Jesus went through all
the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news
of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds,
he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep
without a shepherd.
~Matthew 9:35-36
Not long ago I admitted a child to our pediatric ward.
Although she was nearly a year and a half old, she weighed only 5.1 kg (11.2
pounds). She was horribly malnourished and was close to death. As I examined
the baby and got the history from her mother, my heart felt so conflicted. Part
of me was grieved by the sight of this little girl, by the disease that wracked
her body, by her helpless, listless frame. Another part of me was upset, almost
angry at the child’s mother. Why did she wait so long? How could she not
realize how sick her baby was? Didn’t she see that her little girl was dying?
As Jesus encountered the throngs of people – the lost, the
hurting, the broken, the sick -- he saw that they were like sheep without a
shepherd. A shepherdless sheep is a
sheep in serious trouble – vulnerable to predators and the elements, lost, and
hopeless. The bible does not say that Jesus felt cynical toward them or that he
was angry and bitter at the depth of their depravity, but rather that when he
saw them, he had compassion on them. The Greek word used here for compassion is
splanchonai. The splanchnic nerve is the nerve that innervates the gut and causes
the intestines to move. When Jesus saw
the crowds and saw that they were like sheep without a shepherd, he felt literal
gut-wrenching love and compassion toward them.
A few days after she was admitted with malnutrition,
vomiting, and diarrhea, the little girl died. As we grieved with her family,
the Lord did some work on my heart. Instead of seeing the child’s mother as
incompetent and uncaring, God helped me to see her as He has seen her –
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. I was reminded that in
the same way, Jesus has seen me as a shepherdless sheep. He is deeply moved with compassion for a lost
world. I have received his love and compassion, demonstrated most fully in his
death on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. He loves each of my patients
and their families with the same gut-wrenching compassion shown to me, and he
has called me to show this love in return.
Let us fix our eyes on
Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so
that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ~Hebrews 12:2-3
