Week 24 - Have Compassion on Others

Visual 1: Show picture of lost puppy

Have you ever seen a pet that was lost? What kinds can you imagine that the pet was thinking? In our lesson today, Jesus saw some lost pets. And He knew what they were thinking. And He loved them, even though they were dirty, sick, nasty, disobedient pets. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

In Matthew 9, Jesus was having a very busy day. He had healed some people, and He’d been spending a lot of time teaching people all sorts of things. Some of those people were very stubborn and didn’t like what He said. Some of them were just confused. And while Jesus was in the middle of teaching, He was interrupted.

Visual 2: Matthew 9:18 “While He spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.”

Jesus immediately got up to go help the ruler. There were a whole bunch of people around, but someone touched the hem of his clothes. He turned around and asked who touched him, and there was the woman.

Visual 3 Picture of the woman touching Jesus

This woman had a terrible disease. She had a wound that would not stop bleeding. She had been bleeding for twelve whole years! It meant that she wasn’t allowed to worship God in the temple. It meant that It meant that anyone who touched her or who she touched had to take a bath and wasn’t allowed to worship God in the temple until the next day. This woman was real trouble! She’d touched Jesus, hoping to be healed; and she’d made him unclean!

But Jesus was not mad at her for interrupting his important journey or making Him take a bath so He could worship God in the temple. He didn’t just see her as trouble—He had COMPASSION on her. She was needy, and He could meet her need.

Visual 4: Matthew 9:22 “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Jesus continued on the journey to the ruler’s house. The people outside were starting to prepare for the little girl’s funeral. They were crying and crying. Jesus said, “She’s not dead; she’s only sleeping.” The people stopped crying and started laughing—making fun of Jesus. But Jesus went inside the house.

Visual 5: Matthew 9:25 “He went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.”

After that, there was no end to the number of people who wanted help from Jesus! There were these two blind men who wanted Jesus to heal them. Jesus told them not to tell anybody, but after they were healed they told everyone that they knew about what Jesus had done.

Visual 6: Show picture of the multitude needing healed

There was this man who had a demon inside him that made him not able to talk. Jesus cast the demon out of him and the man could talk again! But there were Pharisees who saw it and started spreading lies that Jesus could cast demons out because He worked for the Devil!

• Do you think Jesus knew that when He cast out the demon, people would use it to tell lies about Him?

• Do you think Jesus knew that when He healed the blind men, they would disobey Him and tell everyone about what He was doing?

• Do you think that Jesus knew that when He went to the little girl's house, the people outside would make fun of Him?

• Do you think that Jesus knew that the woman who touched the hem of His clothes had a disease that meant He would have to take a bath and not go into the temple for a whole day?

YES! Jesus knew about all the problems those people would cause Him. He knew that they were sick, dying, under the control of the Devil and demons, disobedient, and mean. But He loved them anyway.

Visual 7: Matthew 9:36 “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”

Jesus saw those people and He thought they of lost pets, who'd run away from their owners or were been left behind or had no one to take care of them. Sheep need shepherds. Pets need owners. And people need Jesus. He knows all the problems that we have, but He doesn't care. He came to take all our problems on Himself and to give us new life.

Visual 8 - Jesus loves everybody—don’t forget—way more than we could love a pet!

That's what He did for the people with diseases. And that's what He did on the cross. He took the biggest problem of all — our sin — for Himself. He took the punishment in our place. And He gave us a trade. We can be like God's children, without any sin, with a safe home. With a loving Owner to take care of us every day.