Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,

preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,

because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9:35-38

 All through the New Testament we see Jesus having compassion on people. Because it comes up so

often in the gospels, I have been thinking it may be a good quality to have in my character. As cliché as is

sounds, we are suppose to be strive towards being like Christ. The word compassion is defined as “to have pity;

feelings of distress due to others ills.” In other words, we could say compassion is to become sick with passion for

other people.

We often have an image of Jesus walking around town with his shepherd’s staff in one hand and a little

lamb in the other. I don’t know about you but I do not have time to cuddle sheep all day. And I don’t think Jesus

did, either. Church historians have painted images for us of Jesus to emphasize different parts of his personality

and they are interesting, but not that realistic. For instance, Jesus was not vocationally a shepherd; he was a

carpenter. The picture is helpful for understanding the shepherding aspect of Jesus’ ministry, which is completely

accurate, but the truth is he probably never carried actual sheep around. The point is that if we aren’t careful, we

can totally dehumanize Jesus altogether—and that is certainly not realistic.

Jesus was fully human. Humans are very emotional. And I believe Jesus was very emotional. The

scriptures indicate that he felt every emotion we feel. Now granted, he dealt with his feelings without sin (not

typically a human characteristic), but he was nonetheless fully capable of feeling.

In Matthew chapter 14 we see a story of Jesus’ childhood friend being brutally murdered. He is

imprisoned and beheaded by Herod in a sick scene that could have come from a horror film. When Jesus hears

the news, he feels grief. He withdraws by himself from the crowds that he was ministering to so he could grieve.

But the people did not allow him to be alone. They followed him. So in verse 14 we read this: “When Jesus

landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

What is this? Jesus finds himself in need of compassion, and he shows compassion. He is filled with grief

but fueled by love. It seems to me that the feelings of distress Jesus felt for others were greater than the distress

he felt for himself. Now I understand that even on our best day we may not be able to show compassion like

Jesus. But with God’s hand of grace we can show more compassion for others than we usually do. It is an issue

of our hearts that must be changed.

For many years I struggled with a hard heart. For me it was a result of insecurity and disappointment. I

couldn’t feel compassion for others because my heart was broken. But when Jesus healed my hard heart I could

feel again. I could have compassion on other people.

In Matthew chapter 9 Jesus noticed the people were in need of a shepherd because they were lost. How

many people do you know who are lost? Don’t tune the word out or think about it in the typical churchy sense of

the lost or unconverted as the opposite of the saved or Christian. Think about what the word means: you were

headed somewhere and for whatever reasons you got off track; you found yourself in a strange place with no

clue where you were and no idea how to get back on track to where you were headed. Many of your friends have

gotten lost in their faith, their relationships, their finances, their health, and their calling. They are in need of a

shepherd. They need leadership. But you cannot lead them until you learn to love them.

As a pastor (a word that literally means “shepherd” in Greek), I know that it is impossible to shepherd

without compassion. It is impossible to have compassion without love. And it is impossible to have love without

the healing power of Jesus. So really, we don’t have a choice. We must be healed so we can lead. We must ask

Jesus to help us become passionate so we can be compassionate.

Copyright © 2009 Joshua Stump

We could easily go on to expose an unlimited amount of “don’ts” in this “understood” list. The notion of “avoiding the appearance of evil” is attributed to the apostle Paul of Tarsus, but is that what he meant when he wrote the church in Thessalonica? For starters, and for what should answer the question once and for all, the quote is from 1 Thessalonians 5:22 – King James Version only, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” The King James Versions errors in this translation. No other translation of the scriptures words it this way – even the New King James Version corrects the KJV with, “Abstain from every form of evil.” (see footnote)

There’s a dramatic difference that the mistranslated and misused KJV version has from every other English translation of the bible. It encourages Christians to model their behavior around appearances. Unfortunately, this has become an accepted norm among many Christians. This is unfortunate because it is entirely contrary to orthodox theology and even to Paul’s other writings. For example, in the book of Galatians (5:22) Paul writes, “…God does not judge by external appearance…”. In fact, if you really want to see Paul’s direct rebuttal to this bum ideology, look no further than Colossians 2: “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”

The gospels even record that Yeshua readily challenged these “don’t” rules which God’s people had become infatuated (and diluted) with. Christ insisted that it is our inside condition (our hearts and minds) that must be managed and cleaned. Once that is done, our outside condition will automatically be clean, but only cleaning the outside does nothing for a person. Speaking to the “church leaders” of the time he exclaims, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

What is it about Christianity that causes people to care more about their appearance than their essence? It seems that at some point the church became confused about the definition of character, exchanging “character is who you are when no one but God is watching” for “character is a role you play on the ecumenical stage”. Hypocrisy is what Christ calls it.

