![]() ![]() Picture it – masses of individuals beginning to physically follow Jesus as he supplied healing, guidance, solace and rest. A rest they had been denied by the reigning religious class. He brought real rest to a distressed people. They lent credence to Jesus’ claims of being the Son of God, and provided a foretaste of the coming kingdom when all sin and suffering would be eradicated.Įverywhere Jesus went he alleviated physical, social, spiritual, and religious suffering. They were acts of mercy meant to convey both the power and compassion of the Lord. His miracles were never mere showmanship. Jesus’ ministry was marked by words and wonders of mercy. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. Matthew 4:23-25 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. He had his work cut out for him, and so he got right to it. The shepherd had arrived on the scene only to find the sheep harassed and helpless. This morning, if you find yourself feeling harassed and helpless, burdened by your sin and your lostness convinced of your own inability to cure your spiritual condition, Jesus is just the shepherd that you need too. Jesus was exactly the shepherd they needed. They needed the provision, protection and guidance that only a faithful, tender shepherd could provide. ![]() They were like a scattered flock, wandering, lost, hungry, thirsty, injured and in danger. That is, like sheep they needed a shepherd. They were men who claimed to be spiritual shepherds but abused the sheep. The religious class in Jesus’ day were the spiritual progeny of the wicked under-shepherds we read about in Jeremiah, and Ezekiel in our last lesson. Matthew tells us that Jesus perceived the people to be “harassed and helpless.” Harassed, in that they were dominated by a hypocritical, legalistic, and unspiritual religious class who, instead of leading them into relationship with their creator, burdened them with manmade rules and slammed the gate of the kingdom of heaven in their faces. The one with the perfect shepherd’s heart was moved with compassion when he saw his suffering sheep. This is why Jesus, upon seeing the state of Israel, had such a visceral reaction. When we witness Jesus’ incarnation and his earthly ministry, what we are witnessing is God himself finally stepping onto the scene to gather his lost sheep to himself and to provide for them the tender watchcare which they desperately needed. We also learned that Jesus was the satisfaction of God’s promise to shepherd his people directly, in the face of the failures of his under-shepherds. Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.Īs we learned in our last lesson, Jesus was the promised Messiah who would take up David’s throne as shepherd-king. It was into the milieu of this culture that Jesus stepped when he began his earthly ministry. A father leads his family to synagogue while contemplating whether God is indeed merciful, or if he shares the heartless character of the legalistic religious rulers who dominate so much of their lives. ![]() Blind men set up shop outside the temple where they will once again cast their livelihood upon the charity of faceless strangers. A penniless woman leaves her home knowing this day, like each day for the past twelve years, would be one of social stigma and rejection. Two tormented men, ravaged by the effects of demon possession, haunt cold tombs by a herd of swine. A well-respected Roman centurion feels powerless as he watches his beloved servant laying paralyzed. A hopeless leper sits outside the city commiserating with his diseased companions. ![]()
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