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Matthew 14:14
Jesus has been rejected by the people in His “own country” (Matthew 13:54-58, NKJV), He has lost the one person who is the closest to understanding His mission and deity – of which is also a humanly relative, and He has retreated to a secluded place to be alone and ponder these events (Matthew 14:1-12). The multitudes, of whom He is trying to get away from, have found His whereabouts and have walked around the lake to wait for Him as they tracked His movements across the lake (Matthew 14:13). Through it all, Jesus does something remarkable – He has compassion on the multitudes as they have come to Him for healing. The Bible teaches us in Matthew 14:14 (NIV), “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
This is an example of a truly compassionate heart.
Jesus breaks the mold of society in our thoughts and actions – that is why repentance is so hard for the human race – it is to turn from the ways in which society have molded us to a new way which involves change, and most people are unwelcoming of change in their lives and daily routines. I would venture to say that if I, and most all of you, were in this same situation as Jesus found Himself in, we would be angry at the crowd for following us and would have turned and ran, thinking only of ourselves and the needs we have in our time of rejection and loss.
But Jesus came to save the world from sin, and it is not His will that He seeks but the will of His heavenly Father. Jesus declares in John 5:30 (NKJV), “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” And here is the big realization to bring understanding from this passage: if Jesus can do nothing of Himself, then why do we continue to believe that we can? It is nothing more than the entrapment of sin brought on by the devil to believe such things. He is the master of lies (John 8:42-47), and he will continue to trick us all by making us believe that we are doing fine without any help from God. And as long as we believe that – we will be lost in sin.
Jesus came to bring us back to a right relationship with our Creator and Father in heaven (Matthew 18:11), and in John 12:44-50, HCSB) Jesus declares, “The one who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me. And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me would not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My words and doesn’t keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and doesn’t accept My sayings has this as his judge: the word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a command as to what I should say and what I should speak. I know that His command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” God offers – it is up to us to accept the gift and to make the decision to welcome the change of repentance to the new life that makes us a child of God (John 1:10-13).
Our individual attitudes and personalities, and our calling that God has given each of us is unique to us as the unique individuals that God has created us to be. But the compassion of Jesus for our neighbors in need is something that we all should have in common in our salvation through Christ Jesus. I know that I need to be more compassionate in my life and calling; I pray that we all will grow in our individual relationships and callings from God to reflect the compassion of Christ Jesus, even when we are feeling rejection and loss.
Dear LORD,
We are so self-centered in our humanity. We allow ourselves to get stuck on focusing on our own issues and then allow that to overwhelm our lives to the point that we become blind to the needs of those around us that You have called us to be an example to in sharing the love of Jesus that You have put in our hearts through Your Holy Spirit. Please help us to not be tricked into this trap set by Satan to pull us away from You, but that You would help us to see when Satan is attacking us, and give us strength to focus on Jesus, and overcome the wiles of the devil, and reflect Jesus to all those around us. In Jesus name I pray, amen.