What Jesus Did! 'Compassionate Power' — Mark 1:40-42

Monday, January 27, 2020

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. "If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean," he said.

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," he said. "Be healed!" Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.

— Mark 1:40-42 NLT

Key Thought

Jesus was "moved with compassion." Not only did he feel compassionately toward the man with leprosy, but he also was moved to act on his compassion. In his heart, in his "gut," Jesus felt the anguish of this man afflicted with leprosy. So before he spoke healing into the man's life, he did the unthinkable: He touched the leprous man. By Jewish law, Jesus made himself unclean by touching the man. Yet Jesus wanted to show the compassion he felt in a way this man would understand. Jesus spoke the words of healing only after he connected to the man's deepest emotional need and bridged the barrier that enforced this man's isolation. Mark has three messages for us in this story. He wants us to know that
  1. Jesus came and bridged the distance between us and God,
  2. Jesus will let nothing separate us from his love, and
  3. since Jesus is our role model, we should do the same with others.

Today's Prayer

Dear Father in heaven, thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you for bridging the distance between your holiness and my weakness by sending Jesus. Use me to help others find their way to Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

  • John 20:21
  • Luke 17:11-19
  • 1 John 3:16-18

Comments

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Monday, January 27, 2020

Passion for Praise
A daily passage of Scripture emphasizing praise to our God.
'So Merciful, This God of Ours' (Ps. 116:5-7)
"How kind the LORD is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! The LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me....."
Praying with Paul
Features the apostle Paul's writings turned into daily, powerful prayers.
'Yielded to Righteousness' (Ro. 6:19-23)
"Dear Father, Master of my life, As I once yielded my members to impurity and greater and greater iniquity, so now I yield them to you for..."
Today's Verse
A daily devotional featuring a Bible verse, thought and prayer.
Genesis 1:27
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Quotemeal
A daily dose of Christian quotes to inspire and encourage.
Quote by Jean Paul Richter:
"Joys are our wings, sorrows our spurs."

Illustration

Illustration of Mark 1:40-42 NLT — "Be healed!"

About This Devotional

What Jesus Did! is a series of one-year devotional guides through each gospel, using one short scripture passage each day and following the Gospel in sequential order. Each devotional consists of a scripture passage and a reflection and a prayer which open up the day's scripture and show how it challenges you to live for Jesus.

What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

More What Jesus Did!