Scripture Matthew
9:35-38
Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” ... While empathy refers more generally to our ability to take the perspective of and feel the emotions of another person, compassion is when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to help.
Matthew 9:35-38
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
The 3 participles summarize Jesus ministry as he went about from place to place to TEACH to PREACH THE GOOD NEWS and to HEAL.
The difference between preaching and teaching is that preaching is primarily geared toward life-change while teaching is primarily aimed at transferring knowledge.
Preaching has an attachment of earnestness to it, while teaching is typically more measured.
Ephesians 4:11-13
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists (PREACHER), and some to be pastors (SHEPHERD) and teachers (TEACHER), to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
So Jesus taught – like a teacher. He preached like a preacher. And he healed like a caring Shepherd. In all three distinct ways he showed compassion. At times I have said I am not a very compassionate person. Then I look at how Jesus was compassionate, and one of those ways was by preaching. I care deeply about presenting the truth of scripture in a way that is meaningful, easily understood and life changing to help people draw closer to Jesus Christ.
Just like me, your compassion may be exhibited differently from someone else. One person may be compassionate by making meals for the hungry, another might serve at a soup kitchen, another might give money to a food bank, another might pray daily for those around the world who are starving, another might sit down for conversation with the people who have come to the soup kitchen, another might make YouTube videos on how to prepare healthy meals on a small budget, another might work through legislation to help end poverty. You get the point – You being compassionate may look different from the person next to you – one is not greater than another – just different.
esplagCnisqh = compassion = to have pity – to be filled with compassion and tenderness.
eskulmenoi = harass = to flay or to skin – with the meaning on papyrus to distress, to worry, to trouble (they were harassed – bewildered by those who should have taught them).
eppimmenoi = helpless – to cast down or to prostate, either from drunkenness or a mortal wound.
Harassed and helpless – both words refer to the people as sheep, mishandled and lying helpless.
As I get tired or overwhelmed, my CQ drops – my “Compassion Quotient”. The societal effects of COVID 19 has had the ability to wear us down. When we are going through our own struggles in personal ways, in our work or school life, our Compassion Quotient drops. This must have been true of Jesus too.
Matthew 14:13-16 Jesus just got word that his relative and the one who prepared the way for his coming had just been beheaded for doing what was right. This disturbed Jesus greatly and he just wanted some time alone to mourn. When Jesus heard what had happened (to John the Baptist), he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. (If you stop reading there – this is a beautiful picture – Jesus upset that John has been brutally murdered takes a sweet boat ride to a quiet serene place to be alone and collect his thoughts and remember John – AHXHXHX – that is not what happened) Hearing of this, (that Jesus had started to go to a particular place alone – but the multitudes put his location in their GPS – God Positioning System) the crowds followed him on foot from the towns (townS = plural). 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, (he didn’t even get to go to his solitary place – they got to where his boat docked before he got there. And he should have said – go away, I need time to rest and mourn my friend’s death – but instead – the scripture records:) he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
(Once they were healed you would think he could finally be alone – NOT SO MUCH) 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." 16 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." (What followed was the feeding of the 10,000 – 5,000 men plus some women and children) and he did that so he could continue to teach them what the religious leaders should have already been teaching them – they were harassed and helpless and Jesus did not want to leave them that way.)
This should not surprise us that Jesus would continue to have compassion even when he was tired and weary and needed to take care of his own needs.
READ TOGETHER
Psalm 121:1-8 A song of ascents. Of David.
I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip
— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you —
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from
all harm — he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” ... While empathy refers more generally to our ability to take the perspective of and feel the emotions of another person, compassion is when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to help.
Matthew 9:35-38
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
VERSE 35
The 3 participles summarize Jesus ministry as he went about from place to place to TEACH to PREACH THE GOOD NEWS and to HEAL.
The difference between preaching and teaching is that preaching is primarily geared toward life-change while teaching is primarily aimed at transferring knowledge.
Preaching has an attachment of earnestness to it, while teaching is typically more measured.
Ephesians 4:11-13
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists (PREACHER), and some to be pastors (SHEPHERD) and teachers (TEACHER), to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
So Jesus taught – like a teacher. He preached like a preacher. And he healed like a caring Shepherd. In all three distinct ways he showed compassion. At times I have said I am not a very compassionate person. Then I look at how Jesus was compassionate, and one of those ways was by preaching. I care deeply about presenting the truth of scripture in a way that is meaningful, easily understood and life changing to help people draw closer to Jesus Christ.
Just like me, your compassion may be exhibited differently from someone else. One person may be compassionate by making meals for the hungry, another might serve at a soup kitchen, another might give money to a food bank, another might pray daily for those around the world who are starving, another might sit down for conversation with the people who have come to the soup kitchen, another might make YouTube videos on how to prepare healthy meals on a small budget, another might work through legislation to help end poverty. You get the point – You being compassionate may look different from the person next to you – one is not greater than another – just different.
VERSE 36
36 When he saw the
crowds, he had compassion on them, because
they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.esplagCnisqh = compassion = to have pity – to be filled with compassion and tenderness.
eskulmenoi = harass = to flay or to skin – with the meaning on papyrus to distress, to worry, to trouble (they were harassed – bewildered by those who should have taught them).
eppimmenoi = helpless – to cast down or to prostate, either from drunkenness or a mortal wound.
