The Local Vineyard Church Podcast
The Local Vineyard Church is a church located in Richmond, Virginia. The Local is a part of the VineyardUSA network. You can find more information about The Local and VineyardUSA by visiting https://localvineyard.church
The Local Vineyard Church Podcast
The Compassion of Jesus
The true measure of compassion is not how we feel but what we do. This message can change how you view Jesus and yourself. When life gets tough, we want to pull back and shield ourselves from pain. Yet, in a powerful moment of Jesus' ministry, we see something different. After hearing about John the Baptist's execution, Jesus went off to grieve. But crowds seeking healing followed him. Instead of sending them away, he felt deep compassion and healed their sick. This wasn’t just sympathy; it was a gut-level response that moved him physically. Even in grief, Jesus looked beyond himself to the broken people before him. He didn't just feel sorry; he acted.
Jesus' compassion led him to the cross. From sympathy to sacrifice, from feeling to action. Real compassion costs something. It may cost your time, comfort, and even your ego. But that's where the miracle happens: when we say, "Lord, here I am. Use me for something greater than myself." What impossible situation are you facing today? What "little bit" can you offer to God? The miracle is waiting to happen in your hands.
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Now, I normally don't do this, but here you go. We were in a series called God, just Tell Me, and today was supposed to be our conclusion of that series. But on Friday morning, during our prayer time and during our 14 days of prayer, the Lord just wrecked me, in the best possible way, with a message that I want to change today. So I'm changing the message. I had it all prepped and everything, and on Friday we're going a different direction. So I'm changing the message. I had it all prepped and everything, and on Friday we're going in a different direction. So I'm super excited about this, okay, and so today we're going to talk about something I think is so important, so important for us to know, and that is the compassion of Jesus. The compassion of Jesus. Now, if you're a parent in here, you know when you see your kid fall, when they trip and scrape their knee or they fall, there's something in you that what Moves towards them. You move towards them, you grab them, you pick them up, you check them out, you kiss them to make sure they are okay, and you're moved with compassion. But parents, can we also be honest? There's sometimes our kids get hurt and even though we have compassion for them. Inside we think to ourselves well, they kind of deserve that one. They didn't listen to what we said. We said don't jump from the couch. We said don't do that. We said don't. And they, but they still get hurt. And guess what? We still move with compassion. Now here you go.
Speaker 1:I got an example of this. My youngest son, hayden, did something crazy a few weeks ago. So here we got a trampoline in our backyard and we're all jumping around. Me and my kids were all jumping around in the trampoline. And then it's getting time for lunch and so I say, hey guys, let's go inside. And so what my kids love to do is they love to go to the entrance point of the trampoline and jump down. They love to hop down, okay. So we do this all the time. We're always on a trampoline, we do it all the time.
Speaker 1:So my oldest, kingsley she gets to the front, hops down. Middle kid, jameson gets to the front, hops down. My youngest'm not going to hop down, I'm going to get in full dive mode and I am going to dive out of this trampoline. And so he gets like this. I'm like, and I'm watching from behind and I'm like in slow motion, I'm like, oh no, he's not really about to do this. And he gets like this and my man, my little one, dives out head first onto the ground, splat, and inside I'm like Haydenat. And inside I'm like Hayden, no, I'm like what the heck? And I run up to him, still move with compassion. And I run up to him, go down like what were you thinking? And he was like I dive in water. I'm like, no, that's the ground, but what I do. I checked him, make sure he didn't have a concussion. He didn didn't. Then I took him inside. He was fine, even though he deserved that headache.
Speaker 1:I still was moved with compassion. So if me, as a parent who gets it wrong often, can be moved with compassion, imagine, imagine the, imagine, imagine the compassion that our Jesus has for this broken world, imagine how Jesus is moved with compassion for everyday people. And so today I want to show you what compassion, what the compassion of Jesus looks like. Because here's the big truth for us the compassion of Jesus isn't just what he felt, it's what he did. His compassion moved him then, and his compassion moves today. It moves today. And so, as everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, we must be moved with compassion as well, and I want you to see this okay, so I got some Bible we're going to read today. Is that okay if I read the Bible at church? Okay, just making sure I got some Bible that I'm going to read today. And I want you to notice this.
