In our last two topics, we have pointed out that Christ, and the disciples, shared the Gospel through confrontation with certain groups of people and clarification with other groups of people. Today, we will be looking at another very common approach Christ, and the disciples, used with different individuals and groups. Many times, in the New Testament, we see that compassion was used as an approach in sharing the Gospel.
Christ used confrontation when talking to the religious leaders and those who thought they were “good”. We saw, in the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector, in Luke 18:10-14, that the Pharisee thanked God that he was not one of the “bad” people, like the: “extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.” Meanwhile, “the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat on his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner!’” The Jewish religious leaders focused on how “good” they were and how “bad” the rest of the people were.
Many times, until Christ arrived on the scene, the tax collectors and sinners felt they were so “bad” that God would never forgive them. As we study the ministry of Christ, He showed great compassion to those who felt they were “bad”. One illustration of this is Matthew 9:9-11, “As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, ‘Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” In Mark 12:37, we see that the common people heard Christ gladly. In Luke 15:1, we read, “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.” We also see that Christ used compassion when He talked with the Samaritan woman, in John 4, and the woman caught in the act of adultery, in John 8.
First, we have to see those needing compassion. In Matthew 9:36, we read, “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” In this verse, Christ was moved with compassion. There were several things He observed that caused Him to be moved with compassion. It is only as our lives are yielded to Christ that we will really notice the people, who need compassion, as Christ noticed them. We will be moved with compassion when:
Second, we choose to accept those needing compassion. Luke 15:20 and 22-24 say, “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him... 22But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” Once the father saw the son, and had compassion, the father did several things to show the son that he was accepted, and forgiven. The father:
When I am working with a person who feels that he is “a bad person”, I often ask the person if he is “a bad person” or “a sinner”. The normal response is that the person asks, “What is the difference?” I explain that the word “bad” means something that is worthless, unacceptable or defective. As a result, a person who feels that he is “bad” usually feels that he is worthless, unacceptable, and defective. In contrast, a person who is “a sinner” can have his sins forgiven by Christ, if he comes to Christ with an attitude of repentance - Luke 18:13-14; Acts 2:38, and 26:18. Then, I will often share about the prodigal son - Luke 15; Zacchaeus - Luke 19; the Samaritan woman - John 4; the woman caught in the act of adultery - John 8; or the Corinthians - 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
Once the person becomes a Christian, I will ask him if he is “a bad person”, “a sinner”, or “a saint who sins”. Remember that, even though there are major problems in every chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians, the Corinthians are still called saints - 1 Corinthians 1:2. Over the following weeks, and months, you will probably need to ask the person, many times, whether he is “a bad person”, “a sinner”, or “a saint who sins”, because there will be many people, used by Satan, who will try to make him feel like “a bad person” again.
Christ will use each one of us to transform the lives of people needing compassion, if we will see those who need compassion and respond with compassion. May the Lord richly bless you as you recognize people needing compassion and love them to Christ, by your acceptance and love.
Growing Christian Leaders Series – Developing Effective Leadership 9. “Sharing the Gospel Through Compassion" Updated February 2026 Copyright © 1999, Duane L. Anderson, American Indian Bible Institute; 2022, DLA, Serve and Equip Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. This resource is available from and distributed free of charge by Serve and Equip https://sveq.org ANY REPRODUCTION OF MATERIAL FOR RESALE OR PROFIT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED
