Jesus’ compassion calls workers to see people carefully, proclaim truthfully, care generously and serve under his authority.
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”Read the surrounding chapter
Time, place & the words behind the text
- Time
- During Jesus’ earthly ministry in Galilee, before the cross and resurrection. Matthew places the summary of teaching and healing before the commission of the Twelve. 1
- Place
- Galilean cities and villages, with teaching in synagogues and later instructions about receiving hospitality in houses and towns. The first commission is directed to the house of Israel. 1
- Setting
- Archaeological discussion of Galilee points to connected settlements and a varied regional economy, with differences among local communities. Evidence for the first century remains limited. This setting encourages attention to particular places and people within the regional world of Jesus’ ministry. 11
The form means he was moved with compassion. It describes Jesus’ response to seeing the crowds. The verb expresses pity and concern for others; the following words connect that concern to people pictured as sheep without a shepherd. Compassion belongs to the movement from seeing their condition toward acting for their good. 1, 2
The word gives no medical diagnosis or complete biography of the crowd. The shepherd image concerns care and leadership within Israel. Applying the passage requires attention to actual people, whose circumstances and abilities can be understood through a respectful relationship. 1
Seeing the people who are already there
A church may celebrate how many people attended a village meeting and still have much to learn about the people who came. Their names, questions, relationships and abilities matter to the ministry’s purpose. Compassion gives those details weight. It draws workers into attention to persons who can speak, receive, contribute and decide, so that the work grows through a relationship rather than simply reaching a target.
Matthew gives that attention a clear centre in Jesus. He travels, teaches, proclaims the kingdom and heals. When he sees the multitudes, he is moved with compassion. His concern leads to words about the harvest and workers, then to the sending of the Twelve. The ministry begins with the Lord who sees people and cares about their condition. 1
The movement from Jesus to the disciples is deliberate. The crowds described as sheep without a shepherd stand beside the harvest saying and the commission to Israel’s lost sheep. Matthew presents the disciples’ mission as a response to the need encountered within Jesus’ ministry. Their work belongs within his compassionate concern. 4
For a church serving a village, this changes what deserves attention. A gathering matters because the people matter. A conversation may reveal a question that was never anticipated. A relationship may disclose strengths that a visiting team did not know were present. Workers can be prepared and purposeful while allowing the people they meet to be heard and understood.
Jesus goes among cities and villages
Matthew’s summary is concrete: “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Teaching, proclamation and healing appear together within a ministry carried among the people. These activities belong to the same account of his compassion. 1
The wider Gospel portrayal also presents a travelling ministry among settlements and synagogues. Matthew and Luke share a Galilean setting for much of Jesus’ work while arranging particular journeys within their narratives. The descriptions show him entering places where people live and gather, rather than remaining at one centre and waiting for everyone to arrive. 12
Attention to villages has been recognised in Christian reading of this passage because human worth does not depend on the prominence of a place. People in less celebrated settings deserve truthful teaching and compassionate care. The scale or public reputation of a community cannot determine the value of those who belong to it. 20
That principle can shape the ordinary pace of ministry. The time needed to listen, explain a passage or maintain a relationship has value even when it produces little public visibility. Faithfulness can include returning a promised call, making room for another person’s account and recognising gifts among local believers. Care becomes credible as people experience its steadiness.
What the shepherd image means
Jesus describes the crowds through the image of sheep without a shepherd. The Scriptures already use this image in relation to Israel’s need for responsible leadership. Moses asks God for a leader who will guide the congregation, and Ezekiel condemns shepherds who feed themselves while neglecting the weak and scattered flock. The image concerns the failure of care. 1
The description in Matthew therefore draws attention to people who need guidance and protection. It belongs within a narrative where Jesus proclaims the kingdom and heals. The lack of a shepherd is a condition calling for responsible ministry, rather than a statement that the people have no capacity to understand, act or contribute. 3
Shepherd imagery also carries expectations of guiding, protecting and acting with justice and mercy. Its ancient association with leadership gives the image a moral direction. Authority is responsible for the good of those entrusted to it. Reading the metaphor in that wider biblical world makes the welfare of the people central to its meaning. 5
A worker’s concern should therefore deepen understanding of the people concerned. Someone who needs help in one area may have wisdom, skill and experience in another. A local believer may understand relationships or questions that a visiting worker has not yet learned. Receiving that contribution honours the person and helps the ministry become more attentive to the community it serves.
Compassion includes truthful proclamation
Jesus’ compassion includes teaching in the synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He gives people something to hear and understand. His ministry speaks of God’s reign and calls for a response. The disciples are then commissioned to proclaim the kingdom’s nearness. Their care and their message belong together within the work he entrusts to them. 1
The healing narratives also contribute to Matthew’s presentation of Jesus and the kingdom. They communicate his power and the place of healing within his ministry. The Gospel calls its readers toward faithful response, including compassion expressed in action. Hearing the accounts within their narrative helps keep attention on Jesus and the life his teaching shapes. 14
The disciples’ mission continues this connection between proclamation and healing. Jesus entrusts them with works characteristic of his own ministry. Their message has an embodied expression in the way suffering people are encountered and helped. The account gives churches a reason to consider truthful communication and compassionate action as related responsibilities. 18
A respectful invitation can therefore be clear about Christ. When a gathering includes Scripture, prayer or proclamation, people can be told what they are being invited to receive. Honest words allow them to listen with understanding. The same respect can shape the teaching itself, with patient explanation, accessible language and room for questions that deserve a thoughtful answer.
Prayer brings workers under the Lord
Jesus calls the disciples’ attention to a plentiful harvest and few labourers. He then says, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” The harvest belongs to the Lord, and workers are to be sent by him. Prayer places the work within that relationship of dependence and responsibility. 1
In this setting the harvest saying directs attention toward mission and the need for workers. Its urgency is governed by the Lord who sends them. The workers serve under his direction, with their participation answering a need he has made known. The saying invites confidence and involvement without giving the church ownership of the people it serves. 16
The following chapter makes that participation concrete. Jesus calls the Twelve, gives them authority and sends them with instructions. The disciples who have been told to pray for labourers become people entrusted with the work. Their prayer belongs with readiness to receive responsibility and act within the mission Jesus gives. 1
This gives a congregation a useful posture before and during service. Dependence on God can accompany preparation, learning and accountability. Confidence in his work allows people to accept that a relationship requires time and that another person’s response belongs to that person. Workers can remain faithful in their own conduct while entrusting the fruit to the Lord.
Receiving hospitality changes the relationship
The Twelve are sent with a particular set of travel instructions. They are to enter a house, greet it and remain with those who receive them until they leave. Their needs will be met through hospitality. The messengers bring a message and gifts of ministry, while also depending on the welcome of the people they encounter. 1
Receiving hospitality belongs to this mission alongside giving generously. The relationship includes support willingly offered to travelling workers. The instructions situate them among households, with provision received through another person’s welcome. This helps show that service involves receiving from others as well as offering what a worker has been entrusted to give. 7
That exchange can teach a visiting worker something valuable. Local people are able to offer knowledge, welcome and practical help. Their contribution is part of the relationship. A church that learns to receive with gratitude can recognise others as partners whose experience matters, including people whose contribution takes a form the visitors did not expect.
Hospitality also provides a space for truthful dialogue and generous care. Welcome can be offered without demanding repayment or a predetermined response. Christian witness can speak clearly about faith while meeting another person with respect. This gives the encounter a human relationship within which listening and speaking can take place. 13
Freely received and freely given
Jesus’ instructions include these words: “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” Their authority is a gift received from him. The generosity he commands follows the generosity with which he has equipped them. The messengers are responsible for the way that gift is shared. 1
Compassion is central to the healing ministry described in the Gospels. Jesus’ concern for suffering people gives his words and actions their character. Serving their good directs attention away from a worker’s prestige and toward the person who needs care. Prayer and ministry are shaped by the Lord whose love they are intended to express. 8
Matthew also records Jesus sharing a meal with people whose company provokes criticism. His answer brings attention to mercy and to the needs of those he calls. Service can follow that direction by asking what another person needs, rather than organising the encounter around the social status a worker wants to preserve. 15
Generosity becomes visible in the terms of the relationship. Assistance can be offered for the person’s good. An invitation to hear the gospel can be honest about its purpose. A testimony can give thanks to God while respecting the person whose experience is being described. These forms of conduct help care remain recognisable as care throughout the encounter.
The Twelve’s commission has a setting
Matthew identifies the Twelve by name and directs their first mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Those instructions belong to this stage of Jesus’ ministry. At the Gospel’s conclusion, the risen Lord commissions discipleship among all nations. The reader must hear both commissions within the movement of the whole Gospel. 1
The passage therefore gives a church patterns of compassionate attention, generosity and dependence while retaining its particular setting. It does not supply a single required travel arrangement for every later congregation. A church can serve responsibly with the resources appropriate to its work, while recognising that the authority and purpose of its witness come from Christ. 1
Early Christian interpretation noticed that Jesus sends disciples to share his work instead of keeping every task centred on himself. The response to the crowds’ need includes entrusting others with responsibility. Compassion can be expressed through preparing people to serve, so that care reaches beyond what one worker can personally accomplish. 19
Local believers can therefore grow as active participants in the church’s life. Their questions, judgment, gifts and service deserve attention. A visiting worker may help explain Scripture or support a particular task while learning from those who live there. Partnership becomes stronger as responsibility is shared with people whose faith and understanding are developing within the community.
The Holy Ghost empowers caring witness
Our Pentecostal reading receives this ministry of proclamation and healing with confidence in Christ’s continuing work through the Holy Ghost. Acts describes empowerment for witness after the resurrection, with speaking in tongues at Pentecost. Baptism in the Holy Ghost is distinguished from conversion and equips believers for service. Gifts belong within the life and mission of the church. 1
Spirit enabled witness can include close attention to another person’s daily struggles and compassionate intercession. Prayer and practical involvement can belong together as believers share life and testify to Christ. Dependence on the Holy Spirit allows service to answer actual circumstances while remaining faithful to the gospel being proclaimed. 10
The same concern gives direction to leadership. Those entrusted with care remain accountable to Christ and help others hear and respond to him. Sensitivity to the Spirit should encourage the participation of believers, allowing them to contribute to the church’s witness and service. Leadership serves the people’s growth within their relationship with the Lord. 6
This makes character important to the use of gifts. Patience, truthfulness and gentleness can help a gift serve its purpose. A worker who receives correction can become better able to care for others. A congregation that honours the Holy Ghost can also attend carefully to the people through whom and among whom the gifts are expressed.
Expectant prayer and continuing care
A Pentecostal church can pray for healing with faith in God’s power and gratitude for Christ’s compassion. It can also remain close to people whose suffering continues. Healing expectancy and recognition of the person’s enduring worth belong together. The church’s welcome should support people as members able to contribute, including those whose experience has been painful or unresolved. 9
Matthew’s mission discourse also speaks of resistance, persecution and danger. Jesus promises the Spirit of the Father’s help in testimony under pressure. Empowerment does not remove every difficulty faced by those sent. The disciples’ trust in him continues within circumstances where courage, endurance and careful conduct are needed. 17
Jesus’ instruction to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves brings discernment and integrity into the same mission. His workers can pay attention to circumstances while acting with a clear purpose and a faithful character. The charge protects the connection between what they proclaim and the way they treat the people they encounter. 1
A village ministry can therefore be marked by steady care even when the work is difficult. A person’s question can be heard again. A commitment can be kept. Another believer’s contribution can be encouraged. These ordinary acts have a place beside proclamation and prayer because they express concern for people who remain present after a gathering has ended.
Compassion gives the work its direction
Matthew’s sequence remains a strong guide: Jesus goes among people, sees their condition, teaches and heals, calls for prayer and sends workers. Compassion becomes a movement of faithful service. The message of the kingdom, the care of suffering people and the responsibility of those sent are held together by the Lord whose ministry they share. 1
For those serving a village, the implication is concrete. People deserve to be known beyond their attendance at an event. Their abilities and understanding can be received with gratitude. Their needs can be approached with care. Their response to Christ can be invited truthfully, within relationships where generosity and respect make the character of the witness clear.
The church can trust the Holy Ghost while learning about the place where it serves. It can proclaim Christ confidently while listening carefully to the people who hear. It can rejoice when new opportunities appear while honouring the faithful care already being offered by local believers. The work becomes richer as those relationships receive the attention compassion gives them.
Jesus’ compassion turns ministry toward the good of the people. The Lord of the harvest calls workers into his work, and the gifts they receive are to be shared generously. A church can serve with that purpose in view: people hearing the gospel, receiving care, growing in Christ and finding room to contribute to the life of his people. 1
Sources
Numbered references support the claims above. Scripture quotations use the KJV. Sources are considered critically within IndiaPCG’s Pentecostal perspective.
- King James Version and SBL Greek New TestamentBiblical authors; King James translators; Michael W. Holmes, SBL editor; James K. Tauber, MorphGNT editor
Matthew 8:14 to 17; 9:9 to 13 and 27 to 38; 10:1 to 23; 28:16 to 20; Numbers 27:15 to 23; Ezekiel 34:1 to 6 and 11 to 16; Luke 10:5 to 9; Acts 1 and 2; SBL record 010936
View the source - Greek English Lexicon of the New TestamentC. L. Wilibald Grimm; translated and revised by Joseph Henry Thayer
Entry 4697, Thayer definition and examples
View the source - Matthew’s View of Lost PeopleLarry Perkins · 2006
Seminary exegetical article, 1 July 2006, opening grammar and shepherd and leadership discussion
View the source - Matthew’s Messianic Shepherd King: In Search of the Lost Sheep of the House of IsraelJoel Willitts · 2007
HTS 63.1, pages 367 to 368, especially PDF page 4
View the source - Jesus as the Eschatological Davidic ShepherdYoung S. Chae · 2006
Publisher preview, page 24, PDF page 35, and methodological discussion page 7
View the source - Shepherd or One of the Sheep: Revisiting the Biblical Metaphor of the PastorateQuentin P. Kinnison · 2010
Journal of Religious Leadership 9.1, page 90, PDF page 32; historical discussion page 69
View the source - Fund Raising: The Methods Used in the Early Church Compared with Those Used in English Churches TodayDavid C. Norrington · 1998
Evangelical Quarterly 70.2, pages 116 to 117, PDF pages 3 to 4
View the source - The Healing Ministry of Jesus in the GospelsWillard M. Swartley · 2021
Vision 22.1, page 16, PDF page 4, with opening page 13
View the source - Four Pentecostal Views on HealingChristopher Cat · 2017
Journal of Contemporary Ministry 3, page 116, PDF page 11
View the source - Toward an Indian Pentecostal Missiology in the Globalized World: Navigating Religious Pluralism and SkepticismEnoch S. Charles · 2017
International Journal of Pentecostal Missiology 5, pages 66 to 67, PDF pages 13 to 14
View the source - Recent Archaeology of Galilee and the Interpretation of Texts from the Galilean Ministry of JesusMark T. Schuler · 2007
Concordia Theological Quarterly 71.2, page 116, PDF page 19
View the source - Archaeology and the Itinerant Jesus: A Historical Enquiry into Jesus’ Itinerant Ministry in the NorthJ. A. Lloyd · 2022
Publisher preview, chapter 1, page 4, PDF page 35, and scope page 17, PDF page 48
View the source - Early Church Hospitality Based Pentecostal Mission in the Religious Moderation Frame of IndonesiaSyani B. Rante Salu; Harls E. R. Siahaan; Nunuk Rinukti; Agustin Soewitomo Putri · 2023
HTS 79.1, article 8209, page 5
View the source - Jesus as Healer in the Gospel of Matthew, Part 1: MethodologyR. Alan Culpepper · 2016
In die Skriflig 50.1, narrative criticism and Matthean kingdom themes sections
View the source - Those Who Are Well: Lessons from COVID for Non Crisis Times via Matthew 9:9 to 13Conor M. Kelly · 2022
Review and Expositor, online publication 9 December 2022; discussion of service and status, solidarity and conclusion
View the source - Commentary on Matthew 9:35 to 10:8Cleophus J. LaRue · 2023
Working Preacher, 18 June 2023, harvest and Lord of harvest discussion
View the source - Commentary on Matthew 9:35 to 10:8Colin Yuckman · 2017
Working Preacher, 18 June 2017, narration from Jesus to Twelve and Spirit under persecution
View the source - Commentary on Matthew 9:35 to 10:8Greg Carey · 2008
Working Preacher, 15 June 2008, opening proclamation and healing paragraphs
View the source - Homilies on the Gospel of MatthewJohn Chrysostom
Homily 32, sections 3 to 4
View the source - Exposition of the Old and New TestamentMatthew Henry; continuing contributors
Matthew 9:35 to 38, first discussion of preaching in cities and villages
View the source