Moved With Compassion

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Jim Mickells | Sellersburg, Indiana

There is no doubt the Lord expects His people to do their very best to share the gospel with as many people as possible. Someone well said, “We are saved to save.” Meaning, we are saved by the grace of God to share this message of grace with a lost and dying world so they too can be saved. It seems to me this is an area of the Christian life which is often neglected. Certainly I believe most all could make some improvement in this area, I know I could.

When Christ gave the great commission to His apostles notice what they were told by Him.

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20).

He had the power or the authority from the Father to send His apostles forward.

• To whom were they to go? All nations.
• What were they to do? Make disciples of these people.
• How were they to become disciples? By being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• After they had become disciples, they were to be further taught – to observe all things He had commanded those whom He had sent (the apostles).
• What had they been sent to do? To make disciples.
• And the promise made – the Lord would always be with them, even to the end of the age.

So, Jesus sent His apostles to make disciples of all nations, who, once taught they were to teach others to follow the Lord as well.

Paul said,

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Timothy is given the charge to teach the things which the great apostle had taught him to others. He was to share this message with “faithful” men. The word “faithful” is defined as

“trusty, faithful; of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties; worthy of trust; that can, be relied on” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 514).

Those taught were entrusted with the greatest treasure given to man, the word of God. The Lord fully expects those “faithful men” to share His message with others. One is not to keep this treasure to themselves, but to share its wonderful message of salvation to all whom they possibly can.

A great reason people fail to share the gospel with others is because of fear. They fear rejection; they fear being asked a question for which they have no answer; they may even fear the loss of friendship from discussing things of a religious nature. Yet there is one thing I believe which will help each of us in being more effective soul winners for the Lord – compassion. It is one of the great characteristics possessed by Jesus which you and I need so badly. Compassion can motivate us to find courage to overcome our fears, etc.

Look at this example of our Lord being moved with compassion, why He was moved, and what He tells us to pray for.

“Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:35-39).

“Compassion” is defined as, “To feel deeply or viscerally, to yearn, have compassion, pity” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament, p. 1306). Jesus could see beyond their present state to eternity and what would happen to them if they were not taught and if they did not become His disciples.

When trying to teach someone the gospel what do we see? A soul lost, separated from God because of their sins. One who will suffer in hell throughout eternity, experience outer darkness, weeping, gnashing of the teeth, where their worm does not die, the fire is not quenched, and there is everlasting fire and punishment (Matthew 25:41,46; Mark 9:43-48). The hymn “You Never Mentioned Him To Me,” reminds us of what could happen if we failed to teach someone the gospel of Christ, one whom we may have met often. The chorus says,

“You never mentioned Him to me,
You helped me not the light to see;
You met day by day and knew I was astray,
Yet you never mentioned Him to me.”

Lord help us to have the compassion to see a lost soul needing to be led to the light of Your word, and may we be willing to share Your gospel with them.

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April 2025 | GROW Magazine