Jesus taught many times during His ministry that we should have compassion on others and often showed compassion on others Himself. One of the incidents during which He showed compassion is found in Matthew 20: 29-34. In this case he healed two blind men outside of Jericho and when they asked Him that they may receive their sight, He had compassion on them and healed their blindness. It is said that immediately they followed Him. Jesus felt love and had mercy upon them because they were blind and this is a metaphor for what He offers each of us who are stumbling in the darkness of sin  and godlessness, our sight.

Without Jesus having compassion on us, we are all blind and struggling in the dark against the pain and suffering (the sin) we are lost to without Him. Jesus showed such compassion and love toward us sinners, that he gave His life as the sacrifice for our sins that we may be saved and reconciled to God, our Father, according to God’s plan for us. Jesus has compassion on each one of us in our blindness.

So, if we will call out to Jesus, as the blind men did here, and obey Him in all things, he has made it possible for us to receive our sight and be forgiven of our sins. When we obey Him in baptism, we are healed as the blind men were healed, and it is the great compassion and love God and His Son have toward us that makes this possible. Should we not, then, have compassion toward others in light of such great compassion that is shown by Jesus and the Father.

Matthew 18:22-35 tells the story of the servant who owed his master a huge sum of money and could not pay. The master would have thrown him in prison, but he begged him for mercy, so his master forgave him the debt (he had compassion on him). The servant then turned around and was owed a small sum by a fellow servant and would not forgive him the debt, but had him thrown into prison. The master, when he found out about his treatment of his fellow servant, was very angry and “delivered the servant to the tortures until he should pay all that was owed.”

The passage ends with the following: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” This parable (or true story, as it may be) teaches what I have been talking about. We owe our master (God) such a huge debt because of our sins, which He does and will forgive if we turn to Him and obey Him in all things (see Plan of Salvation link above and under categories). We should, in turn, show compassion toward our brother and forgive them what in comparison is a very small debt. If we cannot forgive men their trespasses, God will not forgive us.

That’s not to say we should tolerate or ignore sin in others, but when they repent or when that sin is somehow against us and they repent of it, we must be ready to forgive them from the heart. We must show compassion for others as God has shown compassion toward us, or we are lost. Jesus heals us because of His great love and compassion toward us. It is the least we can do to be always willing to forgive others from the heart.

So, I ask you to turn to God and Jesus and ask Them to have mercy upon you, do what They require of you and be saved while there is yet time. The multitudes may rebuke you, as they did the blind men for crying out to the Lord, but we must turn away from the “crowd” and to God, by repenting of our sins and obeying Him in baptism that He may show compassion for us and heal us.

Then, we must learn to show compassion on others and do what is right toward all. That is, too, we must continue to obey Him unto all righteousness and live as He would have us live.  We must learn, as Jesus said after the story of the good Samaritan, to “Go and do likewise.”

May God bless and keep you until next time.