What Jesus Saw
1. Jesus Saw The Multitudes And Was Moved With Compassion
We have just a week until December and I wanted to fill this week with the simple thoughts about "What Jesus Saw." I know that He had eyes to see and He could see everything around Him. I also know that Jesus is God and He saw the heart of man. But, as I began reading in Matthew and continued into the other gospels I recently noticed that several times it is stated that Jesus saw, or Jesus looked on him, or Jesus beheld. In some of these scriptures where it is specifically noted that Jesus saw these things, I think it would be good for us to try to "see" what Jesus saw.
Our first example is found in 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 came to give His life for the lost sheep. I am thankful for the Good Shepherd! How do we see the multitudes? We need to see them as lost sheep and have compassion, and try to lead them to Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
"11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (John 10:11-16)
2. Jesus Saw That Zacchaeus Was Seeking To See Him
I want to use a very familiar story today and my emphasis is simple, Jesus sees those who are seeking Him. Zacchaeus climbed up a tree to see Jesus, and Jesus looked up in the tree to see him. Jesus came "to seek and to save that which was lost." Another example is found in Acts 8:26-40. The Holy Spirit sent Philip to Gaza to talk with the Ethiopian Eunuch who was reading the scriptures. "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus." (Acts 8:35) I am so thankful that Jesus sought me and found me.
"1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:1-10)
3. Jesus Saw Fishermen, And Their Potential To Become Fishers Of Men
When Jesus called the disciples to follow Him, He told Peter and Andrew to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. He saw their potential. When we accept Christ as our Savior He sees us as we are, and He sees the potential we have to serve Him. If you are blessed with musical ability, then use that musical talent to serve the Lord. Whatever your profession in life, God sees your potential and called you to serve Him. Let's strive to follow the Lord is such a way that He will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21)
"18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:18-19)
4. Jesus Saw The Poor Widow Give Her All
As Jesus watched the people giving their offerings to God, He told the disciples that the poor widow gave more than all the others, because she gave all that she had. Are we giving our all to the Lord? There are many ways that we can give to the Lord. We can give our tithes and offerings, as in this example. We can give our time, in serving others. Yesterday we saw that we can give our talents to the Lord. In the Old Testament the people gave their treasures of silver and gold and other needed materials to make the Tabernacle. We can even share our testimony to encourage others to give their life to Jesus. We may feel like we don't have much to give, but the Lord sees how much we have left after we give, and that makes the difference.
"1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." (Luke 21:1-4)
5. Jesus Saw Peter Fail
Peter wanted to stand up for the Lord. "Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples." (Matthew 26:35) Jesus told them in the upper room to carry a sword. (... "he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." Luke 22:36) And Peter is the one who tried to defend Jesus with the sword. "Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus." (John 18:10) Jesus healed the servant's ear, and Peter had to put away his sword. I am sure that he did not understand all that was happening on that dark night. He denied the Lord, just as Jesus had told him he would. He failed and he saw that Jesus looked his way, and he went out and wept bitterly. Peter denied Jesus three times, but when we turn to John 21 we see that Jesus gave Peter three chances to say that he loved the Lord. Jesus gave Peter the forgiveness he needed. We have good intentions of serving the Lord. But, often we fail, and we can be sure that the Lord sees our faults and failures. Under the conviction of the Holy Spirit we confess and we may weep bitterly. And Jesus forgives our sin. Oh, how thankful I am that Jesus forgives my sin.
"59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly." (Luke 22:59-62)
6. Jesus Saw Their Faith
I like to look at Facebook to see new photos of my friends and family and it is an easy way to send messages and keep in touch. I often see people post about problems they have and they are asking for prayer. Many times I will send up a prayer, even when I don't reply to the person, especially if it is someone I don't know. People who don't know my Lord, Jesus Christ, and the power of prayer may see this as a waste of time. I know that some believe that those who pray are the weak ones who can't stand on their own... and they are right. When I suddenly had so much difficulty breathing that I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance several years ago it was hard for me to pray while I was just trying to breathe. During times like that it is so good to know that my family was praying for me. And a day or two later several of my friends on Facebook sent me messages that they were praying for me. I felt like God could see their faith and He helped me through that hard time. This reminds me of the time when Jesus was in a house and there was no way for a sick man to get to Him. Then his four friends carries him to the top of the house and took up part of the roof and let him down so Jesus could heal him. I like the way the scripture says, "When Jesus saw their faith..." and he saved the man and healed him. The man could not get to Jesus on his own but his friends had enough faith to take him to Jesus. When people ask us to pray for them we need to use our faith to help get them to Jesus. When we know that someone is going through trials and storms we may not be able to help them in any other way, but we can pray. In the hospital I felt the prayers of my family and friends and it blessed me that they had faith to seek God's help for me. We don't know how much our faith can help others, but maybe one day God will reveal this to us.
"1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." (Mark 2:1-5)
7. Jesus Saw Their Sorrow
As we look at these things that Jesus saw when He walked on earth, we can be sure that He sees us as we go through those same situations. When Jesus went to the town of Bethany after the death of His friend, Lazarus, He saw the sorrow of Mary and Martha. Here we have the shortest verse in our Bible, "Jesus wept." (John 11:35) He saw their sorrow, and even though He knew that He was about to raise their brother from the dead, He still wept with them. You may be weeping as you miss your loved ones who have gone on. Can I encourage you today? Jesus sees your sorrow. He knows every heart ache you have. He sees every tear. He knows the outcome and He knows that everything will work together for good, but He still cares for you at your lowest moments and offers to bear your burdens. He loves you and He cares for you beyond measure. Yes, Jesus sees you when you are down. Let Him lift you up. "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (I Peter 5:7)
"31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
35 Jesus wept." (John 11:31-35)
8. Jesus Saw Only One Return To Give Thanks
Thanksgiving was a week ago. The turkey and cranberry sauce is a week behind us. Are we still thankful? We gathered together and took time to give God thanks, but do we continually thank Him? Our last devotional on "What Jesus Saw" is about the ten lepers that wanted healing. They cried out to Jesus, saying, "Master have mercy on us." Jesus healed them, and only one returned to thank Him. One in ten. I looked up the word "thanks" and found that this is one of two verses in the gospels that tell of someone other than Jesus giving thanks. The other one is Anna who gave thanks for the Lord when He was eight days old. There are probably others who said, "Thank you" to the Lord, such as Mary who washed his feet with her tears, but there are many, many accounts of Jesus healing and saving people, and we read of very few who took time to thank Him. Let's not make that mistake. Timothy tells us that in the last days people will be "unthankful". (II Timothy 3:2) Let's give the Lord thanks daily for all He continually does for us, and not be part of the unthankful crowd.
"12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" (Luke 17:12-17)
