Jesus’ Heart (Matthew 9:36)
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
We would be lost had God not revealed himself in Christ Jesus. We would be floundering, groping around in the dark. Christ looks upon our helplessness as we pursue joy and a sense of wellbeing, and has compassion. Only he knows the way and the truth and the life. It is not intuitive to us. We are inclined toward legalistic efforts which only produce pride, judgement, and disunity. Jesus loves us, and wants better for us. His love is tender, gentle, and gracious. He intimates ever so earnestly a better way.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11: 28). Jesus is the source of restoration. His way is well suited to our personalities and experiences. The load is light when we shrug off our own particular harassing tendencies, our bent to earn that which has already been given.
Humility sooths. To simply receive with gratitude heals like a medicinal balm. All our efforts are just business and strife. Contemplate these words: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9: 13, 12: 7). Paul edifies us in 1 Corinthians 13: 3 that, “If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship (if I master every aspect of the law) that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” Stop trying to become righteous and just BE merciful and kind.
“If any one thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7: 37). Living water is what we need, that which nourishes and sustains. This, Jesus gives, something eternal, not based on regulations, but on the transforming liquor received by a soft and malleable heart. Through the Holy Spirit we can be tender and affectionate. With the pressure to perform gone, we can stop comparing and just appreciate, and love.
Grace is transforming. We receive it, and our hearts melt. Then we give it and find a like response. It’s not so much about salvation, though the promise of heaven as a free gift becomes our strength. Rather, it’s about Shalom in this life; inner peace with an eye toward communal harmony. We can experience it now, in the land of the living. For the Kingdom of heaven is in our midst (Luke 17: 21).
Why can’t we see?! Jesus’ compassion can form us into likeminded individuals. His love is for all, even the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Consider the scolding reproach of the “woes” found in Matthew 23; how they turned into a compassionate plea. First, condemnation for a group who had made the law into an idol. Meticulous observances which turned out to be hypocrisy had hardened their hearts and made their blood run cold. On the outside was rigid adherence, a facade of callousness. But inside, their hearts were barren of mercy, grace, and love. As a gymnast on the vault, Jesus landed his tirade perfectly; an inkling of his intentions, his tender love. Here, he ends with the compassionate words: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matthew 23: 37). In this the entire story of Israel comes to a head. Reading the Old Testament, one can feel God’s benevolence. Never mind the law, he says, except as a gracious guide to humility. Just love one another the way I love you. Respect each other. Affirm and appreciate. Tend to each other’s needs. That is all that is required.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3: 16-17). If Jesus’ intentions were not condemning, why do we feel that we have to judge and condemn?
People are suffering. People are hurting. People are searching for a remedy. “The harvest is plentiful” (Matthew 9:37)! Jesus is sending you into a world of need to demonstrate his heart, to preach the gospel of grace and mercy, to show the most excellent way of love.