“LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD”

Atop Mount Sinai, “The Lord came down in a cloud, and stood with (Moses)… The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love”(Exodus 34:5-6).

Centuries later, the compassionate and abounding love of God was made clearly evident by Jesus’ interactions with His unlovable creatures. Consider this Gospel snapshot: “Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd”(Matthew 9:35-36).

In the Christian Standard Version of the New Testament, the word “compassion” can be found eleven times. This is the first. All eleven describe and define the heart of Jesus. Jesus looked out over the multitudes. He touched them, healed their diseases and sickness, and felt the deep pang of their lostness, their emotional and spiritual weariness, and “He felt compassion for them.”

Jesus recognized their similarities to sheep… dumb, dirty, and defenseless. He looked upon them as a shepherd does his sheep. Without a shepherd, every lamb would be destroyed by wolves, lost in the wilderness, or wandering without direction, hungry and thirsty.  

The individual men, women, and children in the crowds were helpless and hopeless. Jesus knew that without His atoning sacrifice at Calvary, each person was destined to an eternity of suffering and separation from all that is holy. So “Jesus continued … teaching… and preaching the good news of the kingdom.” The Good News, the glorious Gospel, holds the only answer to mankind’s great need.

“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NKJV). “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV).

That’s compassion!

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).