“When Jesus … saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14).
It’s easy to read right over simple verses like this in the New Testament and not notice things. First, it’s easy to miss what is actually said – that Jesus didn’t just have compassion on the sick in the multitude, he had compassion on the whole crowd which led to his intervening wherever there was a need.
That means that Jesus didn’t just see and have compassion on the noticeable members of the crowd – the blind, the lame and those clearly afflicted with diseases and problems. It means he had compassion on the ones who were helping carry the lame, lead the blind and support the weak. It means he had compassion on the ones we might not notice as readily in a crowd – the shy, the grieving, the lonely and the discouraged.
Second, it’s easy – of course – not to see what’s not said. When we read the accounts of Jesus’ works we tend to read them in a vacuum, but we have to remember how much the Gospel writers are summarizing each incident. When Jesus had compassion on the crowds we get only the highlights of the healings – a kind of Gospel triage in which the most important healings and significant signs were recorded. But in having compassion on the crowds – not just the sick in the crowds – would Jesus not have noticed people with less obvious problems and had compassion on them also?
Surely Jesus saw the loneliness in the eyes of some and, having compassion, offered them a warm and accepting smile. Surely he saw the discouragement in the faces of others (Luke 18:24) and offered a few words of encouragement. In every case in the New Testament where we are told Jesus had compassion on people, he followed it with action; and having compassion on the crowds doubtless meant he interacted with and helped many more than the few people on whom he performed miracles of healing.
Perhaps we may feel we do not interact with crowds in the same way, but the totality of people we see and pass by as well as those we actually meet and with whom we interact in a day is often a small crowd, and for some of us a large one. If we are followers of Jesus, do we have compassion on that daily “crowd”? Do we seek to encourage and to smile, to check that people are all right? These may seem like small things and may seem hard to do in our over-crowded and impersonal world. But following in Christ’s footsteps means doing the things he did to the extent we can.
We know that God pays attention and knows the hairs on our heads, though we don’t tend to think of that in perspective of the teeming world of billions in which we live. But God does see every face in the crowd, and in his physical life the Son of God doubtless did his best to do so also. We are not just a face in the crowd to God, and no one in the crowd should be just a face to us.
The prophet Nathan served during the reigns of both King David and his son Solomon. Although Nathan was usually “behind the scenes” during the reigns of these kings, it is probable that no other single person was more influential during that pivotal era of biblical history.
Nathan is mentioned many times throughout the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles – mainly during the darkest and most troubled times of King David’s reign. We first meet him in 2 Samuel 7:2 when David told the prophet about his desire to build a temple for God. At first Nathan encouraged the king, but later that night God spoke to Nathan, telling him in detail why he would not accept a temple built by David, stressing that David had shed much blood (1 Chronicles 28:3).
It was not a flattering message to have to relay, but we see something of Nathan’s character in that he did not attempt to smooth over the reason for God’s refusal of David (or to cover the fact that he himself had been wrong to originally encourage the king) – we are specifically told that “Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation” (2 Samuel 7:17, emphasis added).
Later, Nathan had to confront David with the king’s sins of adultery with Bathsheba and of having her husband Uriah killed (2 Samuel 12:1-15). Considering the fact that David had already killed to hide this situation, we see Nathan’s tremendous strength of character and faith in boldly accusing the king. Nathan not only accused David as God had commanded him to do, but also predicted that David’s first child by Bathsheba would die, and that the king would suffer great anguish as a result of the actions of his own family members.
Close to the end of David’s life, Nathan related to David the news of his son Adonijah’s plan to seize the throne. In this way the prophet skillfully enabled the hasty coronation of David’s chosen heir – Solomon.
Nathan was not simply a bringer of bad news, however. He also encouraged the king and informed David that his throne would be established forever (1 Chronicles 17:1-15). He was clearly a trusted advisor throughout his service to the king and a man of important accomplishments. There appears to have been a book written either by Nathan himself or about his service as a prophet (1 Chronicles 29:29), and Nathan apparently wrote a history of King Solomon along with two other writers (2 Chronicles 9:29).
