Compassion
for our Self-Centered World
Matthew 9.36 - ÒWhen he saw the crowds, he had compassion on
them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.Ó
Matthew 14.14 - ÒWhen Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had
compassion on them and healed their sick.Ó
Matthew 15.32 - ÒI have compassion for these people; they have
already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.Ó
Matthew 20.34 - ÒJesus had compassion on them and touched their
eyes. Immediately they received
their sight and followed him.Ó
One
of the most trying challenges of following Christ is constant
service to people,
even constant exposure to people.
The
hospitality (e.g. powerful witness) of country folk, e.g. the Amish people, is
well known. The same holds true
within Jewish, Islamic and many forms of tribal social structures. Some groups, some people are just hospitable,
and some are not. If the
EnglishmanÕs home is his castle, the city-dwellerÕs home is his private,
fortified castle (e.g. comfort zone).
The person who arrives unannounced and unexpected is not likely to be
given a warm reception.
The
same challenge of too much exposure to people is likely to bedevil the couple
where one spouse spends most of the day with hordes of people and the other
spends the day largely alone. Come
evening, the same holds true--some want a quiet evening; the other wants to
talk, socialize, invite friends in or go out to parties.
We
can often get burnout when we hear of yet more suffering, famine and disaster
on the nightly news and this stems from the same sort of exposure. Before the advent of mass media,
the average family was called upon to worry about local conditions and
affairs and only occasionally about national and international matters.
Prior to the postmodern media revolution, news normally took months or even
years to receive. We find it
easier to philosophize about evil and suffering than to weep over or do much
about it.
Jesus
faced the same pressures (e.g., Matthew 9.35, throughout Galilee Josephus, a
Jewish historian writing about a generation after Jesus, provides the data
about the cities and population of Galilee; he indicates about 3 million
people). Jesus often withdrew for
prayer and rest, so clearly recognized the need for rest. Nevertheless, under strain Jesus had
compassion on the crowds (9.36).
We are pressed by lifeÕs demands, which calls for compassion, not
withdrawal. One of the most
powerful features of JesusÕ confrontation of the world was His compassion. We perceive at least three powerful
reflections of this:
I. Compassion is JesusÕ Fundamental Response to Varied
Human Needs (9.36):
(1) Jesus was touched by the masses and their
needs, precisely because they are leaderless, harassed, bullied, bruised and
helpless. Like sheep without a
shepherd, they are exploited, adrift and moving as a flock but rarely knowing
why or where.
(2)
Instead of mindless, He says that they are leaderless (the
hysterical masses) that He could have written off as immature and ignorant,
but instead He has compassion on them.
(3)
The resentments, rebellion, diverting amusements, foolish passion and stupid
habits of the heart can be condescendingly dismissed by the elite society. Where, then, are the leaders? The sad truth is that they are often in
the same state as the led--which ultimately means that they are not leaders at
all.
This
is what Jesus sees as He contemplates the great crowd. Throughout scriptures God brings comfort
to the downcast and succour to the downtrodden. He attacked their great leaders
and responded with compassion Òsheep without a shepherd.Ó ÒHe alone is our Shepherd.Ó His compassion serves to authenticate
His Messiahship as faithful and powerful as any miracle.
II. Compassion of Jesus Issues in A
Call to Pray: JesusÕ
compassion on the crowds resulted in His ÒThe harvest is plentiful but the
workers are few; ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers
into His harvest field.Ó (9.36-38)
The metaphor changes from sheep farming to harvest. The word harvest does not mean Òharvest time,Ó as is often
true of judgment (Matt. 13.49; Isaiah 17.11; Joel 3.13). The real point is Òharvest crop,Ó as
expressed by Òplentiful.Ó Jesus is
stating that there are many people open to the Gospel. The fields of people are plentiful and
waiting to hear the Gospel of the Kingdom.
What
then should be done? Should we
reproduce the evangelizing force? Should we devise a major strategy of
recruitment or should we produce a few strategically located seminaries or
Bible colleges? Or should we being
by establishing two or three industrial foundations to help pay for these
plans? All of these proposals are
secondary. The first step is to pray--pray to the Lord of the harvest field
that He would send out workers into the field. If we have a scarcity of servants, we must raise our eyes to
Him to remedy the situation.
The
world is full of evil and sin.
Whether in the first world or the third, second or fourth; whether it is
ÒcivilizedÓ areas or more primitive situations; whether in democracies or under
totalitarian regimes; whether in countries where there are a great number of
Christians or in countries where raw animism still dominates. Who is sufficient to meet such
needs? Shall mere oratory or
entertainment or more by the power of doing good deeds transform lives and
whole societies? Nothing will
suffice but the power of God; and therefore, we must entreat Him to work. God could save everyone or anyone but
He has always used other means; and that is why we are asked to pray, asking
Him to rise up workers for the kingdom (see esp. Ezekiel 22. 27-29,31). This is no suggestion merely to pray
and not work. JesusÕ compassion
called for prayer, and our following Him in the 21st century cultural maze
calls us to recover prayer power!
III. The Compassion of Jesus Issues in A Mission Carried
Out By His Disciples: (10.f.)
