When you have a job to do, there are often several things that you might need in order to successfully complete that job. For one, you will need to know exactly what it is that you have to do, to understand your job assignment. Another thing is that you will need all the tools necessary in order to properly do that job. And then there is the need to have all the workers required. If you don’t have all the needed workers, the job will be slow in getting finished, or perhaps not even finished at all. Our Scripture this morning from the Gospel of Matthew, tells of a job that all believers have been given, but need more help in getting it done.
As our brief Scripture begins, Jesus was traveling around the various cities and villages of Galilee. The Savior would preach and teach the people from local synagogues, bringing the message of God to them. Jesus also was healing those who were sick, and came to Him for His touch (vs. 35). Jesus banished all illness, and cast out demons, giving evidence of His deity.
While Jesus ministered to the large numbers of people who came to Him each day, we read that He was moved with compassion for them (vs. 36). The word compassion means to have sympathy and pity for others, and to have concern for the sufferings and misfortunes of others. This world is filled with people who are going through difficult, sometimes catastrophic circumstances. These serious and critical problems can often just wear us down, the burden being so heavy. We can become so physically and mentally tired and worn out from having to deal with our issues. Sometimes we might be hard pressed to find anyone who really and genuinely cares. Who really cares?
The answer is that Jesus does. He was moved with compassion for the crowds of suffering humanity that kept coming to Him. As Matthew records, He saw them as being like sheep without a shepherd. When there is a flock of sheep out grazing in the pasture, and if there is no shepherd, they will soon get themselves into all sorts of trouble. The sheep will wander away from the fold. A good shepherd will see that the fields the sheep are in are ones with plenty of good grass. They will also ensure that the sheep are safe from any predator. However, without a shepherd the sheep will wander off into unsafe, even dangerous territory. They may start feeding on poisonous plants. They will wander near rivers and be in danger of drowning. They will wander near cliffs and dangerous crags. And most certainly they will be in danger from wolves, coyotes, bears, etc. These people had no spiritual leadership, no spiritual shepherd. Because of that, they did not know the Lord God and His Word, and were spiritually lost. The phrase that Jesus used, “sheep without a shepherd” echoed the words of Numbers 27:17. God’s people have always needed a good, strong, godly spiritual leader, one who closely followed the Lord. When they did not have such a person, they were so quick to fall into sin, false teachings, and idolatry. These people had no spiritual leadership. Their spiritual needs were even more desperate than the need for physical healing. Meeting that need would require more laborers.
Jesus saw the need, and that in order to get His message out to all the people, not just in Galilee and Judea, but also throughout the whole world, there would need to be more people than just the disciples He had around Him then. These people were ready to hear God’s message. They needed that message! They were like a field with plenty of ripe grain or other crops, but not enough workers to bring it in. Jesus told the disciples that they needed to pray to the Lord for more laborers to bring in the harvest of souls (vs. 37-38).
Things are no different today. Our neighborhoods, our cities and villages, our country, and the whole world is filled with people who need to hear God’s message of salvation through Jesus Christ. They are certainly like those sheep without a shepherd. They have problems and needs that only Jesus can help and solve. However, they need to hear about Him. God needs people to bring the message of His Son to them, to tell them that there is a Savior who died for their sins.
Jesus proclaimed that the crowds then were spiritually ripe for harvest. They are today, too! Many people are ready to give their lives to Him if someone would tell them. There are souls to be saved, but not many spiritual leaders or preachers of righteousness, not many who are willing to go out into the fields and bring in the harvest. We need to pray for more to bring the Gospel, and for hearts to respond. Jesus has told us what work needs to be done, and He has given us everything we need to accomplish it. He just needs more workers. Will you be willing to work for the Lord’s harvest? Will you be a laborer for Jesus, and help to bring in a harvest of souls in these last days?
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