Help Wanted

The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Matthew A. ‘Ask the Lord of the Harvest to Send out Workers’ (9:35–38)

Compassion involves so identifying with the situation of others that one is prepared to act for their benefit. Apart from 18:27, in a parable (where compassion leads to forgiveness of debt), in Matthew compassion always addresses the physical needs of people,3 and so it will be in the ministry to which the disciples are called.

Introduction

Recently, I went to one of my favorite eating places and there was a sign in the window that stated “HELP WANTED.” I knew that with a sign in the door of this establishment meant the work load was more than the number of employees who were on payroll to do the work. So it is with ministry, there is so much that needs to be done, the ministry needs someone who will work.

Thus far, the King has done all the work of the kingdom! The goal of this gospel tends to show us the life of Jesus and it was not that of idleness, but of service.

The purpose of the message is to recruit kingdom workers. Not just workers, but kingdom workers who will must abide by kingdom rules/standards.

(35) “Matthew has a threefold description of Jesus’ ministry: teaching, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing.”

teaching - to teach v. — to impart skills or knowledge to. (ref. , “When Jesus was found in the temple, after a 3 day search, found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”)

to teach v. — to impart skills or knowledge to.

preaching - to announce [the kingdom] (herald) v. — to make known (important news) publicly and loudly (as if a herald).

to announce (herald) v. — to make known (important news) publicly and loudly (as if a herald).

healing - to heal ⇔ treat v. — to heal, conceived of as providing care to improve a situation.

to heal ⇔ treat v. — to heal, conceived of as providing care to improve a situation.

35. The verb went around/about is in the imperfect, pointing to a continuing process (cf. Moffatt, “made a tour”)...This is what Jesus kept doing.

—Jesus was consistently doing this…whenever people saw Jesus, these are things they saw Him doing.

(Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992. Print. The Pillar New Testament Commentary.)

(Nolland, John. The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2005. Print. New International Greek Testament Commentary.)

“Compassion involves so identifying with the situation of others that one is prepared to act for their benefit. ...in Matthew compassion always addresses the physical needs of people, and so it will be in the ministry to which the disciples are called.

“Compassion involves so identifying with the situation of others that one is prepared to act for their benefit. ...in Matthew compassion always addresses the physical needs of people, and so it will be in the ministry to which the disciples are called.”

(36) “What we are to see here is not purely human pity, but divine compassion for troubled people. Matthew goes on to use two picturesque expressions to bring out the plight of those who were the object of Jesus’ compassion.

(Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992. Print. The Pillar New Testament Commentary.)

(36b) The translations employ a variety of expressions: “worried and helpless” (GNB); “harassed and helpless” (NRSV, REB, NIV); “distressed and downcast” (NASB); “harassed and dejected” (JB).

The imagery is that of shepherdless sheep, sheep wounded and torn either by hostile animals or by thornbushes and the like, and then prostrate and helpless.

Harassed is probably as good a translation as we can find for the first term, while cast down is almost exactly what the second conveys.87

The imagery is that of shepherd-less sheep, sheep wounded and torn either by hostile animals or by thornbushes and the like, and then prostrate and helpless.

This picture of people completely without resource is rounded off by explicitly likening them to sheep without a shepherd, an expression used of the Old Testament people of God (; ; ; )

Clearly it means that the people in question are “down,” that is, “downcast,” “dejected.” McNeile thinks that the reference is to the people “as sheep, mishandled and lying helpless.”

Sheep are defenseless animals. Without a shepherd they are vulnerable to any attack. Even without predators they are in trouble if they have no shepherd, for they are not good foragers. They need a shepherd to lead them in green pastures and beside still waters (). Goats manage very well by themselves, but sheep do not. Sheep without a shepherd points to people who are in great danger and without the resources to escape from it.

37. For Matthew’s characteristic then see on 2:7; here it means “next in sequence.” His disciples is Matthew’s characteristic early use; this is what would be said at a time when it was necessary to distinguish Jesus’ followers from those of other teachers.

Compassion involves so identifying with the situation of others that one is prepared to act for their benefit. Apart from 18:27, in a parable (where compassion leads to forgiveness of debt), in Matthew compassion always addresses the physical needs of people,3 and so it will be in the ministry to which the disciples are called.

The harvest may refer to a literal crop of grain or the like, but here it is used metaphorically of people.88 Jesus does not spell it out, but he is speaking of people who are ripe for inclusion in the kingdom. In that situation it is necessary that something be done to bring them in. A crop of wheat needs workers89 to bring the grain into the barn; without the laborers the crop cannot be reaped.90 Jesus says that in the great harvest of which he is speaking the workers are few.

88 Barclay points out that “the orthodox religious leaders” and Jesus saw ordinary people in different ways: “The Pharisees saw the common people as chaff to be destroyed and burned up; He saw them as a harvest to be reaped and to be saved” (p. 356).

89 ἐργάτης can denote any workman, but it is used especially of agricultural laborers.

90 There is a noble rabbinic saying attributed to R. Tarfon, “The day is short and the task is great and the labourers are idle and the wage is abundant and the master of the house is urgent” (’Abot 2:15).

“‘The harvest is big’ presumably means more than that there are lots of Israelites to be dealt with. The size of the crop suggests that much has already been accomplished in bringing such a crop to the point of harvest (through the prophets? the exile experience? John the Baptist? the ministry of Jesus to this point?). The present sign of the readiness of a large crop is the coming of eager crowds to Jesus.

‘The harvest is big’ presumably means more than that there are lots of Israelites to be dealt with. The size of the crop suggests that much has already been accomplished in bringing such a crop to the point of harvest (through the prophets? the exile experience? John the Baptist? the ministry of Jesus to this point?). The present sign of the readiness of a large crop is the coming of eager crowds to Jesus.

Harvest here is not exactly an image of (eschatological) judgment as in ; ; ; , nor is it straightforwardly an image of the eschatological gathering of Israel as in . It is, however, from this background (where the saving of God’s people is always also involved) that it draws its force as an image for the eschatological calling of people into the kingdom of God.

In the present imagery God has become the owner-manager of the farmland who employs farm workers to harvest the crop. There is an urgent need for sufficient workers to be able to harvest the crop before it spoils. No specific identity should be given to the ‘few’ existing workers: the focus is on the need for additional resources.

7 Nolland, Luke, 2:550–51.

The coming commissioning and direction of the Twelve will indicate something of what is involved in ‘harvesting’ (but we have also been seeing Jesus do it).

8 M. ʾAb. 2:15 has a somewhat similar image of an under-resourced urgent task, applied in the context to the need for the study of the Law: ‘The day is short and the task is great and the labourers are idle and the wage is abundant and the master of the house is urgent’.

The challenge to prayer, however, implies the need to call others beyond the Twelve into this task as well.

(Nolland, John. The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2005. Print. New International Greek Testament Commentary.)

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Matthew 1. The Harvest and the Workers, 9:35–38

35. The verb went around is in the imperfect, pointing to a continuing process (cf. Moffatt, “made a tour”), while the combination of the cities and the villages, reinforced as it is by all,85 indicates a comprehensive activity. This is what Jesus kept doing.

85 Matthew has all the cities only here; it is not a common expression. He uses χώμη only 4 times (Luke has it 12 times).

Matthew has a threefold description of Jesus’ ministry: teaching, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing.

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Matthew 1. The Harvest and the Workers, 9:35–38

What we are to see here is not purely human pity, but divine compassion for troubled people. Matthew goes on to use two picturesque expressions to bring out the plight of those who were the object of Jesus’ compassion.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992. Print. The Pillar New Testament Commentary.

(36b) The translations employ a variety of expressions: “worried and helpless” (GNB); “harassed and helpless” (NRSV, REB, NIV); “distressed and downcast” (NASB); “harassed and dejected” (JB).

