Jesus' Great Compassion Leads Laborers Forth, Matthew 9:35-38, Acts 1:1-8

When Jesus is healing and teaching in the Gospel of Matthew, we hear of his looking upon the crowds with compassion and calling upon his disciples to pray for God the Father to raise up laborers to go into this harvest of people who need the Good Shepherd. This passage is part of our readings for World Mission Sunday and reminds us that as we pray for laborers, the Lord can call us into the very work we are praying for.

Image: Sent to Sheep without a Shepherd, picture by Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, no changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/50003858018/

God's Faithfulness Reveals Our Need for Jesus, Hosea 5.15-6.6, Matthew 9.9-13

God is continually demonstrating his covenant faithfulness towards us. And that faithfulness will always reveal to us our lack of faithfulness toward God, leading us to receive his mercy that comes through the covenant.

Image: See page for author, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jesus_calls_Matthew_from_among_the_tax_officials._Woodcut,_1_Wellcome_V0034940.jpg

Compassion Towards Us Sheep, Matthew 9:35-38

Jesus teaches and heals and sees a harvest all around him of people who need the salvation he is bringing. He also sees that in the people’s needs, they are exactly like sheep without a shepherd, without a good shepherd who will lead them into the truth and protect them no matter the cost. Jesus is that shepherd and calls us to himself to bring others to know him as the Good Shepherd.

Image: Shepherd and Sheep, Anton Mauve, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Jesus' Mission, Our Mission, Matthew 9.35-38

In our Gospel today, Jesus goes about teaching, proclaiming, and healing. He does this as he looks upon the crowds with deep compassion. How does this come down to us today? What does Jesus’ response teach us about our own condition? What does Jesus’ actions toward our condition mean for us in response?

Image: Jesus preaching before a crowd, woodcut. Part of the Wellcome Collection. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_preaching_before_a_crowd._Woodcut._Wellcome_V0034716.jpg and https://wellcomecollection.org/works/svbe5hgz?wellcomeImagesUrl=/indexplus/image/V0034716.html License: CC BY 4.0, No changes made.