Compassion - Week 1: Stop and See

I want to invite you to open your bibles with me to Matthew’s gospel, and find with me chapter 9. We’re in a year-long journey called Just Jesus—a commitment to see Him, know Him, love Him, and live like Him in 2025. And today we’re beginning a new mini-series within that called Compassion. Each week this month, I’ll challenge you to become a person of compassion. And at the end of each sermon, we’ll focus on one specific way to live that out. Today, we begin with this: the compassion of seeing. Now, let me remind you where we’ve just come from. We wrapped up a series called Into the Deep, and our final message was all about The Commission of Christ—how Jesus calls every disciple not just to follow Him, but to be sent by Him. But here’s the danger: if we hear the word “commission” and only think of doing big things— going, preaching, building— we might miss what it looks like to actually live it out. So here’s a simple, idea to begin with today: compassion isn’t just kindness. It’s not a warm fuzzy feeling we have when we spot someone hurting. No—true compassion is seeing the world through the eyes of Jesus, and then doing something about it. So it’s more than pity. It’s presence. It’s proximity. It’s action. And I want to start in Matthew 9 and find with me, verses 35 through 38. 35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Now, I'm going to stop here for a moment… because I want you to notice something… In this whole chapter, you have Jesus traveling.. and while he is traveling, his disciples are following, and watching, and learning, and people are doing the same. And so, he’s teaching, He is proclaiming. He is healing. And look at this last part.. he says, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ” SO this next part is what this field looks like, and what would workers will face… it shows us why the workers are few… So look with me what that commission looks like in the next chapter, chapter 10, and beginning with verse one. 1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him And what did he tell them whwern thy got close? He gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Now, pause again. That sounds strange to us, doesn’t it? Why would Jesus restrict their mission field? Well listen—this is not about exclusion. This is about progression. Right? They didn’t know about the calling in Matthew 28 to go to all nations… or the calling in acts 1 where Jesus goes, the power of the holy Spirit will come on you to be my witnessed to jeruslam, Samaria and Judea and the whole world Jesus is starting right in their home place.. in Israel, with the lost sheep of God's chosen people, because the message must go to them first. But don’t miss the point—this is not where the mission ends. This is where it begins. But before they can go global, they must go local. They must start with the people right in front of them. So Jesus is saying—Go. Go to those who are near. Go to those in need. And when you go—go with authority, with your aubrhtory. Go with power. Go with compassion. And look at the commission in verse 7 and 8… “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matt. 10:7–8) Now hear me—this is where the connection is made. Jesus doesn’t just say, “Believe in Me.” He says, “Follow Me.” Why the difference? I mean, cultural Christianity is just like that isn’t it? Believe in Jesus… all is well. But.. I can believe and not be following. We’ve made Christianity about believing things. Like—if I just believe the right stuff, I’m good. But Jesus didn’t walk up to people and say, “Hey, do you believe I’m the Son of God? Cool. Carry on.” No. He said, “Follow Me.” Follow Me. !!!! Drop everything. Let go of your plans. Lay down your life. Come with Me. And I wonder—how many of us say we believe, but we’ve never actually followed? I’m not trying to guilt you. I’m not. I’ve just been so convicted by this. Because I grew up thinking belief was enough. But the demons believe. Right? James says that. They believe… and they tremble. But do we? Do we tremble at His Word? Do we live like the kingdom of heaven is near? Or do we just check a box, say a prayer, show up on Sundays, and think that’s what He meant?

Last week I said, all those who are disciples, are commissioned. Right? If you ain't fishing, you ain't following… But I held back from going too deep into what that looks like inside the church, inside our community. Because I wanted us to walk through this whole month learning what compassion actually is. Because compassion… that’s what the commission looks like when it touches real people. Compassion is the visible evidence that we’ve said yes to Jesus—not just in our minds, but with our lives. It’s not a warm feeling. It’s not just saying, “I’ll pray for you.” It’s movement. It’s presence. It’s love that costs you something.

