I love to read the gospels. There is something extra special that happens inside of my soul when I read the accounts of Jesus’ interaction with people. Repeatedly we read things like “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:23,24).

I like to stop and pray, asking The Lord to “put me into that crowd and help me to “see” what they saw and “hear” what they heard”. Read those verses again and ask The Lord to do that for you right now. In Matthew 15:30, 31 we read, “And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.” After seeing the miracles of Jesus that took place, they glorified the God of Israel.

But the one thing that lies beneath all of these miracles and wonders is what we read in Matthew 9:36 “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” Jesus was moved with compassion. Divine compassion moved Jesus to minister to the hurting, the needy, the outcasts of society. And in those acts of compassion, Jesus was glorifying His Father, the God of Israel. Divine power is often displayed when we are moved with divine compassion. When our hands, our feet and our lips are moved with compassion, the God of Israel is glorified. And that is what we live for. Selah