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Oct 24, 2023 18:30pm

The Compassion of Jesus

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Ben Weaver. Do you know him? He’s about the grumpiest, ruthless, penny-pinching old man you have ever met.

He’s a character on the Andy Griffith show. When one of his tenants, the Scobey family, is late on their mortgage payment, he brings down the hammer. He goes straight to the sheriff and wants them evicted, immediately.

Andy tries to reason with him, saying surely there must be an explanation, a reason why they are late, and that Ben needs to have compassion on them.

But he won’t have any of it.

Through the course of the show, Andy tries to come up with ways around what Ben is trying to do, but no matter what, that man is focused on one thing and one thing only – his way.

There were some other factors that caused Ben to want those people out and for him to not listen to reason. But all of it came down to the eviction of the Scobeys.

Luke 13:10-17

“And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.”

What a beautiful thing Jesus did! He had compassion on a woman who had been suffering for 18 years. But not everyone saw it that way.

How miserable these religious leaders must have been. To witness such an incredible miracle, but be so hard hearted they want to condemn Jesus.

There were other factors at play here. They felt their power and prestige threatened by Jesus and His following. They refused to see the truth. And all of it came down to one thing – they wanted to accuse Jesus and convince people He was not the Messiah.

While Ben Weaver finally came around, the Pharisees never did.

Sometimes, the work of the Lord doesn’t fit into the neat little box we’ve created. Who are we to say He can’t do more beyond what our way defines? Jesus never once strayed away from the truth, He never committed a sin. But the religious leaders tried to twist the scripture to fit their way, their agenda, their purpose.

Do we ever do the same?