Now that’s not to say a little external-appearances-control isn’t good every now and then. For example, if you’re out with a fellow Christian who’s a recovering alcoholic, don’t drink around them. Sure, you’re completely free in Christ and you know there’s nothing wrong with alcohol, but out of love and courtesy for them, abstain that meal. What you have as a freedom could very well lead them right back in to captivity, even slavery. Control yourself, wait until you say goodbye brother/sister and then go have your PBR without them. Being a source of temptation to sin is a form of evil best abstained from! Think of it this way, we’re called to hold fast to that which is actually good, not that which has the appearance of good. This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote the Corinthian church about eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols.

As I write this, I’m continuously reminded of the story of Yeshua and the woman at the well in John 4. There’s a lot in the story—more than I intend to examine in this article—but I’m going to conclude with the Message’s account of this story and the way it captures Christ’s disciples’ reaction to his encounter with this questionable woman.

John 4:-7-27
A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water from Jacob’s well, where Jesus was resting. He said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.) The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.) Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.” The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?” Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!” He said, “Go call your husband and then come back.”

“I have no husband,” she said.

“That’s nicely put: ‘I have no husband.’ You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re living with now isn’t even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough.” “Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?” “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews.

But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.

“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.” “I am he,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.” Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.

Footnote: For in-depth study on the correct translation of 2 Thess and Greek “eithos” check out “Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Thessalonians – by H.A.W Meyer”, “Word Studies in The New Testament, Vol. IV, p. 51 – by Marvin Vincent”, “Alford’s Greek Testament, Vol. III, p. 281 – by Henry Alford”.

It’s easy for me to believe something… prove it to me. Irrefutable evidence is a sure way to make me a believer. I want to touch it, taste it, feel it, smell it, see it, hear it. This is the type of belief I‘ve had in Yeshua since he proved his existence to me in ways that could take pages upon pages for me to tell. I wasn’t a church kid… quite the opposite actually. I was raised without religion and by my own reasoning deemed Christianity a worthless crutch for the mentally weak. I aggressively gave Christians a hard time… and even recruited others to join me in the assault. It was in the height of my resistance that Yeshua knocked me off my high horse. He personally revealed himself to me and that encounter had a dramatic and instantaneous effect upon the very core of my being. In a moment I went from being a professed enemy of Christ to being one of his followers. Ever since then I have believed in him… and he has continued to reinforce that belief with his constant presence and action in my life. This is why I believe in Yeshua: he proved himself to me.

This belief, however, is not a clear indicator of my faith. Belief is something we hold internally. We can believe many things and never speak of them or act upon them. Belief is nothing more than a state of mind. Faith, however, supersedes the confines of our thoughts. Faith is the manifestation of belief in the form of action. Faith is what happens when something we believe overrides the other things we believe, particularly those contradictory things, and we act on the belief despite how unlikely, impossible or unimaginable our expected outcome may be.

It’s faith that caused a man named Simon to jump out of a boat far at sea and walk to Yeshua who was also standing on the water. It’s faith that caused Martin Luther King Jr. to proclaim his dream of a racially united America in a time when racial unity seemed an impossibility. And, it was faith that lead me to say to a girl with a broken leg, “Because of God’s great love for you, you are healed.” …and she instantly was. There was a season in my life in which I had faith in Yeshua to do the unlikely, impossible and unimaginable. But over time that faith dwindled. What was a constant soon became an occasion. For the last few years it has been a rarity.

I’ve come to realize that I now live with a great belief in Yeshua, but merely marginal faith in him. It seems rationally absurd to me, but even Yeshua’s water-walking-friend, Simon, had a similar dilemma. On another occasion Simon was again on a boat far at sea. Yeshua was with him asleep in the hull of the ship. A huge storm swelled up, tossing the boat wildly. Water was coming on board and Simon, a lifelong fisherman, knew this was the end. He knew they were going to drown. He went under deck to Yeshua, shouting their certain doom. Simon had the faith to walk on water with Yeshua, but he had never seen Yeshua save a sinking ship. It would seem Simon lacked faith that Christ would save them, perhaps even that he could save them. Yeshua sat up and calmly walked on deck. He raised his arms up and told the storm to stop. It obeyed! The sky cleared and the waves stopped. Yeshua then turned and asked Simon, “Why did you have no faith?”. Simon wasn’t the only person on board. Everyone saw what Yeshua did and they were amazed. They couldn’t explain it – they couldn’t understand it – but they believed what they had just seen.

