Compassion from the Gut

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” Matthew 9:36 KJV

Where in your body do you feel your strongest emotions? Temples? Back of the neck? Shoulders? Stomach? Where might your body register an overwhelming feeling of pity? The ancients believed that the seat of compassion and other strong emotions was the bowels. That may seem strange, but today’s scientists say that we have a nervous system in our digestive tractthat communicates with the brain, playing a key role in our overall health. Those “gut feelings” are real!

Perhaps the scholars who translated the New Testament into Greek accidentally explored a bit of this gut-brain connection when they wrote in Matthew 9:36 that Jesus was “moved with compassion.” Jesus was flooded with emotion when he saw masses of people who were “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. The ancient Greek language did not have a word that expressed this gut-feeling of pity, a feeling that moved one to take action, so they coined one: “compassion.” When Jesus was “moved with compassion,” He experienced very deep emotions; His eyes gushed tears; and His heart was bursting with pity for the sufferers He saw before Him. The compassion He felt was visceral, a yearning He felt in every inch of His gut, a body-soul response to misery that moved Him to do something about what He saw.

Jesus has been compassionate from the very beginning. He was moved by compassion to take on a mission to reverse the terrible effects of the fall of man, before we even knew we needing saving. Compassion moved Him to enter the world humbly as a vulnerable infant, stooping low to bring heaven to us. Compassion moved Jesus to take our sicknesses and carry our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). His compassion moved Him to restore sight to the blind (Matthew 20:31) and to heal the leper (Mark 1:41). Compassion for the demon-possessed man moved Jesus to cast out that evil spirit (Mark 5:19). Great pity moved Him to restore a dead son to life when He saw the terrible grief of the widow at the gates of Nain (Luke 7:13). Jesus took our punishment because He was moved by compassion for so many lost lambs (Isaiah 53:5). The compassion of Jesus is still here today. We have the Bible, giving us access to truth even if there is no teacher available. God still raises up men and women who are willing to share their faith-walk with others as they take compassionate action when they see a need. Perhaps the greatest compassion of Christ is that He has sent His Spirit to dwell with us right now, touching our hearts, and moving us to come to God’s throne of grace. We can come freely to ask for help and the energy to respond to the needs we see. In compassion Jesus has taught us to pray, and in compassion He has promised to meet our needs when we sin, when we fail, and when our enemies abuse us.

Jesus was moved by His compassion to take action; we are called to do the same. That is why Paul pleaded with the Philippians to let their own deeply-felt compassion result in unity, humility, service to others, and a life that could be a light to those still in darkness (Philippians 2:1-18). If you read theses verses in the King James Version, bowels get involved in verse one! Paul also urged the Colossians to clothe themselves with “tenderhearted (bowels of) mercy” as a love response to God (Colossians 3:12). When have you received the compassion of Jesus? Were you moved to some kind of response? When have you been “moved by compassion” to take some kind of helping action? Where might you need to respond now because God is asking you to pour out mercy from the deepest part of yourself?

Prayer: My Savior, I am so grateful for Your compassion towards me. You are a fountain of mercy that never runs dry. Help me to offer this same compassion to others with the same love that motivates You. Amen.