Sermon Discussion Questions
- How is Matthew 9:35 a summary statement and what does it teach us about Jesus?
- What emotion throughout Jesus’ ministry do you identify with the most?
- What does it mean to be a disciple?
- Why do you think Jesus’ first command in Matthew 9:38 is to pray?
- What was the purpose of the two parables from the sermon?
Manuscript
What do you love about stories?
A story many of us are familiar with is Lord of the Rings. Whether we’ve read the books or watched the movies, the Lord of the Rings saga invites us on a journey through Middle Earth to destroy a powerful ring for the purpose of peace and fulfillment. Another great story is The Chronicles of Narnia. What C.S. Lewis created through his narrative was a masterpiece that transfers us into the world of Narnia where we encounter battles and dilemmas between good and evil that lead us into the newly restored kingdom of Aslan. A third compelling story, potentially better than Lord of the Rings and Narnia, is The Wizard of Oz. This classic tale enchants us on a quest traveling along the yellow brick road in pursuit of wisdom, love, courage, and family.
Whether it be Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia or the Wizard of Oz, all great stories, what they do best is they transport us from our world into theirs. They make us think, feel, and resonate with each character as if we were there alongside them. When we arrive at each story’s end, we feel as if we experienced life like we reached Mount Doom, or saw the kingdom of Aslan, or received whatever it was that we wished for but only for a brief a moment. No matter how great the story may be, the time will pass, and they will never be our own.
There is, however, one story, the best story, that we can pick up and know with confidence that we are a part of. It is the story told through God’s word that has the ultimate beginning and end to all things where God is glorified. At the center of that story is the Son Jesus Christ who came as God in the flesh to reveal Himself so that we could be reconciled with our Creator. It is through Him, the person of Christ, where we experience relationship with God, life abundantly, and life everlasting.
Our text today zooms in on a specific part of the grand narrative that teaches who Jesus is and who we are. Our text this morning is Matthew 9:35-10:1. This passage invites us into living life as sons and daughters of the King to be disciples of Him who gather people into the family of God. It is here where we arrive at knowing the responsibility we bear to live in prayer as disciples laboring in the Harvest.
Matthew 9:35-10:1 reads,
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” 10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
Grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of Lord stands forever. Before we dive into what God has in store for us, let’s pray… Amen…
We begin by bringing our attention to verse 35 where Matthew writes,
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
What we have here, is a short summary Matthew has included earlier in his gospel. In Matthew 4:23, Matthew began writing about the ministry of Jesus in the exact way he does here in Mathew 9:35. The difference between the two is that in Matthew 4, it was a ministry that began in the region of Galilee and in Matthew 9 it is expanded and will be further expanded with His disciples.
Matthew 9:35 reiterates what Jesus has done, is doing, and will be doing until His expected death. This verse marks a special transition in Matthew’s gospel that communicates we have reached a new stage in Jesus’ ministry, one that looks ahead to the cross and the beginning of the church.
Before we look that far ahead, we must be reminded by what Matthew has said concerning who Jesus is and what He is doing. The ministry of our Lord as depicted by Matthew is one that reveals Himself as (1) the good teacher who teaches us how to live, (2) the messenger who proclaims the gospel of the kingdom, and (3) the great physician who heals every disease and every affliction. (Repeat)
The gospel of Matthew from chapters 5 to 9 align perfectly with the summary given in Matthew 9:35. From Matthew 5-7, Jesus is teaching before the crowds in His famous Sermon on the Mount. It is there where Matthew introduces Jesus as the greatest teacher of all and communicates with great authority unlike anyone else who has come before Him.
Jesus through His teachings makes is evident that He is the good teacher who makes known the way of life and how we must live as people of God. When He taught the crowds in His sermon on the mount, He highlighted various Old Testament laws and expanded on them to prove a specific point. Everything concerning anger, lust, divorce, giving to the poor, and more must be handled rightly, but most of all, they must be handled with a heart that loves God.
The popular teaching that was in opposition to Jesus was one that stressed perfect obedience to the law. Obey this command and you will be rewarded and obey this other command, and then you will be recognized by others as worthy of entering the kingdom of Heaven. This way of life as taught by the religious authorities was one measured by speaking and doing rightly which presented a “false religion”.
While God does care about living in obedience to Him, what He desires most as taught by the Son are the hearts of His people. Holiness is not something earned by obedience but rather given to those who love the Lord.
