When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. Mark 6:34.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
How do you treat others? Have you ever wondered what I am telling you in the story of the rich man and Lazarus? The Pharisee and the tax collector? The good Samaritan? Are you wondering if you have to stop and take care of every person you see lying on the sidewalk disheveled and dirty, yelling out evil speech? Of men lying in alcoves of businesses in cardboard structures? Every person who stops you and asks for money? What pleases Me? I hear the cry of the poor and I tell you to be generous with them, in fact I tell you to give to them lavishly, but what does that mean in what you face on the streets of your cities in many areas now? Are you to empty out all you have and let them throw your assets away like the prodigal son? And yet I tell you to eat the fruit of your hands, for you and your family, and to bring Me the whole tithe for My house first. And I also warn you, “And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” Jude 1:22-23. And David prayed to Me to keep evil, violent and perverse men far away from him! And Jesus told His disciples that when He sent them to preach, teach, and heal to greet no one along the way. And I tell you to avoid immoral, perverted and sinful people like the plague. How do you reconcile all this?
Well, the answer is simple and is always the same for everything: Ask Me. When you call on Me, I answer you and tell you great and mighty things that you could not know on your own. Jeremiah 33:3. Rather than making up what you think and telling everyone that somehow you know what I meant, ask Me for the explanation. That is what the disciples did with Jesus about the parable of the sower and He told them. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. And you should be too.
The answer is to look at Jesus and in Him I give you all the answers. Everything is summed up in Him and in Him I have put all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It pleased Me to put all the fullness of Myself in Him bodily. The fullness of the Godhead, One in three and three in One. And He is My Word. So look to My Word for answers and the opening of My Word gives light.
Look at Jesus. He had compassion, He honored all who came to Him or called on Him from the least to the greatest, from the sinner to the righteous, He honored the life in them that I put there and He gave them attention BUT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN WHEN I TELL YOU TO HAVE COMPASSION, MERCY, AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS HE LOVES YOU.
I will tell you one line as it is written and you should understand: “When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34. And the second witness: “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” Matthew 9:35-38.
Is light dawning in the darkness? The people you see hanging out in alleys and on the streets, sleeping on the sidewalks, walking about filthy and ragged, with eyes that do not seem to focus on reality, that you hear yelling obscenities and getting into angry fights, running after you for money and at times grabbing purses and beating those who stop to converse with them, how do you love them? How do you have compassion on them? Even when they are sweet and rational, why are they there?
They are like sheep without a Shepherd. And what happens to sheep without a shepherd? They are prey to wolves and the thief who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. And that should make you cry out for them to show them the Shepherd and keeper of their bodies and souls. He alone can lead them out of the darkness that has trapped them into My marvelous light.
That is why the last and final directive My Son gave you as He ascended to Me was to go and be His witness and preach the good news to all the people and nations, starting where you live, in your own homes, and then out to your neighborhoods, your cities, your states, your nations, and then out to the end of the earth. No one would ever be in the ruined condition they are in if they had known the voice of the Shepherd. He would have led them out of the slavery of sin and death, that is, out of the curse, to the freedom of the children of Light, the wonderful abundant life of the little flock who know the voice of the Shepherd, the flock to whom it has pleased Me to give My Kingdom, and will not follow a stranger’s voice.
The great good Shepherd will lead you to the BLESSING that I gave you when I created you. I blessed them and told them to be fruitful, much fruit. It all depends on the vine to which you attach and to which Shepherd you belong. Do not follow the flocks of the evil one, the stranger. What do I say about the foolish, that is, those who say in their hearts there is no God? They are of the devil’s flock. “This is the way of those who are foolish, and of those after them who approve their words. As sheep they are appointed for hell; death shall be their shepherd; and the upright shall rule over them in the morning, and their form shall be for hell to consume so that they have no habitation.” Psalm 49:13-14. But what about the one who knows the great good Shepherd whom I raised from the dead by the Blood, His Blood, of the eternal covenant? “But God will redeem my soul from the power of hell, for He will receive me.” Psalm 49:15. My Son is the author of life, but the devil is the author of death. Which do you want? Be careful the Shepherd you choose. “Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where do you pasture your flock, where do you make it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who wanders beside the flocks of your companions?” Song of Songs 1:7.
But go back to the entire context of Mark 6. What did Jesus do? He taught them the good news of the Kingdom and then He told them to recline on the green grass and then He fed their bodies by multiplying five loaves and two fish. Like a good Shepherd. Wonders follow the Word. But the Word comes first. And if any man won’t receive the Word, shake the dust from your feet and go on. Do not toss your pearls before swine or give what is holy to dogs, they will trample it under foot and best and perhaps even tear you to shreds. Be as innocent as doves but as clever as snakes. Outsmart the snake who has taken possession of them. Set them free, show them Me, awaken them to their destiny.
Your first job of compassion is to pray for them. I ask you to pray for all men that they be saved and come to know the truth. Do you? If you do not, and especially when you see them lying there like sheep without a Shepherd, you have failed in compassion. Next, I tell you another prayer request I have, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Then the next directive is that I tell you to witness and share the good news that saved you and put you in the little flock.
You see, sheep without a shepherd are devoured by the wolf, by that roaring lion that prowls around seeking someone to devour. So how do you snatch them out of the devil’s mouth before they go into the cargoes of lost lives in his belly? I told My prophet Amos who was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore fig trees: “Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear,” do you see? A “piece of an ear!” Amos 3:12. You pull them out by preaching and teaching Jesus to them. That is the only Shepherd, the only Name, by which they can be saved. As long as you can get a piece of their ear, it’s not too late, and you can get them out of the devil’s trap!
My Son laid His life down for the sheep and paid the ransom for all. He left no one out. But the question is whether you will receive the finished work of Christ by confessing and receiving Him as your Lord and believing in your heart I raised Him from the dead. And then will you follow Him as your great good Shepherd? And He had compassion for everyone who was lying there like a sheep without a shepherd. So what did He do? He taught them and healed them first, and then He fed their bodies. But not vice versa.
I love you. If you don’t understand something, always come to Me first for the explanation. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is about life, precious life. Honor it in one another. It is about honor, it is about never treating another person as if they don’t exist, that is, as if their life is worth nothing. There is no one whose life does not matter. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without My consent, and you are worth more than a flock of sparrows. I have every hair on your head counted. Treat others as you would have them treat you, and above all, you want compassion. Someone who sees you and fixes things in your life. Hagar fled from Sarah and I spoke with her and provided for her. And do you know what she called Me? “The God who sees me.” Jesus saw people. He saw Zacchaeus in the tree, He saw the Samaritan woman at the well, He saw a woman so bent over she could not straighten up in the synagogue, He saw that man possessed with legions of demons in him and went across a lake in a storm to release him, He saw a tax collector at his post named Matthew, He saw two fisherman cleaning their nets, He saw people with leprosy, He saw a man blind from birth that He sent to the pool of Siloam to wash the mud off that He put on his eyes, He saw people lying sick and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd, He saw a man lying on a mat near the pool of Bethesda, and so many others. And none of them stayed the same after He saw them. They had been touched by the good Shepherd and He had led them out of their darkness into the light of My love. He always gave them Me. He did more than just empty out His money bag to them. He gave them life and gave it in abundance. Pray, witness, teach, preach, and heal. Then you can feed. The flesh is useless, it is the Spirit that gives life. Why just warehouse a body when you can save a soul?