Compassion for the Crowd

We went to the State Fair this week, along with about 200,000 of our closest friends. Now when you go to fair, there are many things you could notice. All kinds of smells, flashing lights, bumping music, endless varieties of delicious steaming fried food. But at least this year, the thing that really stuck out to me was simply the sheer mass of people everywhere you looked. Minnesota is a fairly flat landscape in most places, but in certain spots at the fair, you might crest the smallest of hills, and in that moment, laid out as far as your eye can see is just people. All kinds of people. It is the literal definition of a crowd.

Crowds can have interesting effects on us as individuals. The bustling electricity of a crowd of people gives us energy, and gives us confidence. That long line for pickle pizza? It tells us that stuff must be really good. When you’re going to a sporting event, we want that stadium to be packed to the gills, because the energy of the home crowd gives a lift to our team. Hearing the screams of other people singing along to our favorite band makes it more fun. Crowds can be something we seek and follow.

But some of us might avoid crowds like the plague. Maybe we are more introverted, or crowds of people make us anxious. Either way we try to steer clear of situations that bring along the potential negative consequences of a crowd – tight spaces, lots of waiting, strange bodily odors.  

In the gospels, we see Jesus interact with crowds on a daily basis. Just in the book of Matthew, crowds are part of the narrative 45 times. Jesus’ approach to these large groups of people is worth reflecting on. He didn’t seek out a crowd in order to flaunt his power or go along with their opinions. He sought out 12 ordinary disciples, and the crowds pursued him as he taught them. But he didn’t avoid crowds in emotional exhaustion either. Sometimes he stole away early in the morning to recharge by spending time with his Father, but over and over, the essence of Jesus’ approach to crowds is something different. We see it explicitly in Matthew 9:36,

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus sees the problem with crowds. It’s that they are made up of real people who are harassed by their own sins and stresses, and helpless to deal with them. He sees that crowds need Someone to follow. And he has compassion for them. Compassion for us. He doesn’t lose you in the crowd of humanity, but as God in the flesh, he sees you so intimately that he can count every hair on your head.  

So the next time you find yourself among a great crowd, don’t run away, but don’t rush in unthinking either. Remember that you were one of the helpless sheep before Jesus, and endeavor to see the crowd as individual people in need of the compassion of Jesus the shepherd. And this reminds us of our need to confess our sins.