As miraculous as Jesus' act of healing was for the man with leprosy, as I read this text the phrase that most caught my attention was "Jesus reached out and touched him." (Luke 5:13a NLT)
Jesus didn't need to touch the man to heal him. Look at Jesus' power in healing the young servant of Cornelius in Matthew 8:5-13. But you can say that reaching down and reaching out in forms of physical care was (and continues to be...more on this below) Jesus' modus operandi.
To be honest, I was trying to find a better word than compassionate. It is the first word I thought of, but it almost seems like a word we toss around a lot and sounds similar to sympathy. Not to give sympathy a negative context, but one does not need to physically connect with a person to sympathize. He or she can do it from a distance, whether the person to whom sympathy is extended knows it or not.
But when you break it down, compassionate or compassion is exactly the right word here. Com meaning with (think of communion - people coming together). Passion stemming from pati meaning to suffer.
Compassionate - one who suffers with another. That is Jesus.
So we have Jesus in this account not just looking from a distance at this highly contagious and fatally ill person, but comes forward, reaches out and touches the person. Imagine how many people had reached out to touch this man since he was afflicted. I'm guessing the count was zero.
Yet no matter our affliction, addiction, sin, whatever we find debilitating and out-casting from others, Jesus comes to us. Some of the tangible ways He comes to us are through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. These are physical means, Jesus works through, in demonstrating His compassion and grace to us today and now. He also uses His followers, as they carry the Good News found in His Word, to extend His compassion and care.
What else of Jesus' compassion strikes you in this account?
In the past, how have you demonstrated Jesus' compassion to another? How is God "messing" with you these days in showing His compassion, introducing Jesus: Compassionate, with one who is suffering--maybe in a situation you find yourself resisting?
What are some reasons we resist or withhold compassion? What are the risks involved?
How is Jesus calling you to grow with compassion, namely His compassion?
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