Sermon Tone Analysis
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And in between those two summary statements, Matthew records specific episodes of the teaching, preaching, and healing ministry of Jesus Christ.
But 9:36 marks a transition in Matthew’s record of the ministry of Jesus.
The opening line of 9:36 tells us that Jesus encountered multitudes of people during his ministry.
And the rest of that verse goes on to tell us that Jesus was “moved with compassion” toward these hurting, harassed, and helpless people.
Then the opening line of 9:37 tells us that he called his disciples together.
And the remaining part of the chapter records his message to the disciples.
“The harvest,” he said, “truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
HYPOSTATIC UNION
This passage records a collision between the dual natures of Jesus Christ.
Here, Jesus’ deity and humanity collide as he recognizes that he will not be able to personally or physically touch everybody in the multitudes who needed to know the love of God.
HYPOSTATIC UNION
Jesus was and is God.
But in becoming human, he willingly limited himself to time and space.
And add to that the fact that, as Matthew 10 begins, we are just 10 chapters away from the events of the final week of Jesus’ life.
And our text marks this significant transition in the ministry of Jesus.
TRANSFER OF MINISTRY
It sets the stage for what Jesus does as he comes to grips with the fact that the limitations of time, space, and mission render it humanly impossible for him to reach every person who needs his divine touch.
So what does he do?
He transfers the reigns of ministry over to the hands of his disciples.
Jesus has never repossessed the reigns of his ministry from his disciples
He called them together, empowered and instructed them, and then sent them out to carry on his work.
And I submit to you that Jesus has never repossessed the reigns of his ministry from his disciples.
He still intends for his work to be carried on by his disciples, who the New Testament ultimately calls the “CHURCH.”
In fact, 1 Corinthians 3:9 says,
The Lord Jesus intends to continue his ministry to people through us.
And there is no plan B. In fact, as ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM TEMPLE noted,
The church is the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of its non-members.
But the sad indictment is that far too many churches are preoccupied with hollow traditions, institutional survival, personal aggrandizement, vainglory, and political-correctness.
And despite our pious sounding slogans, we are not truly committed to intentionally and actively fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.
Rather than being fishers of men, we are content to just be keepers of the aquarium.
But I stand to remind us that the Church is in the people business.
Mark it down.
If people want to see what God is like, they only have two options.
They can read the Bible.
Or, they can watch the lives of Christians.
Rather than being fishers of men, we are content to just be keepers of the aquarium.
And since most non-Christians have no interest in reading the Bible, we who are Christians are usually the only opportunity people have to see God.
That leads us to some important questions.
How clearly can unbelievers see God through your life?
How clearly can they see him through our church?
Your life and our ministry can truly offer a proper view of God only to the degree that people’s eternal destiny and daily needs matter to us.
3 PRIORITIES OF AN ALL IN CHURCH
Becoming an all in church - a church where people matter – requires a commitment to three priorities of Jesus Christ:
AN ALL IN CHURCH IS MARKED BY COMPASSION.
Notice 9:36.
Matthew says that Jesus “saw the multitudes.”
The vision of Jesus transcends our casual observance, fickle attention, and limited perspective.
Jesus, the God-Man, saw beyond the outward appearance.
He saw their hearts.
WEARY, SCATTERED, SHEPHERD-LESS
And 9:36 tells us that from his divine vantage point he saw 3 deep, heart-level problems among the people.
Now, rather than going through an extended explanation of those phrases, let me instead just summarize the condition of the people in one word: LOST.
WEARY, SCATTERED, SHEPHERD-LESS
The people were lost, like weary, scattered, shepherdless sheep.
And Matthew tells us that when Jesus saw their lost condition, he was “moved with compassion.”
splagchnizomai
That phrase is just one word in the Greek, splagchnizomai.
It refers to the bowels, the intestines, or the visceral parts.
It’s what we would call the “guts.”
splagchnizomai
Often, when we experience violent emotions – like love, hate, or jealousy – there is a physical response to the strong emotions that seems to move our stomachs.
And, consequently, the ancients viewed the bowels as the seat of the emotions.
They mentally associated one’s emotions with the intestines.
splagchnizomai
And so Matthew tells us here that when Jesus saw the lost condition of the multitude, he was moved in his innermost being.
He felt the limp of the cripple man.
He sensed the darkness of the blind man.
He identified with the rejection of the leper.
He was moved with compassion.
splagchnizomai
In fact, except for 3 references in the parables of Jesus, every time splagchnizomai is used in the Greek New Testament, it refers to Christ himself.
And it is used of Christ to describe what Hebrews 4:15 declares:
Let me bottom-line that for you: Whatever you are dealing with right now, Jesus knows how you feel.
I don’t care what you’re dealing with, from the joy of birth to the sorrow of death, Jesus knows how you feel.
The God of scripture is the God of compassion.
COM(with)PASSION(to suffer)
And that word “COMPASSION” is derived from two terms com, which means “with,” and passion, which means, “to suffer.”
Literally, “compassion” means, “to suffer with” someone.
And the Bible says that the sovereign God of heaven suffers with us in our human needs, because in Christ he was tempted and tested at all points just like we are.
A POLITICIAN, A SOCIAL WORKER, A GENERAL
Picture these three scenes.
A politician dons a hardhat and enters the factory like he is one of the employees.
A social worker goes to the inner city and spends the night on the streets with the homeless.
And a general walks into the mess hall and sits down with the soldiers like he is one of the enlisted men.
A POLITICIAN, A SOCIAL WORKER, A GENERAL
Now, all three do this because they want to communicate the same message: “I identify with you.
I can understand.
I can relate.”
There is one problem, though.
The factory workers know that the politician’s hardhat will come off when the television crew is gone.
A POLITICIAN, A SOCIAL WORKER, A GENERAL
The derelicts know that the social worker will be in a warm bed tomorrow night.
And the soldiers are well aware that for every meal the general eats in the mess hall, he’ll eat dozens in the officer’s quarters.
Try as they might, these well-meaning professionals don’t really understand.
Their participation is partial.
A POLITICIAN, A SOCIAL WORKER, A GENERAL
Jesus’ participation, however, was complete.
He fully shared all of our experiences.
And so he is moved with compassion when he sees your needs, hurts, and frustrations.
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