Like sheep having no shepherd

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

And when He had called his twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

- Matthew 9:35-10:4

In yesterday's reading, two blind men followed Jesus, crying and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!" Jesus asked them if they believed He could do this - and they answered yes. He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith let it be to you." Then their eyes were opened. He warned them not to speak of it, but word of the healing, a Messianic sign, went everywhere. A mute and demon-possessed man was brought to Jesus, whom He healed. The people said that nothing like this was ever seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said of Jesus, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Jesus' fame has now gone far and wide, perhaps "in all Israel." But what He finds in encountering the multitudes, is a people who are "weary and scattered." Jesus' response is compassion. My study bible points out that compassion means "suffering with." In the Greek, this word implies a deep movement of the emotions, deep feeling. The phrase like sheep having no shepherd is drawn from the Old Testament -- see Num. 27:17; 1 Kin. 22:17, and Ezek. 24:5. In the context of Scripture, it is an accusation against the religious leadership, which has failed its people. My study bible says they are charged with the duty of shepherds, but acted the part of wolves.

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Jesus implies that there are many, many people who are ready to hear His message, who need His leadership and what He has to offer them -- to the sheep without a shepherd, who are weary and scattered. How many of us can relate to this situation in our lives, this description of the people that Jesus encounters? My study bible says that the "harvest" is the harvest of all the prophets of Israel whom He has sent out -- the apostles are to reap this harvest, not to sow. He, Christ, is Himself the Sower, the Lord of the Harvest. A note says, "It is not the number of those who go which is most important, but the power given to those who are sent," which we will read about in the following verses.

And when He had called his twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. We take note, as we did in yesterday's reading and commentary, of the conflict between two realms, in some sense. The disciples are given "power over unclean spirits, to cast them out" -- that is, to cast out the influence of this other realm that is opposed to that of Jesus. And that which is "unclean" or "impure," having bad or harmful influence, is parallel to the sickness and the disease that afflict human beings.

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. Even here, we note the influence of what is not "pure" -- not fully intentioned in an honest way, the betrayal that will come from one of His own apostles, the implication of conflict of these realms at work in the world.

In yesterday's reading, we were first introduced to the objections of the Pharisees to Jesus' work specifically against the demonic. They accused Him of casting out demons by the ruler of the demons. Here, to help the people, the multitudes who are "weary and scattered," He appoints His apostles. The titles disciple and apostle are interchangeable for these men, says my study bible. The first means "learner" and the second is "one officially sent out on a mission." They are an extension of His kingdom, in the real sense of the power of a ruler. But Jesus' kingdom is spiritual, and the power He invests in them is spiritual, and of Himself as Son, as divine. But we always have this question in the background, of everything related to our faith, our choice, where we will invest our trust. They are sent out for the harvest, and harvest implies judgment - which will come in the culmination of this age He inaugurates. But for now, His kingdom must spread, His word -- the seeds of the Sower -- will go out, building on the word of the prophets of Israel who were "sent out" before His incarnation in the world. We get a sense that behind all things, there is choice, there are the hearts and minds of human beings, and the extraordinary value in which we are held, and the tremendous love for us that surpasses all else. In His saving guidance as Shepherd, in His word, and in His compassion is that love behind all else. Can we accept it? Do we know that we need it? It seems to me that it all comes down to that, which is offered to us in so many ways.