Harassed and helpless – both words refer to the people as sheep, mishandled and lying helpless.
As I get tired or overwhelmed, my CQ drops – my “Compassion Quotient”. The societal effects of COVID 19 has had the ability to wear us down. When we are going through our own struggles in personal ways, in our work or school life, our Compassion Quotient drops. This must have been true of Jesus too.
Matthew 14:13-16 Jesus just got word that his relative and the one who prepared the way for his coming had just been beheaded for doing what was right. This disturbed Jesus greatly and he just wanted some time alone to mourn. When Jesus heard what had happened (to John the Baptist), he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. (If you stop reading there – this is a beautiful picture – Jesus upset that John has been brutally murdered takes a sweet boat ride to a quiet serene place to be alone and collect his thoughts and remember John – AHXHXHX – that is not what happened) Hearing of this, (that Jesus had started to go to a particular place alone – but the multitudes put his location in their GPS – God Positioning System) the crowds followed him on foot from the towns (townS = plural). 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, (he didn’t even get to go to his solitary place – they got to where his boat docked before he got there. And he should have said – go away, I need time to rest and mourn my friend’s death – but instead – the scripture records:) he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
(Once they were healed you would think he could finally be alone – NOT SO MUCH) 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." 16 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." (What followed was the feeding of the 10,000 – 5,000 men plus some women and children) and he did that so he could continue to teach them what the religious leaders should have already been teaching them – they were harassed and helpless and Jesus did not want to leave them that way.)
This should not surprise us that Jesus would continue to have compassion even when he was tired and weary and needed to take care of his own needs.
READ TOGETHER
Psalm 121:1-8 A song of ascents. Of David.
I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
God’s compassion quotient never
tires or grows weary.
Compassion
sometimes depends on perspective
Sometimes we cross paths with people who seem to be bristlely and not very easy to like. Yet there is usually a reason for their behavior, and often it is because they are hiding a heavy heart. If we take the time to understand what has happened, we may find that while they have a tough outer exterior, inwardly they are desperately wishing for someone to care about them.
Jesus compels us to be compassionate.
Matthew 9:37-38 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."
COMPASSION FOR
A DOG
I have
discovered something new. I am sure people do this, but I have never heard
anyone verbalize it till I said it out loud myself. After my mom passed away,
who loved to go boating with me, I said I wanted a boat dog – a companion to go
on the boat if no one else wanted to go. I wanted a dog to fill a need for
me. A few weeks after getting our dog
Skipper, I found myself talking to him out loud and asking him if we were good
for him, and telling him I want his life to be enriched by being with us, not
just our lives enriched by us having him.
In other words, I found myself having compassion for my dog even though
he is “just” a dog.COMPASSION FOR
A BABY
The late Colonel Sanders (of Kentucky
Fried Chicken) was on an airplane when an infant screamed and would not stop
even though the mother and flight attendants tried every trick they could think
of. Finally the Colonel asked if he could hold the baby. He gently rocked it to
sleep. Later a passenger said, “We all appreciate what you did for us.”COMPASSION FOR EVERYONE
GOING
THROUGH A ROUGH TIME
Sometimes we cross paths with people who seem to be bristlely and not very easy to like. Yet there is usually a reason for their behavior, and often it is because they are hiding a heavy heart. If we take the time to understand what has happened, we may find that while they have a tough outer exterior, inwardly they are desperately wishing for someone to care about them.
Jesus compels us to be compassionate.
Matthew 9:37-38 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."
The greatest compassion is Jesus’ compassion toward us…
Jesus leaving Jericho in a crowd and two guys yell at him to have mercy on them and give them sight - Matt 20:34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
A man at the pools of Bethsaida could not get himself into the water when it was stirred to be healed and Jesus had compassion on him and healed him.
A Widow in Nain was in a funeral procession for her son, Jesus took compassion on her and opened the coffin and brought her son back to life.
A woman was caught in the act of adultery and the law commands that she be stoned – Jesus had compassion on her and told her accusers – “he who is without sin may cast the first stone” from the oldest to the youngest they dropped their stones and left – leaving Jesus alone with the woman John 8:10-11 Jesus asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
We do not deserve what Jesus did for us – but his compassion makes it possible.
ILLUSTRATION OF
COMPASSION TOWARD AN EMEMY
There was a Baptist
Minister during the American Revolution named Peter Miller, who lived in
Pennsylvania and was friends with George Washington. But Miller had a bitter
enemy named Michael Whitman, who did all that he could to frustrate and
humiliate the good reverend. One day Mr. Whitman was arrested for treason and
sentenced to die. Peter Miller walked seventy miles from Philadelphia to plead
for the life of the traitor. General Washington said to Miller, that he was
sorry but their friendship was not enough to pardon the life of his friend
Michael Whitman. “My friend!” the old preacher said, “He is the bitterest enemy
that I have.” And when Washington realized that Miller had walked 70 miles to
offer practical assistance to an enemy, he granted the pardon.Romans 5:6-01
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!.
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