In The Guts

In the Guts

Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matthew 14:14

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:36

You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Luke 6:36

What does it mean if someone says, “I hate your guts,” or “That felt like a kick in the guts”? Guts is another word for our insides, something deep within us. It’s the same word the Gospels use when talking about how Jesus experienced the pain of others. Many of these stories record times when Jesus encountered hurting people and “had compassion on them.” The Greek verb Matthew uses for compassion is splanchnizomai, which doesn’t mean much unless you’ve been to medical school. It concerns the study of internal organs or, you could say, the “guts” of a person.

What this means is that Jesus didn’t feel pity on people in a casual way. He was not working solely from his thoughts about the people’s conditions, with no emotions. It means that Jesus felt the hurts of others in his gut. The pain of others felt like a sock in the stomach to him. He felt the brokenness of the crippled person, the physical suffering of the diseased person, the loneliness of the leper, the embarrassment of the scandalous sinner.

We can be confident that Jesus is not untouched by what hurts us and what weighs on us. When you feel sad, he is moved by your sadness. When you feel confused, disappointed, hurt, afraid, frustrated, Jesus has compassion on you. He feels it too.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Do you have a friend who has been hurt physically or emotionally? In what way did you feel his or her pain too?

How does it help you to know that Jesus has compassion on you and is hurt by what hurts you?

Many times when Jesus had compassion on people, he himself was hurting. For example, when he was dying on the cross, he asked his disciple John to care for his mother. What does his example show us about caring for others who hurt?