like a brilliant luminary from heaven. Etched upon the marquee of God’s love, divine compassion is revealed in the power of that light. As a noonday sun cancels the darkness, so the Father illuminates the soul through the Son. The Son of God–His miraculous beams of divine compassion are cast upon us radiantly and are known to us by grace alone.
Look again at our story. Confronted by a pressing throng, and tired as He was, Jesus looked deeply into the face of that multitude. “Five thousand men, besides women and children were there.” St. Mark characterizes them, “They were like sheep without a shepherd,” random, chaotic and driven. Elsewhere, the Scriptures hold them as “harassed and helpless.” Earnestly they appeared before the throne of Christ in that open place of isolation. Eventually they would all be fed by the Master of miracles. But even more, Christ would offer sustenance and salvation for their wounded spirits as well.
They already experienced His miracles on the western shores of that lake. Now they trusted Him again in the eastern regions of Galilee, as well. People whom the Master had healed and others began running around the lake to be with Jesus once again. He’s in the boat and the people traveled around the perimeter on foot. In a literal sense they came running to Him–thousands upon thousands. Those who were beaten back had come; the wounded, the infirm, hungry men, women and children–an impossible situation for sympathy alone. Hungering and thirsting for the righteous hand of God, in their final hope, those worn out bodies had placed their complete trust in the compassion of Christ alone.
Only Christ could provide the spiritual solace for their needs. After all, who knows our mortal frailty better than God himself? No one has a free pass from the ravages of sin. Life is good one day then, c’est la vie, the wheels are coming off. Indeed, human lights will fail. Unlike the “energizer bunny,” our mortal bodies will not go on forever. The psalmist said, “My heart and my flesh may fail but God is the strength of my life forever.”
This is a wonderful story–the feeding of 5,000. It follows a period of physical exhaustion for Jesus, exhaustion from full-time ministry to God’s people. It was a gracious time of teaching and healing on the western slopes of the Sea of Galilee. The disciples, having been commissioned, had now returned and reported to Him. They were filled with the light of God’s joy, but they ran out of gas. They were tired; bone weary, bedraggled and they needed rest. Jesus was also tired. He was also mourning a personal loss. His cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded by King Herod. With these conditions in overload, everyone needed a vacation. The Lord called it “rest.” So Christ invited the disciples across the sea. And now having crossed over from the western to the eastern shores of Galilee, there was hope for refuge in a quiet place and in prayer to the Father of light.
Just then it happened. There would be no vacation that day. One by one, town-by-town, the masses had eagerly traveled along the shoreline of the sea. They were gathering many more people who would see Jesus. No! Not only walking but running. It was a happy foot race to our Lord. Finally, they arrived on the eastern shore exactly where Jesus would land His boat. St. Mark relates, “They got there ahead of Him.” “A large crowd,” St. Matthew had written. And there, in that desolate, remote countryside, eagerly and wantingly, they met face to face with the Master of miracles, Jesus Himself, while they were like sheep without a shepherd. Human sympathy could not solve the problem.
The disciples were not as eager to meet them. Swallowed in a black hole of self-concern the disciples’ reaction was to send the people away. Jesus said, “You feed them.” In another account they replied, “We have only two small fish and five loaves of bread.” Send them away. The fading light of the apostles is much like our own darkness. When called front and center to serve with compassion, sympathy is a flickering light to be sure. Be it for a member in our own family, or a congregation, a co-worker or someone in your carpool, human sympathy can be an old, tired, and worn out cliché. Among humans, no hand can touch completely! No voice can comfort! Only God knows our desperation! Divine compassion stands alone! Sympathy and empathy are flickering lights. These are of human pathos whereas divine compassion has to do with pascha. The word means suffering! Divine compassion engages itself into suffering to relieve the sinner completely. Through the suffering and death of Christ alone, God brings peace to a troubled world.
Matthew and Mark used the word compassion. Jesus had compassion on them. While this word occurs many times elsewhere, it appears in this form only one single time. It connects itself to Christ alone. You see, only God can have this kind of compassion upon people who are suffering and dying in their sinful condition. How wonderful it is to trust Him for complete remission of sins.
That word compassion is visceral by nature. Its essence is felt in the visceral organs of the body. Described in human terms, we are left helpless, queasy and sinking. Perhaps you have experienced how the heart has fallen to your shoes. This is what Christ felt for those people who were wandering aimlessly with no direction.
But Christ was not helpless. He is the Master miracle worker! Moved into action by divine compassion from within, Jesus saw their hopeless condition and went into the suffering of them all! You see, divine compassion means bringing together those who suffer with the one who heals. At the Lord’s invitation, the people were treated like kings and queens on a grass carpet. It was a miracle. In this feeding of 5,000, they enjoyed a banquet of fish and bread galore. They experienced a close and personal divine compassion from Christ alone. They were taught, fed, and nourished–five thousand men, besides women and children. They witnessed the collection of 12 baskets of leftovers, another miracle. Most importantly, they were filled beyond want. A spiritual miracle, Jesus Himself provided nourishment and forgiveness for the soul. He opened their minds and hearts to Himself as the Messiah, and to the Gospel in the kingdom of God.
Who among us is part of the suffering crowd today? In our 21st century, many souls are but shadowy creatures in the darkness, even turning from the light. Many are running away from God–young healthy ones, teenagers and adults alike. The unbaptized, the unconfirmed, the unchurched, the unwelcomed are in distress. Many have no idea of their darkness and their need for a Savior. They may well behold the cross in passing, yet have no idea of its life-giving power by the Holy Spirit. They’re dying for a food that lasts. Are you among those who simply cannot, or will not, run to Jesus?
