Compassion of Jesus Christ

I am studying Matthew in BSF and today's lesson was about Jesus feeding the 5,000.  Even though the disciples didn't want to minister to the large crowd Jesus insisted that they do something.  The Word said He compassion for them.  They were like sheep without a shepherd. I think the analogy of Jesus being the Good Shepherd is such a tender one.  For those who have read the books about shepherding the analogy is deep.  He does love people and is longsuffering toward the sinner.

The heart of God is love.  To love is to give something someone needs. That is exactly what Jesus taught His disciples to do on that day.  He had them gather what provision they had and then He blessed it by raising it toward heaven. He fed the huge crowd with some left over. The disciples learned that to be like Jesus is to show compassion and to meet needs regardless of how large they may seem.  The heart of God is to give. The greatest gift was to send His Son to die on the Cross for all who will believe.  Romans 8:32: " He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"