And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd.. Mark 6:34

Jesus saw a whole bunch of people.

He didn’t get annoyed that they were in the way.
He didn’t say “ah ha — now is my chance to make my name great and get all these people to follow me”.
He didn’t ignore them.

He saw them.
When was the last time anyone really saw you?

There was an old Cranberries song that said:

“Did you notice?
… Do you see me? Do you like me?
Does anyone care?”

Not overly profound lyrics and I’m totally dating myself to the ’90s.
But I think it expressed something that everyone wants:

To be noticed. To be cared about. To matter.

To me– it’s amazing.
Jesus saw this crowd of people and noticed each one of them.

And not just noticed — but he was moved with compassion.

It’s one thing to notice, it’s entirely different to care enough to do something.

Why was Jesus moved?

Because they were like “sheep without a shepherd”.

They were lost.

Sometimes It seems my heart is wanting to burst. When I begin to see people.
It’s all jumbled up. I think of a million people at once.

A few words that come to mind:

Haiti.
AIDS.
Homosexuals.
Poverty.
Those in the church who have sold themselves short.
PEOPLE.

Although everyone of these people are suffering in some way, the root cause is sin.
It’s lost-ness.

It’s sheep without THE shepherd.

It’s the world, and they need compassion and they need Jesus.
Tonight, our heart needs to grow.
Our eyes need to be enlightened.
We need to see.

Oh Lord, give us eyes to see with compassion,
Hands to do your work,
Feet to go where you send us,
And lips to speak the Truth of your Word.