Mark 1:40-41 -
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
COMPASSION - Greek: splagchnizomai (pronounced "splänkh-nē'-zo-mī ")
Definition: "to be moved" "to be moved as to one's inwards (splanchna)" "to yearn"
The ache within Jesus was enough to cause His physical well-being to be interrupted. He was visibly moved, as we say in today's society. Reflect on this: His visage was no doubt changed - perhaps His eyes grew watery, His brow furrowed, and His shoulders stooped in sadness at the sight of this decrepit man whose face was chewed up with the scabbed ravages of leprosy.
Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes of spiritual wanderers (Mt. 14:14); toward the blind (Mt. 20:34); and even for the physically hungry but spiritually determined (Mt. 15:32).
I wonder if we can exhibit the same kind of compassion Jesus shows. Note this: the rule of the day was not to touch a leper, but to throw money on the ground and stay a dozen feet away. We know that Jesus could have merely said the words to heal this man, but it strikes me that Jesus touched the man. This shows me a deep, deep truth - that Jesus is "up-close caring."
My mom is a great example of this. When I was a teenager, one of my scholmates, Tom, was a self-centered independetn-minded kid who nevertheless came by our house occasionally for a Pepsi and a chance to show off his new car. He would givemy mom a causal hello.
On the night that his grandfather passed away (his grandad was his guardian since his dad and mom abandoned him) ours was the first house he came to. As soon as he came inside and fell to the couch sobbing, my mom darted into the room and wrapped him in a hug. She didn't preach or give tired cliches. She just sat and held him.
Tom was able to gather himself together. He was deeply thankful. And he never forgot the kindness. He still, whenever possible, gives my mom an expresiion of thanks whenever he is in the vicinity - over thirty years later.
My mom had an "up close caring." So did Jesus. Good lesson for me.
