Are you discouraged today? Do you need a reminder of Jesus’ love and compassion on all of us? I was very blessed to recently listen to this message by Pastor John MacArthur. I’ve been listening to his entire series on evangelistic prayer and intend to share more about that another time.

This message from Matthew 9 serves as a reminder of the depths of Christ’s love for humanity and explores the reasons he ministered to people in the way that He did. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re feeling lonely or discouraged, or just need a challenging reminder of the kind of love we all need to show to the lost as we seek to share the gospel with the lost. (Listen here) I’ll admit it also gave me a kick in the pants about not just praying for people who need salvation, but actually witnessing to them.

MacArthur, speaking of Jesus’ miracles, points out something I tend to forget about. I most often think about those miracles as proof of Jesus’ deity, which they absolutely were. But that wasn’t all they were.

He thinks there was a second reason also: “I believe Jesus did these miracles to demonstrate the loving, tenderness of the heart of God. I believe that Jesus wanted those people to know that God was not like the pharisees said He was. But that God was compassionate. God was sympathetic. God was tender. God was loving. God was filled with kindness. God was merciful. I believe this is part of Jesus’ ministry and I believe it is essential in ours as well.”