Jesus modeled compassion! As He announced his divine purpose He did so by reading of Isaiah 61. This passage of scripture spoke of compassion and love demonstrated to people in great need. Recorded in Lu 4:18 - "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed..." we discover that Jesus had not only a heavenly ministry of salvation but also a more earthly ministry too!
Clearly Jesus demonstrated love in action by His ministry to heal the sick, comfort the brokenhearted, raise the dead, recover sight to the blind, heal the physically disabled and feed the hungry. We too are instructed to "do unto the least of these." (Mt 25:40 - "And the King will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.' )
A not-so-new-way of reaching people is to demonstrate our LOVE to those in crisis. Jesus was a presence in time of need. (See: John 11:11 - "He said this, and then He told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I'm on My way to wake him up." )
People are in crisis everyday! What can we do about it? Provide a ministry of presence in the name of Christ. By doing this we comfort the brokenhearted!
