The Compassion of Jesus

June 13, 1993 am

Matthew 9:36-38

And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

Introduction

You have probably heard this scripture many times before. But what comes to your mind from these words? If we look carefully, the first thing we see is the compassion of Jesus.

I. THE COMPASSION OF JESUS

  1. The primary motivation of Jesus is compassion. ([Com= "along side"] [passion= "feeling"].) Jesus comes alongside, feels with the multitude.

    My primary motivation,[ AS I LOOK AT 'THE MULTITUDES' TODAY ] apart from divine intervention, is something else: fear, or intolerant judgment, or something else.

    • Children who have been brought into the world unwanted, and who have not known tenderness, with the means to take lives... frightening prospects
    • Haitian immigrants infected with AIDS, a burden to society, overloading welfare dollar availability...
    • Vocal minorities, anti-Christian voices/forces
  2. Who is right? Jesus? or me in my fear? But how can I help feeling what I feel?

II. THE COMMAND OF JESUS

  1. Perhaps this is why the first word of Jesus regarding "the multitude" is NOT to command direct human action. Jesus is afraid of what I might do or say in my own [best] attempts to do "what is right!"

    It is NOT that Jesus approves of the sins of the multitudes. But He sees their need primarily as a LACK of a Shepherd before it is anything else.

  2. Christ's first command is: PRAY THE LORD OF THE HARVEST! SEND FORTH LABORERS!

    Jesus did NOT say "You shall NOT go into the harvest!" and He did NOT say, "Don't volunteer!" But first Jesus DID say "PRAY!" This task is bigger, much bigger than we can know or understand.

    But why "pray!""???

    1. Prayer UNITES US WITH JESUS IN COMPASSION. It is difficult, if not impossible, to pray in the Spirit for a person and still hate or despise.
    2. Prayer IS THE MEANS GOD HAS CHOSEN TO RELEASE THE POWER OF GOD'S LOVE: "Ye have not because ye ask not" James said.

      If we really thought that loving intercession released tangible, vibrant, effective power in the lives of God's people, would we pray more, more pointedly, more effectively?

    3. [Think about this:] Certainly a prayer which Jesus has told us to pray WILL BE ANSWERED!
  3. Transition: This compassionate challenge for us to pray was immediately followed by a commissioning of the disciples (in Matthew 10:)

III. THE CALLING / COMMISSION OF JESUS

(Exodus 19: A kingdom of priests, an holy nation) People who walk with God, and who represent the love of God (the compassion of Jesus) to an entire world!

  1. GOD'S PEOPLE ARE "SPECIAL" TO HIM

    BUT THAT "SPECIAL LOVE" IS ALSO A SACRED TRUST! Jehovah God chose the Jewish people to be SPECIAL! But that "special" included a love for the entire world. "All the world is MINE!" declared the Lord God.

    Our "special" relationship with God is wonderful! But we never dare forget that COMPASSION that says

    PRAY! for it will make us, in some measure then, among those who GO!

  2. WE CAN AND WILL BEAR FRUIT IF ONLY WE WILL PRAY!
    1. Most of us will not be like Dale and Pat Stotler who will be pioneering a work in Lesotho (lee-soo-too) where no one else has evangelized. But every one of us can PRAY! And as we do, the vision comes that this entire world belongs to God! And in some measure, we will want to GO!
    2. God does not expect us to do what we CAN NOT do, but that does not mean our prayers are ineffectual!

This platform was filled to overflowing last Thursday evening with brand-new churches, and those planting them. Four of these churches represented were Haitian daughters of OUR Second Church.

Big things sometimes swing on "little hinges of prayer"... Dr. Brickley and Merritt Nielson talked; Merritt & I prayed as we circled Second Church... yes, Ruth Richardson ... and the transfer became reality.

The vision has not developed as I thought it might; our church is NOT as "hands on" as I might have hoped it would be. But the work is being done BETTER than we might have done it!

The work is being done because someone "prayed the Lord of the harvest!"

WHAT WILL OUR NEXT 'PRAYER' RESULT IN?

Conclusion

Let me close with two thoughts that may seem a little disjointed— but they go together in my thinking:

  1. This past week my heart was challenged as I thought of my assignment here in Wollaston. We were interviewing a young pastor about to take on his very first assignment. Dr. Manny Chavier asked him what he, the young man, thought success in the ministry might be?

    "I want to produce holy people!" was the surprising reply; and it was given in all humility. I know no one can make people holy but God, but this young man may not have said it exactly right, but he was saying that through his ministry he wanted to cooperate with God in such a way that the people he pastored would be holy.

    I thought: I have been pastoring 37 1/2 years and I couldn't have a better goal than that!

    How I want to help YOU be a holy man! a holy woman! I want you to be comfortable in God's Presence! I want you to grow to your full spiritual potential in Jesus Christ!

  2. I believe a holy people will be effective and fruitful in this harvest that Jesus tells us is so plentiful!
    1. I am interested in the MEANS to that end: if it is small groups/ accountability covenants/ seasons of prayer and fasting— so be it!
    2. I am convinced that if we will obey Jesus in His command to "Pray the Lord of the harvest," He will send out laborers! And I also believe that the end result will reach our own lives, and we will have the joy of sharing in that harvest.

The answer Jesus will do in our lives will boil down to THREE POWERFUL CHARACTERISTICS:

  1. WE WILL GLORIFY GOD BY OUR INTEGRITY OF CHARACTER

    We cannot labor in God's harvest fields if we are false in any relationship. We cannot do God's work if we have any reservations whatsoever about our love for Him, or our obedience to His will!

  2. WE WILL GLORIFY GOD BY A CLEAR PRESENTATION OF THE WORD

    It is not enough to have good intentions, or even to know the elementary things of the Word. We need to go into the Word for our food, our life, and study it to know Christ better than we know anyone else!

  3. WE WILL GLORIFY GOD WITH OUR PRESENCE WHERE WE ARE NEEDED!

    It is not quite enough to truly be GOOD, and to wonderfully be TRUE— but we have to love someone enough to stay with them in intercession and presence and caring— until they realize we love THEM, and not just their "souls!"

Prayer

Lord of the Harvest! Send forth laborers into your harvest fields! Amen!

Hymn 529 - God Whose Giving Knows No Ending