There was a man among them named Judas who also saw many of the amazing things Yeshua did. He was a believer and professed his life to following Yeshua. But, he proved himself faithless when he decided a fat paycheck was valuable enough to betray Yeshua. He believed Yeshua was God’s son but was unfaithful to that belief for the belief that money was more important.

In a lot of ways I feel like both Simon and Judas. I’ve walked on the water with Yeshua. I’ve been terrified he couldn’t save my sinking ship. I’ve sold him out for a cheap thrill and a wad of cash.

Satan believes in Christ, but it’s clear that’s not going to him much good. Just believing something to be true is a far cry from living like it is true. It’s not enough for me to believe in Christ… I need faith in him.

I once heard a man quote this scripture to justify his choice to not commit to a disciplined lifestyle modeled after Christ’s: “If we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord, we will be saved”. That’s great! I’m sure that quoting bible verses to God will work out great on our day of Judgment. Clearly the meaning of this verse was lost to him. What it’s saying is to put belief in Yeshua somewhere other than our heads – to integrate that belief into our core – at the very center of what we think and feel. When we believe things with our heart our lives reflect it… it consumes us, it bleeds out of us. Simply confessing a head-belief of Yeshua’ Lordship in my life is pretty pointless. I mean, its good show and sounds right, but what good is it really? That kind of belief isn’t faith. It’s just another categorical fact that may or may not have any weight in my life. I can believe a life jacket can keep me from drowning but that won’t do me any good if I don’t wear it.

I need my belief to turn into faith again. I long for the days when my faith in Yeshua overshadows all that I believe. I anticipate the times when I not only hear the Lord tell me to heal the sick, or prophecy to a stranger, or speak life into a dead child… but when I actually do it. The scriptures tell us that someone who hears the words of God but does not act on them is like a person who gazes in a mirror but walks off not remembering what they look like. Here I am staring at my reflection. Will I walk away and still remember who I am?

Lord, I believe. Increase my faith.

1 Peter: 3-9

Hope is defined as a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life. As I look at my experiences in the music business, I have seen hope be either the sustaining element that provides for you before your big break or the fatal element that keeps you in a permanent state of delusion. 

We’ve all seen the horrific contestants American Idol ridicules for ratings. I have witnessed some of those artists first hand. Most of the people really believe, at least deep in their hearts, that they have some genuine talent. Christian musicians are the worst; they have been told by their local churches not just that they’re good but that God wants them to have a successful career in worship. After years of enjoying the delusions of grandeur in their home town, they move to Nashville to become famous. It only takes a few weeks before they end up in my church holding their broken hearts in their hands. For most people, the disappointments in life make it hard to understand why they ever held onto their hope in the first place.

In this passage, Peter explains the origins of real hope. He says that the creator of heaven and earth, who also happens to be your loving Father, will give you the opportunity to find real hope by allowing his son Jesus to heal you. He uses the word “resurrection” to illustrate the point. In other words, if Jesus can make a fool of death, he can certainly make a fool of anything that is against you.  

So what is coming against you? What events or circumstances in your life have you looking and waiting for a positive outcome? Perhaps it is pain, betrayal, addiction, or even the disappointment in a failed dream. The hope you have in Jesus is not temporary. The positive outcome of your life will manifest itself in the form of healing, faith, love, and forgiveness.

Why am I so sure? Because this is our inheritance. You see, Peter also tells us that no matter how many trials come against us, those life circumstances have no power.  The real power lies in the hope of Jesus. Let me say it another way: no matter how many trials come against you, Jesus will be your salvation. In fact, even in the worst case scenario you still have heaven to look forward to. 

So sure, your music career may not have turned out the way you wanted it to. But you’re not dead. And even if you were, you would be enjoying the inheritance of heaven—can you imagine what your musical abilities could be then? 

Remember: even though your current circumstances may be bringing you pain, the hope you have in Christ will save you from the defeat of despair. The creator of heaven and earth wants you to rejoice in your hope instead of weeping in your delusion.