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Read: Matthew 9:35-36
Listen: Matthew 9

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

Matthew gives two different points of view as these miracles conclude—amazement and compassion. Crowds witness Jesus’s miracles and are amazed. Jesus looks at the crowds and has compassion. Matthew offers the reader a unique view into Jesus’s heart. Jesus cares for the people and sees them like sheep without a shepherd. The religious and political leaders of Israel are failing the people. It’s like a record on repeat for hundreds of years: corruption, incompetence, immorality and judgment. The leaders are supposed to call the people toward God. Instead, they create barriers between the people and God. Jesus sees this and has compassion. John records that Jesus says he wants to bring the people life to the full because he is the good shepherd (John 10:10-11).

A central theme of the Old Testament is Israel getting lost, wandering from thing to thing. They looked at the world around them for direction instead of God. They wanted what everyone else had and cast aside the God who created them and called them his own. We do the same. We wander, looking for significance, meaning, purpose or security. We look at what people around us are doing and think it’ll lead to life. We’re like sheep without a shepherd. That’s why Jesus came. He came because he loves us and wants to offer us true life.

TODAY: Begin memorizing John 10:10-11. Write it on a piece of paper, your mirror, your journal or the notes app on your phone. Work on memorizing it to remind yourself that life to the full is found in Jesus, not in anything else.

JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:

Read Ezekiel 47-48. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Note the river of life flowing from the temple. Consider how Jesus offers living water that gives eternal life (John 4:10-14).