Jesus Sends the Disciples

Have you ever heard the word motivation before? Motivation is a big word for the reason why we decide to do something. So, your motivation for eating might be that you are hungry or the food tastes good. Or, your motivation for sleeping might be that you are tired or your parents tell you to go to bed.

In today’s Bible story, we learn more about Jesus’ motivation for doing what he does. Jesus doesn’t take action because he wants to help himself. Instead, Jesus sees the hurt in the people around him. Jesus understands how the people feel, and he wants to help take away their hurt. 
Seeing others who are hurting and wanting to help them is called compassion. Compassion is Jesus’ motivation for healing and teaching. Compassion is also Jesus’ motivation for calling and sending his disciples—including us!

Let’s take a closer look at Jesus’ compassion and what it means for us.

Hear
The story of Jesus sending the disciples comes from Matthew 9:35–10:8. Find the story in the family Bible or a children’s storybook Bible and read it together.

You can also click here to read the story using an online Bible, or you can watch the video retelling below.

Think
When you’ve finished reading or listening to the story, talk about these questions with your family:
  • During his travels, Jesus saw many people who were troubled and helpless. What do you think made the people feel this way?
  • ​What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “There is a big harvest, but only a few workers to help”?
  • How did Jesus want the disciples to show compassion to people?
  • ​How can we show compassion to the people we see each day?
Then, watch the following short video:

Do
Connect more deeply with today's story by trying one or more of these activities.
Picture
Take the compassion challenge.
Every day for one week, do something that shows compassion without being asked to. Look for someone who is hurting, then take action to help their hurt. It might be something as simple as hugging your mom when she is sad or helping your brother or sister with a chore.

See how many days you can keep the challenge going! Can you do one week? Two weeks or more?
Picture
Do some acting.
Have one person act out one of the following situations:
--Someone fell down and hurt themselves.
--You are playing with friends at recess. You notice one person alone who seems sad.
--Dad just came home from work, and it's been a hard day.
A second person should then respond to the “actor” in a way that shows compassion. In other words, the response should show that you understand the person’s hurt and want to help. 

Picture
Make a poster.
On a big piece of paper, draw different ways you can show God’s love and care to the people around you. How many ways can you come up with? Five? Ten? Even more?

Share what you've made! Take a picture of your project and send it to [email protected] so we can include it in our online gallery!

Pray
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for having compassion for all of us!
Give us eyes to see the hurt and lonely in our world
And hands and hearts that help them know God's love.
​Amen.
CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH
17195 CLEVELAND ROAD  +  SOUTH BEND, IN 46635  +  (574) 272-4306