What were the things that Jesus showed compassion over? Why is such compassion so important for us as disciples?
Besides compassion, Jesus showed forgiveness. Time and again the disciples observed Jesus forgive the sins of so many people. They saw how He treated Simon, the former leper, who looked down on Mary (Luke 7:36-50). The disciples saw Jesus’ ultimate act of forgiveness in His prayer for His enemies while they hung Him on the cross (Luke 23:34). Peter, too, experienced Jesus’ forgiveness in a special way. At the arrest, he forsook Jesus and fled. Later at the trial, three times he denied knowing Jesus. Yet Jesus forgave him, and restored him to fellowship in the presence of his fellow disciples (John 21:9-17). What role should forgiveness play in our experience as disciples, and in our work of making disciples? See Luke 17:3-5; Eph. 1:7; 4:32; Col. 1:14.
