May 18, 2023

Matthew 14: 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. (NIV)

He sought the Father’s agenda.*

Healing the sick was not Jesus’ raison d’être. He had more important work to do. He could have looked at that mass of needy humanity and rolled his eyes as he proceeded with his real ministry. What would be our response if we had to deal with a horde of clueless people interfering with our business? Would we be angry? Indifferent? Perhaps we would care about them, but we would put them at the bottom of our to-do list because – well, there’s just so many of them and we have so much else to do . . .

I may have a goal to get a certain amount of writing done in a day, but when a friend calls with a need, I have to let go of my agenda. If my writing is my ministry calling, God will help me to fulfill it; but interruptions might be just as much a part of his plan. Jesus didn’t ruin everything by taking time out to heal those poor sick people. If anything, his ministry was enhanced by the demonstration of his compassion, and it serves as a reminder to us that people should come first.

But one more aspect of Jesus’ ministry that we should note, as observed by another writer: he “restored sight to many blind people but not to every blind person he encountered. He healed many lepers but not every leper in Israel. He did his Father’s will.”* Jesus knew when interruptions were divine opportunities and when they were merely distractions. He knew it by staying in touch with the Father. Just another way we should try to be more like him.

In prayer, we align ourselves with God’s will, his priorities, his thoughts.*