The Lord of the Harvest
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:36-38
God has invited you to join Him in His mission to spread His gospel across the globe. God has allowed us to labor with Him to bring news of His glory to every tongue, tribe, and nation. What a blessing we have received to be reconciled to God and now to serve as ministers of reconciliation! (2 Corinthians 5) While this is some of the greatest news, some report that as many as 98% of Southern Baptists will die before sharing their faith. For an evangelical denomination, there is not much evangelism going on! In light of this deficit, it is easy to identify with Jesus’ words: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
In Matthew 9, Jesus was flooded once again with needy, ignorant crowds. As was the case throughout His ministry, He was surrounded with physical needs. People with problems. People with pain. People with defects and disorders and demons. And yet, Jesus sees their true problem clearly. When Jesus looked out upon this crowd of invalids, demons, sign-chasers, and critical Jews, He had compassion on them. They were like sheep without a shepherd.
The Greek word for “to have compassion on” is related to the spleen, liver, and stomach. it was a gut response. Jesus looked out on these people and was sick to His stomach. He deeply loved them and, seeing their real bondage, He was doubled over with sorrowful compassion. The closest we may come in English to this Greek word is the less than common phrase “a visceral reaction.”.
Jesus’ compassion was not because of the agony of their physical ailments but because of the totality of their spiritual oppression. Jesus saw a people separated from God by sin and helplessly lost. They were looking for guidance, for happiness, for peace, and they were instead harassed on all sides. Again, the Greek is far more cutting. They were like prey being ripped open by scavengers and predators.
If we are to ever to join God on His mission, we must recover a biblical view of sin and a tender love for the lost. . Jesus recognized that these people were wrong. He recognized that they were wicked. He knew the depths of their greed and anger and lust. And he loved them so deeply that the chains of sin physically affected Him. Jesus would die for the centurion who oversaw His crucifixion as well as the thief who earned his place on a cross.
The first barrier to evangelism, and as I’ve argued elsewhere, the most pressing, is apathy. To be on the Mission of God is to understand the truth of the bondage of sin. To realize the horror of helplessness. The trap of false teachers and the humiliation of false hope. We must reclaim compassion. We will get nowhere in evangelism if the depths of our motivation is duty. If we don’t care, we won’t act. If we won’t act, they wont know.
Jesus’ sorrow is not limited to the bondage of the lost. He turns to His disciples and mourns, not for the lost, but for the lack of laborers. Jesus’ comments to His disciples reveals a far different world than we often believe. It is easy to believe that in the world today that many Christians desire to share the gospel (laborers) and yet they are afraid of the great likelihood of spectacular failure.
Jesus flips this scenario on its head! The problem is not the hostility of the world. In fact, the harvest is plentiful! There are so many people waiting to hear the good news of the gospel! The demand is higher than we can imagine! The problem is the laborers. Where are they? They’re nowhere to be found! The world sits like a field ready to be harvested while we bemoan the slim pickings and the fear failure!
The twin barriers of apathy and fear crumble at the Words of Jesus.. How can a Christian who knows the abundance of opportunity and the depths of sinful bondage ever be ignorant, apathetic, or uncaring towards the plight of the unsaved? How can a Christian aware of the desperate need of the world and the ripeness of the field ever believe that evangelistic opportunities are more than likely doomed? Jesus waves these concerns aside with a combination of compassion and willingness! If only we would too!
Having felt compassion towards the lost and sadness at the absence of laborers, gives us a very big “therefore”. When we finally get a clear vision of God’s mission to the world, Jesus does not command His disciples to immediately go out.He doesn’t say “Go ahead and get out there!” No. They are to pray to the God who has given us this abundant harvest. We are to appeal to the one who sends laborers.
This small prayer is of great importance to us as Christians on mission. It is a prayer for God to grip our hearts for gospel-work and our feet for entering into the field. It is a prayer not only that we might be gripped but that God in His sovereignty would lead a vast many into the field. That evangelism would increase, not by our struggle or our work but by the sovereign goodness of the God of the Harvest! This prayer does not remove the necessity of evangelism. It appeals to the God who brings about heart-change, calls His elect into grace, and will one day judge the living and the dead! It is a prayer to the God of the mission and the God of the missionaries!
God of the Harvest, send out your laborers into the abundant harvest. Remove from us apathy and fear and give us clear vision of your mission! Guide us in our words and provide us what we need. Lord, by our weak words would you call your children into grace! Amen.
