Publisher's Synopsis
Matthew 9:36 depicts Jesus seeing large crowds of people and being deeply moved with compassion for them, describing them as "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd," highlighting His concern for their spiritual needs and lack of proper guidance, which prompts Him to take action to help them; this verse is often interpreted as a powerful illustration of Jesus' caring nature and His desire to shepherd the lost and vulnerable.
'He was moved with compassion on them when He saw the multitude'-with the eye of God, I was going to say, and the heart of a man. Pity belongs to the idea of divinity; compassion belongs to the idea of divinity incarnate; and the motion that passed across His heart is the motion that I would seek may pass, with its sweet and healing breath, across yours and mine. The right emotion for a Christian looking on the Christless crowds is pity, not aversion; pity, not anger; pity, not curiosity; pity, not indifference.
