Matthew 9:36 – Compassion For The Selfish

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36 ESV)

From Ryan

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with self centered people. You know, the people that just seem to only think about themselves. Working with them is the worst. You probably have someone like this in your life, who just really gets you angry every time you think about all the self centered things they have done. We know the only way they will change is with Jesus, but we still have a difficult time interacting with them.

Today’s verse struck a chord with me, because it showed how Jesus viewed people who were not followers of him. He said they were harassed and helpless. Those are two things we don’t want to have in our lives, harassment and helplessness. There is nothing worse than feeling helpless, like you don’t have control of a situation. Jesus says that this is what these self centered people are feeling. What a horrible way to live life! No wonder they care about themselves more than others. They are just trying to bring some stability to their lives.

Not only do we learn how Jesus viewed them, but also how he felt for them. Jesus had compassion for them and tells us to pray for them in the next verse. How convicting! Often times there is not a drop of compassion in me as I interact with these people, but Jesus did.

When we start to see those around us with the eyes of Jesus, we will start to have the heart of Jesus. Stop right now and ask Jesus to give you His heart and His view for the challenging people around you.
by Short Daily Devotions