Brian Hanvey nthepottershand@hotmail 9:46 AM (10 hours ago) to Matthew 9:35-10:1 The Compassion of Jesus 35 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. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” The Twelve Apostles 10 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Me And Dad Read: Matthew 9:35–10:1 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. —Genesis 2:15 A friend once spent a day installing large stone steps in his backyard. When his 5-year-old daughter begged to help, he suggested she just sing to encourage him in his work. She said no. She wanted to help. Carefully, when it would not endanger her, he let her place her hands on the rocks as he moved them. He could have built the steps in less time without her. At the end of the day, though, he not only had new steps but also a daughter bursting with pride. “Me and Dad made steps,” she announced at dinner that night. From the beginning, God has relied on people to advance His work. After equipping Adam to cultivate the land and supervise the animals, God left the work of the garden in his hands (Gen. 2:15-20). The pattern has continued. When God wanted a dwelling place on earth, a tabernacle and temple did not descend from the sky; thousands of artists and craftsmen worked to fashion them (Ex. 35–38; 1 Kings 6). When Jesus proclaimed the new reign of God’s kingdom on earth, He invited human beings to help. He told His disciples, “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:38). As a father does with his children, so does God welcome us as His kingdom partners. Heavenly Father, thank You that in Your love and wisdom, You invite us to accomplish Your acts of love, service, and kindness here on earth. Thank You for the privilege of “helping” You. Thought for the day, God uses humble servants to accomplish His great work. Insight As we read in today’s text Jesus’ response to the multitudes, we see three distinct elements to that response. First of all, Jesus saw something. He saw the crowds of people “weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). Additionally, He felt something because, as verse 36 tells us, He was “moved with compassion for them.” Finally, the Master did something by calling for laborers to join in the work with Him (v.38). Christ’s example gives us a powerful model for engaging people with the heart of Christ.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 01:47:39 +0000
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