The Shepherd and the Harvest

A very beloved professor of preaching that I had hammered into our heads as young trainees, “never make yourself out to be the hero of the story. Jesus is the hero of the story.” What he meant by that, is when you are teaching, don’t make yourself the example or the illustration.

By and large I stick to that advice. The longer you live life and walk with Jesus, the more you realize that even on the good days, Jesus is still the hero of the story. Even in the tales of victory, Jesus is the victor behind the fight.

But I want to invite you to really enter in to the heart of this passage today, because at the heart of it is Jesus’ compassion - he is the hero of this story - but what he says and does is very personal.

And, I do have to admit, that this passage is very personal for me in two different ways.

As a 16 year-old young man, I remember distinctly a man who came to preach at our church, and he spoke on this passage. His emphasis was on verses 37-38.

Matthew 9:37–38 ESV

Then he said to his disciples, “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.”

The application that day was simple - pray that the Lord would send workers into the Gospel harvest, and if you pray that way, don’t be surprised when you are one of the workers he sends.

At that point, even as a teenager, I had been wrestling with the idea of what the rest of my life might look like. I had been given opportunities to teach the Bible and preach even as a young man, I had mentors and older men tell me that I should perhaps pursue some kind of ministry. And at that age, those things are hard to process - but looking back, it was all a part of the Lord’s leading and working in my own heart.

I’m not sure that it was that sermon or this passage that “did it” for me, but it was perhaps a culmination and a touchstone, a realization that Jesus is still sending out workers into his Gospel harvest, and a realization that if He is going to call you and lead you to do something, there is nothing better with your life that you could do.

So I told the Lord, “yes, whatever you have for me, I’m willing to do, and where you lead, I’m willing to follow.”

Later on, in my college years, I had begun to struggle with a bit of cold-heartedness. Maybe it was college burnout, maybe it was stress, maybe it was some kind of apathy - but I came to a point in my mind where I felt as if I was going through the motions. I was learning and I was working and doing ministry, but it was almost mechanical. I knew something needed to change. I prayed that God would renew some kind of warmth, some kind of life into my mind and heart.

Well, it was not much later that I heard this passage shared again, only this time the emphasis was on verse 36.

Matthew 9:36 ESV

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

And I remember the application from that day as well - Jesus is the compassionate savior. And I remember thinking, this is something of what I am missing. I have a sense of the need, I have a sense of calling, but oh, if I could have just an ounce of Jesus’ compassion.

I don’t think I’ve arrived perfectly at that place yet, and I do not claim to have a story of following the Lord perfectly, But I do know that Jesus’ compassion and his heart to seek and save the lost are still very personal to me, and a huge part of what has brought me and my family here to Ira.

We’ve talked a bit in the past few weeks about Jesus’ works becoming personal to people - like how it became personal to Peter when Jesus healed his mother-in-law. It became personal to Jairus when Jesus raised his daughter from the dead. It became personal to the paralyzed man when Jesus forgave his sins and healed his body.

In this passage, we see Jesus’ heart - his heart is full of compassion, and that compassion is for people.

Now, lets take a poll. How many here would say that they are people? Well, Jesus has compassion on people, so this affects you.

Do you listen to the voice of Jesus, the compassionate shepherd?

1. He Seeks His Sheep

Matthew 9:35 ESV

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

This is a little bit of a transitional verse, because we are transitioning out of this larger section on miracles, the three sets of three stories that we have looked at over the last month, and into a section on Jesus’ disciples.

This is a summary verse - this is what Jesus did. He taught, and he healed.

Matthew 4:23 ESV

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

Matthew 4:23 and 9:35 give somewhat of a “bookend” to a larger section of this Gospel record. Matthew is sort of saying, “see these examples of Jesus’ teaching and his miracles? Now imaging him doing that over and over again.” How do you think Jesus’ disciples knew his story so well, and knew his teaching so well? Because they were with him as he repeated over and over again, as he taught over and over again, as he healed over and over again.

Teaching and healing - we’ve seen the healing up close. It confirmed who Jesus was, his power and authority, and it shows his compassion as well.

But what about his teaching? Well, it says here that he was preaching the gospel - the good news - of the kingdom. John and Jesus came preaching the same message - repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

And of course, as we have seen before, we can look back and say that meant that “the king is coming - the king is here.”

