May 8, 2011

Every day we receive appeals in the mail to share in the burden of one group or another. “In an unprecedented speech delivered by Japanese Emperor Akihito on Wednesday, [March 16] the 77-year-old urged the Japanese people to ‘work together’ and help each other overcome the massive radiation crisis triggered at the Fukushima nuclear power plant by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Recently President Obama asked the American people to share the burden of the national debt. Whenever there is a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina, or the recent tornadoes, hundreds of volunteers go to help share the burden

Today we are in Mt.9:35-38. We read about Jesus’ concern for people lost in their sins. Obviously he’s burdened about it. After all he came to save lost people. But in this passage we see that followers of Jesus are called to share Jesus’ burden for those who are lost.

I. CONSIDER THE MINISTRY OF JESUS TO REACH THE LOST. Mt. 9:35-36

The Gospel of Matthew contains five major discourses by Jesus. The first discourse is the Sermon on the Mount, found in Mt.5-7. The second discourse begins in chapter ten. These verses serve as a summary and preparation for the second discourse. Verse 35 is almost exactly like Mt.4:23. In these verses we are given a very clear picture of what Jesus’ ministry was like.

We see that Jesus had a teaching and preaching ministry. When we think of teaching in the synagogue we picture Jesus expounding on the Law and the Prophets. When we think of preaching, the idea is more of a herald, announcing important news. Whereas we think of teaching as being directed to the mind, preaching is directed to a person’s will. Preaching looks for a response. In the case of Jesus, his teaching was very close to preaching because whenever he would expound the scriptures he would show how they relate to himself and the good news of the Gospel. An example of this is found in Lk.4. There Jesus is teaching in the synagogue. He reads from Isaiah 61. Let me read Lk.4:17-21. “The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’” Well, here Jesus is teaching, but he is obviously making an announcement. He is claiming to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. This is proclamation. The listeners have to respond in some way.

Another example in which teaching and proclamation seem to refer to one and the same thing occurs in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:2 says that Jesus called his disciples to him and began to teach them. But in his teaching he would say, “You have heard it said,...but I say to you...” In other words, Jesus did not teach like the other teachers of the Law. They would quote from teachers of days gone by as their authority. Jesus spoke on his own authority. He was announcing and proclaiming the truth of God’s word.

And, of course, we also see that Jesus had a healing ministry in which people were miraculously healed of their illnesses.

Obviously none of what I have said is new news. We know these things already. But seeing that we know these things about Jesus, we must be careful that we don’t just dismiss this as old information. The teaching, preaching, and healings of Jesus reveal the glory and wonder of God. The ministry of Jesus shows us what God is like. We see that God is love and desires to bring spiritual and physical restoration to our lives. The life and ministry of Jesus can never just be put on the shelf of familiarity.

But let’s look at v.36. Here we read that Jesus saw the crowds. Now the ministry of Jesus flowed out of his nature and character. And the way he viewed the crowds also flowed out of his nature and character. When Jesus looked at the crowds he did not see people to exploit, control, or manipulate. Instead, the crowds caused him to feel deeply. He felt compassion. The word, “compassion,” is a word that refers to one’s internal organs like the intestines, lungs, liver, etc. This is why the old King James refers to “bowels of compassion”. It’s where we feel things. Today we talk about having a heart of compassion. A person who feels compassion is moved to do something about the problem. When Jesus saw the crowds, he was moved because he could see that they lacked direction. When Jesus looked at the crowds he saw people who were harassed and helpless.

Now this is interesting to me. I mean, crowds tend to be nondescript. You can’t tell a whole lot about people by looking at a crowd. Surely some are poor while others are rich. Some are happy while others are sad. Did the crowds really look helpless and harassed? Were they really that directionless? Of course, it all has to do with the one who is doing the looking. Jesus didn’t look at people from a merely human perspective. He didn’t look only at what was on the outside. He looked at people from a spiritual perspective. Even though the people of Israel were steeped in religion and had the Law and the Prophets, they were blind to the truth of God. They were lost in their sins. The teachers of the Law did not lead the people to God. Instead they bound the people with more rules. If you want a commentary on this, read Ezekiel 34. In Matthew 23 Jesus charges the teachers of the law with being blind guides. In Mt.15:14, Jesus says, “they are blind guides.  If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Without a shepherd, sheep cannot fend for themselves. They are helpless.