Do you want to know how to live? Jesus’ teaching answers that question by calling us to live a life that loves God over living a life that appears righteous. His teachings bring clarity, comfort, and confidence for our us and we must cling to these teachings because in them we find life.
Jesus was the good teacher who taught us how we must live, but not only was He the good teacher, He was the messenger sent by the Father to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom.
As we bring our attention back to the Sermon on the Mount, we know that this Sermon teaches how we must live but within and around those teachings is a message of fulfillment.
Jesus near the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount makes this clear as He said that He came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. If we were to open Matthew’s gospel and read it from beginning to end, one constant theme that we would find in our reading is the theme of fulfillment. This theme can be traced with each reference from the Old Testament that Matthew includes in his gospel account and believe me, they are everywhere!
Jesus has come as the Son of God to save humanity from sin and in doing so, bridges the gap between Creator and Creation. After the fall in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned, mankind was cast out and lost their right to dwell with the perfect and Holy God. As they were cast out, God promised hope and restoration and that promise would ultimately be fulfilled in the person of Christ! Everything that was spoken of in the Old Testament looked ahead and pointed to Him!
When Jesus came and proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom, the good news that He was proclaiming was that He is present and that He is the literal Way, Truth, and Life. He repeatedly says throughout His ministry that the kingdom of Heaven is at hand and what that communicates for us is that we can see it, feel it, and experience it through Him.
The best part about this news is that it is free. There is no deal required between you and God. There is no “if this, then that” contract Jesus is laying out on the table. What He is offering is Himself and is telling us to repent, believe and love God. We have 10,000 reasons to do so and 10,000 reasons more to enjoy what is given.
Matthew 9:35 reveals Christ as the good teacher, and the messenger sent from the Father but even more, He is also the great physician who heals every disease and every affliction.
While great and necessary it was for Jesus to teach and proclaim the good news, the healings performed by Him provide credibility as well as confirmation to who He is as the Christ. Without performing miracles and healings, the content of his teaching would be all for nothing.
If Jesus was just a good teacher and messenger sent from the Father, He would be no greater than the other prophets who came before Him. The title of Messiah belonged to one who would have power over all things and that He did.
From Matthew chapters 8 to 9, Matthew includes many stories that demonstrate Jesus’ power over all of creation. From the leper to the paralyzed to the sick to the blind, whoever comes before the Son and has faith, is healed proving that there is nothing that He cannot do.
Jesus says in John 14:13, that whatever we ask in His name He will provide. Whether it be deliverance from depression, hope for the hopeless, fulfillment for those who feel empty, or freedom from guilt, He can heal that as well and bring all things into restoration. He can take what was once dead and raise it up again to bring about new life.
If you are currently having doubts in Jesus and feel convinced of the lies our world has to offer, remember these truths. God is above our understanding and possesses limitless power. The Son was sent to demonstrate His divinity and be a miracle worker to us.
There is so much we can fall in love with about Jesus and the outline of Matthew’s gospel gives us every reason to put our faith and trust in Him. Jesus indeed went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. He is the good teacher, the messenger sent from the Father and the great physician!
Our text, however, does not stop there. We continue with verse 36 which closes in on a specific emotion that clarifies the motivation behind our Lord’s ministry.
Verse 36 reads…
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
The one word in this verse that must stick out to us is compassion. If you were to tell someone one thing about Jesus, would you describe Him as one with compassion? Of all the emotions that Jesus felt in His ministry, there is no other emotion felt more than compassion.
The compassion Jesus has for all people explains two things for us (1) He feels deeply for all people (2) He is the good shepherd. (Repeat)
Whenever Jesus spoke to crowds He felt for them. Whenever he healed someone, He felt for them, and we know this to be true because the theme of compassion appears frequently throughout the gospels.
When Jesus fed the five thousand, we are told by Matthew He had compassion for them. When Jesus healed a young boy with an unclean spirit, Mark points out the compassion He had for the boy and His father. If you still aren’t convinced, even in the gospel of Luke when Jesus raises the son of a widow from the dead, we are told He had compassion for the widow who wept.
In consideration of the word compassion, other words or ideas that share in relation to it include pity or deep affection which is exactly what Jesus felt for the people. Matthew describes the people in the crowds as harassed and helpless. Other translations use weary and scattered or distressed and dispirited. Regardless of the translation you prefer, these words capture the same idea; that these people were people with great needs.