You see, we must understand that God the Father has bound Himself to His word. He will fulfill what He says. He will also punish those who are disobedient to His word. Apart from the compassion of God, no remedy can be found. No light can be found, nor forgiveness or redemption, neither sanctification nor compassion of any kind. No physician of the body can operate, suture or prescribe a potion to remove the ravages of sin. It is not a physical problem. There can be no peace without the work of the Father, Son and the Spirit of God.
Human kindness may fail. But God’s mercies are new for you every morning. He’s seeking the lost. He’s searching for you and for others. His searchlight of compassion is always looking, always scanning the horizon for the prodigal who has gone astray. It’s as if Jesus Christ Himself is leaning over the rail of the ship and scanning into the night of sin looking for each one who is lost and calling out your name. “Come home. Come home. Ye who are weary, come home.” The prophet Isaiah says that God will not tire nor grow weary. Only He has the unsearchable compassion to plunge the depths of our nature. His compassion would finally be found on the cross. With outstretched arms on that cross for you and me, Christ is our primary light who died for the sins of the world. And in the power of His resurrection and our resurrection through baptism, Christ shines forth with divine compassion for all the world. Your sins are forgiven.
Let all the world be sure! Salvation is God’s free gift for every soul who comes running to Him in faith. St. Paul testified, “What then shall we say in response to this? If Christ is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all–how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31- 32). Again, Paul assures us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans. 8:1).
St. Peter added, in his epistle of hope, “Cast all your cares upon Him for He careth for you.” Still another passage in Isaiah, “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red as crimson they shall be as wool.” Finally, Christ is speaking to every burden of the heart, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Again, “Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.”
So you see, divine compassion is earnest and untiring! Back 2,000 years ago and despite the Lord’s personal exhaustion and grief, still He was brimming with infinite energy for those in need. And even today, God’s lights of compassion are continually scanning and searching the land and the seascape of darkness. God’s compassion is like a spotlight on a dark and stormy night. It cuts through the darkness of sin. Much as a laser removes disease, so God’s compassion eradicates and cancels the power and the penalty of sin. Just now, the damnable evidence of sin is gone. The light of eternity shines on and on and on. For every sinner around the globe, God’s compassion is a beacon of hope on the troubling sea of life. He’s always there for you! Trust Him! Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for August 4, 2002
ANNOUNCER: I’m Mark Eischer. Joining me is Dr. Jeff Gibbs, professor of New Testament and Greek at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Dr. Gibbs, the Bible says there is but one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. What is a mediator?
GIBBS: Good question, Mark. The full understanding of mediator really requires that we precede it, go before it, go behind the concept and understand that were there not a big problem, we wouldn’t need a mediator at all. This applies to all manner of relationships. We have mediators in our society in the political realm or informally in our relationships. When two people are broken apart and can’t get back together on their own, someone else has to step in and mediate. It is that middle person who enables the relationship to be repaired.
ANNOUNCER: And so we might think in terms of a labor relations dispute or perhaps a marriage that needs reconciling.
GIBBS: Yes.
ANNOUNCER: Christ serves as our mediator with God. Why?
GIBBS: Why can He serve as our mediator with God? Precisely because He is “The Man” Jesus Christ. This is a remarkable statement. We, especially as pious Christians and orthodox Lutherans of all sorts, sometimes wonder if we are more comfortable and can commonly speak of Jesus as true God. We know that He is true man. But here, Paul really emphasizes it–even repeats it. A mediator between men and God, “The Man” Jesus Christ. Why does He emphasize Christ’s humanity? Because Christ was our substitute. He repaired the broken relationship between God and man by being a true man. He’s the ransom payment on our behalf. The payment we could not make as it says in the next verse–the ransom payment for the many.
ANNOUNCER: The reason we can’t make that payment is that we do not approach this dispute as equal partners with God. It’s not a balanced situation. In fact, we are incapable of restoring that relationship.
GIBBS: Exactly. Only people who by nature were interested in breaking the relationship and continuing to keep it broken.
ANNOUNCER: Is there any special significance to the word “mediator”? We look at that English word and might think of one thing. Does the Bible in its original context convey any further meaning?
GIBBS: Well, I don’t know if it contains any further meaning. Although the Bible routinely uses it in religious context, we don’t often think that way. We think politics. We think inter-personal relationships. We think labor relations. The ancient world was well aware that the human race needed mediators against the divine realm, if you will. No. I think our common experience with mediators really does communicate the essence of what a mediator is all about.
ANNOUNCER: Another word we might use is “go-between.” How does that describe what Christ has done?
GIBBS: There we’ll be picking up more on the ongoing character of Christ’s relationship with the Father for us. In our lives as Christians, we continue to falter. We continue to stumble. Until the Lord returns, it will be this way. When we turn to the Father, we approach Him through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. So the Lord Jesus, not only once for all mediated and repaired the relationship, but He is the One through which that relationship continues to live and grow and be a blessing to us.
ANNOUNCER: We heard about that in today’s message where we talked about the privilege of being able to pray in the name and through the intercession of Jesus Christ.
GIBBS: Yes. The Father is, first of all, the Father of Jesus, the eternal Father of the eternal Son. It was Christ and Christ alone who taught us the Lord’s Prayer. Only because we believe in Him, He is the Son of the Father. Through Him, we become, by faith, in Him the sons and daughters of that same Father.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you. We’ve been talking with Dr. Jeff Gibbs, professor of New Testament and Greek at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. The next Lutheran Hour broadcast is titled, “God’s Cross-Over Move.”