Speaker 1:Here's the story, here's the context of the story. John the Baptist, this is Jesus's best friend. This is Jesus's best friend. They're cousins, they grew up together, they both had crazy birth stories and so they're best buds. Man and Jesus gives word that his best friend, john the Baptist, dies a horrific death, gets the word, and Jesus, at this time when he gets the word, he is literally around a group of thousands of people. He's around thousands of people teaching and preaching and loving on people, and he gets word from John's disciples that John dies this horrific way. And so notice Jesus' response here.
Speaker 1:Here you go, matthew 14. It says this I want you to see this Jesus gets horrible news that his best friend, his cousin, dies, and what is his response? He withdrew, he withdraws. He withdraws, but there's a big, but here A big, but he withdrew, but he did not isolate. I want you to see this okay, isolation is often a response to trauma or hurt. Something happens, and I isolate myself. I don't need them, I don't need anyone. I just hold on to my feelings and say and I don't say what needs to be said, I'll distance myself. And what does he regularly do, though? What does he regularly do? Let me show you something. Let me show you something in scripture. Mark 1 says this.
Speaker 1:Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, jesus got up, left his house, went off to what, a solitary place where he prayed Luke 5,. Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 6,. One of those days, jesus went to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God Mark 6, after leaving them, he went up to a mountainside to what Pray Luke 9. Once, when Jesus was praying in private Luke 9 again About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, john and James with him, went up onto a mountain to pray.
Speaker 1:To pray, jesus had the spiritual habit of silence and solitude in prayer. He spent daily time with God. He had intimacy with the Father, and so, since he had the habit of daily time with God, when life hit, when things went the way that he didn't hope, he didn't panic, he didn't escape, he didn't avoid, he didn't blame. He didn't lash out on social media because they had that back then. He didn't do those things. He didn't self-h social media because they had that back then. He didn't do those things. He didn't self-harm or self-condemn. He did what he always did and he went to the Father. So the principle here is this Consistency in the good times gives clarity in the bad times. Consistency in the good times, being consistent with my walk with God, really comes through when I need clarity, when things aren't going the way I hoped, when things aren't going the way I dreamed it.
Speaker 1:So here's Jesus just trying to process the news he got. He's talking to it. He's talking to God about it, but check out the next verse. I want you to get this. Talking to it. He's talking to God about it, but check out the next verse. I want you to get this Hearing of this. The crowds followed him on foot from the towns.
Speaker 1:Jesus is grieving. Jesus is grieving, but the demand doesn't stop. Let me say that one more time. Jesus is in grief, jesus is trying to process, but life doesn't stop. Who knows that? When you're going through something, life still keeps going on. When you're dealing with hurts, when you're dealing with disappointments, when you're dealing with discouragements, when things went in a direction that you did not see it going. Often it's too hard to just stop and process, because life keeps going and there's still demands to be made, Even though I'm going through stuff. There's still meetings to attend, still demands to be made. Even though I'm going through stuff, there's still meetings to attend, there's still projects to be done, there's still diapers to change, there's still lunches to be made, there's still commander games to watch them lose. There's still things to be done. So I like the way. I like the way Eugene Peterson puts it.
Speaker 1:In the message paraphrase of the Bible, he says this he said when Jesus got news he slipped away. Jesus tried to give everyone to slip. He tried to give everyone to slip by boat and out of the way placed by himself. But check this out but unsuccessfully. Someone saw him Like yo, where'd Jesus go? And then one guy's like, oh, I see him Like yo, where'd Jesus go? And then one guy's like, oh, I see him. He over there. Yo, jesus, hey, hey, bro, what you doing all the way over there? He can't slip away, he can't get away from the demands. They were all up in his business. Jesus tried to give him the slip. But even when we're trying to process our stuff, there's still demands, there's still things, there's still stuff. But I want you to see something here, something that makes me know that I'm not there yet, that there's a lot about the heart of Jesus that I need to learn. Because check out the response of Jesus here, verse 14, when he landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Wait, wait, wait a second.
