Dr. Jim Tillotson spoke about Jesus caring for those who suffer. He shares a series of gut-wrenching stories from his years as a college president — a mother dying on a son's wedding day, a student drowning on his honeymoon, students losing their father in a coma, a student raped at a rest stop — and names the lie Satan whispers into every deep wound: God doesn't care. Using the miracle at Nain in Luke 7, he answers that lie from Scripture.

Scripture Texts

Luke 7:11-17; 1 Peter 5:6-7; Hebrews 4:14-16; Lamentations 3:22-23

Main Points or Ideas

• Jesus is full of compassion - Walking through Matthew 9, 14, Mark 1, 6, and 8, Tillotson shows that "moved with compassion" is not a one-time description of Jesus — it is a recurring pattern. Compassion is part of who God is. And because Jesus does not change (Hebrews 13:8), the same compassion he showed the widow of Nain is still his posture toward every hurting person today. Circumstances do not change God's care. 1 Peter 5:7 declares it plainly: he cares for you. The hairs of your head are numbered. He thinks about you more than the sand on the shore.
• Jesus has the power to act on his compassion - At Nain, Jesus did not simply feel for the widow — he stopped the funeral procession, touched the coffin, and commanded a dead man to rise. His compassion moved him to do something. Tillotson points out that Jesus touched the coffin despite the ceremonial uncleanness it involved, because the law required mercy above sacrifice. He acted. And while he does not always act the way we ask, he always acts with wisdom toward our well-being and his glory.
• We are called to show compassion as Christ did - God uses believers as his instruments of compassion in the world. Tillotson calls students to walk slowly through the crowd, notice the hurting people around them, and resist the temptation to be so self-absorbed that others' pain goes unseen. He closes with the story of Anna's baby shower — where a student body's spontaneous outpouring of compassion moved her broken parents to tears in his office — as a picture of what Christ-like compassion looks like in community.

Conclusion

Two takeaways: have compassion on others as Christ has had compassion on you, and go tell others about a God who cares. The world you work and live in is full of hurting people for whom you may be the only beacon of hope they encounter. Be compassionate, make a difference, and rejoice in what God has done.