And here’s what I believe—many Christians love the idea of the Great Commission, but we avoid the cost of it. We sing about it. We wear the t-shirts. We celebrate the missionaries. But when it comes to stepping into suffering… when it means slowing down, showing up, and sacrificing our time, our comfort, maybe even our reputation… we hesitate. Because compassion always costs something. You can’t separate the commission from compassion. When Jesus sends us, He sends us with His heart. And His heart breaks for the broken. That’s who He is.

You know, I wear these glasses. And they’re kind of unique—my first pair of transitional bifocals with invisible lines. It’s wild. There’s no hard division in the middle. No obvious line where one lens stops and the other begins. It just transitions. Smoothly. Seamlessly. From one view to the other. Near and far… brought together in one lens. And I was thinking—that’s exactly what compassion looks like in the life of a follower of Jesus. There’s no line between “I believe in Jesus” and “I love people like Jesus.” It’s not like you can separate the spiritual from the practical. You can’t say, “Well, I do the Bible part, but I’m not really into the people part.” No. In the kingdom, those two things blend together. Just like these lenses—no break. No division. Just one lens. One life. One heart—aligned with the heart of Jesus. When we really see people through His eyes, there’s no such thing as “that’s not my calling” or “that’s not my ministry.” Because if Christ lives in you, compassion is your lens. You see pain… and you can’t unsee it. You see someone hurting… and something in you has to move toward them. That’s the Spirit of God in you. That’s the call of discipleship. That’s what happens when the Great Commission becomes more than just a verse you memorize—it becomes the lens you live through.

Now, lets go deeper… first, what do we see through this lens of compassion? Well, Compassion Reveals the Condition of the Lost. Look at verse 36 in chapter 9 again: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” This is where things get serious. Because compassion doesn’t just open our eyes to the pain of others—it opens our eyes to their condition before God. And I'm not just talking about poverty and sickness, but I want to include this… Jesus is seeing spiritual desperation in the souls of those he sees. These people aren’t just having a rough day. They’re sheep with no shepherd. To guidance, safety, peace or protection. When we look at the original language, when it says that they are harassed… harassed can mean beaten down, troubled, even torn open. Like the world is ravaging them. And guess what? Their helpless. helpless, here means thrown to the ground—cast down, unable to stand up. That’s how Jesus sees the crowd. as sheep—vulnerable, exhausted, wandering sheep. No direction. No voice to call them to safety. And here’s the piercing question: Is that how we see the people around us? I Just wonder, do we live as commissioned Christian with this kind of urgency? Like, we pass by people every day who are spiritually harassed and helpless. Its estimated that 8 billion people live in this world, and one pew study said, that only about 2.3 billion know Jesus. That means 6 billion people are in this world, without this knowledge of a savior. And I know… that can sound overwhelming… knowing that all people… not just some, but all people have explrteinced helplessness, or harrassed in some wya… but yet, Jesus says, start small. See those who are around you.. So yes—it’s overwhelming. But it’s also personal. Look at what Jesus didn’t say, “Fix the whole world.” He said, “Look at the harvest in front of you.” See what’s right around you. Your kids. Your coworkers. The woman behind the counter. The man with tired eyes sitting alone. Each other here in church. And here’s the thing: when you really see people—when you see the spiritual weight they’re carrying—it changes how you treat them. You stop being annoyed and start being aware. You stop criticizing and start praying. You stop walking past and start walking toward. Why? Because compassion doesn’t just open your eyes to pain. It awakens you to mission. Listen. Church… you will never catch fire for mission if your heart is one of the ones hurting others. James says it plainly: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness… My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (James 3:9–10). Do you hear what James is saying? You can’t worship Jesus on Sunday and wound people with your words on Monday. You can’t raise your hands to heaven and then roll your eyes at the person made in God’s image right in front of you. That’s not just inconsistency and false worship— that’s a compassion problem.

So, Jesus sees the crowd. But not just see them, he feels there suffering. Jesus didn’t just see their size and He didn’t just see their sin. He saw the depth of suffering that plagued them because of their sin. And that’s what moves Him. That’s what ignites His compassion. Because deep beneath the sickness, the poverty, the brokenness… is a deeper problem: separation. They are sheep without a shepherd. Their lost people without a savior. Think of the words, I once was lost, but now im found. Don’t skip past those verses in amazing grace.…being Lost is a real place people live every day. There are lost people all around you… you’re drowning in a sea of lost people, who do not even know of the savior you claim to love. Like this burdens me… so much.. and I wonder, how can any person claim christianity and be drowning in lost people all around them and not be compelled to speak life into them.