Speaker 1:Sometimes it's easy to read through the Bible and we just kind of can read through it and pass along, and when we're reading through it, we miss the humanity in it, we miss the realism in it. This man is grieving, he's going through hurt, he's dealing with this. Jesus is going through it. And haven't you gone through it before? Haven't you gone through it? I don't know about you guys, but when I'm going through it, the last thing I want to do when I'm going through it is deal with your stuff. Can I be honest today? When I'm going through it, I want someone to text me and ask me how I'm doing. I want someone to check in on me. I want someone to see how fine I'm doing.
Speaker 1:Jesus is going through it and he does this. He's on a boat. They're on the land. If Jesus wanted to stay away from them, he could have stayed in the middle of the lake. He could have stayed in the lake, but instead he rowed, rowed, rowed, his boat towards the land and Jesus, and as he's rowing, he's processing with God. He's processing with God. And Jesus saw a crowd, but he saw more. I want you to get this. He saw more than just a large group of people. He saw more than just a large group of people. Text says he had compassion on them. New King James, I think, gives us a little better insight to it. It says this he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. And this phrase moved with compassion.
Speaker 1:It's not like. It's not like oh. It's sad knowing that kids overseas are, just like you know, hungry. What's for dinner tonight? It's not like oh, man, there's still so many social justice issues happening in our world. Man, what. This is crazy. Hey, what's the plans for this weekend? It's not like you're looking and desensitized to the information that's going on because we get so much news, we get so much notifications, we hear all the bad news and then we're desensitized. Well, it's not like just looking at something and then going on to the next thing. No, it's not.
Speaker 1:Jesus didn't look at them and say, oh, that was, that was sad. No, I want you to see something. And since that? Because what happened with Jesus? He saw something, he seen it and he couldn't unsee what he saw. He couldn't unsee what he saw. It was a gut level, deep movement within him that had to come out of him. And Jesus, our Jesus, I want you to get this. Our King is 100% God, yet 100% man.
Speaker 1:See, it's easy to say, oh well, jesus had compassion on them because, like I mean, he's God, I mean Jesus did miracles because he was God. Jesus loved people because he was God. I'm not God. Jesus had a one-up. No, no, no, jesus felt the same pain that we feel and he moved from a place of humanity, from that place, and so there you go.
Speaker 1:Though he's dealing with stuff, he was moved with a deep compassion for the people he saw and healed their sick, and this is what I want you to see. True compassion is always linked with action. True compassion is always linked with action, and I pray that LVC that we will see the broken, the discouraged, the outcast, the poor and needy, and let us be moved with deep compassion. Let us be moved with deep compassion. Jesus is moved with compassion and it's about Jesus entering into the suffering of people in front of him and meeting their immediate needs. He's healing and feeding and comforting and this shows God's heart in real time. His love isn't abstract, but it touches physical hunger and sickness and loneliness. And, guys, our heart at LVC isn't just to be an abstract thought. It doesn't just be abstract and a thought. I don't want us just to be another church in Midlothian like there's not plenty of them here. No, no, no. I want us to be moved with compassion.
Speaker 1:When Matthew says he had compassion on them, it's not a sentimental line, it's a declaration. He's saying the reign of God has arrived, embodied in Jesus, and it looks like mercy in motion. It looks like mercy in motion and compassion is not just the proof that God cares. Compassion is his invitation to you, it's his invitation to us to carry on mission with his work, to see those who are broken and in need and say I'm not just going to sit back and say that's sad, but I'll go and I'll do and I'll love and I'll go out here you go. Meaning when we show compassion, when we feed, when we heal, when we comfort, when we listen, when we serve, we are a signpost of the kingdom of God, joining Jesus in his prayer.