Jesus’ ministry was driven by love and compassion for lost people; people who didn’t necessarily realize they were even lost. John tells us that while Jesus came to his own, his own did not receive him. But, men and women, when I think about the ministry of Jesus, I’m struck by the fact that what Jesus did to reach lost people is exactly what was needed. He spoke the truth and humbly served in the power of God by showing the love of God for others. You are more apt to get a hearing with kindness than with judgment. After all, Paul tells us that it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance (Rm.2:4).

II. ANSWER THE CALL OF JESUS TO REACH THE LOST. Mt.9:37-38

With the backdrop of Jesus’ outreach ministry fresh in their minds, Jesus now turns to his disciples. The crowds are now likened to a harvest field. The first thing Jesus says about this harvest field is that the potential for harvest is great. In other words there are many people who need to hear the Gospel. And what is the goal? The goal is to see many people enter into the kingdom of God by becoming followers of Jesus. It is a process involving repentance of sin and embracing Jesus as one’s only Savior, Lord and Master. Jesus says that the harvest is great.

But, the workers are few. By-the-way, who are the workers? Well, the options here are not many. Clearly, Jesus is talking to the workers. The workers are his followers; his disciples. Who else is there? Now it would be comforting for many of us if we could limit the workers to just the twelve disciples. O yeah, they are the laborers. We don’t have to really engage this passage because it doesn’t apply to us! But Mt.10:1 helps to clarify that Jesus was speaking to more than just his twelve disciples. And as we look out on the world today, we continue to see that the crowds are still there. It hasn’t changed. In fact, the harvest is greater now than it has ever been. But the laborers are still few.

So what does Jesus tell them to do? You would think that Jesus would say something like, “Look you guys, I can’t be everywhere at once. So why are you still standing around? Get out there and reap the harvest.” But that’s not what he says. First he tells them to spend some time in prayer asking the Lord of the harvest, (that’s God) to send forth laborers into his harvest field. Now is that really something we need to pray about? I mean, isn’t it a bit obvious that God needs to send out workers? In Romans 10:13-15, Paul writes, “...for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ Here it is again, “And how can they preach unless they are sent?”

Brothers and sisters, do you want to know why the laborers are so few? It’s because the laborers lack the compassion of Jesus. The laborers do not see the crowds like Jesus sees the crowds. We are followers of Jesus, but our heart does not beat in time with the heart of Jesus. Instead of allowing Jesus to set the rhythm of our heart, the rhythm of our heart is set by the ways and things of this world, things that seem so important to us. We have spiritual arrhythmia. So Jesus says, “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.” Jesus wants us to pray for workers. Well, that’s risky. It’s risky because if we begin praying for God to send workers out into the fields, there’s a good possibility that we will begin to develop a heart of compassion for those who are lost. In Isaiah 6, we find Isaiah in worship and he is given a vision of the throne of God. As Isaiah saw the glory of God he cried out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” An angel touches Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal and cleanses him of his sin. Then Isaiah hears the words, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And [he] said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Men and women, what is wrong with us? We talk about how the church is a lighthouse. We give to missions and pray for our missionaries, but it seems we are detached from it all. Those things are just part of what we do at the church. Some of you have taken the 12/12 challenge. I’ve been praying for you. Have you been praying for yourself? Have you been praying about the harvest and the need for workers?

According to authors, Thom and Sam Rainer in a 2007 survey, “82% is the number of unchurched people who are receptive to attending church if invited and escorted by a friend. But, 21% is the number of church-going Christians who invited someone to church in 2006.” I don’t know if those percentages are the same today, but even if they are close, it tells us that there are many who would come to church if we invited them. Brothers and sisters, do we have compassion for lost people? Do we carry this compassion for lost people in our hearts every day? Followers of Jesus are called to share Jesus’ burden for those who are lost. Amen