I think of the conversation I had with the football coach over lunch recently where a local teen took their own life not too long ago… all around us are teenagers drowning in shame and anxiety, scrolling at 2am, wondering if they matter. There’s the single mom who feels invisible in a world that’s moving too fast. It’s the husband who’s wearing a smile at church but carrying secrets in silence. It’s your neighbor. It’s your barista. It’s your cousin. It might even be you. And if we forget what it feels like to be lost—if we forget the ache, the confusion, the darkness—then we’ll lose our fire for compassion. Jesus never did that… he never lost the passion for the lost! When He looked at the crowd, He didn’t see interruptions. He didn’t see obligations. He saw sons and daughters made in the image of God, separated from the heart of the Father—and His heart broke for them.

And so what does he do? Jesus sees the crowds living in this way and He gives this commission. He says, “Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out workers into his harvest field” Thats the commission of Christ. And guess where it begins? It begins with prayer. Listen, church… before He sends them out, He calls them to their knees. Why? Because compassion that doesn’t start in prayer will never last in pain. This commission for compassion never starts with a plan, or strategy, or anything else… this heart for compassion’s dn burden for the lost, hopeless and hurting is born within a believer thorough prayer, as you seek the presence of God. That’s where the fire gets lit. You want your heart to beat for the lost? Get alone with the Lord of the harvest. You want to start seeing people the way Jesus sees them? You’ve got to let Him break your heart in the prayer room first. Prayer is such an important part of our life… why… because it slows us down. And I'm not talking about prayer like, Lord, help me get a better parking spot at Walmart. Jesus, be with me as I go to king soopers and hopefully get a deal on eggs. I’m talking about the kind of prayer that makes you stop. The kind of prayer that confronts you. The kind of prayer where your driving down the road with heavy burdens on your heart and mind, listening to worship music and tears begin to flow so heavily that you gotta stop and weep because you’re in the presence of God. And then you sit in the stillness and say, “God… I’m not who I want to be. I see more of me in me, than I see of You in me.” Before Jesus commissioned His disciples into the harvest, He told them to pray to the Lord of the harvest. And maybe, some of us are trying to do the work of God without the heart of God—because we haven’t stopped long enough to pray for it.

So the question is simple: When was the last time you let God interrupt your schedule just to break your heart?

He calls us to pray… and then watch what happens—He calls us to go. What unfolds in Matthew 10 is remarkable. Jesus gathers His disciples, the very ones He told to pray, and then He sends them. Verse 1 says, “He called His twelve disciples to Him…” And that phrase—called to Him—isn’t casual. In the Greek, it’s a compound word that means to summon someone close, to draw them near for a face-to-face encounter. And this just tickles my fancy… Why? Think about it. Jesus says, pray to the Lord of the harvest.. what happens in prayer? It doesn’t call Christ to us, prayer draws us to Christ. Christ is already there in your prayer. He tells us in the great commission in Matthew 28, what? I will be with you always. We’ve got to stop thinking prayer is like some magical force where we summon the power of God on high… no prayer is us seeking the face of Jesus for a face to face encounter. To come close. Because before He ever commissions them to go out, He draws them in. And I just need us to feel that. The call to go always begins with a call to come. You can’t carry the compassion of Jesus unless you’re continually coming back to the feet of Jesus. This is not about going in your own strength. This is about being so close to Christ—so saturated with His presence—that when He says, “Go,” you’re not just carrying a message… you’re carrying His heart. Church, hear me: “The closer you are to Jesus, the more your heart starts to look like His.” Why here? Why start here? And yes, everything does begin and end with Him. But there’s a reason Jesus starts with prayer before He sends them into the harvest. Because He knows something about our hearts—He knows that if compassion starts with us, it will be selective. If compassion is ruled by our own emotions, our own convenience, or our own categories of who we think is worthy, then it will run dry real fast.

Jesus starts with prayer because He knows something we don’t always like to admit: real compassion will cost us. He says the harvest is plentiful, and the workers are few—but He never promises the harvest will be easy. In fact, look down at verse 16 of chapter 10. Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He doesn’t tell His disciples, “Go and everyone will love you.” No—He says, “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves.” That’s a hard image. Not comfort. Not applause. But danger. And then He shows us why. Because if we really follow Him—if we really belong to Him—then what was true of Him will become true of us. Jesus was betrayed. Jesus was rejected. Jesus was hated. And He told us that a student isn’t above their teacher. A servant isn’t above their master. If we’re walking with Jesus, then we should expect the same road He walked—including the suffering. And here’s the sobering truth: the closer you get to Jesus, the more your life will start to clash with the world around you. The deeper your intimacy with Christ, the more costly your obedience will become. I’m not saying this. Jesus is saying this. Look at your Bible… the whole chapter is red for a reason. We begin wit prayer and intimacy because while the world rejects us, Christ does not. People say, “Well if we’d all just become like Jesus the world would love us.” That’s not true, if we all become like Jesus the Bible says the world will hate us, because the world hated Christ. The world didn’t love Jesus—it crucified Him. He was betrayed, beaten, and hung on a cross. Not because He lacked love or grace—but because the truth He carried exposed the darkness. And here’s what He told us: If they hated Me, they will hate you too. That’s not a maybe—it’s a promise. So listen—this is why the commission has to start with compassion. Because if we’re going to follow Jesus into a world that may very well reject us, then we can’t afford to carry shallow motives. We won’t survive with man-made passion or half-hearted conviction. The only thing that will keep us going when it gets hard—when we’re misunderstood, left out, laughed at—is the compassion of Christ beating inside of us. Listen Church, don’t miss this. The more you become like Christ, the more I become like Christ things will not get easier in our lives. The more this church becomes like Christ the more things will not get easier. They will get harder. They will get much, much, harder.

And I can just feel the fear rising in all of us. I want to be like Christ, I want to be compassionate, and see the hurting, and the distressed and dejected… but I don’t want to suffer. Im afraid. And that’s normal. But How do I confront this fear? Here’s how you confront it: number one, see with an eternal perspective. Look at verse 26… “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known” (Matt. 10:26). In other words—yes, the world’s going to throw all kinds of things at you. You’re going to live differently. You’re going to think differently. You’re going to love people in ways that don’t make sense to this culture. But don’t be afraid. Because one day—God will reveal what’s true. One day, all of this will make sense. Justice will be seen. What’s hidden will be brought to light. And on that day, standing with Jesus will be worth every step, every tear, every cost. Second, speak with a holy boldness. I love this imagery, Matthew 10:27 “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” Do you hear the intimacy in that? Jesus speaks to us personally—quietly, deeply, in the hidden places of prayer, surrender, and communion. But it was never meant to stay there. What He whispers in the stillness, we are meant to proclaim in the open. What He teaches us in the dark, we’re meant to shine in the light. listen—there are people around you who are still walking in darkness. And they’re not waiting for a sermon. They’re waiting for someone who’s heard the whisper of God and is willing to speak. To shine. To share. And what Jesus has done in you is too good to keep quiet about. Listne, what Jesus does through you is a result of what Jesus is doing within you. There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear. As our worship team comes up….

Let me ask you—do you love Him enough to let that love overflow into the world around you? Do you love Him enough to stop, to see, and to step toward the harassed and helpless like He did? Because here’s the bottom line: Compassion is the commission. Listen, If we don’t stop, we’ll never see. And if we don’t see, we’ll never care. And if we don’t care, we’ll never go. So this week, here’s what I’m asking you to do. I’m calling you to something simple, but sacred: I’m ca;;filing this our compassion commission… each week I want to extend Jesus commission for compassion in our community… this weeks commission is this… stop and see. At some point this week, intentionally interrupt your schedule for someone you would normally pass by. Ask their name. Ask how they’re doing. Ask how you can pray. And then pray. Right there. No fanfare. No spotlight. Just presence. Just love. And in don’t need to know who or where or anything… this is between you and Jesus. The harvest is still plentiful. The pain is still real. And Jesus is still calling workers—workers with eyes that see, hearts that break, and feet that move.

So—who will you stop to see?*