---
title: 'Warfield on the Compassion of Jesus Towards the Rich Young Ruler'
type: post
author: 'R. Andrew Myers'
date: 2024-01-03
url: https://confessional.org/blog/2024-warfield-on-the-compassion-of-jesus-towards-the-rich-young-ruler
---

# Warfield on the Compassion of Jesus Towards the Rich Young Ruler

“It hurt Jesus to hand over even hardened sinners to their doom. It hurt Jesus, — because Jesus’ prime characteristic was love, and love is the foundation of compassion. How close to one another the two emotions of love and compassion lie, may be taught us by the only instance in which the emotion of love is attributed to Jesus in the Synoptics (Mk. x. 21). Here we are told that Jesus, looking upon the rich young ruler, ‘loved’ him, and said to him, ‘One thing thou lackest.’ It is not the ‘love of complacency’ which is intended, but the ‘love of benevolence'; that is to say, it is the love, not so much that finds good, as that intends good, — though we may no doubt allow that ‘love of compassion is never’ — let us rather say, ‘seldom’ — ‘absolutely separated from love of approbation'; that is to say, there is ordinarily some good to be found already in those upon whom we fix our benevolent regard. The heart of our Saviour turned yearningly to the rich young man and longed to do him good; and this is an emotion, we say, which, especially in the circumstances depicted, is not far from simple compassion.” — [**B**.**B. Warfield**](/authors/b-b-warfield), *The Emotional Life of Our Lord* (1912)