Everyone who followed Jesus was in search of something. Some wanted food, some wanted healing, some wanted wisdom, some wanted answers. Whatever it was, you name it, Jesus knew about it, and was able provide for them as He can provide for us!
A specific story where Jesus demonstrates great compassion is John 11:28-37, a story many of us should be very familiar with. At this point in John’s gospel narrative, Lazarus has just died, and Jesus arrives into town. Martha sees Him from the distance and runs to him as He is approaching then tells her one of His seven, I am statements saying, “I am the resurrection and the life”. Upon hearing these words, Martha gives a profession of faith and runs to get her sister Mary. Mary then comes running to Him as well like Martha did but falls at His feet and weeps. The response of our Lord is tightly given in the shortest verse in our Bibles, “Jesus wept”. John our author of this story observes that He (Jesus) was deeply moved in spirit and greatly troubled which was a sign of His compassion.
Prior to this story, Jesus was far from Lazarus but well aware of what happened to him. He knew how Martha and Mary felt towards their brother and in that moment when Jesus was brought to tears by Mary’s emotions, He identified with her feelings. He knew her brokenness and how she longed to see her brother again. He knew that she had faith in Him to do the impossible and that He did, by raising Lazarus from the dead!
As you are sitting in your seat there is likely a lot of things going on in your life. We all live busy lives and each Sunday we gather we all bring many stories to tell. We carry burdens to the altar in hope and expectation that we will see an act of God in our lives as Mary did and that He can! Praise be to God that we have the Savior who identifies with us, has compassion for us, and desires to deliver us who are helpless and harassed people with abundant needs.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God is our Lord who feels deeply for us unlike anyone else in our world and is quick to demonstrate grace, love, and mercy to everyone without reproach. Are you needing that today? Do you need His grace, love, and mercy? Absolutely! I know I do every day! So go to Him! Run to Him because He gives it freely to those who call upon the name of the Lord! Know that in running to Him that He is also running to you with open arms because He has compassion that is beyond all measure!
Matthew 9:36 makes evident that Jesus feels deeply for all. Not only does this verse make manifest Christ’s care for His people but it also points to how He is the good shepherd.
All over the Old Testament there are references to sheep and shepherds. One of the more obvious references is with David. When we are introduced to David, he is a young shepherd tending to sheep. Another instance in the Old Testament that contains sheep and shepherd language is in Ezekiel when God tells the prophet that He (God) will be as a shepherd over His sheep. Whenever sheep and shepherd language were used in scripture, it was used to provide hope.
Prior to David, God’s people had been misled continually by false shepherds and desperately needed one who would give them direction. During the time of Ezekiel, Israel had been in a similar place it was in prior to David and lived in expectation to see how God would restore them.
Before Jesus came, the people lived without a good shepherd. They had kings and rulers who failed to correct them and put them on the right path always. Their rulers not only failed in correction, but they also inflicted great harm on their own. Matthew’s words concerning sheep without a shepherd bring to light the idea that these sheep had false shepherds who played a role opposite of the good shepherd and were like wolves who chose to devour their own.
There is no doubt that when Matthew wrote that phrase, “sheep with no shepherd” he had the words from the Old Testament in mind and how Jesus is the good shepherd over His sheep. The good shepherd bears great responsibility and guides His sheep every step along the way to lead His people well which is exactly what Christ does!
Not only does He lead us, but He even went as far in laying His own life down for us at the cross! He who was perfect, holy, righteous, and worthy chose out of humility and grace to be the lamb that was slain so that by faith in Him we would be restored! What kind of shepherd would be willing to do such a thing? No other shepherd other than the good shepherd!
In recognizing Jesus as the good shepherd who feels deeply for us, would we also choose to follow the path He guides us on like His disciples did as they listened to their shepherd’s voice!
Now that we bring our ears to Him, let us listen to the words He tells us in verse 37…
37 Then he (our good shepherd) said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;”
Matthew has worked through as little as two sentences to summarize the ministry of Jesus. After giving us the summary, he proceeds to turn his attention to a calling from the Lord to His own.
