SPLAGNIDZOMAI!

"Bless you!" you say. But no really, splagnidzomai. It's a great word. Even if you don't know what it means yet, at least say it out loud and let it roll off your tongue. It's undeniably a fun word to say. Ok good. Now I can tell you what it means.

Splagnidzomai is a Greek word for compassion. With only one exception in 1 John 3, this word is only used in something spoken by or about Jesus. I think we can deduct from that alone that this word can tell us something about the character of Jesus. So far in my studies at Capernwray, this is one of the things that has most stood out to me and amazed me about Jesus. Until now, I never realized the importance of studying the meaning of the words used in the original text. I have got to give the credit to our principal, Rob Whittaker, who taught this lecture series because most of what I will write is coming directly from my notes. The whole series was titled Personal Evangelism. This particular point was taught in the motivations for evangelism and viewing situations in the gospels that teach us the motivation that Jesus Himself had for evangelism. I will do my best to convey the meaning of this word and deep sense of compassion that it brings to life for me in the character of Jesus.

The translations that appear in the Bible today include phrases such as "moved to pity", "felt great pity", "moved to sympathy", "moved with compassion" and the like. But the depth of the word goes so much further than that. The earliest use was to refer to parts of the body where you feel pain the most and that is connected to the production of life, which brings together a beautiful combination of an intense, life-producing pain. It was also used to refer to the bowels, intestines or guts because that is where people used to think that deep feelings came from. For example, today we say things like "from the bottom of my heart", "with all of my heart", etc. It's the same thing. William Barclay has said that “It is the strongest word in the Greek language for the feeling of compassion.” So, if you understand what I'm getting at, the word splagnidzomai is one of the deepest possible feelings one can have. In the life of Jesus, we can clearly see that God is a Person of deeply intense feeling to the point of a pain that is life-giving that was birthed in the very depths of Jesus' being. Jesus  not only saw, heard and touched people, he felt for them. He identifies with what people are going through and feels compassion for them. 

At this point in our lectures, we were asked a few questions. I don't see the harm in asking you to think about them, too!

1.  Have you ever felt His compassion for yourself?
2. Have you been moved to compassion for someone else?
3. What did you do when you felt that compassion?
4. How do you express compassion?

Now, for some examples from the Bible of what moved Jesus to splagnidzomai (I wish I could share every little bit in my notes with you, but I think that would be far too long of a blog post. If you would like a copy of my notes, I am more than willing to share them!):

Jesus was moved with compassion in the face of need.

• the confused, discouraged, depressed, "³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:35-36 

• the hungry and tired, "³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” Matthew 15:32

• the sick and diseased, "²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. ³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” ³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him." Matthew 20:29-34

• those who most people avoided, "⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed." Mark 1:40-42

• those attacked by evil spirits, "²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Mark 9:22 (and surrounding story)

• the lonely and the hurting, "²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” ²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37

• those suffering emotionally, "¹¹ Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Luke 7:11-14

• those struggling to come back to God, "²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." Luke 15:20

If you fit into one of those categories (which, chances are at some point in your life you have, do or will), Jesus knows the feeling of splagnidzomai for you. How incredible is that? The Lord of the Universe, the One who created the very air you breathe, feels that deeply for you. Not only that, but as a Christian, He lives in you and through you, so that through you others can experience compassion from the very depth of your being. When we do experience that feeling, here are some ways that we should respond:

Jesus was moved to compassion to meet a need.

• Prayerfully, prayers birthed in compassion are the most powerful prayers you can pray. We should never ignore that feeling and whenever possible, pray with the person.

• Practically, be willing to be an answer to that prayer! "¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children,let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:16-18 Mother Theresa said, "We cannot do great things on this earth. Only small things with great love.” 

• Powerfully: Do we witness with words, works or wonders? All of the above!

I always knew that Jesus was a man who expressed compassion and love, but I didn't realize the depth of the feeling behind it. How incredible. There are so many different situations, different stories he told, different things that he did to meet people where they were in that very moment and stage of life. He knew people so He knew how to respond. Correction: He knows people so He knows how to respond. 

Thank you for letting me share with you a simple truth that had a profound effect on the way I think and view my relationship with Jesus and with others. Please feel free to comment with your thoughts!

Merry Christmas!