Daily Devotional For Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Good morning Southside. We are making our way through the Book of Matthew. Today, we pick up right where we left off yesterday in Matthew 9:35-38:
“Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. (36) Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. (37) Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. (38) Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’” (NASB).
If you notice from this passage that Jesus’ ministry was characterized or known for teaching, preaching and healing. New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton says this about this passage:
“Teaching” shows Jesus’ concern for understanding; “preaching” shows his concern for commitment; and “healing” shows his concern for wholeness. His miracles of healing authenticated his teaching and preaching, proving that he truly was from God” (Source: Bruce B. Barton, The Life Application Bible Commentary, “Matthew, p. 195).
What the people had long waited for was the Messiah and now He was here among them. Jesus' ability to heal, cast out demons and raise the dead proved He was the Messiah, God in human flesh. The Bible says that wherever Jesus went, crowds followed Him, unlike the religious leaders. The Bible says Jesus had “compassion” on the people. “Compassion” is the Greek New Testament word [σπλαγχνίζομαι, splagchnizomai]. This is a tongue-twister, isn’t it? It literally means “to feel in the bowels, to feel in the viscera.” How true this is. When we get upset, so does our digestive system. We say things like, “I love him/her with all my heart.” We also say, “I hate him/her with all my guts.” We can have such strong emotions we feel them in our viscera or bowels. In the Bible, “compassion” describes God’s deep inner mercy to us. He gives us what we need, not what we deserve.
The prophet Ezekiel compared Israel to sheep without a shepherd (Ezekiel 34:5-6). We see the same comparison in Numbers 27:17 as well as in 1 Kings 22:17. Jesus looked out on the people because they were “distressed.” This is the word [σκύλλω, skullo] and it literally means “to skin, to flay.” It was often used metaphorically to mean “scattered, harrassed, distressed, mangled and so vexed as to not know what to do.” Have you ever been in this position spiritually? They were “dispirited.” This is the Greek New Testament word [ῥίπτω. Ripto]. This word means “to exert a lot of energy and accomplish nothing.”
So, some translate this word as “helpless, dejected, cast away, troubled, bewildered, despondent, and weary and worn out.” Ever spiritually felt like this? Jesus saw that the people were helpless – the people did not know how to throw off the spiritual yoke the religious leaders had placed on them.
Sometimes the word translated as “scattered” is also translated as prostrate, or thrown to the ground.” These two words “distressed and dispirited” describe our pure helplessness without God. Jesus came to be our Good Shepherd (John 10:14, 1 Peter 2:25). The religious leaders were supposed to be shepherds but over time they had become the wolves preying on the people. Jesus looked out and saw the “fields’ ripe for harvest” but the laborers to reap them were few. Initially, Jesus was talking about His 12 disciples.
The word Jesus uses for “send out” is the Greek New Testament word [ἐκβάλλω, ekballo]. This is a very strong word and it means “to thrust forth.” In this case, it refers to a strong push to get laborers into the fields. Why? Judgment is coming and the Gospel is the message that will bring them to Christ and save them from hell. This passage is an indictment on Christians who will not not or share their faith.
Often we pray for God to send laborers into the field to share the Gospel and many times, it is you and me God wants to go. Many people in the church will financially support others going, but not themselves. Sharing the Gospel is not an option limited to paid staff, but a command Jesus gives to every single believer. To refuse to witness and share Christ with others is saying you do not care and even wish people go to hell.
When we look at Matthew 9:35, realizing how distressed and dispirited the people were, Jesus launched His own crusade in Israel to reach people with the Gospel. Jesus knew that His disciples and we today need to learn this and apply it to our own lives. So, before Jesus provided His disciples with the means for mission (See Matthew 9:37-11:1), He provided them with the motive for missions in this passage.
What motivates Christ-committed disciples to share the Gospel is compassion. This is the cornerstone of missions. You can find by the thousands people in the church who are more concerned about buildings, by-laws and budgets, but how many people, yourself included, are so compassionate about the unbeliever that you share the Gospel with them? So, what is the motivation for missions? – compassion. Christian missions start with compassion. On this theme, New Testament scholar Frederick Dale Bruner writes:
“Why are there missions? First of all, quite simply, because Jesus’ heart goes out to people.… The first reason for Christian missions is the fellow feeling of Jesus, which we can formally call Jesus’ compassion.… Jesus feels for people. That is principle one of missions “(Source: Frederick Bruner, The Christbook: Matthew 1-12, 2nd & rev. Edition, pp. 447-448).
I think at times we Christians take for granted that compassion is the cornerstone of missions. We can never take this for granted. This is one tenet that makes Christianity stand out heads above other religions and faiths as the only truth. See how far you get with telling a Muslim to have compassion on and for the infidels. See how far you get with a Brahmim Hindu priest to have compassion for lepers, the sick and in their lower caste society. Tell a Buddhist that compassion like Jesus is the way to enlightenment and see how far you get. Jesus not only had compassion for people, but He had compassion especially for lost people.
Assignment: When it comes to having compassion for the lost that motivates you to share your faith, how would God grade you on this and why? If you feel like you are “spinning your wheel” and getting nowhere, it might be because compassion is lacking in your life for the lost. If you have given money to help others go and share, why haven’t you done this yourself?
Scripture To Meditate On: Jeremiah 50:6, “My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill And have forgotten their resting place” (NASB),
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, send into my path someone to shower with compassion of the Gospel. Lord, I do not want to be indicted by You for failing to go into the fields, whether they are my work or school or supermarket or neighborhood. Lord, I want Your heart of compassion for the lost and as Isaiah said, “Here, I am Lord, send me” (Isaiah 6:8). In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly