"Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:35-36)
Here's something important to notice about Jesus' priorities. You don't see Jesus recruiting a selective group of the strongest, smartest, and the savviest, or the biggest earners and most well-connected influencers. You don't see Jesus strategizing along the lines of, "Who would bring the most power, or money, or status to my operation?" and then going after only those people. In fact, you don't ever really see Jesus seeking out particular people on the basis of what they can do for him--it's always the other way around, isn't it? Jesus seeks out people who are especially in need of him. That's why he has gathered us--you and me--into his community. We are the ones on the receiving end in this relationship. We are the ones who find ourselves found. We aren't here, in the disciple community called "church" because we're so great, but because Jesus is--and his greatness looks like love that finds the folks who have been scattered and are waiting to be reclaimed.
Here in this passage that many of us heard back on Sunday morning, that motivation is clear. Jesus sees the crowds who have come out to hear him and seek his help, but his response is not, "These crowds could really help me look impressive and important! I could mold them into an army to help me seize power!" He doesn't look at the crowds as a tool to be manipulated or a reason to brag about his own assumed greatness. Rather, Jesus sees all these people who are struggling just to get by, seeking direction, and who have been "harassed" and made to feel "helpless" beneath the powers of the day, and his immediate impulse is to serve them. He will help heal their sickness. He will bring hope to their broken hearts by announcing that God's Reign is at hand. He will show them what God's kingdom is like by bringing people more fully to life in whatever ways they might need it He shows up, in other words, to meet people where they are, and to bring them more fully to life.
Jesus knows, too, that when we human beings feel desperate, for whatever reason, we will start looking for anybody to lead us who can make big promises, without always asking whether they can deliver. We will reach out for whatever snake-oil salesman is coming our way, or give our allegiance to whatever voice riles us up the best and shouts the loudest to get our attention. People are funny that way--we are quite often herd animals, and all too often we let ourselves get taken advantage of by people who do not really have our best interests at heart but turn out to be, as Jesus says elsewhere, "wolves in sheep's clothing." That's part of what you see here in these verses: Jesus offers himself as an alternative to all the hucksters, frauds, and demagogues out there. Jesus offers himself as a shepherd--that is, as one who truly puts the needs of those in his care before his own. Jesus hasn't come to use us, leverage our influence, take our resources, or weaponize us into an army; he has come to heal our wounded places, lift up our broken hearts, and bring us more fully to life. Jesus has sought us out for our sake, not for his own.
Too often in our own lives, when a popular figure comes on the scene, it becomes easy to get our hopes up only for them to just use people as pawns for their ambitions. They'll bilk people for their money, their votes, and their attention, but not really have anyone's best interests at heart other than their own. Part of what makes Jesus so compelling is that he is an alternative to that sort of manipulative rabble-rousing. Jesus doesn't seek to use us, but to heal us. He isn't trying to take advantage of us, but to offer his goodness to us freely. That's why he's worth following, giving our lives to, and sharing with other people.
That's why we answer his call when he summons us, so that we can be a part of his work of bringing other people more fully to life as well.
Today, who might you meet who is waiting to hear about this kind of love--that doesn't merely think of what it can get from us, but comes specifically for what it can give to us?
Lord Jesus, find us where we are today, and bring us more fully to life.
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