The Tenderness of Jesus

Matthew 14:9-21

I love how Matthew allows us to see so many different facets of Jesus' character throughout his book. Matthew depicts Him as the Sovereign authority, all-powerful, and mighty to save, but we also get to know Him as sweet Savior, tender and compassionate toward those He longs to rescue.

In Matthew 14, we see a very gruesome, violent murder (John the Baptist, the herald and forerunner for Jesus' kingdom was martyred by Herod), the feeding of the 5,000, and Jesus walking on the water. I had never noticed that the feeding of the 5,000 occurs in the wake of Jesus receiving the news about John's death...

Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there in a boat, to a lonely place by Himself...

Jesus was grieved by this news and He wanted to be alone to mourn the death of John, who was not only His cousin, but also the one preparing the way for His own ministry. And yet, Jesus had garnered such a tremendous following that He couldn't even be left alone to grieve...

and when the multitude heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities...

The crowds wanted to be near Jesus, to hear from Him, to be healed by Him even in the midst of His grief and desire for solitude. And most spiritual leaders, pastors, most anyone would have become angry at the crowd for intruding on this private moment. But not Jesus. I love what Matthew says happened next...

And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick...

My heart is full to bursting with love for this Savior who is so tender and compassionate for the needs of the multitude even in the wake of such loss! It is such a clear picture of Jesus' love for us and a poignant reminder of the way we should treat the "multitudes" of our own ministries.

Certainly there is a time and a place for mourning privately and for seeking solitude, and we see Jesus model both for us in other passages of Scripture. In this scene, though, He set aside His own emotional needs and exhaustion to meet the immediate needs of others. Likewise, our compassion for the multitude, the lostness around us, should supersede any weariness or emotional pain we are experiencing personally. It is in these moments we must choose to...

have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)

We need to empty ourselves into the multitude during times of great heartache and personal tragedy just like Jesus did. God, in His Sovereignty, might also choose to use our own hurt and sadness to enable us to better relate and communicate with the multitude. It might be in our personal tragedy or emotional vulnerability that the multitude is best able to see and hear the gospel.

By meeting the needs of the lost people around Him, Jesus was the gospel to them. We need to ask God to give us a heart of tender compassion for those around us who need a healing touch, and who, more importantly, need to see the gospel in action.

Lord Jesus, please make me more like You, who humbled Yourself for the sake of bringing the gospel to the multitude, emptied Yourself out for us, and for the joy set before You endured the cross, despising its shame. Thank You for the beautiful picture of tender lovingkindness we see displayed in your attitude toward the multitude, as You sweetly and kindly met their needs and healed their sick. Oh, how I adore You, Sweet Jesus!
Amen