Jesus is concerned about the harvest. How does Jesus view lost people? He sees them as a harvest ready to be gathered.

1 – The ministry that Jesus shared (vs. 35)

The saviour of the world was a servant to the world. He is pouring Himself out for the sake of the people. He is going about all of the cities. There were around 3 million people in Galilee. There is no business like soul business. He is teaching, preaching and healing. That is his three-fold ministry. There are more important things than physical healing. Jesus is interested in the mind and the soul. Jesus was not interested in popularity or politics.

2 – The misery he saw (vs. 36)

Jesus was moved with compassion. They were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus could look beyond the outside and see the pain on the inside. Jesus was suffering with them. There are three reasons why he was moved with compassion.

• They were hurting. They were fainting. Jesus knows what we are going through because He is God. We all go through storms in our lives. Jesus knows what we are going through. Jesus sees that you’re hurt. If you have been born-again then you have an enemy. The Devil will seek to attack you when you are least expecting it and at your most vulnerable.
• They were helpless. They were scattered abroad. They were lying down and unable to get up. Sheep can get in a condition where they get down and roll over on its back and can’t get up. They need a shepherd to get back up on their feet. This world is in this condition. Many people are helpless. They need help from Jesus to get back on their feet. They need someone to tell them.
• They were hopeless. They had no shepherd. We have all gone astray. When you have a shepherd then you have hope. Jesus is the only one who can deliver us from our sin. Jesus is willing to give us hope.

3 – The mission that needs workers (vs. 37-38)

Which road will you choose? Jesus commands us to choose the narrow road. We are to walk in. There are no other roads. You can look at the gate, take a picture of the gate and even touch the gate. You must enter in through the gate. Hell is the same for the unbeliever as for the thief and murderer. See Acts 26:28. King Agrippa was almost persuaded to become a Christian. That word “almost” kept him from deciding for Christ. You can take a four-lane road to hell or a one lane road to heaven. The decision is yours.

• The challenge of Christ. The best of harvests mean nothing if you lack the means to reap it. Harvests do not last forever so the workers must busily seek to gather it before the weather or vermin spoil it. Christ sets forth both great possibility and great need, all wrapped in urgency. Like Jesus Christ, we must see the harvest fields as “distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.” Think of the billion people in India trapped in Hinduism and Islam. Consider the hundreds of millions that have culturally adopted Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, and dozens of other religions. Think about Europe, the centre of Christianity for several hundred years, and how some of its largest countries have less than one-percent evangelical believers. This world belongs to Him and He calls upon us to feel compassion with Him, and labour in His harvest. The assurance of Christ is that if labourers go they will find a harvest. It is His harvest, and He will give fruit for labours.
• Challenge of the workers. Who are the “workers” that “are few”? They are the disciples of Jesus Christ that He is ready to send into the harvest. Compared to the harvest the workers are few. But multiply workers and you multiply what is reaped in the harvest. The workers are the gospel messengers that carry the good news of the kingdom into the harvest fields, teaching, preaching, and healing. Each of us has something to contribute to the harvest. But we must see ourselves as workers in the harvest. It is very easy to see someone that is a missionary or an evangelist or pastor as workers – and they are. But we must see ourselves having a part in the work.
• Challenge of prayer. Jesus commands, “Therefore beseech (ask, beg) the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Are we so concerned about the harvest and the lack of workers that we pray regularly for the Lord to raise up missionaries, ministers, and Christian workers? The “therefore” implies that the reality of the need has struck us so we must act; the action called for is prayer. Pray for the Lord to send out – literally, thrust out – workers into His harvest. Will you ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers into His harvest? Will you volunteer for duty yourself? Let us be mindful of the harvest as we go about our lives, and even more mindful that we are the workers being sent forth by our Lord.

Categories: Matthew