Speaker 1:On earth, as it is in heaven, jesus is healing people. Earth, as it is in heaven, jesus is healing people. Lives are being changed. There's thousands of church, there's thousands of people here. This is a beautiful picture, but then, but then then the disciples get in the way, and it's interesting to me. I said this a few weeks ago. I said it's interesting to me that God's vehicle of choice to continue his mission is the church. And the church is not just an institution, it's not just a building. The church is people, and I think it's safe for all of us to say that we've all been hurt by church people at one time or another. I think it's safe to say that church hasn't got it right a lot of the times. Yet God wants to use the church to carry on his mission. And here's the part that gives us some grace and maybe gives you some encouragement.
Speaker 1:The disciples were with Jesus. Jesus was healing people. They're watching it, they're like dang. This is awesome. That person was blind. Now they see and they didn't even have to go to lens crafters. Like they're seeing this. And even though they're seeing this, they're watching it in real time. This is what the disciples do.
Speaker 1:As the evening approached, the disciples came to him and said this is a remote place and it's already getting late. Aka they're saying Papa John's, don't deliver here. Once the streetlights come on, he says they say send the crowds away, jesus, so they can go to the villages. Now they're trying to do something nice, so they can go to the villages and get something to eat. And, friends, this line right here, this is the line that the Lord wrecked me with. This is the one that the Lord, just he might tice of me on this one, the one that the Lord, just he might tyson me on this one, jesus replied they do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. Jesus says you don't need to send the people away, you give them something. And if I'm a disciple, if I'm standing in front of Jesus, I'm like Jesus.
Speaker 1:We didn't plan for this. They're like Jesus, we didn't Jesus. The only thing I got is an uncrustable and I didn't even thaw it out. It's still hard, trustable, and I didn't even thaw it out. It's still hard. Jesus, I don't got anything to give them.
Speaker 1:Jesus, you didn't use plan and center. You could have used that. I would have accepted our decline. Jesus, there's this thing called sign up genius. You could have sent one of those out to us. We could have had a taco fiesta night here. We could have done all of that. You didn't do it. We didn't have a plan, jesus. Jesus, there is no plan to feed in these people. Jesus, there's no plan to doing this thing. Jesus, there is no plan to fix this problem. Jesus, there is no plan. And even though there is no plan, jesus says there are still people and even if we don't always have the plan, jesus says I'll bring the people and I want you to get this, I want you to see this, okay, okay, so there's no plan. They're like we can't do this. We can't. There's no plan, but there's people. Lvc. This is what I want to say to LVC.
Speaker 1:Our church is growing. It's growing a lot. I don't know if you've been here with us since 21. We've grown a lot since then, with people from all different walks of life. Next Sunday, we are expecting more people to come. We're expecting more people to come.
Speaker 1:And is a middle school the best place to have a church? It's old, there's some bugs, the kids meet in the hallways, but it's safe, I promise. Yes, it would be nice to have a our own church building with classrooms. One day. That's going to happen, but right now, if god is drawing in the people who need the hope that jesus gives, that needs the love that jesus gives, faith that Jesus gives, the life that Jesus gives, we will not turn people away. We will give them something to eat. We will give them something to eat.
Speaker 1:And the disciples? The disciples are like well, we, we only have a few, we only have five loaves of a bread and we got some sardines. They they come with excuses and, like I just said, they literally just watch Jesus healing people. I mean, they're watching it, they're seeing it, they're seeing it in action. The disciples say send them away. Jesus says you give them something to eat. See, one response is about avoidance, the other one is about engagement. And sometimes we do the same. Someone else, someone else will help. That's too big of a project for me, I don't have enough.
Speaker 1:But Jesus shows us that compassion doesn't start with what, with what you don't have. It starts with what you're willing to give. What you're willing to give, compassion breaks through your excuses, it breaks through it. And Jesus says just take the little bit you got. Just take the little bit you got. And he says this in Matthew 18, 14, verse 18. He says bring them here to me, just bring them here to me, bring them here to me.
