COMPASSION
When he saw the crowds,
he had compassion on them.
Matthew 9:36
Sit down, young man! When God purposes to save the
heathen, He will do it without your help!" God could
doubtless have done it without the help of the young
cobbler, but He didn't. He took an obscure young disciple
from an obscure town, called and equipped him, and used
him to initiate the modern missionary era.
William Carey was innocent of systematic theology and
missiology at that stage, but he had qualities that uniquely
equipped him for that strategic task. He had a passionate
love for Christ and a compassionate love for those in
distant lands who did not know Him.
As he worked away at his cobbler's bench, with a globe
of the world in front of him, God was laying on his heart a
great burden for the lost. The compassion that moved the
Lord when He saw the crowds "harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd," was reborn in William Carey'sheart.
Not all Christians, even in evangelical circles, believe
that all men and women without Christ are lost. A
creeping universalism is gaining ground. Many feel that, at
the last, God's love will triumph over His wrath, and He will
save all men. One does not impugn the motives of those
who embrace this view, but the crucial question is, Is that
what Christ and the apostles clearly taught in the
Scriptures?
Scripture nowhere states or implies that pagan people
will be lost simply because they have not heard the gospel.
Multiplied millions have never had the opportunity. If
pagan people are lost, it is for exactly the same reason as
you and I were lost-because they, like us, are sinful by
nature and by practice. Paul makes this crystal clear:
"There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God" (Romans 3:22-23; emphasis added).
Those Who Have Never Heard
Paul draws no distinction between those who have
heard the gospel and those who have not. All are equally
lost because all are equally sinful. "God has concluded all
under sin," and this fact enables Him to offer mercy to all
who will receive it.
This is not the place to enlarge upon this subject, the
implications of which are so painful and on which there
are conflicting views, but those who hold universalistic
views have some questions to answer.1.
Was the Lord's statement "I
am the way. . . . No one
comes to the Father except
through me" (John 14:6),
relative or absolute? Can
men come to a Father of
whom they have never
heard?
2.
When Jesus said, "No one
can enter the kingdom of
God unless he is born of
water and the Spirit" (John
3:5), did He have unrevealed
exceptions in mind? Are
pagans automatically born
again without their consent?
What did Paul mean when
he reminded the Ephesian
Christians of their condition3.
as
heathen
and
said,
"Remember that . . . you
were separate from Christ . .
. without hope and without
God
in
the
world"?
(Ephesians 2:12; emphasis
added).
4.
Is there scriptural warrant
for saying that the names of
the
heathen
are
automatically inscribed in
the Book of Life (Revelation
20:12)? If so, would not that
rather argue for not giving
them the gospel, lest they
reject it as so many do?
Was John deluded when he
wrote that the portion of
those who practiced magic5. arts (witchcraft) and all
idolaters will be in the fiery
lake of burning sulphur
(Revelation 21:8)?
6.
What did Paul mean when
he
posed
the
four
devastating questions of
Romans 10:13-15?
"Everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be
saved," he announced.
"How, then, can they call on
the one they have not
believed in?
"And how can they believe
in the one of whom they
have not heard?
"And how shall they hear
without someone preaching to them?
"And how can they preach
unless they are sent?"
Was he just indulging in heartless casuistry, or is
there an answer?
These Scriptures and others, on the face of them, seem
to present a prima facie case for the lost state of
unevangelized pagans. If the salvation of lost men and
women is so serious that it demanded the sufferings of
Christ on the cross, then how serious is their condition and
how urgent should be our endeavor to relieve it?
Other Scriptures, of course, make clear that the
responsibility of those who have not heard the gospel is
immeasurably less than that of those who have heard and
rejected it. In the light of Calvary, we can rest in the
assurance that "the Judge of all the earth [will] do right"
(Genesis 18:25).
Heathen Ignorance Not Total
In point of fact, the heathen are not so ignorant and
their sin not so involuntary as some may think. A friend of
mine who was a missionary in Zaire, when it was known
as the Belgian Congo, wished to discover the degree of
light enjoyed by a raw pagan who had had no contact with
Europeans or Christians. He went with an interpreter to avillage
that had never been visited by a white man. After
establishing rapport he asked, in terms the chief could
understand, what things he considered to be sin. Without
hesitation, the chief replied, "Murder, theft, adultery,
witchcraft."
That meant that every time he indulged in any of those
practices, he knew he was sinning against the light he
had. Was this not what Paul said?
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have
the law, do by nature things required by
the law, they are a law for themselves,
even though they do not have the law,
since they show that the
requirements of the law are written
on their hearts, their consciences also
bearing witness, and their thoughts now
accusing, now even defending them.
(Romans 2:14-16; emphasis added)
Since that is the case, every disciple of the
compassionate Christ will be concerned to see that the
unevangelized millions will have an opportunity to hear the
gospel.