JesusÕ call is always a training force for His Church (compare Luke
10.1-23 and Matthew 10). JesusÕ
call preserves a number of features of relevance only this Pre-Passion,
Pre-Pentecost phase of outreach.
ÒDo not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of IsraelÓ
(10.5,6). Note the cultural
dynamic - Jews and Samaritans (John 4) did not get along very well; Jews
and Gentiles could not be expected to get on any better. Here Jesus exposes
the depths of the prejudices (Luke 9.52-56) and reveals that there is no
particular region for witnessing.
Even after Pentecost, the Church, including the Apostles, need some time
before they are able to integrate a Gentile mission into their thinking
(compare Acts 1-12 and 13-28; we must write Acts 29 in the 21st
century). The first fifteen verses of this chapter preserves a number of
features for all genuine Christian missions, thus exposing what Jesus meant by
compassion.
JesusÕ
compassion issues in missions; and when we find out we will understand the
relationship, thus what prompted the mission.
(1)
Mission is an extension of the saving reign of God. ÒAs you go, preach this Gospel that ÒThe Kingdom of Heaven
is near.Ó
(2)
Their verbal message was the proclamation of the nearness of the Kingdom. Their deeds were to display the
nearness of The Kingdom. In short,
their mission was to multiply the activity of their master.
(3)
Jesus delegates authority to His disciples.
(4)
After Pentecost signs and wonders are performed by a wide variety of believers
(Acts 2.43; 4.30; 5.12,16; 8.18; II Cor. 12.12; Jesus is ultimately ÒThe
ApostleÓ Hebrews 3.1).
(5)
Paul receives his mission on the Damascus Road (I Cor. 9 and 15).
(6)
The invading power of the kingdom of God must be balanced against other
biblical emphasis including the prevalence of suffering in the fallen world.
The Church will remain in tension over how much power and how much weakness
should characterize her until the consummation of all things.
(7)
Signs and Wonders must not be treated as a kind of key to evangelism and
mission.
(8)
Leaders must disassociate themselves from some of the worst extremes of their
followers any emphases that points out extreme forms of emotionalism and
frenzy. This is totally dislocated
from the scriptures, such as the conflict between leaders of The Great
Awakening, George Whitefield, the Wesleys (and our own Cane Ridge Revival)
and The French Prophets who cherished supernatural phenomena, wild
displays of emotional frenzy, and utterances they claimed were from God
(resurgence of signs and wonders, von Wimber at Fuller Theological Seminary and
the Church Growth School). The
saving reign of God is being extended in many dramatic displays of life
transforming power, sometimes in the context of persecution and suffering
(Romans 8.35).
IV.
The Discharge of ChristÕs Compassionate Mission Must Never Be For
Personal Financial Advantage: Jesus says that His disciples Òhave received without
paying for anything, freely; therefore you must give freely as well, without
charging for anything.Ó
(10.9-10). Here we must
note a strange arrangement which we can make sense of what values are preserved
by the tension. The disciples are
not to charge for their compassion/mission. They received Òfreely and freely they must witnessÓ (Acts
8). His kingdom comes as He sees
fit, when He sees fit and He displays His power in forgiveness, healing and
transformation; it is never because He has been coerced, bought or domesticated.
This
scripture raises several questions:
(1) support for ministers
and (2) the relationship of preaching the kingdom to expressing compassion via
feeding, healing, meeting others needs.
ÒA servant is worthy of his hire.Ó
Too often too many church members believe that Òyou keep him humble, Lord
and weÕll keep him poor.Ó (reflect on 10.8-10) All ministry is an expression of the compassion of Jesus, a
reflection of what He understood the mission of the Church should be. Here the free dispensing of kingdom
benefits and the obligations of the recipients of those benefits to provide for
kingdom messengers challenge us.
This charge represents the deepest realities of the Gospel.
V. His Mission Results In A Divided
Response (10.11-16): Just because the mission is to be motivated by
compassion does not mean that everyone exposed to its message will be won
over. Far from it--it divides
people (e.g. Politics, Religion).
Rejection of the disciples of Jesus, because they are His disciples,
ultimately invited judgment. This
turn of individuals, churches, civilizations; all institutions which are the
foundations of unity (10.14). ÒIf
anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your
feet when you leave that home or town.Ó (10.14)
Judgment
becomes explicit in the final verse of this section: ÒI tell you the truth, it will be bearable for Sodom and
Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for that townÓ (10.15). Sodom and Gomorrah, proverbial examples
for wickedness, (Genesis 19; Isaiah 1.9; Matthew 11.22-24; Romans 9.29; Jude 7)
suffered catastrophic judgment on account of their sin; but on the final day,
Jesus insists, as much as they will be condemned, the homes and towns that
rejected Jesus and His emissaries will face more fearsome judgment yet (see
esp. 11.20-24).
But
I thought the issue was ChristÕs compassion, yet you are threatening judgment
and hell! Here we see the Love of
God and The Justice of God fused together in our Lord. (John. 3.16; Romans 5.9; I John.
4.8,16,19-20; 5.12) If we are faithful
to our Lord and His Scriptures we must also deal with His wrath (Ephesians 2.3;
II Corinthians 5.14).
James D. Strauss