One of the more important things we learn about God as revealed to us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, is that He is a God of great Compassion. That is often affirmed in the Scriptures. The Bible teaches us that when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them.… Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude.…” When the Lord saw her, He compassionately said to her, “Do not weep.…” So, Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.” More examples could be given. In Matthew 8:3, we see where Jesus is approached by a leper. Lepers are outcasts of the community and unfit to enter into the temple at Jerusalem. They were forced to cover their mouths and shout, “unclean, unclean.” When this outcast leper approaches Jesus, he begs for healing. Matthew 8:3 says, “Jesus stretched forth his hand and touched him…” Luke says, “…moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him.”
The most common verb used in the Greek New Testament to refer to God’s compassion is splanchnizomai. This verb is used twelve times. In nine of those occurrences, the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ is his motivation for healing! Literally, this word refers to the inner parts of a man, such as the heart, liver, and so on. The most common use of the word is for the lower parts of the abdomen, the intestines, and especially the womb. Too much information! I know! It’s similar when we say, “he had guts,” referring to someone with courage. They wanted us to feel compassion, so they used graphic language. Maybe you have felt that. A sharp pain in the abdomen sometimes accompanies intense compassion or pity for those we love. I once felt it when I was sitting at a swimming pool and watched my 18-month-old son’s floating device flip over with him in it, taking him under. My stomach wrenched, and I went into the water, clothes and all. He came up sputtering. Whew! I can’t tell you how many times I wondered what would have happened had I not been watching him!
God acted to save mankind in Genesis six. Most think just the opposite. The flood was intended to destroy mankind. That’s not true. It was to save the whole human race from the evil that had overcome it, and as God watched, this broke his heart. In Genesis 6 we learn that God looked down upon the earth and saw what people did to each other and his “heart (another word for an internal organ) was filled with pain.” Someone once said that compassion is “your pain in my heart.” It is God’s great love for mankind that he preserved the world from evil. It’s God’s great love and compassion for you and me that God sent His only Son to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross.