Discipleship Begins with Compassion

By Dean Collins

Lately I have been thinking a lot about discipleship. You cannot think about discipleship without considering the command of Jesus following the resurrection: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Of course, as I think about discipleship, it seems that followers of Christ have been tepid at best when it comes to taking the instruction of Jesus seriously. And maybe it comes down to what I said in my opening sentence of today’s devotional. We think about discipleship more than we act on what it means to practice discipleship.

As I read Matthew 9:35-38 today, I discovered that some of our problem with our practice of discipleship has to do with our failure to practice the methods of Jesus as he went about making disciples. The first hint of what we need to practice is found in the first part of verse 35: “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages.” Biblical scholars suggest that Jesus spent somewhere between 80 to 90 percent of his ministry in a rather small area around the Sea of Galilee. But he did a lot of walking. Some scholars estimate he traveled some 3100 miles or more walking throughout the cities and villages, including his longer trek to Jerusalem from his hometown.

In Matthew’s description of how Jesus shared the kingdom of God with others, he went to a lot of dinners, took walks with the disciples and the crowds, visited villages, taught in the synagogues and was active in sharing the good news of the kingdom as well as showing compassion on those in need.

In Matthew 9:35-38, we learn that “he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” As I read that line, I go back to considering how I struggle and why many followers of Jesus struggle in our discipleship. And it might boil down to our lack of compassion. Is it possible that we might at times act in obedience to sharing the good news of Jesus but fail to demonstrate any compassion as we tell people about Jesus?

I suspect that Jesus knew that we would have this problem when he said that we should pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out more laborers. I think Jesus expected that these additional laborers would not just go and tell, but they would go and tell out of hearts of compassion. 

Maybe in our daily prayers we need to focus on God developing our eyes to see the people in need around us and then moving our hearts toward compassion for them before we do our preaching and teaching. And what if we gave more attention to the people that are just blocks and a few miles from our homes and places of work as being our fertile soil of discipleship? Of course we can pray for the nations, send support to missionaries around the globe, and even consider that Jesus might send us to some far away opportunity in our discipleship. But first, we probably need to consider developing enough compassion for our next-door neighbor and the needs that are right in front of us today.

Father, thank you, not only for the words of Jesus, but for the example of Jesus that we find in the gospels. Open our eyes to see the people in front of us and their needs. Expand our hearts to care for those around us. And by your Holy Spirit we ask that you show us when and how we are to teach your truth to others so that they may experience your love and mercy. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Your Time with God’s Word
Matthew 9:35-38 ESV

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