And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 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.
Matthew 9:35
Notice that Jesus went about all the cities and villages, first, teaching in their synagogues; secondly, preaching the gospel of the kingdom; and thirdly, healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Note the order: teaching, preaching, and healing. Preaching encourages people to do what they have been taught. People can receive and keep their healing because they've been taught the Word.
Notice two things that happen when people don't have a shepherd. First, they have no strength; they faint. That's why we believe in church membership. Everyone should belong somewhere. Everyone should be under the care of a pastor because that's the system God set up.
Second, sheep that don't have a shepherd wind up being scattered all over the place. They don't know what direction they ought to be going. They wind up in the wrong place. Jesus had compassion upon them because he was the Chief Shepherd, and one of the attributes of a shepherd is compassion for the sheep.