Matthew 9:37 to 10:1, while in connection with verses 35 to 36 are what lay the foundation for the next stage of Jesus’ ministry. From chapters 5 to 9 of Matthew, Jesus has labored in the ministry alone and now all of that is going change. Up to this point, He had stragglers at His side who had yet to act in the way He has but not anymore
Knowing what is to come, Jesus describes the situation at hand to those who have been with Him by saying, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” to prepare them for what’s next.
To assess the situation given to the twelve, we must ask ourselves two questions, (1) what is the harvest and (2) who are its laborers? (Repeat)
For question one, a harvest as we know, is a span of time when crops are cut and collected from the fields. If we took that and put that alongside the words of Christ, the harvest that our Lord is likely alluding to is one that concerns the kingdom of God and His people. Using the ministry as the example to follow: Jesus has been teaching, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing everyone all for the purpose of gathering individuals into the family of God. When Jesus begins His ministry what He begins is the age where God’s people are being brought together; That time is here, and that time is now.
Now that we have an idea of what the harvest is, we must turn to our second question and ask who the laborers? By looking at the situation in Matthew 9, there apparently seems to be just one laborer, Jesus.
As alluded to earlier, the disciples who have been with Him have only served as bystanders with front row seats watching Him at work. As far as what we can see from Matthew’s gospel, there has been little to no activity from them. The only man in the gospel of Matthew up to this point who has served as a laborer is John the Baptist as he prepared the way for Jesus to begin His ministry.
With very few laborers and a plentiful harvest, there is much work to be done. The situation given from the Lord to His own serves a purpose in that it opens their eyes to what is in front of them. They have spent their days at the master’s side enjoying the benefits He offers but He is now ready to ready to give them authority to take part in it, no longer as students under His teaching, but rather true disciples laboring in the harvest.
The call of discipleship requires more than just understanding. We must be students learning from the master but never for the sake of just being recipients. Jesus has prepared the harvest for us in saying the harvest is plentiful, but now He looks at His people and desires they take part in it and labor.
Are you ready for that? Are you ready to be a laborer empowered by the Spirit who gathers people into the family of God? If so, pay careful attention to what He says next in verse 38…
38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
As laborers, our first assignment is to pray. Not just pray but pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest that He would send more laborers into the harvest that belongs to Him. Prayer is of utmost importance for the laborer because it is the way in which He communes with the Lord. For the work to be completed in the harvest, the man or woman of God must not start by picking up his or her tools. It is not a work that starts by speaking in front of a large crowd or with hands to heal but instead on knees before the Lord of the Harvest.
The call of prayer should come to us as no surprise at all because this command given by the Son is something He regularly did before the Father. Between all four gospels there is a total of 25 different prayers from Jesus to the Father.
Prior to walking on the water in front of His disciples: He prayed. At the time when He was transfigured on the mount: He prayed. The night prior to His death: He prayed… Not only did He pray the one time in the garden, but He prayed three times! If He who was perfect prayed regularly, then how much more shall we who are not, pray earnestly to our Lord?
When I was in high school, I was convinced prayer was not that important, I felt that if God knew me better than I know myself, why bother? If He knew every thought, feeling and action I would make, whether it be one prayer or a million prayers I made, they would have little to no effect on my life or His.
Obviously, I didn’t understand what I know now. Jesus Christ the Son of God, a member of the trinity who has most intimate relationship with the Father prayed earnestly because He knew the importance of it.
Whenever we go before the Lord in prayer, we are choosing to submit ourselves to Him in humility, recognizing that we need Him and that nothing in this life is our own. The air we breathe, the ground we step on, and the people in our lives, all are given to us by God. If He is the Lord of the harvest and this is His harvest which He sends laborers into, we cannot dismiss the reality that His hand is over all creation. Take comfort in that because He is the Lord who provides for His people.
If you want to deepen your relationship with God and grow in maturity, you cannot do so if your life is not a prayerful life. For progress to be made in the harvest we must pray.
The Christian life accomplishes nothing outside of prayer. If we do not pray, who then is the Lord of our lives? To be in a position of prayer is to be in a position that requires submission to the Lord.
In our day, we hype up missions, evangelism, and doing good things but how can those things take place if our prayer lives are nonexistent? As Jesus called His own to pray to the Lord of the Harvest, would we follow in doing as He says and pray earnestly to Him who is the Lord of the Harvest. Would He who is at work in us also provide more laborers because this work is not done alone. We are the people of God who need each other and must also pray for one another to labor in His harvest because He is preparing us to be sent into it!