Speaker 1:And he grabs the uncrustables. He grabs that was funny uncrustables. He grabs the bread, he grabs the fish. Jesus holds it up, he holds it, he blesses it, he breaks it. He holds it, he blesses it and he breaks it. They give it to Jesus, jesus it. He holds it, he blesses, he breaks it. And what's the next thing that he does? He gives it back to the disciples. Then he says go ahead, have everyone 5,000 of them, really, more like 15,000. He said have them all. Just like, sit down, go and do a little picnic out here. And they sit down and he hands them the food. And if I was a disciple I'd be like he gave me this little bit of bread. I got a half a slice. Man, it's not even catfish, it's tilapia, it's not even I got this little bit. I got this little bit of stuff in my hands and I got all these people out there and the disciples.
Speaker 1:I want you to see that the disciples are caught in the middle. They're caught in the middle of what Jesus blesses and the obstacle in front of them and they just got a little bit. They got a little bit of this and they don't understand how a little bit is going to fix that. I got a little bit of faith. I don't see how my little bit of faith is going to fix that. I got a little bit of faith. I don't see how my little bit of faith is going to overcome that problem. I got a little bit of hope. But man, that issue and that relationship and that thing God, is overwhelming to me. I can't face that thing. I can't deal with that thing. It's better for me to avoid. Send it away. Send it away and I'll pretend like there's not a need there. But they're caught between what Jesus blesses and what seems insurmountable and they just have a little bit.
Speaker 1:And throughout Scripture it's crazy when you read Scriptures, throughout Scripture, it compares the kingdom of God like a little yeast in bread. It compares the kingdom of God like this man found this small treasure in a field and he sold everything to buy this field. When you look at Scripture, the kingdom of God is something that always starts a little bit small. It's always something a little bit small. It's as if God can take our little bits and overcome our major obstacles with them. And so the disciples. Jesus prays for it, he buzzes it, he breaks it. They got this little bit of thing, and if I'm a disciple again, I'm walking through this row, I'm like, okay, I'm supposed to feed all these people. Here's a little bit of bread for you. Here's a little bit of sardine for you, here's a little bit for you, here's a little bit for you.
Speaker 1:And as they're passing it out, though, as they're passing it out, though, as they're passing out this food, something happens. The food isn't going away, it keeps multiplying in their hands. And as they're passing out, they're like what? And so they get a little bit more generous. They're taking big chunks, tossing it here, tossing it there, tossing. They said how did this all of a sudden turn into some salmon up in here? And they're passing it out. They're passing out.
Speaker 1:And this is what I want you to get about this miracle, the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 does not happen in the hands of Jesus. It does not happen. Jesus did not walk by every road passing out the food. The miracle of the 5,000 happens in the hands of the disciples. It happens in the hands of everyday, ordinary people who have doubts and fears and anxieties and not sure if this is really going to work out the way that Jesus said it's going to work out. But faith, they begin to pass it out and with faith they see that God multiplies the little bit in their hands and does something extraordinary with it. And you may feel like LVC, that your obstacle is insurmountable, that you can't climb it, that you can't make it, that you're going to be stuck where you are. But if you give God a little bit man, he can do a lot with it. And so he broke it and he bust it.
Speaker 1:And compassion and compassion. And Jesus invites the disciples to be a part of his compassion for the people and he invites us today to be a part of his compassion for people. It's a gut level mercy that says I'll feed you, I'll stand with you, but then Jesus shows us that compassion isn't comfortable. It's not comfortable. Here's what you need to know that Jesus didn't come to live an easy life. He came to give his life away. Matthew 20 says this the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Think about it. He didn't just heal the sick, he didn't just feed the hungry. He didn't just cry with the hurting. He carried our sins, he died our death and he paid our price. And that's why I would say it this way the passion of Christ was the ultimate compassion of Christ. He didn't stop with sympathy, he went all the way to sacrifice. He didn't stop with emotion, he went all the way to execution.
