(Matthew 9:35-38)
In his gospel, Matthew gives us a snapshot of Jesus in ministry. He travelled through towns and villages, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, healing every disease and sickness. But Matthew doesn’t stop at describing what Jesus did. He shows us what moved him to do it. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (vs 36).
The Greek word behind “compassion” describes a gut-level, physical response, not just emotions or sympathy from a distance, but an ache that changes what you do next. For Jesus, that ache sent him into towns and villages. The harvest, the workers, the prayers, all flowed out of that compassion. It was what sent him to the cross.
Compassion begins in the heart of Christ. Before commission comes compassion. Our stepping into the boat with Jesus to ‘fish for people’ must be driven by compassion, not duty or guilt. We must learn to see the harassed and helpless around the way He does.
In 1998, Deborah, a stay-at-home mum, convinced her reluctant husband Ron, a successful art dealer, to start volunteering with her at a crisis accommodation centre. Where others saw the homeless as a problem to manage or avoid, Deborah saw people – God’s image bearers, in need of dignity and friendship, not just charity. Her compassion moved her to serve people across every barrier of class and background. Eventually, it led her to Denver, a homeless man, in his sixties, who had been sleeping rough for decades. By his own account, he was angry, guarded and expected nothing good from anyone.
Rather than keep her distance, Deborah kept showing up, eventually, persuaded Ron to befriend Denver over lunches. It was slow going. Denver later confessed that it took him a long time before he believed that Deborah and Ron’s interest in him were genuine and sincere. Their persistence paid off. Denver became a Christian and their friendship deepened into something that continued long after Deborah’s death from cancer in 2000. In the years that followed, Denver grew in his own faith, moved in with Ron and became a volunteer at the very crisis accommodation centre where they had met, telling anyone who would listen about the love and compassion of Christ.
That’s exactly the posture Jesus models in Matthew 9. When he saw the crowds – harassed, helpless, without a shepherd – he didn’t turn away. His compassion led straight into action: ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’ (vs 37-38). Deborah and Ron were ordinary answers to that prayer.
Compassion that stays as a feeling changes nothing. However, compassion that becomes a standing invitation, and then, obedience, changes everything.
Ask the Lord to help you ‘see your crowd’ this week, someone who is harassed and helpless and in need of being noticed. Go and be the worker the Lord of the harvest has sent!
Fellow fisher of people!
Mark
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