Whenever we look at another person or a group of people, we can see them in different ways. For example, we might see a group of supporters for a sporting team in a positive way, such as people who share our passion for a sport or club, or more negatively, even maybe as the enemy, depending on whether they barrack for our team or not. We might look at young people at a concert and see them positively, for example as supporters of live music, or more negatively, as people who wasted their money on overpriced tickets.
But what do you see when you look at a flock of sheep?
Depending on our point of view, we might see sheep negatively, as mindless creatures who just follow the crowd. Others might see them as animals who tend to push boundaries or like to go their own way, even if they get lost. A more positive perspective of sheep is that they are animals who need to be cared for, guided, protected and provided for.
In Mark 6:30-34, Jesus is trying to find some peace and quiet. His disciples have returned from their missionary journey we heard about a couple of weeks ago in Mark 6:7-12. Jesus wanted time alone with them to rest and debrief on what happened on their journeys. However, because of the large crowds who were following them, Jesus and his disciples get in a boat, looking for an isolated place to be alone. The crowds track Jesus down and are waiting for them when they arrive. We don’t know how they knew where he was going, or how they were able to arrive before Jesus, but what’s important is what happens next.
When Jesus saw the crowds waiting for him, he didn’t get back in the boat and look for another solitary place. He didn’t begin to complain about these people who wouldn’t leave him alone. Jesus didn’t try to avoid them, get frustrated with them, or send them away. Instead, Mark tells us that ‘Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd’ (v34 NLT).
We can wonder why Mark chose this phrase to describe the crowds who were following Jesus. From a modern point of view, comparing people to sheep sounds negative. To a lot of people in our time and place, calling people ‘sheep’ can mean they were mindless followers who don’t think for themselves, who just go along with the crowd, who do what everyone else around them wants them to.
The Bible represents sheep very differently. Sheep are animals who need to be cared for, protected, guided to find food and water, and who need someone to look after them (see Psalm 78:52; 119:176; Isaiah 40:11). From Old Testament times, sheep were portrayed as animals who tend to wander off on their own, needing to be found, rescued, and protected (Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 50:6; Ezekiel 34:11-16; Zechariah 9:16). When Mark writes that Jesus viewed the crowds as being like sheep without a shepherd, he knew there was a well-known biblical picture of sheep needing care, protection, guidance, and safety. When Jesus looked at the people in the crowd, this is what he saw, and he had compassion on them.
This story gives us a valuable and important way of understanding how God sees us and the people around us. We can see ourselves in lots of different ways. Sometimes we can have a positive self-image, confident in who we are and our self-worth. At other times we can have a more negative view of ourselves. We can be hard on ourselves and put ourselves down because we get things wrong, we make mistakes, or don’t measure up, either to what we think we should be or what we think others expect us to be. For a wide range of reasons, because of things we’ve done, or what others have done to us, we can see ourselves in ways that can be harmful or even destructive for us and our well-being.
When we see ourselves negatively, it is good for us to go back to this story and remember that even though Jesus was tired and wanted time alone with his disciples, he didn’t see the crowds negatively. Instead, he had compassion on them. Compassion is more than feeling sorry for them, as some English translations put it. The New Testament Greek word talks about something moving inside Jesus. We can think of Jesus’ reaction as ‘gut-wrenching’ or ‘heart-breaking’. The sight of the crowd coming to Jesus moved him with compassion, so he continued to teach them about the goodness of God to meet the needs of their hearts and souls, care for them and guide them in the same way a good shepherd cares for his sheep.
Jesus is moved by that same compassion when he looks at us. He sees us as people who need care, protection, to be provided for and guided in ways of living that will help us live to the full. Jesus sees us as we are, with all our flaws, weaknesses, failings and shortcomings. However, he doesn’t view us negatively. He doesn’t look down on us, criticise us, write us off or get frustrated with us. Instead, seeing our need, he has compassion on us. Jesus gives us everything we need to live meaningful, hope-filled lives which are full to overflowing with grace, peace and joy by teaching us about the Kingdom of God and the goodness of God we can find through faith in him. Jesus looks at us, sees our need, and provides, protects and guides us because of his great compassion and love for us.
Because Jesus looks at us like this, we can see others in the same way. When people annoy us, frustrate us, disappoint us or let us down, Jesus looks at them with compassion, too. He sees people who are like sheep without a shepherd, who have gone their own way, strayed from a life lived in relationship with their Creator, who need care, guidance, protection and love just like we do. Instead of complaining about people who see things differently, being critical of others who get things wrong, or being disappointed when they don’t live up to our expectations, as people who know and trust in the compassion our Good Shepherd has on us, we can see others in the same way. We can show them Jesus’ compassion by having compassion on them. Jesus calls us, his physical body in the world, to see others in the same way he sees them, especially those we might think of as being lost in one way or another, and to show them his compassion in whatever ways they need it.
There are lots of ways we can see people, whether they are supporters of a sports team, young people at a concert, or our families, friends or neighbours. When Jesus looks at them, maybe Jesus sees them like sheep without a shepherd, people who need care, guidance, or protection. When Jesus looks at us, he has compassion on us and looks after us as his sheep. When we look at others, how can we show them Christ’s compassion for them?
More to think about or discuss:
- What do you see when you look at a flock of sheep? Is that a positive or negative image? Explain why…
- What do you think Jesus sees when he looks at you & your life? How might this story help us to understand how Jesus looks at us?
- How do you see the people around you? How might the way Jesus sees them shape the way we see others…?
Pastor Eugene Online 
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