When my schedule and life get especially crazy, I tend to turn inward. That’s great for productivity, but it often prevents me from noticing needs around me or carving out time to help, even if I do notice. The same is true when I’m exhausted or discouraged. When my own battery runs low, how can I be expected to recharge others?
Jesus gives us the answer through His example.
Feeling gut-level compassion
In Matthew 9, Jesus’s ministry is in full swing. He’s busy healing people, forgiving sins, calling disciples, and defending Himself against accusations, all while preaching the Good News of His coming Kingdom.
But despite His demanding schedule, Jesus never becomes so preoccupied or withdrawn that He overlooks a need. No matter someone’s maladies or background, Jesus pays attention. And what He notices cuts Him to the quick:
When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus doesn’t just feel sorry for people or empathize with them. The Greek word for compassion, splanchnizomai, describes deep-down yearning, literally from the bowels. The predicaments the people face and the lack of care they receive from rule-obsessed religious officials trouble Jesus to His innards.
Our Good Shepherd knows that people need protection and direction. Like sheep, the lost need rescue and spiritual nourishment. Yet Jesus’s immediate solution for people’s helplessness is evangelism! His next words address the need for more workers to go do the reaping:
Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’
After experiencing gut-churning compassion, Jesus issues an urgent call for action. And He offers news that should encourage all Christians, especially youth leaders: It’s easy pickings out in the fields! All that’s missing are workers willing to notice and care.
Today’s young people already crave truth and meaning. Many are lonely and depressed, wanting to belong and find purpose. Like the people in Matthew 9:36, they’re harassed and helpless, desperate for a trustworthy Shepherd to follow.
This generation is within reach, ready and waiting to hear the Gospel.
5 ways to model compassion
For youth leaders, deep compassion for teens isn’t a foreign concept. You wouldn’t be serving in ministry unless you ached for young people to know Jesus and experience His love. But how do you put that compassion into practice, especially while busy or distracted? And how do you show students how to prioritize people’s hearts and souls?
Again, Jesus’s interactions provide answers:
- Pay attention. Throughout Matthew 9, Jesus notices who’s hurting. He knows people’s thoughts before they speak. A woman barely manages to graze His garment, yet He understands her desperation. In ministry, paying attention involves learning names and remembering details. You can demonstrate compassion by noticing if someone is “off” (maybe more reserved than usual) and listening well without peeking at your phone or worrying about your schedule.
- Be willing to sacrifice. Even when people accuse Jesus of blasphemy and laugh at Him, He continues caring and moves toward them. Jesus heads into a noisy crowd and people playing pipes (Matthew 9:23) to take a sick girl by the hand and save her. To show compassion, what are you willing to give up? Maybe you’ll need to sacrifice a day off to help a teen in crisis. Maybe you’ll have to jump through extra hoops to gain access to a campus for Bible study.
- Enter messy situations. In Matthew 9, Jesus is bombarded by paralysis, blindness, demon possession, judgmental people, even death. Yet He extends grace, forgiving sins while healing bodies. For youth leaders, compassion means being patient with difficult teens, parents, and volunteers. It involves getting your hands dirty, serving with students rather than just supervising. And it requires admitting when you need grace and forgiveness.
- Pray for and equip youth. Jesus’s harvest message includes instructions to pray: ‘Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers’ (Matthew 9:38). And by the next chapter, He’s already sending disciples to spread the Word. Prayers for the lost and messages about evangelism are vital, but don’t stop there! Train young workers with simple strategies for sharing the G.O.S.P.E.L., and then help them practice with peers.
- Take heart! Twice in Matthew 9, Jesus tells people to take heart. The Greek word tharseo means to cheer up, be courageous, and cling confidently. Followers of Jesus get to tell a hurting world the best news imaginable. Staying hopeful while telling others the source of our hope is the ultimate way to model deep compassion.
Because of Jesus’s relentless attention and care, news of [Him] spread through all that region (Matthew 9:26). Likewise, youth leaders and teens who feel gut-level compassion can have a ripple effect, making an eternal difference.
Thankfully, we don’t head out to the harvest fields alone. Through the Holy Spirit, God oversees the Gospel Advancing process. He works through us whether we’re thriving or struggling—no matter how many demands and deadlines we’re facing.
