Hard Labor:
"And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them. because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd"Matthew 9:38 Jesus had just completed another time of teaching, preaching, and, as the Bible says "...healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." He had been involved in the kind of ministry that makes you tired and weary. The historian, Josephus, estimated that almost three million people had the opportunity to come in direct contact with Jesus during those exciting and eventful times. It was indeed hard labor even for Jesus himself, the one endued with power from on high. In spite of Jesus needing rest, he looks over the multitude and feels compassion for them. Masses of people were following Him from town to town, and they had been doing it for months. They all came: the lame, the blind, the broken, the maimed, and the poor. They needed help and Jesus knew it. He wasn't one to let needs go unmet. What moved Jesus to action was the deepness of their sin and the desperate plight of their spiritual blindness and lostness. Jesus was exhausted, but because of His deep caring, we read that he was moved with compassion. The depth of His compassion produced two strong emotions. The first emotion caused Him to "have pity" on his followers. The type of pity that results in action. The action was to remove the object of difficulty; to heal the blind, feed the hungry, comfort the bereaved ... whatever it took to fill the need. And He was good at it. The second emotion caused Him to "have mercy." Jesus wanted to create a turning point in their lives. One they would never forget. Like the blind man who could now see or the leper that now has smooth skin. They never forgot when their life was changed or the one who changed it. Jesus enjoyed getting involved in a person's life. That was part of his purpose in life. Now that He is with our heavenly Father, His purpose becomes our purpose, His love our love. He waits for us to live life the way He lived it.
Dave Grimes
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