Seek The Lost

The Proaction v. 35

Jesus made a point to go into every city and village to teach the Word. Jesus knows that people need to hear about the kingdom of God, so he goes to them! He doesn’t sit back in the temple in Jerusalem and wait for people to come to hear him. He proactively seeks the lost.

Jesus was traveling to teach in the synagogues, but as he interacted with people along the way, he shared the good news with them. On his way to teach the word, he was teaching the word! He went both to the CITIES and the VILLAGES. He was teaching and reaching the rich and the poor. Matthew uses the word “every” when referring to who Jesus healed. Jesus didn’t pick and choose. He sought and saved!

How often do we get out and about around lost people? ALL THE TIME! Every single time you walk outside of your home, maybe even inside of your home, you’re around someone who needs the love and mercy of God!

The Reaction v. 36

As Jesus is out and about teaching the Word and healing people, he recognizes the immense need of the people to hear the good news. His compassion is not for their physical state, but for their spiritual state. Jesus can see the state of their heart, and what he saw was a lost and dying world in desparate need of saving!

Jesus saw a lost and dying world, just as we see one today.

Check out these stats according to the Barna group: Practicing Christians: 45% (2000) - 25% (2020)

Non-Practicing: 35% (2000) - 43% (2020)

Non-Christian: 20% (2000) - 30% (2020)

Atheist: 11% (2003) - 21% (2018)

Folks, this was not a worldwide study. This was a study of around 100,000 Americans. The rule of numbers kicks in and makes this an accurate survey to base research on.

Check out this statistic: this is 1993-2020 church attendance.

We are surrounded by the same “crowds” that Jesus was looking at and had compassion on. We must have compassion for the lost world around us.

“Like sheep without a shepherd”

The Action vv. 37-38

Seeing this need, Jesus called out to his disciples that the harvest is ready! There are so many people for us to share the good news with! There’s no time to waste, we have to share our faith with them NOW!

Jesus used the illustration of a wheat harvest. Here in Mississippi, we don’t do much wheat harvesting. Especially not down here in the coastal region. So I did some research on the process of a wheat harvest. When it came time to harvest, the farmers would hire temporary workers just for the harvest because the grain seed would spoil so quickly that it needed to get harvested as fast as possible.

When the wheat plant is growing, it’s a bright green like most other plants. But once it ripens for harvest, it turns a white/yellowish color. The farmer then has a matter of weeks to get it all harvested and to the threshing floor for separating the grain from the stems.

One interesting thing I noticed while reading and studying this, where does the harvest take place? IN THE FIELD! WITH THE WHEAT!

In order for us to be obedient, we must get out into the field with the lost people and seek them out! THEN once they meet Jesus, we can bring them “back to the barn” to refine them.

This is why Jesus was emphasizing the urgency for workers to go into the field. The fields are white for harvest! Pray that God (the farmer) sends more workers (us)!