But Nathan’s major accomplishment was undoubtedly the faithful service he repeatedly gave in expressing tough love for David and confronting the king with his errors. Nathan’s character and faithfulness in conveying the word of God, no matter how negative the message sometimes may have seemed, obviously gained him the respect of Israel’s greatest king. True to his name (Nathan means “Gift from God”), the prophet surely was a gift to David in helping him to correct his course when he went astray (for example, Psalm 51) – something the king must surely have appreciated over time. In fact, it is doubtless a sign of David’s deep respect and love for Nathan that the king named his third son after the prophet (1 Chronicles 3:5). And it is through that Nathan – not Solomon or any of David’s other powerful sons – that Jesus Christ was descended (Luke 3:31). The prophet Nathan served in a “behind the scenes” career, but one which had a tremendous effect for good. He is an example to all of us of the value of service that includes, when it is needed, truth spoken in love for those we strive to serve.
Most readers of the scriptures are familiar with the “Great Commission” given by Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection. Many can recite it by heart: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you … “ (Matthew 28:19-20).
While those verses are consistently quoted as the Commission, in reality they represent the final form of a number of commissions or “job directives” Jesus gave to his disciples during his ministry which often get lost in the rush to examine, ponder and discuss the “Great” commission. This is not to say that we should not focus on the final Great Commission, but that it can also be profitable to look back at some of the earlier commissions given during Christ’s ministry to see what we can learn there. For example, look carefully at the ones recorded in the Book of Luke:
Luke 9:2: “… and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”
Luke 10:9 “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
Matthew also records one of these earlier commissions:
Matthew 10:7-8 “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons…”
The difference is obvious. The earlier commissions specifically included healing the sick – with an emphasis placed on that task almost equal to the emphasis placed on preaching the Gospel.
That emphasis is undeniably missing in the final Great Commission which appears to focus entirely on the work of evangelism without any direct mention of the sick. But does this mean the needs of the sick are no longer to be a vital concern for the Christian? In answer to that, perhaps we should remember that the Great Commission itself ends with the words “… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20, emphasis added), so from that perspective alone, the principles of the earlier commissions Jesus gave may still apply to us today as part of the “everything” Jesus had commanded.
Helping the sick was certainly part of the example Jesus set for us. He not only used physical sickness as a metaphor in his teaching (Mark 2:17) and as a sign of the divine nature of His work, but also He frequently healed and helped the sick purely as a matter of compassion, as we see throughout the Gospels. Godly concern for the sick also clearly precedes the Christian scriptures. Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent out his word and healed them,” showing David’s awareness of God’s compassion in this area – compassion which was expressed many times throughout the Old Testament, as well as in the work of the disciples who continued the New Testament ministry of Christ.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the situation has not changed at all regarding God’s commission to His Church. It seems clear that while God still can – and does – heal, He has not continued to do so in quite the same manner as He did when Jesus sent out disciples who routinely administered healings as an everyday part of their work (Matthew 10:1). But although we may not be empowered to heal today in the way the early disciples were, think about this in terms of the Great Commission: as individual Christians we may not be directly going into all the world, teaching and baptizing, either – yet we can support those who do these works, financially, in prayer and in other ways.
Even without the same command and power of healing given the early disciples, we can still – to the extent we are able, and with the same compassion – do the work of helping the sick mentioned in all the earlier forms of Jesus’ commission to his disciples. Although the evangelism of the Great Commission should indeed be a central focus point for us, we can still give our physical and prayerful support to those helping the sick, and many of us can also find opportunities to directly work to serve those who are victims of sickness and disability.
We can do this in various ways. While we may not have the power to heal, the Spirit of God does give the power of encouragement, support, and help. And we do have the opportunity to help – physically and spiritually – those who are ill just as much as we have the opportunity to be a witness to those who are well. One thing to keep in mind, however, is the great difference between acute and chronic illness. We can help those suffering the intense affliction of acute illness in a number of ways, difficult though that may be, but those suffering from chronic illnesses and disabilities often have different needs. In terms of practical help, we should remember that some who are dealing with long-term illnesses don’t just need short-term encouragement – they need practical encouragement to continue to lead meaningful lives, and help to find opportunities in which they themselves can help others.
