Three Rules for a Crisis Situation

Matthew 9:35-38

As we are bombarded with troubles and sickness let us take the example of Jesus as He ministered with compassion.

Matthew 9:35-38 (ESV)

35And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

38therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Transition

How many of you remember the movie Twins staring Danny Davito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. They were twins created in an experiment to produce a genetic perfect person. Whenever that would get in a crisis situation Arnold’s character would say something like “Remember the third rule in a crisis situation?”

Here this morning, I want to give you three rules for ministering in a crisis situation based on the model of Jesus.

1. Point #1 Jesus Saw the Need

Explanation

Verse 35 gives us a summary of Jesus’ ministry at that time.

He was going through all of the villages, teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. Then, verses 36-38 report a specific incident on one of those occasions, when Jesus saw the crowds, perhaps as they approached Him, felt compassion for them, and then gave this charge to His disciples.

Craig Bloomberg states that these people were “Harassed and helpless” literally means torn and thrown down (cf. Berkeley, “mangled and thrown to the ground”)

Illustration

Years ago, some researchers decided to find out if seminary students are Good Samaritans. They met individually with 40 ministerial students under the pretense of doing a study of careers in the church. Each student was instructed to walk to a nearby building to deliver an impromptu talk into a tape recorder. Some were told to talk on the Good Samaritan parable, while others were told to talk about their career concerns.

Meanwhile, the researchers planted an actor along the path who, as a seminarian approached, groaned and slumped to the ground. They found that more than half of the students walked right on by! The researchers noted, “Some who were planning their dissertation on the Good Samaritan, literally stepped over the slumped body as they hurried along.” (Cited by William McRae, The Dynamics of Spiritual Gifts [Zondervan], p. 54.)

Application

Probably your first reaction to that story, as mine was, is to think, “How could these students be so hard-hearted as to ignore this hurting man? I would never do that!” But my hunch is that those students represent most of us. They were so preoccupied with themselves and the immediate pressure that they faced (to deliver a talk) that they did not see the obvious need of this man in their path. And so they did not stop to help him. They did not see him as Jesus would have seen him. How did Jesus see people?

Jesus saw lost people as distressed. The word means “troubled” or “vexed.” It points to the load of problems that people apart from Christ bear. Do you ever look carefully into people’s faces when you’re in public? If you do, you’ll see a lot of distressed, troubled people.

Jesus saw lost people as dispirited. The word means, “downcast” or “thrown down.” It points to the utterly helpless and forsaken condition of people who are lost in sin without the Savior.

We are surrounded by people who are downcast. People who are thrown down by the corona virus quarantine. We look out our front windows and keeping our social distance from them but almost every one you see in your neighborhood is struggling.

Some have lost their job. Over 3 million Americans filed for unemployment in the last week alone. They do not know how they are going to pay their bills. How they are going to feed their families. Or if they were to find some of the golden toilet paper, they would not be able to afford it.

Call your neighbors, text them, or message them. The main thing most of them need is just some human connection.

2. Point #2 Jesus Felt the Need

Explanation

Probably there was nothing unusual about the crowd that approached Jesus and the disciples that day. There may have been a few more sick and disabled people than in a normal crowd, but no more than there had been on previous days. But the disciples probably thought, as they did on another occasion when the needs were overwhelming (Matt. 14:15), “Send them away!” But Jesus saw them differently and He felt compassion for them.

Jesus did not slip out the backdoor. He lays his hands on them. Jesus heals them. He casts out demons.

Jesus had compassion for those He saw.

What is compassion?

The Latin the word compassion is a term to suffer.

Greek word for compassion means to be moved with pity. To feel sorrow for. To be troubled on another person’s behalf.

Here was the people who were troubled with their situation. They were beaten down by all the frightful news ever few minutes. They were becoming weary.

Illustration

If you had lived in the 17th century on the streets of Cartagena and in that city, no doubt, you would have seen a Jesus lover by the name of Pedro Claver.

Pedro was neither black nor was he a slave, but he called himself the servant of black slaves. One of the first sights they would see when they would enter into the city of Cartagena was waiting on the docks was Pedro with baskets full of food because he know many of them were hungry.

Not only that Pedro understood that many of these slaves did not have adequate clothing. So, he would stand there with baskets of clothing waiting to clothe these individuals.

Also, Pedro understood that many of these slaves would probably be sick. So he would stand there, him and his associates, with various medications waiting to minister to their sick bodies. In fact, some of these slaves contracted leprosy. It would break Pedro Claver’s heart. As he looked around the city of Cartagena he realized there was not a leprous Hospital to help minister to their leprous bodies.

In response, this Jesus lover moved with great compassion, pulled his resources along with several other Jesus lovers and built a hospital for these lepers.

People would say that a common sight was to see Pedro hugging and embracing these leprous slaves. He was placing his life in harm’s way.

You see, Pedro understood that these slaves had a greater need than just the physical. They had an eternal need to meet a Savior. So Pedro through an interpreter would preach the Good News of Jesus to these slaves

The question on the table we should ask Pedro is “Pedro, why did you work so hard for these slaves? Why did you feed them? Why did you clothe them? Why did you even put your life in harm’s way to hug and embrace these lepers? Pedro, why did you tirelessly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to them helping to disciple them in their faith?”

Pedro would tell us, “I have compassion for them. I am moved by their need. These are people made in the image of God. I was moved with compassion.”

Application

We could ask of Jesus, “What keeps you going? What kept you immersed in so much need? Why did you preach? Why did you teach? Why did you heal? Why did you cast out demons?

Verse 36 tells us why. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them.”

Where is you compassion? Are you like Pink Floyd and have become Comfortably Numb. I sure hope not. Reach out to your neighbors and see if their is anything you can do for them.

3. Point #3 Jesus Met the Need

Explanation

In verse 35 it states, “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.”

Jesus did not just go about being consumed with Himself and disciples. Jesus saw the need. Jesus felt the need. And then Jesus did something about it.

Jesus saw the sick and he healed them. Jesus saw those who were afflicted and He removed what it was that was causing their afflictions.

Jesus tells his disciples (which includes us) “we got to do something.”

Our world is afflicted

The fear of covid 19

Shelter in place (isolation)

Losing jobs

Running out of supplies

Kids are not in school

We are all afflicted. We are all helpless.

Jesus is asking us as Living Church, What is Living Church going to do?

We Have to do something.

Application

C. H. Spurgeon said that verse 38 weighed on his heart more than any other text in the Bible! He said that it haunted him perpetually (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit [Pilgrim Publications], 19:466). So I pray that this simple message will haunt us:

We need to see as Jesus saw and feel as Jesus felt so that we will do as Jesus did.

Conclusion

I want to leave you with the words of Edgar Guest:

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done

But he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Living Church let’s practice the Ministry of presence. See the need. Feel the need. And most of all meet the need.