Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: August 16

“When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” ~ Matthew 14:13-14

Here is a “purple stone: verse for you to hold if your present suffering is because someone you loved deeply has died.

Jesus was deep in grief here. “When Jesus heard of it” refers to the murder of his beloved friend and cousin, John the Baptist. “When Jesus heard of it,” He did just what you wanted to do. He did just what you may be doing right now. “… he departed …. into a place apart …” His heart ached with sorrow. He wanted to be alone. Of all times, humanly speaking, He did not want crowds of people pulling at Him, demanding His ministry. He wanted to be alone away from the demands of His work.

And He went. But “when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.” How would we react to this? With a heart freshly burdened with grief at the death of a loved one, what would we do if we were followed into our secret place of mourning, by a mob of people demanding our attention?

We can only look at what Jesus did. And then be willing to let Him do the same thing through us when He wants to. This same Christ lives within us and His heart of compassion has not changed because of our present sorrow any more than it changed that day because of His own.

After they followed Him, with His own heart still heavy with grief, he was again “moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.”

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: … we ought to lay down our lives for the bretheren.”