Helpless Sheep Need the Compassion of God’s Shepherds

Second Sunday after Pentecost

June 18, 2017

Matthew 9:36

Helpless Sheep Need the Compassion of God’s Shepherds

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

You see a whole family—mom, dad, kids—begging for money at the entrance of a fast food restaurant in Davenport.

You hear about little children left on purpose overnight in a car in Texas.

You see your own grown children ignoring the Word of God on a daily basis and especially on Sunday.

These are all things are not right, even bad. And when you see or hear bad things, you have an emotional reaction. You get sad or mad. Or both.

Jesus saw bad things, too. He saw and heard about dead children. He saw poor people begging for money. And He saw grown children who ignored His words.

What was His reaction?

When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

MATTHEW 9:36 NIV 1984

Just before this, He had seen a dead girl and a bleeding woman, two blind men, and a demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak. And that just Tuesday!

In other words Jesus daily saw a great deal of misery and sadness, things that shouldn’t be, and things that were downright evil. And just like us, His reaction was mercy and compassion. This isn’t a big surprise, because He is the same God who said to Moses in the Book of Exodus:

“I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

EXODUS 33:19 NIV 1984

This is after He had led Moses and the people of Israel out of Egypt. After! But Moses still needed reassurance of God’s love for him. Instead of becoming sad or mad at Moses for his weak faith, the Lord strengthened Moses’ trust by talking to him and repeating His promises of mercy and compassion.

This compassion is heard and seen throughout the words of the prophets. A good example is God’s compassion on Nineveh. He had sent Jonah there to call them to repentance and by the work of the Holy Spirit, they listened and repented and turned away from their violence and false religion.

And then we have Jesus at work. He had compassion and raised a dead girl to life, healed a bleeding woman, gave sight to two blind men, and drove out a demon so that a man could speak again. And but it doesn’t stop: the bad things or Jesus’ compassion.

He saw the crowds and more than just feeling sorry for them, He did something to save them. He sent them shepherds.

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”

MATTHEW 9:37-38 NIV 1984

He sees helpless and harassed people. Back then and now. Just like then, we see bad things around us: poverty, violence, neglect, false religion. And we realize something even worse: that we ourselves are bad and do bad things. So what can we do? Where can we turn for help?

By ourselves we are helpless, but Jesus sends preachers and tellers to tell of God’s compassion and mercy. So you are no good and deserve death and hell, but Jesus is good for you. By suffering and dying on the cross for all and then baptizing you, He makes a trade: He takes the blame for all bad things and He gives you the credit for all His goodness.

And news of this trade must be told. So He sends out tellers and preachers. In these New Testament times, He started with 12. Some doubted Him, all deserted Him, one betrayed Him. But by His compassion, many were faithful tellers of this grand trade made on the cross. Preachers like Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew, and many more have gone out among fellow sinners to tell of God’s compassion.

When you see bad things, you’ll react with emotion. Sometimes you’ll be able to react with merciful action. And when we meet a fellow bad person who has done bad things (which isn’t some random scenario, but often happens at home or even at church!) tell them what you’d want them to tell you in the situation was reversed: that Jesus gives us the opposite of what we deserve. Instead of harassing, He helps. He gives life instead of death.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Amen!

Mark 10:45