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 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 Thaddeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

 

- Matthew 9:35-10:4 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus left the home of the synagogue ruler (having healed a woman with a hemorrhage and the ruler's daughter), two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "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.   My study Bible comments here that Jesus does not condemn sinners, but rather sees them as lost sheep to be found and brought home.  It says that compassion means "suffering with."  This illustration of sheep having no shepherd is drawn from the Old Testament (Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:5).  It is, effectively, an accusation against the Jewish leaders, for they are charged with the duty of shepherds, but they have acted as 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."  The harvest, according to my study Bible, suggests the abundance of those who are ready to accept the Kingdom.  Jesus is both the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23) and the Lord of the harvest.  His disciples are not sent to sow, but to reap what He had sown by the prophets (see John 4:36-38).  How many are sent to harvest, my study Bible says, is less important than with what power they go into the harvest (see the next verse, which begins chapter 10).

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 Thaddeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  Here Matthew uses both disciples and apostles in reference to the twelve.  These terms are used interchangeably in reference to these men.  Disciple (μαθητής/mathetes) means "learner," and apostle (ἀπόστολος/apostolos) means "one sent out."  Note that Jesus gave them power to performed miracles, while He used His own power to do so.  This is the power for the harvest referenced in the verses preceding these.  The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists; my study Bible explains this as due to the fact that many people had more than one name.  The names here in Matthew's Gospel are given in pairs, which suggests who may have traveled together on this "first missionary journey," as Mark tells us that they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  

What is the power of the harvest?  And what exactly is Christ's message that we're told He preaches, the gospel of the kingdom?  Clearly the signs that Christ performs, and the power that is His, which He shares with His disciples who are sent out as apostles, are the manifestation of the presence of this Kingdom.  They are the outward signs of God's Kingdom living even amongst us and within us.  In that sense, they reveal what is unseen -- and this is the gospel of the Kingdom, the good news.  Mark's Gospel tells us in chapter 1:  Now after John [the Baptist] was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15).  These were the words also used by John the Baptist ("Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" - Matthew 3:2), and they are the words which Jesus will teach the apostles to use as He sends them out (in the next reading).  So, this gospel of the Kingdom is the heart and center of "the Gospels" -- that is, of the ministry and teaching and mission of Christ in the world.  The signs and miracles are for this -- every wonder performed by Christ is simply a sign pointing to the larger picture, the bigger story, the true good news:  that the Kingdom is here.  It is present among us and within us (Luke 17:20-21).  As the presence of God went with the Israelites as they wandered to find the Promised Land, so God also dwells among us, and this is the presence of the Kingdom.  Through God's grace, through Christ's ministry, the gospel of the Kingdom is preached and manifests, and this is the power of the harvest, of the seeds sown long ago by each prophet sent by the Lord, and through Christ's own ministry and Incarnation, and through the Church since (which includes the Book of the Church, the Scriptures).  But with each new generation, we may still find many ways in which human beings are like sheep having no shepherd.  We see weary and scattered peoples all over the world, in many varied and exigent circumstances.  We see all kinds of problems in nominally Christian countries, of different kinds, such as breakdown of family and community, homeless populations, addiction, and assorted other problems, including corruption, which all seem to call for the leadership of a Good Shepherd who tells us the truth about what we need to do to heal and bind up our brokenness.  The need for our Shepherd seems to extend far and wide, to follow His teachings, even to recognize this Kingdom that yet dwells among us and is present to us if we would but truly seek it for ourselves in the ways that He teaches us.  We need that Good Shepherd in so many ways, because everywhere we look we can see weary and scattered people who don't find the leadership and guidance and shepherding they need from a broken world that offers "all the kingdoms of the world" but not much real substance of comfort and compassion.  We don't need abstract theories, but participation in this Kingdom that is within us and among us, and there is one way to get there.  It is faith that makes the difference where we are like sheep without a shepherd, and only one human being has been born deserving of worship.  He is still our Shepherd, the One moved with compassion for weary and scattered people.