Jump Start # 1020

Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

  It happened to me over the weekend. This is the second time it has happened to me. The first time, was at a baseball game. This time it happened when I went to the John Williams concert with the Louisville orchestra. Both times, I saw something very special in someone’s eyes and only wish I knew what they were seeing and thinking.

When I lived in Kansas City, I was blessed to go see the Royals (That wasn’t the blessing. They weren’t very good). The blessing was going with my dear friend Freddie, who once played for the Royals. He is loved by the baseball fans who remember his days. I sat at a ballgame with Freddie, a former player. It was great. I looked over several times and could see that he was really seeing things. I enjoyed the game. But I never played professionally. Freddie saw things I never did. He had an appreciation and a level of understanding that I could never grasp. I love asking him questions about the game, but it is a different world to me.

This past weekend, I went to the John Williams concert with my wife and friends, John and Sherry. John is a former classical guitarist. He knows conductors and musicians. He has played at Carnegie Hall. He has preformed in Europe. John no longer plays but he has a vast love and knowledge of composing and preforming. He knows music. He knows instruments. He knows orchestras. He knows the ins and the outs of the classical music world. A few times during the concert, I looked over at John. His eyes were so intense. I wish I saw what he saw. I wish I knew what he was thinking. He has a level of appreciation that I never will understand. His insights were amazing. He picked up on things that I never would have.

Our passage shows Jesus seeing things that others could not. It begins by saying, “Seeing the people…” Sure, you and I see people. They are in our way. They slow us down. They mess up our order. They say that they will arrive sometime between noon and five, and it’s usually closer to the five. Oh, we see people, but not like Jesus did.

He saw the people “distressed and dispirited.” That second word simply means, “the life was run out of them.” Drained. Empty. Hopeless. Tired. Struggling. That’s how Jesus saw them. He not only saw that, but seeing that, He felt compassion for them. He loved them. He cared for them. He felt what they were going through.

The wonderful shepherd section of John 10 reminds us that Jesus came to give life and give it abundantly. What a contrast—those who had life run out of them, Jesus came to fill them up with life. A better life. A new life. A forgiven life. A life with hope and promise. A life that begins with forgiveness.

Too often, I feel, we are ready to toss some people out. We tire of their ways and their excuses. We run out of patience with them. We are ready for them to hit the road. We don’t see any hope in their changing. We are ready to give up on them. Not Jesus. Jesus sees things we don’t. Jesus sees things that we can’t. Jesus is willing to wait. Jesus is willing to keep trying. Jesus sees hope. He did that with us. Many of us took some time to make up our minds about Jesus. It took some of us a long journey, involving straying from the path and going off to the wilderness, before we got it together with Jesus. He certainly was patient with us. Many of us had plenty of strong opinions and ideas about how things ought to be. Jesus had to chip away at those things before we were willing to lay down self and follow Him completely. We forget. We forget just what God saw in us. We forget how raw and rough we were at the beginning. We forget how spiritually dumb we were, even though many of us went to church all the time. And today, we are leading families, teaching classes, preaching and doing all kinds of marvelous works in the kingdom. This would not be possible had it not been for Jesus who saw something in us. God is the only one who doesn’t throw away what is broken. He finds a way of making the broken new and using it again.

Seeing the people…Jesus did that over and over. Remember the blind man in John 9? The disciples asked about the source of his blindness—his sins or his parents? Not once did they think or ask Jesus to help the blind man. Jesus saw him. He healed him. Remember the bent over woman in the synagogue? She had that problem for 18 long years. Still coming to the synagogue—still believing in God. People saw her each week, but on that particular day, Jesus really saw her. He called her forward and healed her. Remember the man lowered through the roof while Jesus was teaching in a crowded house? The Gospels tell us that Jesus saw their faith. Jesus is always seeing people.

Now, what does Jesus see in you? Have you thought about that? We tend to go from one extreme to the other. On one hand, some would say, “He sees nothing in me, because I am a complete mess up.” Others, proudly say, “Jesus sees in me the answer to this generation.” Both attitudes are wrong. Jesus doesn’t see that way.

Jesus sees you as someone worth saving. You are not junk. You are not too far gone. Jesus sees someone that He can trust in the kingdom. He wants you taking His word and teaching others. He sees you helping others. He sees you being His hands and His feet. Jesus sees someone that He wants in Heaven.

One time, at a Royals game with Freddie, the third baseman was scratching the dirt with his foot. Freddie leaned over and told me that he was moving the center fielder over. I asked, “How do you know that?” He said, “Roger, I played the game.” Later, the second baseman was thumbing his leg with the glove. He said that he was signaling the catcher. I caught the third baseman later scratching his arm. I said, “What does that mean? Who is he signaling?” Freddie smiled, “He has an itch.” Oh, I wish I knew what he knew. I wish I could see what he saw.

When I read my Bible, it’s the same way. I wish I knew what Jesus did. I wish I could see what He saw. Through faith, we learn. Through faith, we do open our eyes. Through faith, we can see things that we never saw before.

We sing, “Open our eyes, that we may see Jesus.” I wish we could see just how much He loves us. I wish we could see how often He thinks about us. I wish we could see just how much we wants us to spend forever with Him in Heaven. I wish I could truly see all that He has done for me. I wish I could see.

Seeing the people…

Roger