Compassionate Shepherd
by Jeff Faull
They say that confession is good for the soul, so here goes…
I generally avoid crowds. Admittedly that’s a strange thing for a church leader to say, but I’m the guy that will go to a place when I think that the least amount of people will be there. I’ve been known to leave before the ball game is over to beat the crowds. I might even miss an event because I don’t want to deal with the crowd.
A few years ago, a meme circulated when Disney World raised the cost of their annual pass to over $1000. It featured a picture of wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder seemingly endless masses of humanity with the caption: “All this can be your for only $1049.”
Think I’ll pass on that annual pass.
Is there anyone else out there like that? Does the idea of being in the middle of Times Square on New Year’s Eve sound worse to you than a root canal?
Are the adjectives that come to mind when you think “crowds” positive or are they negative? Do you think jostling, claustrophobic, crushing, cramped, uncomfortable, miserable? Or do you feel excitement, exhilaration, momentum and belonging? What do you think and feel when you see a crowd?
Jesus often encountered crowds and the word sometimes used to describe His reaction is “compassion.” (Of course, Jesus felt compassion on individuals, too.)
He felt compassion because they were sick.
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Matthew 14:14
He felt compassion because they were hungry.
“The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” Mark 8:2
“Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people, they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’” Matthew 15:32
He felt compassion for the blind.
“Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.” Matthew 20:34
But most of all because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
But isn’t it interesting that when Jesus saw a crowd, his response was likened to that of a Shepherd, Scripture refers to Him as the Good Shepherd, The Chief Shepherd, The One Shepherd, The Great Shepherd, The Shepherd at the center of the throne? The Shepherd of the Sheep and The Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
Fellow Church Leaders, we imitate Jesus the Chief Shepherd in every way, but especially when we show and exercise compassion toward His sheep.