And Jesus is the king who ushers in his kingdom. We see it now in part through the spread of the gospel, through the transformation of lives, and we will see it fully and perfectly one day.

But this is what Jesus did - he taught, and he healed - he taught, and he delivered people.

Matthew 9:36 ESV

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

This is Jesus view of the people - the common people - the everyday people of Israel. helpless, and like sheep without a shepherd.

We could spend a lot of time talking about that illustration - it would have been somewhat assumed for Matthew’s readers, as sheep were a large part of their culture and seeing sheep a daily occurence, but suffice to say, sheep without a shepherd do tend to go astray. They need tending, guiding, shearing, protecting, and leading.

The Gospel of Mark says the same thing about Jesus, only in Mark it is in the context of the feeding of the 5,000.

Mark 6:34 ESV

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

The idea of “sheep without a shepherd” is not new in the New Testament. We see that reference several times in the Old as well.

Numbers 27:15–18 ESV

Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.

Toward the end of Moses’ life, the leader of Israel, He prayed to God to raise up another leader. The prayer of Moses was that the people would not be like sheep that have no shepherd.

Well, Joshua was that man - and we know how God used Joshua to shepherd his people. Interestinly, we also know that “Joshua” or “Yeshua” means “God is salvation” or “God is Deliverer.” Joshua as the leader of Israel was a picture of the Lord’s leadership of his own people, and even his name points forward to Jesus, as Jesus and Joshua share their Hebrew names.

We read this kind of thing again in Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 34:1–6 ESV

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

Even at that point in Israel’s history, they were much like when Jesus came.

Ezekiel was told to prophesy against the shepherds - or the leaders - of Israel, because they were derelict - they were defunct. They didn’t lead the people, they were self-consumed, they did not “feed the sheep” which was a reference to both teaching and care.

They did not “bring back the strays.” they did not “seek the lost.” they ruled with harshness, not compassion.

So the sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd. That is the image in Ezekiel, and that is the image that Jesus sees as well. But what was Jesus’ response to this vision, to this plight? Compassion

Jesus had compassion. Literally, he was moved to compassion. He was touched, affected, but the plight of the people of the world. He saw and he was not indifferent, he was not angry, he did not hate the people because they strayed, he had compassion because just like in Ezekiel’s day, they had no good leaders - no good teachers.

Back in our text, the words for “harassed and helpless” are literally “torn and thrown down.” That would have sparked the image of wolves in the people’s minds - because that is what would have “torn and thrown down” sheep in that day. And we know that Jesus has already warned about the wolves, hasn’t he?

They are the false prophets - the false teachers - who come as sheep, but are really ravenous wolves.

This is how Jesus sees his people, and really, this is how Jesus sees the world.

Ezekiel 34:22–24 ESV

I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.

This is God’s promise - he would send One Shepherd. And who would that One Shepherd be? “my Servant David.” Now, how could that be? David had been dead for hundreds of years at this point. How would David be the One Shepherd, the king over God’s people again?

Well, do you remember what the two blind men called Jesus in our last passage? The Son of David? Do you remember how Matthew starts Jesus’ genealogy in the first chapter? Jesus as the Son of David?

Jesus is David who was to come - He is that One Shepherd, the King of the Kingdom.

John 10:11–16 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Jesus is the One Shepherd - and through Him, there is One Flock. Jesus had compassion on his own people, the people of Israel, because they had bad leaders - bad teachers - they were being ravaged by the legalism of the Pharisees. But He also has compassion on those “outside this flock.” That is you and me - we were the outsiders, but because of the compassion of Jesus, we have been brought in.

Jesus is the king of the Kingdom - they rightly worshipped him with the Palms as he entered in on that new colt, he is Blessed one who comes in the name of the Lord. But he came, not as a political ruler, but as a compassionate king and shepherd, the shepherd who does seek the lost - the shepherd who does feed his sheep - the shepherd who does go after the straying one and brings them back.

Can you look out into culture, into society, into the world and see them as sheep without a shepherd? ravaged and cast down by the wolves of sin, the wolves of bad teaching, the wolves of selfishness? Then look also and see Jesus - he is the compassionate and good shepherd.

Friend, do you see yourself as a sheep with no shepherd? Do you see yourself as harassed and helpless, at the mercy of the ways of the age, the whims of the moment? Do you see yourself as in need of One Shepherd?

