Jesus Speaks to Women: Luke 7

13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7: 13

Today, we continue breaking down this magnificent verse, as we see the next segment:

His heart went out to her:  this is a phrase we hear quite a bit, but, what does it really mean? Well, I was curious to see if other translations of the Bible used this phrase too, so I went to my favorite online Bible site, the Bible Hub, to check, and as it happens, the NIV is about the only translation that uses it.  Out of the 28 versions that the Bible Hub shows, 21 of them use the word "compassion" to express what Jesus felt for this widow.  The other 7 use words that are often associated with compassion, like pity or He felt sorry for her. But none of them use "His heart went out to her."

Hmmmm...

I love the word "compassion."  It's a word I recognize immediately.  It's a word that evokes a world of truly positive images, feelings, emotions when I hear it or see it.  It implies a deep awareness of others' suffering and distress, but it goes beyond just being sympathetic...the word is also associated with a deep desire to do something about it...to do something to make the suffering of another end.  I believe the deep desire to alleviate the other person's suffering comes from the fact that, true compassion means we feel their pain too.  Like I heard in a movie once, compassion is "to suffer with."  So, when we have compassion, we are suffering with the one our compassion goes out to.  What a magnificent demonstration of the goodness of the heart!

So, of course I love the translations that say, "He felt compassion for her."  Given all that the word involves, this means Jesus was not only completely aware of the widow's suffering, but He felt it too!  He suffered with her.  He was one with her in the pain.  And He was moved to do something about it...as He certainly did.

But, then...what about this intriguing way of phrasing this idea:  "His heart went out to her"?  Why did the NIV choose to convey the meaning of compassion using this idiomatic expression?  I think it is just a nuisance that doesn't really change the meaning of what the writer was communicating about Jesus' feelings.  But, I find it interesting because we say that, don't we?  We say "My heart goes out to you" often, and it is always said in the context of deep sorrow.  It is a phrase that creates with words, a picture in our brain and in our souls that show how one's heart has ceased to be separate, and it is joined together with the heart of the one who is suffering, so we are connected, sharing every bit of that state of sorrow that the other one is experiencing...just the same...just as if it was ours.

Can you imagine?  Jesus' heart joined together with that poor widow's to share in the sorrow as if it was His.  And the most remarkable truth...He does that with us too...

Sigh...

Let's ponder that for a while.  Let's see the picture in our minds...and let's remember it next time we are the ones walking in sorrow like the widow of Nain.

Dear Lord, may we never, ever take for granted the fact that You are a compassionate God, whose heart fuses with ours at all times, especially in our times of great distress.  Amen!