Being Like Jesus

A word about Jesus. I hear some Christians say, "I want to be like Jesus," which is good, but I’m not sure we always understand how Jesus felt and acted, and what he said and did. There’s a portrait of Jesus in Matthew 9:35-38. Matthew writes, "Jesus traveled among all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest."

Everywhere Jesus went, huge crowds of people followed him. In the portrait above we learn that Jesus saw these people not as a hindrance, but as an opportunity for witness and ministry. First, he saw their needs. America is filled with people in need: the homeless, jobless, and hopeless. If you want to be like Jesus, you will have to really sense a person’s needs. Second, Jesus saw them as people needing God. In verse 36 Matthew says he saw them as ‘sheep without a shepherd.’ He wanted them to acknowledge God’s authority over life. Being like Jesus means wanting this for all people. And third, Jesus saw their potential. To him, every one of them was a precious soul with unlimited potential. Being like Jesus is having this kind of regard for humanity.

A key verse in this portrait is verse 36: "Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." The phrase, had compassion for them, literally means that Jesus became sick inside. His love for people was so sincere, he wept for people needing his help. If you really want to be like Jesus, you’ll have to let your love for people break your heart and make you vulnerable time and again.