In this passage, Jesus shows compassion in three different ways.
1. Jesus wants his disciples to get some rest. This shows that He cared for his disciples and understands that rest is important. You sometimes hear well-meaning Christians say, "The devil never rests, and neither should we." Well, thankfully we do not get our model from the devil but from God, who rested on the seventh day of creation. It is important that we find time to rest when we are serving God, and it glorifies God when we rest because we have to trust in Him.
2. Jesus had compassion on the crowds, so he taught them things. This is one of the highest forms of compassion someone can have. Jesus knew these people needed to turn from their sin and turn to Him, so He taught them about those things. If Jesus had just healed them and done other miracles without ever telling them the truth of the human condition (alienated from God because of sin) and the solution to the condition (which is found in Jesus Christ), then His compassion would have be ineffectual.
3. Jesus cared about the physical needs of the crowd around Him. He knew they were hungry so He found a way to feed them. Feeding them allowed Him to strengthen their faith by providing the food in miraculous way.
Jesus showed compassion in these three ways, and we need to make sure that we show compassion to others in these same ways.
(Note: Sorry about several days without a post. As you all know, I had a baby and kind of forgot about this in the midst of all the craziness. If you would like to hear more about Cordelia Mae, go to my wife's blog at www.feathersinournest.com.)
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