Reaching the Unsaved Requires Compassion (Matt. 9:36)

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

When someone is hurting, it is natural for us to hurt for them. Typically when we see a person in pain or suffering, we have deep sympathy for them. When someone suffers from something like cancer, we feel compassion for them. We know how serious it is, we can imagine that they are in intense pain—our heart drops when we see the effects of the cancer upon their bodies. We truly feel compassion for people in pain, suffering, or difficult situations and circumstances.

That’s the way Jesus felt about the crowds. They were in the deadliest position possible for a human - they were in need of a Savior, a Shepherd, a Master, Leader, and Protector. Indeed, they were "like sheep without a shepherd."And because of this, Jesus He had compassion on them. Jesus had compassion for the unsaved because of their spiritual peril. Compassion is best described as a deep sympathy for someone, and Jesus was moved with compassion because of the spiritual state of the crowds—He was moved with love and deep sympathy for them because of their spiritual peril.

This is another requirement for reaching the unsaved that we see in this passage - compassion for the unsaved. We must have compassion for them and a heartfelt sympathy for their spiritual peril. They are wandering to and fro without the Lord; they don’t have the privilege of prayer; they don’t have a relationship with Christ; they don’t have the promises of the word of God; they don’t have the comfort and direction of the Holy Spirit; they have nothing but themselves, their sin, and the wrath of God which hangs over them until the Day of Judgment. Are you moved with compassion, like Christ, to reach the unsaved because of their spiritual condition?

But what if you don’t have compassion for the unsaved? What should you do? What if you don’t have a heartfelt compassion for the unsaved? If you don’t have a compassion for the unsaved, then the one thing you’re lacking is a true understanding of an unsaved person’s spiritual peril. So I invite you to learn quickly about it.

Read Matthew 13:41-42, do you have compassion yet?
Read Romans 1:18 and 2:6-9, do you have compassion yet?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:4, do you have compassion yet?
Read Ephesians 2:1-3, do you have compassion yet?
Read Ephesians 4:18-19, do you have compassion yet?
Read Revelation 20:13-15, do you have compassion yet?

Your neighbor, your coworker, your friend, your family member, your boss—this is their spiritual peril, and if you do not yet have compassion for their soul? Pray that God would create within you a heart of compassion for the unsaved.

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor of Youth and

Children at Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His sermons,

podcasts, book reviews, and other free ministry

resources can be found on Brandon's Desk