Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment” (Matthew 9:36-10:8 – NRSV).
Introductory notes
General
We find the choice of the twelve reported also in Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 6:12-16, and the mission of the twelve reported also in Mark 6:6-13 and Luke 9:1-6. All three Gospel writers refer to the twelve both as “disciples” and “apostles”.
The disciple is one who continues learning from the master. The apostle is one who is commissioned to go out. The apostle must never cease being a disciple.
Specific
Compassion: “There are some words which bear within themselves the evidence of a kind of revolution in the realm of thought: and splagchnizesthai is such a word. It means to be moved with compassion. It is not a classical word, but it does contain a classical way of thought. Splagchnizesthai is the verb which comes from the noun splagchna, which means what are known as the nobler viscera, that is, the heart, the lungs, the liver and the intestines. The Greeks held these to be the seat of the emotions, especially of anger, of anxiety, of fear, and even of love. When Hercules is expressing his complaint to Admetus, he says: ‘Unto a friend behoveth speech outspoken, Admetus, not to hide within the splagchna (the breast, as we would say in English) murmurs unvoiced’ (Euripides, Alcestis 1008-1010). When the Chorus are listening to Electra’s lamentation, they say: ‘My splagchna are overcast with gloom at thy speech’ (Aeschylus, Choephori 413). So then in classical Greek the splagchna mean the inner parts of man, which are the seat of the deepest emotions. It is from that idea that the verb splagchnizesthai was formed in later Greek. It means to be moved with compassion, and, from its very derivation, it can be seen that it describes no ordinary pity or compassion, but an emotion which moves a man to the very depths of his being. It is the strongest word in Greek for the feeling of compassion. In the NT the word never occurs outside the Synoptic Gospels; and except for three occurrences in the parables it is always used of Jesus. In the parables it is used of the master who had compassion on the servant who was unable to pay his debt (Matt. 18.33); of the compassion which made the father welcome home the prodigal son (Luke 15.20); and of the compassion which made the Samaritan go to the help of the wounded traveller on the Jericho road (Luke 10.33). In all other cases it is used of Jesus himself” (William Barclay, New Testament Words (The William Barclay Library) (pp. 276-277). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition).
“(F)rom Matthew’s early church perspective the provision of those who will extend and continue the ministry of Jesus is of profound importance. Compassion involves so identifying with the situation of others that one is prepared to act for their benefit. Apart from 18:27, in a parable (where compassion leads to forgiveness of debt), in Matthew compassion always addresses the physical needs of people, and so it will be in the ministry to which the disciples are called” (J Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew: a commentary on the Greek text, W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2005, 407).
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd: We find a similar sentiment in Mathew 9:36 and 10:6. The metaphor of Israel as “lost sheep” occurs a number of times in the Hebrew scriptures. See for example Numbers 27:17, 1 Kings 22:17, 2 Chronicles 18:16, Ezekiel 34:5 and Zechariah 13:7. Jesus is seen to respond with compassion – Matthew 14:14, 15:32 and 20:34.
harvest: This metaphor carries implications of the end times. So in the parable of the weeds, Matthew says “the harvest is the end of the age” (13:39). The metaphor can evoke the idea of judgment – see for example, Joel 3:13 and Isaiah 18:4; Matthew 3:12 and 13:30. It can also evoke the idea of the gathering of the faithful into the kingdom – see Isaiah 27:12 and Matthew 13:41-43. The use of this traditional metaphor opens the door to the next piece – the choice and the sending forth of the disciples.
Apostles: The Greek word apostolos means “one who is sent”. In the Christian communities it also took on the added connotation of authority – the “apostle” is one who is sent by Jesus and carries the responsibility and authority of continuing his mission: “Twelve disciples are chosen to represent Israel gathering together the twelve tribes to be a light to the nations (Isa 49:6). The authority they are given is to demonstrate the restorative power of the reign of God, just as Jesus has exercised this authority in word (7:29) and deed (9:6 & 8 and 21:23-27). It is the authority to heal and proclaim (verses 7 & 8) the good news of the kingdom. … Jesus and the proclamation of the kingdom are always the focal point” (Adrian Leske, “Matthew” in The International Bible Commentary, editor William R Farmer et al, Collegeville, MINN: The Liturgical Press, 1998, 1288).
So, what stands between us and God’s compassion?
In today’s Gospel – Matthew 9:36-10:8 – we glimpse something of what motivates Jesus: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them.” His compassion prompts him to tell the disciples: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” He then calls the twelve whom he “sends out.” The English word, “compassion” – some translations use the word, “pity” – does not convey the visceral content, and therefore the power, of the Greek verb splanchnizomai. Scripture scholar, William Barclay, notes that this word literally implies that Jesus’ is moved in the depths of his physical being. Jesus’ compassion is a bodily fact not just a good intention.
In the Christian Scriptures, this Greek verb never appears outside the Synoptic Gospels, and except for three occurrences in the parables – the servant’s master in the parable of the unforgiving debtor (Matthew 18:27), the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:20) and the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-33) – it is used only but repeatedly of Jesus himself, at least eight times apart from today’s text. (See Matthew 14:14, 15:32 and 20:34, Mark 1:41, 6:34, 8:2 and 9:22 and Luke 7:13.) In other words, this is a profound disposition of God-enfleshed in Jesus of Nazareth.
This profound disposition of God for the people, is already evident in the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus, when the covenant is forged: “The Lord passed before (Moses), and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness’” (Exodus 34:6). The prophet Isaiah reiterates: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15).
The scripture scholar, N T Wright, sums up: “Try imagining the Old Testament God for a minute – passionate, involved with his people in their wanderings and stupidity, loving them tenderly and rescuing them again and again, grieving over their folly and their pain, taking costly action to redeem them. What would that God look like if he were to be become human, and live among us humans? I think he would look very much like Jesus of Nazareth; and never more so than as he hangs dying on the cross” (N T Wright, The Crown and the Fire: Meditations on the Cross and the Life of the Spirit, William B Eerdmans, 1992, 53-54).
Yes, there are other ways of viewing God apart from looking through the lens of compassion. We can, for example, look through the lens of judgement. Indeed, a fair reading of the Sacred Scriptures demands that we be open to a multiplicity of ways of approaching the incomprehensible mystery of the “I AM.” But under no circumstances can we omit the way of compassion. Which leaves us with a very practical, personal and even troubling question: So, what stands between us and God’s compassion?