The harvest is plentiful, but...

There is a harvest.

Luke 10:1–2 (ESV)

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “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.

This isn’t the first place that a harvest is mentioned in Luke, and it’s important that we have an understanding of what harvest Jesus is talking about before we begin talking about what he means by this passage.

The harvest initially is alluded to in the preaching of John the Baptist in Luke 3:17

Luke 3:16–17 ESV

John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

John, in speaking of a harvest, immediately connects the coming of Jesus with a coming judgment which Jesus himself will carry out. We often connect the Holy Spirit and the fire in this passage to the outpouring in Acts 2, but this is all too hasty. The fire is clearly defined in this context as the fire of judgment that will go unquenched. John’s message presupposes that he is talking both to those who will receive the Holy Spirit, and those who will not. Those who do not receive the Holy Spirit will receive the fire of judgment.

This puts an altogether different perspective on the harvest compared to what we generally think of. Often, we associate harvest with souls coming into the kingdom and being saved. But here, we begin to realize that the harvest is talking about all of humanity on a trajectory towards the final day - the day of judgment.

The Harvest is Eschatological

The harvest is split into two groups - wheat and chaff, or wheat and grapes. In either case, depending on which imagery is being used, there are two groups at the day of harvest. One will be harvested for eternal life, while the other will be harvested for eternal destruction.

Revelation 14:14–20 ESV

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

With those things set up, we return to our initial passage in Luke 10:1–2 “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “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.”

Think about the weight behind Jesus’ words as he makes this statement:

All of humanity is headed towards a judgment. There will be a final day of judgment, where all stand before God to give an account of their life. The verdict of this judgment is final.

No one is righteous. No one is able to enter the kingdom of God without the righteousness of God imputed to them by Christ’s work.

He is the judge. Jesus will be the one performing the judgment according to the words of John the Baptist.

He is merciful. He does not want to condemn all of these people. There is but one message that can direct people away from the fire and into everlasting life - the good news of the rule and the reign of Christ in righteousness forever.

He wants his disciples to understand the gravity of the message that they are proclaiming. It has eschatological, eternal significance.

The Harvest Needs the Gospel.

5. And to make matters worse, Jesus says that the laborers are few. It’s the only time that Jesus talks about lack in the kingdom of God.

And this is where Jesus gives two basic instructions:

Go.

Pray.

Notice that he doesn’t give two sets of instructions for two different groups of people. He gives the same instructions to one group. This becomes the model for the great commission.

Luke 24:46–49 ESV

and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit sends us.

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

“The second principle in becoming a Great Commission worshipper involves going to an appointed place.”

David Wheeler; Vernon M. Whaley

A Great Commission worshipper is a person who is so much in love with Jesus, so committed to worship of Jesus, and so devoted to being obedient to every command of Jesus that he simply cannot restrain himself from telling others about his incredible relationship with the Son of God. A Great Commission Worshipper is equally committed to worship and evangelism. There is never a time when a division is made between the two. This concept of worship-evangelism is the biblical model for discipleship.

David Wheeler; Vernon M. Whaley

“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.

Daniel L. Akin; Benjamin L. Merkle

Participation is not an option. We have the options to go, to send, or to disobey. Praying and preaching are not optional. We are all called, all commanded, and all equipped. We may be called to various places, but we share one command. We may be equipped to varying degrees, but if you do not feel equipped, it’s time to change that. True worship entails obedience - including obedience of the great commission.

It’s okay if you don’t “feel equipped.” Luke 10:3

Luke 10:3 ESV

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

How equipped are sheep for reaching wolves? The goal is not our exaltation - it is the exaltation of Jesus. For some people, they want to be influencers. “Maybe if I increase, He can increase that way!” No, actually the pattern for Him increasing is you decreasing - and that’s great news. It means we look at Jesus, we pursue Jesus, and we tell as many people as we can about Jesus wherever we go. The knowledge comes over time, and we should always pursue more, but if you know something about Jesus, anything, just remember that you know more than many people around the world. The unreached; the never reached; the unengaged; and even here in our own cities. The first time I met someone who didn’t know who Jesus was, I had just moved to Minneapolis for school. Don’t assume that your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers know about Jesus. They may have a concept, but you can more accurately teach them about the way. Jesus is about unreached people groups, but he’s also about unreached people. Each person in this room has an opportunity to respond and participate in sharing the Jesus you know with the person who doesn’t.

1. We all must pray, and we all must preach. How will you do this in your life?

2. How is God calling you to decrease so that he might increase?

3. Could God be calling you to something you didn’t expect? If so, what?