Speaker 1:And that's what real compassion does. It costs, it bleeds, it hurts, and if we're going to follow Jesus, it's going to cost you something. You're like Jacob. That don't sound that encouraging. Here's what I want to say. Here's what I want to say to that. We don't all need to be fluffed up. There's enough things trying to fluff us up. Puff us up. You want to know what I know about puffed up people. Puffed up, people pop when life pressures them hard. What we need to understand is that if I want to live my life, I give my life away If I want to make a difference with my life. It says, god, I'm going to live and surrender to you. Show me what you want me to do. And it might cost you your time, it might cost you your comfort and it will definitely cost you your ego, but that's what it means to love like Jesus, because compassion isn't comfortable, compassion is costly, but compassion is powerful and compassion changes lives. And so here's the truth church Compassion sees, compassion feeds, compassion bleeds. And if you're a follower of Jesus, his compassion isn't just for you, it's meant to move through you. And so this week I got a challenge for us Spend time with God, jump on our prayer call, Do it, just do it once. See what happens, because consistency in good times gives clarity in hard times. See someone you normally overlook and don't just walk past them. Stop, look, care and engage. And then do one uncomfortable thing for someone else Buy that meal, make that call, serve where it costs, because the miracle doesn't happen in Jesus' hands alone. It happens in your hand. It happens in your hand, it happens in your step of faith. It happens when you say Lord, here I am, send me, use me, use me for something greater than myself, use me Because Jesus back to Jesus. He gets this news. He's devastated, he's hurt, he can't believe it. Yet when he looked out and saw the crowd, he had compassion on them and he healed their sin. And then one of the biggest miracles recorded in the gospel happens Jesus could have avoided. Jesus could have done numerous of other things, could have done numerous of other things, yet because he spent daily time with God, he said I'm going to be moved with compassion and make a difference. So, god, jesus, holy Spirit, we thank you for your love, we thank you for your goodness and your mercy. We say thank you that you were moved with compassion for us. I just feel like the Holy Spirit wants to linger real fast on that image. The image of there just seems like an impossible task in front of you, man, and it just like it ramps up anxiety for you. It ramps it up to a new level and you're like I just got a little bit of faith, god. I don't got all the answers, I don't got the perfect theology, god, and God's like you don't need all that. Just give me a little bit. Just give me a little bit. Just give me a little bit and watch what I'll do. It's like the Lord is saying he wants to call someone to deeper levels of trust, deeper level of surrender. And that's what the Holy Spirit is saying he is with you, you and for you, like he's really with you and this thing and you know your thing. So come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit. We trust you. And so, lord, I just also feel like the Holy Spirit, we trust you. And so, lord, I also feel like the Holy Spirit is saying your heart has become callous towards somebody. Yep, there's like a hardening of heart towards someone, and the Holy Spirit is saying like no, I want to remove that. I want to remove that. I want to remove that Because it's preventing you from loving the way I want you to love. It's preventing you from becoming the person I designed you to be. You're not a person of bitterness, you're not a person who holds on to grudges, but who the Son sets free, is free. Indeed, he said there's freedom for you. And he says remove the hardness of heart. Come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit. Okay, lord. And also just feel like the Holy Spirit is saying there's someone like Jesus. You're dealing with something that's hard to process, it's tough, and I feel like the Holy Spirit is saying don't avoid it, but process it, get healing from it. Also, let's feel like someone has been running away from even getting counseling and you've been nudging. There's been a nudge on you to talk this through with somebody and the Holy Spirit is saying it's time to stop running, it's time to deal with these things. Okay, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit and Lord, we say just more of you, more of your goodness, more of your mercy. Help us embrace your compassion so we can overflow with compassion to those we encounter each day. We love you in this place today, in Jesus' name. Amen, amen, amen.