Sometimes it is the sick and disabled who can best help those in the same position as themselves. Their experience and understanding of the problems can be far greater than ours. We can see this in the impact of the great variety of support groups for those suffering serious diseases and other medical conditions. But we can still help. Does someone you know need help to get to a support group? Help to find space to run one? This is just one example of the many possible ways we can help those suffering with long-term health and disability problems. It just takes a little thought to see how we can serve in each particular circumstance.
Although it may not be directly mentioned in the Great Commission, it should be remembered that helping the sick and disabled is nevertheless part of the scriptural background of that Commission. If we read Matthew 28: 19-20 to the end, perhaps we can see that serving the needs of the sick is also an important aspect of “everything” Jesus commanded. And that makes sense. Not only was helping the sick a constant part of Jesus’ own life, but also His words that “ … I was sick and you looked after me…” (Matthew 25:36) still apply as much today as they did when he spoke them as a profound lesson during his earthly ministry.
We are amazingly reluctant to realize that our heroes have faults. When it becomes glaringly obvious, we toss them aside, capes torn, shields tarnished, heroes no longer.
This must be why we find it so hard to realize that good people in the Bible do inexplicably bad things. The really tough ones are the ones we never see say I’m sorry. I wrote about Lot recently (Jerk or Just) and the story has remained close to my heart since. We never see him building an altar, weeping over wrongs done, or even read any justification except what I call God’s “gobstopping” grace. God called him righteous.
I just reread the story of Samson. He’s another hero with a severely torn cape. Read Judges 13-16. On the surface, Samson was an arrogant womanizer with major co-dependency problems. You know the good-looking jock in the movies who is led around by a gorgeous, manipulative harpy? That’s him.
The story starts beautifully with an appearance by God to Samson’s parents with a promise of his birth and instructions as to his rearing. (Kind of nice to have God Himself show up to deliver your What to Expect book!) The last two verses in chapter 13 say, “So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshatol.” That is a pretty auspicious beginning.
Then the first thing we see Samson do as an adult is to let his parents know that there’s a hot Philistine chick that he wants them to get for his bride. “Sammy, isn’t there a nice Jewish girl you’d rather bring home?” They weren’t being prejudiced. The Philistines were in power over Israel at the time and they were ungodly idol-worshipping oppressors out for pure destruction.
“…But his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord – that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.” (Judges 14:4)
Here’s where I think some of the denial comes in. To me, it is rather clear that Samson’s parents were doing their job as godly people, trying to steer their son in the right direction. They were simply unaware that God, in His sovereign plan, was going to work Samson’s willfulness into the greater good.
As I read commentaries, people seem to struggle with this, certain that, since God’s spirit often moved mightily on Samson, he prophetically wanted the Philistine woman for his wife so that God could move against Israel’s enemies.
I think Samson just wanted the girl. We can’t be afraid to see good guys without a cape. Our God of grace is often beyond our understanding. He uses flawed people who do stupid things. There are some unbelievable doozies of Samson stories I’d love to share but even a brief synopsis gets a bit lengthy.
Read through Judges 14-16. You will notice that Samson’s deeds are not always accompanied by “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.” Sometimes, as when he ate honey from the lion carcass, he was completely breaking Jewish law (Leviticus 11:27). His marriage was clearly an ungodly one with horrible results for his wife. (The foxes didn’t fare so well either.) Some of his actions appear to be purely out of anger or revenge.
Still, God had a plan to move against the Philistines and, more than once, He used a strong man with weak principles to do so. The Spirit of the Lord did fall upon Samson in chapter 15 and he killed 1,000 men with a donkey’s jawbone. Gruesome? Yes. But these were enemies of God. There is no way one person could kill 1,000 people in a day with anything but an explosive. Or the Spirit of God and a jawbone. He followed that God-filled victory with a visit to a prostitute, then pulled up the city gate by the gateposts and carried it up the hill. Flawed hero. Torn cape.
