“Seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and cast away like sheep not having a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). Here we see that the Lord Jesus considered the people as sheep and Himself as the Shepherd. When Christ came to the Jews the first time, they were like lepers, paralytics, demon possessed, and all manner of pitiful persons, because they had no shepherd to care for them. Therefore, He ministered to them not only as a Physician but also as a Shepherd, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:6 and 40:11. As such a Shepherd, the Lord Jesus did miracles to take care of the needy ones. He said, “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; and the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel announced to them” (Matt. 11:5). This is the compassion exercised by the Lord as their Shepherd to take care of them. As a minister of the Lord, we should learn how to be concerned for the needy ones.
The Lord Jesus is the Shepherd of the sheep that were “harassed and cast away.” They were in difficulties and were constantly suffering. They were cast away and were wandering, not knowing where to go. To such ones Christ came as the Shepherd. As the Shepherd, the Lord is not rough but is very fine.
Matthew 9:36 tells us that when the Lord Jesus saw the crowds, He was “moved with compassion.” Compassion is deeper, finer, and richer than mercy. Mercy is somewhat outward, but compassion is inward. Furthermore, compassion is longer lasting than mercy. Compassion, therefore, is both deeper and longer lasting than mercy.
Matthew 11:19b indicates that Christ is wisdom. “Wisdom is justified by her works.” Wisdom is Christ (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). Whatever Christ did was done by the wisdom of God, which is Christ Himself. This wisdom was justified, vindicated, by His wise works, His wise deeds.
First Corinthians 1:30 tells us that Christ has become “wisdom to us from God.” For Christ to become wisdom to us from God indicates that there is a transmission of Christ as wisdom from God to us for our daily experience. Christ should continually become wisdom to us from God. Christ as wisdom should unceasingly flow from God to us to be our present and practical wisdom in our experience. If we are one with the Lord to receive His dispensing, He will be transmitted into us as wisdom. Day by day and hour by hour we should live in the spirit and exercise our spirit to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. If we do this, we will enjoy Christ and have Him as our wisdom. This is Christ as the wisdom from God to us.
In Luke 7:35 the Lord Jesus says, “Wisdom is justified by all her children.” Those who believe in Christ are the children of wisdom, those who justify Christ and His deeds and who follow Him as their wisdom.
Matthew 11:19b says that wisdom is justified by her works, and Luke 7:35 says that wisdom is justified by her children. We are the children of wisdom. Christ’s work is to produce us as the children of wisdom.
Matthew 11:28 and 29 reveal that Christ is rest. If we take Christ as our wisdom, we may become very busy. For this reason, taking Christ as our wisdom needs to be balanced by taking Him as our rest.
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