Matthew 15

The Harvest and the Laborers

As a Christian one of the things that we are commanded to do is to tell the good news of Jesus Christ to others. This is something that we like to call evangelism. Evangelism comes from the same root Greek word that we have for the word Gospel so evangelism in a literal sense means gospeling. It is telling others of the Gospel of Jesus. This is easy to say and to know as a Christian that we should be doing this and we should want to do this, but do we always have a heart for evangelism? Even if we do, how often do we talk about Christ? No matter what your answers to those two questions are you can always improve in both areas and need a refresher quite often to ensure your heart is in the right place and luckily we can learn straight from Christ Himself on these topics.

Jesus has now been traveling from place to place teaching and healing and having conversations with people for some time now and He is observing the places He goes to as He does this. In chapter nine verse thirty-six we get a glimpse into that observation that He makes.

Matthew 9:36 “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”

As He is teaching and ministering it says that He is moved with compassion. He feels bad for these multitudes of people who are scattered about and have no real truth to follow. He compares them here to sheep without a shepherd. In case you guys don’t know this sheep are quite dumb. They are libel to wander off into holes or straight off cliffs if there is no one there to protect them and guide them. This is what Jesus compares the world without Him to. That can seem harsh to call everyone dumb sheep, but it is the hard truth. Anyone who does not know Christ is like a sheep wandering with no direction and no ability to stop itself from wandering right off a cliff. We can imagine that cliff in this instance as being anything damaging such as drugs, sexual immorality, or violence.

This is what I mean by having a heart for evangelism. I mean a compassion on those who are lost and in need of a savior. It is something that we need to constantly remind ourselves of so that we do not grow cold and uncaring for the condition of our unregenerate friends, family, and strangers. I will say that this tends to be harder for guys than it does for girls. Women are naturally more compassionate then men and tend to feel empathy for the hurting people of the world while men tend to feel more harsh and wrathful towards the sin and the sinner. Now I do want to say that both of these characteristics have their positive and negative qualities and both of them originate with God. God is of course not only is loving and compassionate, but it would be truer to say that He is love and He is compassion. So of course we see very clearly that Christ has compassion on sinners and wishes for them to repent. The danger with the solely compassionate view though is that often times it can abandon the need for repentance in favor of acceptance. This is what we see with many modern churches who preach love and compassion but forget that God is wrathful and does despise sin and will eliminate it from this world one day.

On the other hand we have the people who favor the wrath of God. This is very important as the people who favor wrath tend to preach more on the repentance of the sinner, but if we go to far in the direction of wrath then we will be unlikely to even want to spread the Good news because of our disdain for the sin and for the sinner when God never despised the sinner only the sin. So then, we must have a healthy balance like God. A compassion for the poor lost sheep that simply cannot help but fall into sin and a disdain for the sin and a need for repentance.

Continuing on, Jesus sees this with the multitudes and wants to guide them towards Himself so that they can be protected by Him and feel His love. Notice though in verse thirty-seven what He says.

Matthew 9:37–38 “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.””

Jesus says there are so many people out there desperate for the good news of the Gospel and at this moment in time there is only Him and John the Baptist preaching it. The laborers are few. There weren’t enough people spreading the good news or working the fields in this analogy. So, He first says to His disciples that they should pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. I want to notice quickly before we move on whose harvest it is. Jesus says it is His harvest. We are just the workers in this situation not the owners of the field. Whatever we accomplish in the work of evangelism is not our own accomplishment but is a work of God through us to further His kingdom. This is one of the most important rules of evangelism is to always remember that our purpose behind it is to glorify our Father and not bring glory to ourselves or even to our church but solely to our Father in Heaven.

Now, hopefully our hearts are in the right place and we are ready to begin the work of evangelism, but how? How do we share Christ with others? Well after this Jesus calls the twelve disciples together and gives them the power to perform miracles like He has been doing and prepares them to be sent out as laborers in the harvest. While we are not specifically called out quite like them and given the powers to work miracles we are called to spread the news like them so beginning in verse five of chapter ten Jesus starts to give us instruction on how to do evangelism and I believe He answers five big questions or fears that all of us may have when faced with evangelism so let’s break those down.

Where Will I Go?

Matthew 10:5–7 “These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Jesus first addresses the question of where will I go or rather who do I tell about Christ? We all want to know that from the beginning, who exactly are we supposed to be telling about Jesus? Am I supposed to go to some country in a far off land to share Christ? Well that is not what Jesus tells His disciples here. No, they start at home in Israel. Going to the cities of their people sharing Christ with those who are close by. This is what you are called to do. Yes some Christians are most certainly called like Paul to travel to dangerous locations and spread the Gospel underneath persecution, but every Christian on Earth is called to spread the Gospel right where they are at. There are people all around you that do not know Christ. We touched on that in the last chapter, but I would like to drive the point home here that we do not know who has Christ in their life around us. We cannot take things at face value and assume just because they grew up in a Christian home going to church or live in an area filled with Christians that they are themselves followers of Christ. It is our duty as believers to spread the good news to everyone who is around us on a regular basis. And by this I do not mean that you should be on a street corner preaching from a soap box every day. The good news of Christ is about much more than just your initial conversion, it is a lifelong experience where God blesses you and gives you more than you deserve so that you can tell others of the things that God has done for you in your life.

