Worth and Compassion
Jesus went with them, and when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, since I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.” – Luke 7:6, CSB
When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. - Luke 7:13, NLT
Luke 7:1-17 has two episodes in them which highlight worth and compassion respectively.
The idea central to the healing of the centurion’s servant is worth. It is the Jews elders who first bring worth into the story, highlighting in their minds the ‘worthiness’ of this man to receive assistance from Jesus due to his love for God’s people and his generosity for the construction of the synagogue in Capernaum. At the heart of a culture where patronage had come to reign supreme, this was paramount in their minds. Jesus’ healing the almost dead servant was warranted in this case because, even though he was a Gentile, he had done so much good. Then, worth comes into he story again on the lips of the friends the centurion sent to Jesus. This time, the man himself is claiming not to be worthy of something- namely Jesus under His roof. Here is a man who otherwise demands respect and obedience from those around him and yet, in relation to Jesus he feels altogether unworthy. What incredible spiritual insight this Roman solider had! His understanding of Jesus is not altogether complete but it is the best Jesus has seen (v9). The remarkable part though is that Jesus, by His response to the centurion and his almost dead servant, assigns great worth to this man. He is worth much in Jesus’ eyes because, Jesus does what he asks (and even beyond what he asks?). How good and humbling it is to understand the worth Jesus assigns those who feel unworthy!
Compassion headlines the story of the widow’s son (v11-15). Jesus’ compassion for the woman moves Him to act without any request from her at all. In fact, it can be said that Jesus’ compassion is what changes this woman’s life. Joel B. Green’s comment here is worth sharing. He writes, “Especially by locating the remark, “He had compassion for her,” at the midpoint of this account, Luke identifies Jesus as the compassionate benefactor of this widow. That is this is less an account of healing and more a disclosure of the character of Jesus’ mission and therefore, of the nature of God’s redemptive intervention.”(The Gospel of Luke, pg. 291) Jesus’ use of this word to highlight the response of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) and the Good Father (Luke 15:11-32) to those in need further shine light on the nature of God’s redemptive intervention in Jesus. Without our request, Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came as a doctor for the sin sick and the spiritually dead. He came to intervene in love. In defining the term for compassion, the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology has this to say about the Samaritan’s actions, “In the parable of the good Samaritan splanchnizomai[i] in v. 33 expresses the attitude of complete willingness to use all means, time, strength, and life, for saving at the crucial moment.” How wonderful a summary of Jesus’ saving ministry to humanity! Jesus expresses the attitude of complete willingness to use all means, time, strength, and life, for saving at the crucial moment. In so doing, He brings us from death to life! How amazing that Jesus’ compassion moves His action to provide salvation. How often is my compassion like Jesus’? How regularly does my compassion fall far short of that same mark?
If we tie these two ideas together, it will help us greatly. Our worth is determined by Jesus’ saving work on our behalf. His compassion reminds us of our worth in His eyes. As such, we are freed up from a need to generate our own worthiness by doing something for Him or others. Instead, we are able to give freely of ourselves, our time, our strength, our live to help others in their crucial moments. Let us not be turned aside from a worth defined by Jesus or a compassion that is not born of His heart!
Questions for further discussion/life application:
Rather than having a helpful sense of worth derived from God’s perspective, we often default to either to high of a view of ourselves or to low of a view of ourselves. Which of these views is more of a problem to you? How can you find your worth in the gospel?
When we see the worth of others through the Divine perspective, it will motivate us to compassionate action on their behalf. What are ways to cultivate the divine perspective of those around you, especially the neediest? What are the biggest hinderances to keeping this perspective? How can you help other believers that together you can see others as God sees them?
Reflect on your story. When do you remember being on the receiving end of someone’s compassion? How did that change you? Do you recall a time when you acted in compassion for someone in need? How did that change you?
[i] Splanchnizomai is the Greek word for compassion transliterated into English