Shepherdless

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