He Felt Compassion For Them [Matthew 9]

35Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. 36Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.38"Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

Throughout Matthew 9 Jesus went from one encounter to another as people came to him to be made whole again. He graciously dealt with each person with compassion and power. However, throughout chapter 9, opposition from the scribes, Pharisees and others began to surface as Jesus did His healing work. Jesus responded to the opposition with grace and truth.

Then as chapter 9 comes to a close, we read the words above and learn even more about Jesus, the Son of God.

Jesus
Went through all the cities
Went through all the villages
Taught in their synagogues
Proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom
Healed every kind of disease
Healed every kind of sickness
Saw the people
Had compassion on the people because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd
Asked the disciples to pray for the harvest - workers are needed

Praise God for the tireless, compassionate and powerful work Jesus did while on this earth. Praise God that He is still tireless, compassionate and powerfully working through His Spirit in us today. May you walk with Him in His work today.
Beth Warlick, 1/9/2009