All of this leads up to the story of Samson and Delilah, one of the most infamous relationships in the Bible. I won’t lend much space to that here. You know the story. This seductive worshiper of Ashtoreth, Dagon and Baal-Zebub manipulated him into telling her, not the Source of his strength, but how he could be robbed of it. He paid a dear price for that dalliance. Blindness, bondage, humiliation and shame.
He eventually was able to push down the main pillars of the temple of Dagon, killing more enemies of the Lord in his death than he ever did in his life. God gave him an amazing victory. And here’s the lesson:
While there are incredible stories in the Bible about Samson, he judged Israel for 20 years. Several times we see him destroying the enemy through the Spirit of God. Several others, we see him acting badly or questionably.
But we don’t know anything else that happened during those 20 years. We don’t know how many ways God used him. For some reason, God chooses to show us Samson’s frailties. We see him succumb to seduction and give in to desires.
But God placed him in Hebrews 11:32 in the same verse as David, Samuel and Gideon.
Whaaat??? And what about me? Yep, you darlin’. All those failures. All that shame. Past is past. He can use you too. God exposes all that weakness, all that rawness, to teach us something. Good people really mess up. God uses really messy people.
Stay in the middle of your mess and the temple you are dallying in will come down on your head. But He is willing to pull you out and He can still use you.
There are no chains so strong that the power of God cannot break them.
There is no blindness so dark that the light of God cannot pierce through.
There are no idols in your life on a pedestal so high that you cannot cast them at the feet of Jesus.
Samson went into the arms of the wrong person, but God gave him a glorious victory at the end of his life. And God gave him, in all of his messiness, gobstopping grace.
*This article is an adaptation of Angela Martin’s website post with the same title – you can see the original post here. Reproduced with the author’s permission.
The New Testament is clear in its teaching that every Christian is given one or more “gifts” through the Spirit of God (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, etc.). These gifts include the propensity or ability for serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, healing and many other things. These gifts are given to enable the individual to better serve the Church and the world at large, and we are instructed to be sure to use them (1 Peter 4:10). But many Christians never find or fully utilize their own unique gifts – sometimes because they do not realize they have been given them, or because they have never attempted to identify what those gifts may be.
Even for those who understand the role of special talents or gifts in the Church, the question inevitably comes to mind – How do I know what my gift is? In this article we will look at a number of points that can help us answer that question.
Ask to See Your Gift
The starting point in ascertaining what gift we may have been given is always to ask to see the gift! We should pray to be shown what gift or gifts may have been bestowed on us and for help to utilize them as we should. Asking God this question presumes we will be listening for an answer; a good place to start is in our regular study of the Bible. Some people find it helpful to do a word search to study the specific scriptures that mention gifts, but we should be careful to read these scriptures in context. For example, Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthian church has a number of verses about spiritual gifts – we could say that 1 Corinthians is the Bible’s “gift book.” But other verses in the letter help us to see gifts in perspective and to understand how they are to be properly used. We should also remember that biblical examples of gifts given to people are not always labeled as such – we need to stay alert to examples of gifts and their use in the Scriptures whenever we study in order to come to fully appreciate and understand the range of gifts and the roles that they play.
Examine Yourself
Many people presume that their gift is something mysterious that has been somehow poured into them regardless of their personalities, background and aptitudes. This is always possible, but experience shows that more frequently God blesses us by enhancing abilities with which we were born and interests that we have already developed. It is rare indeed for Christians who feel sure they understand the nature of their own gifts to feel that they involve doing things they do not enjoy or feel a natural affinity for. We see a wonderful example of this in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire when the Christian Olympic runner Eric Liddell explained why he ran: “I believe God made me … fast! And when I run I feel His pleasure.” If we know we have a natural proclivity, talent or skill, it is more than likely that we already know what our gift is. Humanly we enjoy what we are good at – and what we are good at is usually our gift.