Where Will I Stay?

Matthew 10:11–13 ““Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.”

The question that the disciples would have been wondering when Jesus commanded them to go out into the cities to preach His name is where will I stay? They were being sent out away from their homes on a mission and they were called to take with them no provisions for this mission. This would have been a very daunting task to undertake. One of their chief concerns would likely be where am I going to be laying my head down at night to rest? How will I get food? Who will provide for me? We have similar questions for God even though our mission is different and we may not be called to go outside of our hometown we still need provision for the mission. At times taking on the mission of Christ means leading a life of simplicity and turning down lavish lives of luxury. Whenever I surrendered to the ministry I will be honest with you guys I was worried about how I would be able to provide for my family and live a comfortable life because ministry in a small town is not the way to get rich quick. I had to come to a point where I gave in and trusted in God for my provision. I had to abandon any of my selfish ambitions and my dreams of a comfortable life in order to fulfill the mission that God had given me. While you may not be called to ministry like I am you are called into a ministry and God does have a specific mission for you. Sometimes when you look at that mission it can be scary to realize that you will struggle and abandon luxuries to fulfill your mission. Take heart in the fact that Christ promises that provisions will be made. There will be a place for you to stay and while you may not live a comfortable life of luxury you will have everything that you need in life to complete your mission and live a fulfilling life in Christ.

How Will They React?

Matthew 10:16–18 ““Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.”

The next question that Jesus knows the disciples will have is how will people react to this message that we are delivering? Sadly, the reaction of the people we share Christ with can often be anger or hatred. Christ later teaches that as they have hated Him so to will they hate us. You see in the time of Christ they blamed in on saying that the Gospel was a blaspheme to God because it was different from the rules of man that the Pharisees had instituted. Today, people will likely react with anger because they either feel like to are judgemental, a hypocrite, or they claim to already know Christ. All of these reasons for anger will be directed at the messenger when in actuality the anger stems from their own guilt and shame when presented with the message. Christ tells us then when we are witnessing to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves meaning that we should think carefully about what we say and how we present Gods word to people but we should also expect their anger and not respond in kind but rather hold our tongues to remain harmless not just to them but to the message we are representing.

What Will I Say?

Matthew 10:19–20 “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”

Matthew 10:27 ““Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.”

Jesus address here the question that I believe is most common amongst people going out to share the Gospel especially people trying to share Christ with those who are close to them, what will I say? We feel as though we are terribly inadequate to represent the Gospel of Jesus Christ and there is no way we can present something so immense. In truth? You’re right. You are terribly inadequate to represent Christ on your own, but the Spirit who lives inside each Christian is more than adequate to represent the Gospel. This does not relieve you of your duty to study the Word and know how to defend the faith and present it to other, but it does mean that when the situation arises to share Christ we can trust in the Spirit to lead us in that conversation. I have been in those shoes before, having absolutely no clue how I would share Christ with a person. There was a young man who had come into a bit of trouble and I was given an opportunity to speak with him. It happened very fast and within a few minutes I was sitting with the boy and it was show time so to speak. On the way there I spent my whole time praying asking God to take over because I had no idea what I was supposed to say. Whenever I sat down across from him it totally surprised me that words just came to me. I did not really even have to think of what to say the only thing I can say is that God used me in that moment as an instrument of His will and I was able to lead that young man to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We may be scared to death to share Christ, but if we rely on the Spirit within us then the words will be provided to us.

Who Is In Control?

Matthew 10:28–30 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Finally, Christ gives us a word of encouragement but also a sharp warning by answering the question of who is in control? He first encourages the disciples by telling them not to fear those who can affect your physical body but have no say in your eternal destination because the only thing that they can affect is the temporary life. He also encourages them by saying that God is in total control of this world by saying not even a sparrow will fall to the ground without it being in the Fathers will. This is an encouragement to us by saying that in all we do God has control and while negative things may happen to us as a result of sharing Christ with others we take solace in the fact that Gods will is good and all that happens will come together for the good of His kingdom. He also gives us a warning, while we should not fear man, we should fear God. We are commanded to take part in His mission of reaching people with the Gospel so be cautious in disobeying Him and abandonning the mission that He has given you to reach out to your friends and family for Him because in the end His will always works out, but like Jonah when He was called to preach to Ninevah you have a choice in how hard it has to be for you to share His message.