Calling, Character and Charge

The Holy Bible: New International Version—Anglicised (1984) The Workers Are Few

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

PRAY

This is a foundational passage summarising the minisrty of Jesus while on earth

Jesus’s Calling: v35

Primary mission to preach the good news - while conirming his authroity through miracles

BUT look at the word ALL!

v35 - ALL - 204 cities - 15000 people!

Exhausting and Exhaustive - Isn’t Jesus extraordinary!

Jesus’s Character: v36 - 37

I think the context of this compassion is not based on people just having a difficult life. These are spiritually lost people who need a shepherd.

And they need a shepherd becasue while they are seemingly willing to find God, they are being harrased and made helpless by the salvation by works teaching of the pharisees!

Jesus’ responce shows his incredible character - He is a God of compassion.

Jesus’s Charge:

He also sees real potential for a harvest.

He is a God of sure hope - the lost CAN be found!

I wonder if we see the lost with great compassion?

And see the lost as a wonderful field ripe for harvest - or do we assume there is no chance o harvest, so why bother farming!

Jesus’s and expectation of

Jesus’s Charge: v38

John Piper referred to this verse at the Men’s Convention on Saturday - and pointed out the irony of the statement!

The Lord is asking his disciples - and I trust us today as well - to ask him back to send out workers!

Jesus not only wants us to be the workers he sends, he wants us to also be the ones who seek Him in prayer and ask for the workers as well!

Why doesn’t he just send the workers if that’s his desire? Why do we need to ask for them, if that’s his desire any way?

Well welcome to the glourious mystery o prayer.

We are not praying for our wills to be done.

We are not trying to convince God to do things he hasn’t thougth of!

We are seeking to be obedient to him

We are seeking to bring him glory by praying for Him to do His great work.

So, i think this passage ask us to

1 - To fulfill Jesus’s calling - to reach ALL with the Gospel!

It is going to be exhaustive and exhausting

- from rotas straining at the limits,

to finances being stretched,

to time being absorbed.

2 - To share Jesus’s character -

to have compassion on the lost,

seeing the hope they could have in Jesus

And

3 - to obey Jesus’ charge -

to pray for workers, and to be those workers.

PRAY

Exhausting and Exhaustive