Compassion For The Lost

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:35-38

Jesus is the great teacher and is our perfect example. We look to Him for guidance and strength. Through the Scriptures we can read of Jesus and know the steps that He laid, that we might follow.

In Matthew 9 we read of the compassion that Jesus has for the lost. We read that He “saw the multitudes” and “was moved with compassion for them”. And why did Jesus have this compassion for them? “Because they were weary and scattered”. These people were lost. Jesus looked at each person and knew where they were headed if they did not obey the gospel.

What do we see when we look at the lost? How to we view those of the world? It is easy to forget that they are lost souls; people who are headed for Hell! If they are not shown the gospel they won’t have a chance - there is no hope for them.

Many who hear the Good News will dismiss it as myths and fairy tales. But there are some who will hear the Word and will be obedient.  However, if they are never taught what God would have them to do there is no way for them to obey His will.

We need to look on the lost and truly see the hopeless state that they are in. And we need to have compassion on them, like Jesus did. We need to have a zeal and excitement in sharing God’s Word and trying to save those who are “weary and scattered”.

There is a huge harvest out there, but not many are labouring for the Lord and spreading the gospel. We can each do more to serve the Lord and help others come to Him - this includes those of us who preach on Sundays. While it is good (and commanded) to deliver lessons and study together, it doesn’t go very far in spreading God’s Word. We must have true compassion and realize that there are those around us who need God’s grace and the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood.

                -- John Thrower Jr.