It was when Jesus saw the crowds of people who
thronged Him, "without hope and without God," that He
had compassion on them.The Three Essentials
John Ruskin, famous poet and art critic, once said that a
good artist must possess three qualities: (1) an eye to see
and appreciate the beauty of the scene he desires to
catch on canvas; (2) a heart to feel and register the
beauty and atmosphere of the scene; (3) a hand to
perform-to transfer to canvas what the eye has seen and
the heart felt.
Are not they three of the qualities most essential to the
disciple in his work for the Master?
We need an eye to see the spiritual need of the men
and women around us. Physical need is much more readily
discerned than is spiritual need because it makes a visual
impression on us, whereas spiritual need is sensed only by
those who are spiritual.
How did Jesus see His world? "When he saw the
crowds, he had compassion on them." He saw a crowded
world. It has been estimated that in our Lord's time, the
population of the world was about 250 million. What kind
of world do we see? Five thousand million-twenty times
as many!
He saw a helpless world. How contemporary! With all
our sophistication, we move helplessly from one crisis to
another, with few solutions. Those people were
bewildered, crushed by injustice and oppression. His heart
ached for them in their inability to improve their spiritual
condition.
He saw a shepherd less world. Sheep have no sense of
direction, no weapon of offense or defense. Jesus saw them as lost,
with no one to care for their spiritual
destitution. And are there not still vast numbers in the less
developed countries who are in the same condition?
When worldly men see a crowd, each sees something
different. The educator sees potential students. The
politician, potential voters. The merchant, potential
customers. Each sees them with the thought of the way he
can profit from them. Jesus never exploited any man for
His own benefit. "When He saw them he had compassion
on them." And soon that compassion would lead Him to
the cross.
Eyes that look are common. Eyes that see are rare. Do
we have eyes that see?
We need a heart to feel for the spiritual needs of men
and women. Compassion is much more than pity. That
kind of emotion by no means always leads to loving action.
The word compassion means "to suffer together with." It
is the Latin form of the Greek word that gives us
sympathy, and it implies identification with its object.
A. W. Tozer once said that there was abroad an
irresponsible pursuit of happiness and that most people
would rather be happy than feel the wounds of other
people's sorrows. That is borne out by the almost
pathological pursuit of happiness by the crowds. But they
miss the true Source of joy and satisfaction.
If we keep sensitively in touch with the Christ of the
broken heart we will share His concern. Compassion is the
language of the heart and is intelligible in any tongue. It is
not difficult, however, to be so engrossed in our own lives that our hearts
become calloused and insensitive to the
needs of others.
Television has had a deleterious effect on the emotions
of many of its devotees. Constant familiarity with scenes of
tragedy, horror, violence, and simulated emotion has
made their emotions so superficial that it is difficult for
them to feel anything deeply. We see terrible scenes, are
shocked for a few moments, and then turn to the next
program. We have grown emotionally superficial, and that
has spilled over into the spiritual life.
Luke tells us that when Jesus "approached Jerusalem
and saw the city, he wept over it" (Luke 19:41). His
compassion was not dry-eyed. How different from the
Greek gods! They came to earth to enjoy and indulge
themselves. The Son of God expressed His concern in salty
tears. As He foresaw the future doom of the city when
judgment would fall on it for its sin and impenitence, His
heart overflowed its banks.
What a concept-a weeping God! Tears streamed down
His face in compassion for the very men who shortly would
crucify Him outside that city! Imagine the incredulity of the
angels. They were not the synthetic tears of television but
tears of genuine concern for lost men and women.
Paul's ministry was not dry-eyed. He shared the passion
and compassion of his Lord. When he bade the Ephesian
Christians farewell, he said to them, "Remember that for
three years I never stopped warning each of you night and
day with tears" (Acts 20:31; emphasis added).
Do we share our Lord's concern and compassion?We need a hand to perform, to act out our compassion.
Christ's compassion was not stillborn; He did something
about it. Seeing and feeling are sterile unless we are
moved to action.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus taught His
disciples a memorable lesson in compassion (Luke 10:29-
32). The robbers saw in the wounded traveler a victim to
exploit; the priest and Levite, a nuisance to ignore; the
lawyer who sparked the story saw a problem to be solved;
the innkeeper, a customer from whom he could profit. The
hated Samaritan saw him as a neighbor he could help in
his hour of need.
"Which of these three do you think was a
neighbor to the man who fell into the
hands of robbers?" The expert in the law
replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke
10:36-37)
The highest expression of compassion is compassionate
action; otherwise, it is only stillborn sentiment.
The caring disciple whose eyes have been opened to
see the plight of this lost world, whose heart has been
moved by men's tragic condition, must swing into action.
George R. Murray, general director of the Bible Christian
Union Mission, tells that up to the time he fully dedicated
his life to the Lord he had been sincerely including God in his plans,
but God wanted him to be included in His plan.
At a missionary prayer meeting at Columbia Bible
College, it became clear that God's plan for him was full-
time missionary service, preaching Christ where He was
not known. It was then that he saw the world as God must
see it. Before that time, he was willing to go but planning
to stay. However, from that time on, his attitude was that
he was planning to go but willing to stay. He soon had his
call from God.