In the last verse of Matthew 9, He commands His disciples to pray earnestly to Him who is the Lord of the Harvest and moving along to chapter 10 verse 1, He calls them to go into that harvest and carry out His work!
We bring our passage to a close with Matthew 10:1…
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
If we were to look back at Matthew 9:35 we would be reminded that Christ’s ministry was accomplished by teaching, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. Now, here, in Matthew 10:1 after Christ has called His disciples to be laborers in His harvest, they go out into that harvest working in the exact way He did!
What we have here, is the literal representation of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Disciples listen to their Lord then take action to do what He commands them to do because they are the laborers whom He has sent.
It would be unfair of us to assume there is nothing unique about the authority given to the disciples. The authority given to them is much different than the authority that has been passed down to us. Unlike them, we will not sit at the Lord’s side in the day of judgement as He promised them, and neither will we experience ministry and life the way they did.
While this is true, we must still follow their example and live as Jesus did! As they were bold, we must aim to be bold as well and reflect our new identities in Christ that we have been given!
Consider a golfer. In golf, a player plays 18 holes to shoot his lowest score possible. For that golfer to succeed he must practice repeatedly to get better and master his craft. There are a variety of ways in which he can choose to practice and get better, but he must discern accordingly and seek help along the way to reach different goals he may set for himself.
For him to find success, he must be bold and stretch himself in new ways from before. He must not limit himself to practicing one thing and one thing only, instead, he must regularly try new things so he can excel. If he were to spend all his time in books reading about the history of golf and the philosophy of golf, he will never get better unless he goes and plays the sport he feels destined to play.
If golf doesn’t work well for you, consider a songwriter. The artist spends any given length of time penning lyrics and notes for a song to compose something beautiful. For her to see good results in her work, she must regularly associate herself with the world of music and form habits that increase her skill. Again, like the golfer, there are variety of ways she can choose to do so, but also like the golfer, she must be wise in how she spends her time and seek help along the way because she cannot succeed alone.
She must not limit herself to one way of thinking because in doing so she will never reach new heights or excel in her craft. If she was to spend all her time studying music theory and music history she may increase in knowledge, but she will never be able to apply what she has learned until she begins to participate in what she feels called to do.
What do these parables have to do with Matthew 10:1? The answer is this… While it is important and necessary to learn under our Lord, we must look ahead with the goal in mind to act and live as we are called with boldness. If we call ourselves disciples of Christ who came to save us from the sin of the world, we must not always remain seated as students under his teaching. Instead, we look ahead and participate as we are called, in prayer, living as disciples laboring in His harvest!
Jesus did not descend from heaven to die and rise again and conquer death so that we would gladly claim our place in heaven and not care about anything or anyone else in the world. Jesus died so that His people whom He calls into His harvest would gather more people into the family of God!
This is the love of our blessed Savior! His love is not limited to a select group of people. It is not limited to the self-righteous but extended to the unrighteous! He came not to heal those who are perfectly healthy but came to heal the sick and desperate in need! He promised not abundance to the rich but instead the kingdom of God to the poor! Each of us here in this room who have experienced a work of God already know such things to be true, but how often are we so caught up with our lives that we become blind to the ministry Jesus wants us to take part in?
This is the story this is the song! Blessed to take part in fellowship with the Savior and praising His name all the day long! He is the one with authority is glorious, therefore we shall bring glory to Him who is worthy of it! We have become heirs of salvation, born of His Spirit and washed in His blood. We won’t shaken and we will not be moved because His steadfast hand is keeping us as He is the Good Shepherd and Lord of the Harvest. He is more than just a name inside of a book we reserve time out of our day for, He is the author of life that breathes life into our lungs!
He came teaching in synagogues and proclaimed the best news and healed every disease and every affliction. He looks at creation currently on the throne next to the Father and has compassion for us because here exists a people with great needs like sheep in need of a shepherd. He’s spoken to us through His Word, saying, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; requesting that we pray earnestly to Him who is the Lord of it to send out laborers into the harvest that’s rightfully His. Have peace knowing that He is at work in us. Our battles will be difficult, but He will deliver us and carry us each step of the way. We shall not live in fear, instead, we shall live in excitement because this is the best story of all.
