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About-Him.Com Devotional 01-31-2004
Our two segments below deal with the compassion of Jesus. Do you remember this old chorus?
Jesus cares all about our troubles
He will guild till the day is done
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus
No not one, no not one
Thank God for a Saviour who cares and knows everything that we feel. He is our High priest who is indeed touched with the feelings of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). He knows our hopes and aspirations, and also our sin. When men don't care, He does! When others reject you, He draws you into His bosom, as a precious lamb (Isaiah 40:10-11). When others can't or won't hear your feeble plea, His ear is ever turned to hear your cry for help (Matthew 12:20). He will never reject or turn you away. He is just as close as the mention of His wonderful name, Jesus.
120: A Vacation Interrupted: Mt. 14:13-14; Mk. 6:30-34; Lu. 9:10-11; Jn. 6:1-4
Matthew 14:13 ¶ When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
Luke 9:10 ¶ And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.
11 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.
The Matthew account has Jesus retiring to a desert place upon hearing the news of John’s Death. The other gospels state that it was after the apostles, whom He had sent by twos to preach the news of the kingdom, returned and were relating all that had happened on their tours. Most likely, both things happened at the same time.
Jesus and His disciples took a boat to cross to a deserted spot on the other side of the lake. When the people saw what was happening, they ran around the shore, outrunning the boat, and were waiting for Jesus on the other side.
Jesus had compassion on the crowd because they were as sheep without a shepherd. He spoke many things to them conncerning the kingdom of God, and He healed all who had need of healing.
Conclusion and Application:
We often sing of the compassionate Jesus and this is a prime example. Just as Jesus had compassion on these people, He is also touched by the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15), which He took upon Himself at the cross (Matthew 8:17). We can learn from these people. They had needs and they knew that Jesus was their only hope for relief. They weren’t bashful, they ran around the lake and were waiting for Jesus when His boat arrived.
121: The Five Thousand Fed: Mt. 14:15-21; Mk. 6:35-44; Lu. 9:12-17; Jn. 6:5-14
Matthew 14:15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.
The gospel writers vary somewhat in their accounts of the feeding of the five thousand. Matthew, Mark and Luke have the disciples initiating the conversation with Jesus as to how the multitude was to be fed. Perhaps they should send them away to buy food in the nearby villages. Jesus answered, “You feed them”
John has Jesus asking Philip where they can buy food to feed the people. Philip replies that the common purse only has two hundred pennyworth which is not enough. Andrew adds that there is a boy present who has five loaves and two fishes. Jesus said, “Bring them to Me.”
After ordering that the multitude be arranged in orderly groups, Jesus looked to heaven and blessed the food. He passed it to His disciples, who in turn gave it out to the crowd. After everybody had eaten their fill, twelve baskets of scraps were collected for future use. Naturally the people were very excited at this miracle. Jesus realizing that they would try to make Him a king, quickly departed out of their midst.
Conclusion and Application:
The feast of Passover was taking place at this time and Jesus was unable to attend, because of fear that He would be put to death. So, He hosted a feast in the desert.
One little boy gave up his lunch to Jesus. I believe his name is recorded in God’s book of remembrance (Mal. 3:16).
What did Jesus mean by, “You feed them?” The apostles had previously been sent out and given authority over unclean spirits and had power to heal the sick. Could the apostles have performed this miracle, if they only realized the potential they possessed? Or is Jesus simply prodding them so that they will confess their insufficiency? Or both?
Do we often rely on our physical ability, as we break the bread of the Word of Life, and forget that the author of the Word is able to multiply it beyond our anything that we can imagine?
Knowing that Jesus said that His apostles would do greater works than He, because He was returning to His Father (John 14:12), how does this apply to us today? Is there a potential that we are not using? Obviously, yes.
We have hungry multitudes all around us, and we are partakers of the Bread of Life. I believe the command is still going forth, “You feed them.”
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Humor
A man went to visit a friend and was amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watched the game in astonishment for a while. "I can hardly believe my eyes!" he exclaimed. "That's the smartest dog I've ever seen."
"Nah, he's not so smart," the friend replied. "I've beaten him three games out of five."
Keep Looking Up!
Don & Marie Spooner
About Him! Ministries
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