The imagery is that of shepherdless sheep, sheep wounded and torn either by hostile animals or by thornbushes and the like, and then prostrate and helpless.

The translations employ a variety of expressions: “worried and helpless” (GNB); “harassed and helpless” (NRSV, REB, NIV); “distressed and downcast” (NASB); “harassed and dejected” (JB). The imagery is that of shepherdless sheep, sheep wounded and torn either by hostile animals or by thornbushes and the like, and then prostrate and helpless. Harassed is probably as good a translation as we can find for the first term, while cast down is almost exactly what the second conveys.87 This picture of people completely without resource is rounded off by explicitly likening them to sheep without a shepherd, an expression used of the Old Testament people of God (; ; ; ) Sheep are defenseless animals. Without a shepherd they are vulnerable to any attack. Even without predators they are in trouble if they have no shepherd, for they are not good foragers. They need a shepherd to lead them in green pastures and beside still waters (). Goats manage very well by themselves, but sheep do not. Sheep without a shepherd points to people who are in great danger and without the resources to escape from it.

Harassed is probably as good a translation as we can find for the first term, while cast down is almost exactly what the second conveys.87 This picture of people completely without resource is rounded off by explicitly likening them to sheep without a shepherd, an expression used of the Old Testament people of God (; ; ; )

Sheep are defenseless animals. Without a shepherd they are vulnerable to any attack. Even without predators they are in trouble if they have no shepherd, for they are not good foragers. They need a shepherd to lead them in green pastures and beside still waters (). Goats manage very well by themselves, but sheep do not. Sheep without a shepherd points to people who are in great danger and without the resources to escape from it.

GNB Good News Bible (London and New York, 1976)

NRSV The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville, 1990)

REB The Revised English Bible (Oxford and Cambridge, 1989)

NIV The Holy Bible, New International Version (Grand Rapids, 1978)

NASB New American Standard Bible (La Habra, 1972)

JB The Jerusalem Bible (London, 1966)

87 σχύλλω meant originally “to skin, flay” and thus came to be used metaphorically for serious trouble of any kind. The second verb is ῥίπτω, “to throw, hurl,” which might be used of violent action (like Judas hurling the money into the sanctuary, 27:5), or of nonviolent action such as the laying of people at the feet of Jesus (15:30).

Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992. Print. The Pillar New Testament Commentary.

37. For Matthew’s characteristic then see on 2:7; here it means “next in sequence.” His disciples is Matthew’s characteristic early use; this is what would be said at a time when it was necessary to distinguish Jesus’ followers from those of other teachers. The harvest may refer to a literal crop of grain or the like, but here it is used metaphorically of people.88 Jesus does not spell it out, but he is speaking of people who are ripe for inclusion in the kingdom. In that situation it is necessary that something be done to bring them in. A crop of wheat needs workers89 to bring the grain into the barn; without the laborers the crop cannot be reaped.90 Jesus says that in the great harvest of which he is speaking the workers are few.

88 Barclay points out that “the orthodox religious leaders” and Jesus saw ordinary people in different ways: “The Pharisees saw the common people as chaff to be destroyed and burned up; He saw them as a harvest to be reaped and to be saved” (p. 356).

89 ἐργάτης can denote any workman, but it is used especially of agricultural laborers.

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

How did you hear about the position?

90 There is a noble rabbinic saying attributed to R. Tarfon, “The day is short and the task is great and the labourers are idle and the wage is abundant and the master of the house is urgent” (’Abot 2:15).

2.

What do you know about this company?

Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992. Print. The Pillar New Testament Commentary.

3. What do you know about the company?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Why are you leaving your current job?

4.

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

Point #1 - Ministry (35)

Point #2 - Multitudes (36)

Point #3 - Mandate (37-38)

CONCLUSION

Help Wanted - Interview Questions

Help Wanted

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Help Wanted

Point #1 - Ministry (35)

Point #2 - Multitudes (36)

Point #3 - Mandate (37-38)

CONCLUSION

Help Wanted - Interview Questions