Do you listen to his voice? Do you hear Him? Jesus’ words are very exclusive - there is only One Shepherd, and He is it. Do you follow the good shepherd? He calls his sheep to him - do you hear him? Do you see his compassion, his love, his urgency? Do you see his tenderness and concern? Do you listen to the voice of the One Shepherd as he calls you to himself?

2. He Sends out Workers

Staying with the theme of agricultural metaphors, Jesus switches from Sheep to harvest.

The people were pictured as sheep, now they are pictured as grain - ready to harvest.

In another place, Jesus was speaking of doing the will of His father, and he says something similar.

John 4:35 ESV

Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

The harvest is a harvest of the lost - a harvest of people ready to be brought into the Kingdom.

Matthew 9:37–38 ESV

Then he said to his disciples, “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.”

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

The time had come, it was time for the Gospel to break through among the people, but there were few workers for that harvest.

Here, Jesus speaks honestly about how God plans to do his Gospel work - he plans to do it through other people. Without Jesus, there is no Gospel - he is, after all, the hero of the story - but God has ordained to use people, men and women like you and me, to be laborers in his harvest.

And the command here to the disciples is this: pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send forth Workers/Laborers.

Pray that God would use people, call people, impress upon people the need and urgency of the harvest.

What does it take for a person to be a laborer in God’s harvest? Well, in this case, it takes a work of God to get hold of a person’s mind and heart, to grip them with the same kind of love and compassion that Jesus had, to give them the same kind of vision of the need that Jesus saw, to give them the kind of love and willingness that Jesus displayed.

Now, the immediate fulfilment of this comes when Jesus sends out his disciples in the next chapter, and the week after Easter, Matt Atkins is going to pick up in chapter 10 - so I won’t spoil his sermon for you.

But there is plenty of application for us here as well, and the first is this:

We talk often about prayer, and how we should pray - on Sunday nights we have been looking at select passages on prayer and really trying to hone in on the importance of prayer. And often we wonder, what should we pray for?’

Well, We saw a great deal of teaching in the Sermon on the Mount with prayer.

“Our Father who art in heaven...”

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Well, one of the ways that we can constantly pray, and know we are praying after the very heart and desire of God, is to pray that he would send people into the harvest of souls.

Do you consistently pray for the lost, for those without the Good Shepherd, those without Christ? Earlier I shared that I went through a real season of apathy when it came to this matter. Maybe you are there - pray for God’s heart and His will to be done, and pray for the compassion and heart of Christ to come alive in a small way in your own heart.

And I also want to give the same application to you today that I recieved as a young man - if you are praying earnestly for God to send laborers into the harvest, to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and to call people to follow Him, don’t be surprised when He desires to use you to do that very thing.

It may not be on a foreign mission field, but it might.

It may not be a crazy endeavor to places you’ve never been, but it might.

If we’re praying that God would send laborers into his harvest, then we are praying that God would do something powerful and gripping in people’s lives, something powerful enough that they might forsake other things to go out and serve this mission - and if that is the case, what if the Lord of the Harvest is doing a work like that in your heart?

You say, “I could never see myself as a missionary, as a teacher, as a preacher.” And maybe you won’t be, but could you see yourself sharing the love and gospel of Christ with your neighbor?

You may never see yourself going across the world - but could you see yourself going down to volunteer at Collide and share the love of Jesus with a bunch of crazy teenagers who are like sheep without a shepherd?

You may never see yourself doing great works of evangelism, but could you see yourself living a life submitted to Christ before your family and children, and showing them the truth of the Gospel on a regular basis?

If you pray that the Lord would send laborer’s into his harvest, prepare for your own heart to be gripped with the compassion of Christ. Pray for his mind to be instilled in yours, His perspective to infiltrate your thinking - his eyes to illuminate the way you see the world.

If you are a follower of Christ, then God gripped someone’s heart enough to share the good news with you - maybe once, maybe 1,000 times - but God used someone, someone that he took and sent into his harvest.

So, friend, do you listen to the voice of the shepherd?

Do you listen as he calls you, perhaps for the first time, to come to Him, to find forgiveness and cleansing through His blood, and to follow Him with your life?

Do you listen as he calls you to spread the good news, to pray for and maybe even be a laborer in His harvest?

Do you listen to the voice of Jesus, the compassionate shepherd?