“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’ And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction … These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 9:35-10:7 ESV).
As Jesus looked at the crowds of people around Him, He saw lonely people, people who were missing something from their lives. And because Jesus not only held the key, He was The Key to what they needed, He was filled with compassion for them. His heart went out to them.
The crowds of lonely people are still around, and our Lord is speaking from His heart to ours today. He speaks to us because we have the key to the abundant life of the Spirit in the midst of a world that is “missing something.” Jesus calls us to see the world that He loves through His eyes.
SEEING WITH COMPASSION is …
… To See People
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 9:35 ESV). One by one, Jesus saw people – hurting people, hungry people, needy people. This is no far-off God. He is the God of history, and in Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, He is the God who is in History. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who knows His sheep by name. He is the one who told the little children to come to Him. This is the God who says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1b ESV).
SEEING WITH COMPASSION begins with seeing people as persons. Several years ago, an experiment was carried out in which there were two classrooms of children, similar in background, in intelligence and in potential. The only difference was that one class was described to the teacher as having great potential. The other class was described to another teacher as having little potential. When the two classes were tested, the class that was described as having great potential did extremely well on the test, while the other class, which was almost identical but had been described as being slow, did quite poorly on the examination. The difference was not in the classrooms; it was in the description or name of being either intelligent or slow. It was all in the naming.
This happens not only in classrooms. Too many times people are grouped into classes of “them” and “us.” We divide people into “our kind” and “not our kind.” We judge by where people live, the color of their skin, their achievements or their lack of achievements, where we think they stand on certain issues, comparing them with our standards of how we think they should be and what they should do. We don’t see individual people. We judge them by naming them and placing them in certain boxes.
But we are called to see people, one by one, precious in God’s sight, valued by a cross on which God’s Son died for them and for us. We are called to see people in the same way that Jesus saw people–as individuals beloved of God. That’s the beginning of SEEING WITH COMPASSION.
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… to See People Where They Really Are
After a busy day of going about all the cities and villages in that region, it seems that Jesus withdrew with His disciples to a hillside that overlooked the city. He was getting an overview of His work and of the people. Looking down upon the crowds of people below Him, “He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36 ESV). Jesus saw the hurting, defeated, humiliated, weary, sad, lonely people. They were under the rule of the Romans; they lacked any hope of deliverance from them; they had little, if any, spiritual leadership. They were people with no direction and no future. And Jesus had compassion on them.
The age in which we live has been described as an age in which people have an “ache to believe.” Our world today is also made up of so many hopeless, harassed, and helpless people. Bookstore aisles and internet sites are filled with promises of respite and direction for life – horoscopes and interpersonal relationships. The use of alcohol and drugs are mere attempts to mask and escape the helplessness and hopelessness. People are searching for anything that will help them find the hope, joy, and happiness missing from their lives. But their searching is a never-ending circle, like my dog when he chases his tail—never quite catching it and slumping tired and worn out on the floor from the unsuccessful effort.
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…to See with the Eyes of Christ
That’s why Jesus says: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”(Matthew 9:38 ESV). Look around and see the emptiness, the fears, the defeat, the sense of foreboding, the aimless wandering on the faces of individual people—people who are ready to hear about the hope that is in you.
This is not to say that we are exempt from the hurts of life. We live in the same world of unemployment, of economic difficulty, of pressure from others, of instant gratification, of uncertain future. But there is a difference. People of God, by faith in Jesus Christ, have a different way of seeing. We see a Savior who died and rose for us, who daily forgives our sins, who lives in our hearts, whose Spirit convinces us that we are children of God and that we are destined to live with God forever. Is there any reason for not having hope, peace, and true joy?
After showing them what He saw, Jesus then said to His disciples, “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”(Matthew 9:38b ESV). Go out, work, serve, teach, tell, and share Him who is your life and the hope that you have through the new life in Jesus Christ, because the answer to this prayer is YOU! God chose YOU as His answer!
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… to See Our Mission
Jesus called His disciples together to get them ready for their mission. It is not a mission to point out how bad things are, or to lament the state of affairs. It is a mission to go for Him, in His name, with His authority, to take Him who is “… the Way, the Truth, and the Life …” (John 14:6 ESV) to those who do not know Him—to the hurting, wandering, ashamed, lost and heartsick people whom He loved. Jesus told His disciples to begin with the people of Israel, His covenant community.
That is where we begin as well. Although our mission as God’s people is to the entire world, we dare not overlook those who are nearest and dearest to us, even in our own family: our spouse, mother or father, son or daughter, brother or sister, who is missing God’s comfort and forgiveness and peace in their lives. It begins at home. This Gospel message is for everyone, beginning with each and every member of our own families.
It begins at home and extends to our brothers and sisters in our congregation. Encourage one another in the walk of faith, pray for one another, help one another to grow in Christ, and demonstrate your faith in caring words and actions of kindness and compassion. Thus you will become a community of believers that is truly as Jesus describes: a light that attracts. Like a moth is attracted to light, so the living of your faith is an attraction to those who do not yet know him.
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…To See As Jesus Saw
“Declare the Kingdom!” said Jesus to His disciples. Point to the cross where God’s Son died; point to the words “FOR YOU” there on the cross. Point to the tomb where God’s Son rose; point to the words “FOR YOU” over the empty tomb.
Do you see what Jesus saw? He saw people. He saw them where they really were. He saw with the eyes of compassion. He saw the mission, and He saw us in that mission. Lord, especially during this Lenten season, help us to see with the same compassion that sent You to the cross for us.