Get Counsel
Although we may feel that no one knows us better than we know ourselves, it can be extremely helpful to get the opinions of those who know us well as to what our significant strengths might be. Because we are talking about spiritual gifts, we should, of course, seek the advice of those who are of like mind to us and who understand the question from a spiritual perspective. In that sense, pastors and friends in our churches may be the best ones to ask. I remember a situation where a number of people were discussing a problem that had arisen in a local church. The responses varied greatly, from those who said “we need to pray about this” to those who said “maybe there is a bright side to this problem,“ and others who immediately suggested action to alleviate the problem. These responses fit the characteristics and doubtless the gifts of each individual – in this case the prayer warriors, the encouragers, and the leaders. Other people see how we act and react in situations like this and can often see where our strengths lie.
Experiment
If we are still unsure of our gifts, one of the best ways to identify and ascertain talents we may have been given is to throw ourselves into a wide range of service activities – to serve in whatever opportunity comes our way. It is often in doing something that we realize we are good at it; a good sign that we have found our gift is the satisfaction we feel when we utilize it. But this takes a certain amount of courage and determination to experiment until we find what works best – not only for us, but also for those we are trying to serve. And we need not limit ourselves to the idea of only one gift. Sometimes we are given multiple gifts and it is only in experimenting that we discover some of the less obvious ones. Another fact to remember is that some gifts are given only for a time – while a specific need exists. Staying flexible and being willing to experiment in our service can help us find new gifts when they are bestowed as circumstances and needs change.
Above All
In considering our gifts and seeking to develop and use them as best we can, we should never lose sight of the fact that although our gifts are given for service, we can still serve apart from the use of any particular specialized gift. Sometimes people become worried or even obsessive about trying to find “their” gift, but gifts are never for our own good – they are always for the good of others – and the end is more important than the means. If it is not clear what your special gift is – even after following the principles mentioned above – you need not worry or become discouraged. Sometimes we just need to concentrate on serving as well as we can in any way we have opportunity. Sometimes it is the ability to do just that … that is our gift.
A number of ancient historians recorded the famous words of Julius Caesar “Veni, vidi, vici” – “I came, I saw, I conquered” – which typified the great Roman general’s career and life as the individual whose achievements ultimately formed the foundation of the Roman Empire.
If we look at the life of Jesus of Nazareth – who instituted a far greater kingdom: the Kingdom of God – do we find any parallel saying or expression that typifies the life and achievements of the Messiah in his human life? The answer is perhaps clearer than you may have realized.
Time and again during his ministry Jesus told his disciples and those who heard him “I have come to ….” And then he added a specific task that he would accomplish. Notice an example from each of the Gospels where Jesus said he had come to do certain things: “I have come …
… to fulfil the law” (Matthew 5:17) … so I can preach” (Mark 1:38) … to call sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32) … to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37).
When we look at these and other “I have come to …” statements of Christ, we see something regarding the range of tasks he would accomplish. All of these things involved action and are a far cry from the passive person Jesus is often believed to have been. This active involvement is particularly clear in the metaphorical reasons he stated for his coming: “I have come …
… to send a sword, and to set men at variance” (Matthew 10:34-35) … to send fire on the earth” (Luke 12:49).
Whenever Jesus spoke literally of his purposes and what he would achieve, we find the same active approach. But Christ’s accomplishments were not simply actions that would elevate himself – they were, of course, for the good of others: “I have come …
… to save men’s lives” (Luke 9:56) …that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Ultimately, these purposes and accomplishments can be seen in Jesus’ statement: “I have come down from heaven to do the will of Him that sent Me” (John 6:38-39). That will can be summarized in only two words: “I have come …
… to serve” (Matthew 20:28)
Caesar’s self-elevating “I came, I saw, I conquered” pales into insignificance compared to the future coming of Christ the King (Revelation 11:15). But even at the time of his first coming, under the shadow of self-glorying emperors, the Son of God showed that true glory is not to be found in self-elevation and self-service, but in the elevation of God’s purposes and the service of others. Caesar’s so-called immortal summary “I came, I saw, I conquered” is surpassed in the eternal significance of what would be a fitting summary for the life of Christ: “I came, I saw, I served.”
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