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Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 
9. I'll read the chapter and our 
focus will be on verses 35 to 38. Matthew chapter 9, I'll begin 
reading in verse 1. So he got into a boat, crossed 
over, and came to his own city. Then, behold, they brought to 
him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he 
said to the paralytic, Son, be of good cheer. Your sins are 
forgiven you. And at once, some of the scribes 
said within themselves, this man blasphemes. But Jesus, knowing 
their thoughts said, why do you think evil in your hearts? For 
which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven you or to say 
arise and walk. But that you may know that the 
son of man has power on earth to forgive sins. And he said 
to the paralytic, arise, take up your bed and go to your house. 
And he rose and departed to his house. Now when the multitude 
saw it, they marveled and glorified God who had given such power 
to men. As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew 
sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, follow me. 
So he arose and followed him. Now what happened? As Jesus sat 
at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners 
came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees 
saw it, they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with 
tax collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard that, He said 
to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those 
who are sick, but go and learn what this means. I desire mercy 
and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous, 
but sinners to repentance. Then the disciples of John came 
to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but 
your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, Can the 
friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is 
with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will 
be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts 
a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch 
pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor 
do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins 
break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But 
they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. While 
he spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshipped 
him, saying, My daughter has just died, but come and lay your 
hand on her, and she will live. So Jesus arose and followed Him, 
and so did His disciples. And suddenly a woman who had 
a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched 
the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, If only 
I may touch His garment, I shall be made well. But Jesus turned 
around, and when He saw her, He said, Be of good cheer, daughter. Your faith has made you well. 
And the woman was made well from that hour. When Jesus came into 
the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd 
wailing, He said to them, Make room, for the girl is not dead, 
but sleeping. And they ridiculed Him. But when 
the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, 
and the girl arose. And the report of this went out 
into all that land. When Jesus departed from there, 
two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, Son of David, 
have mercy on us. And when He had come into the 
house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, 
Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to Him, 
Yes, Lord. Then He touched their eyes, saying, 
According to your faith, let it be to you. And their eyes 
were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, 
saying, See that no one knows it. But when they had departed, 
they spread the news about Him in all that country. As they 
went out, behold, they brought to him a man, mute and demon-possessed. And when the demon was cast out, 
the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, 
saying, It was never seen like this in Israel. But the Pharisees 
said, He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons. Then 
Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their 
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every 
sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the 
multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because 
they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 
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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the word of God. We thank you for the gospel 
concerning our blessed Savior. And we pray now for ears to hear 
and hearts to receive your truth. And may you encourage us in terms 
of prayer, in terms of seeking men to lead in churches and missions. And God, may you be glorified 
through the church in our age. Fill us with your Holy Spirit. 
Again, wash us from all of our sin. And we ask this in the name 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, in Matthew's gospel 
in this particular section, just prior in Matthew 5-7, you see 
the authority of Jesus in his words. Remember, it's the Sermon 
on the Mount. And as that sermon concludes, 
we see that the people are amazed because he taught them, not like 
their scribes and Pharisees had, but he taught as one who had 
authority. Well, in chapters 8 and 9, you 
see the authority of Christ in his works. So in his words, 5 
to 7, in his works, 8 and 9. And you see several of those 
works in this particular chapter. And here, there's a bit of a 
transition. It moves from narrative recording, his words and power, 
to another discourse in chapter 10. And we see that this is transitional, 
because what Jesus does at the end of chapter 9, he corrects 
in chapter 10. He tells us to pray, and then 
Jesus prays, and then Jesus ordains or installs or or sets in motion 
the apostolic men. He picks those men and then he 
commissions them to go out to Israel and to preach and to teach 
and to heal the sick. So it's a transition that links 
the two chapters in the ministry of our Lord. One man says this 
passage forms a bridge. It both reviews Jesus' manifold 
ministry and prepares for its extension through his disciples. 
So Christ delegates to the disciples so that they can go out and bring 
the good news concerning Jesus to all the world. And we see 
something of his heart revealed in this passage. Remember, he's 
like us in all things and yet without sin. He's moved with 
compassion when he sees this particular scene. And I think 
it speaks multitudes to the church today. We ought to have that 
light compassion. Certainly we are grieved by what 
we read concerning government oppression and persecution of 
churches. We saw that in the last hour. 
Just about everywhere in the world there's that kind of thing 
going on. And it can quite discourage us. Or we see, you know, the 
rise of Islam. Or we see false religion prevalent. 
At the same time, brethren, we need to be moved with compassion 
for the multitudes that they come to a knowledge of our blessed 
Savior. Christ is able to save to the 
uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through Him. And if we believe 
in the power of His gospel, we believe that the harvest truly 
is plentiful, then we will be a prayerful people and as well 
seeking out men to train up so that they can go engage in this 
task. I want to look first at the summary of his ministry in 
verse 35, secondly the compassion of his heart in verse 36, and 
then finally the instruction to his disciples in verses 37 
and 38. Now notice the location, then Jesus went out, went about 
all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, 
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and 
every disease among the people. So he's in the region of Galilee, 
that's the northern part of Israel. You had the northern tribes, 
you had the southern tribes, there was obviously dissolution 
by this time. There were still some people 
remnants up there in the north in Galilee, and that's where 
his ministry is. And notice the focus on his ministry, 
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom 
and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 
In other words, he wasn't entertaining. He wasn't simply building up 
a fan club, but rather he was teaching the word of God. preaching 
and ministering that truth, the gospel of the kingdom, absolutely 
crucial for sinners, that they may by grace come out of darkness 
into marvelous light, but we see as well that fellow feeling 
in terms of the physical distress of people. He didn't heal every 
single person, we see that in the gospel records, but he definitely 
had an abundance of love and mercy and compassion, and he 
did heal a great multitude. Now notice secondly, the compassion 
of his heart in verse 36. It says, when he saw the multitudes, 
he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary 
and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. So the statement 
concerning his compassion, the ones who heard, the ones rather 
who heard his words in 729 and those who witnessed his works 
according to 933 are the people that he's looking upon now. Notice 
when he saw the multitudes. The multitudes are the post-exiles 
after the Babylonian captivity. They go back to Judah, they go 
back to Galilee, they populate the land again, but they're under 
foreign dominance. They're under a foreign oppressor. 
They're under the rule of the Roman Empire at this particular 
time. But as we move through the passage, 
that's not their biggest problem. Their biggest problem is they're 
religiously exacerbated or exasperated. They are not being taught. They 
are not being led. They are not being instructed 
with the truth of God's holy word. So the multitudes are hearing 
Jesus. Jesus now sees the multitudes 
and it says, when he saw them, he was moved with compassion. 
Now it's certainly dealing with Christ according to his humanity. 
God, in His essence, is not moved. He's not affected. He's impassable. 
He's immutable. There's no movement in terms 
of who God is. This is Christ according to His 
human nature. The person of Christ feels or 
moved with compassion in this scene. Now turn back or turn 
over to chapter 14. You see a similar observation 
in the gospel record. Matthew 14 at verse 14. It goes 
along with our reading this morning in Hebrews 4. He sympathizes 
with our weaknesses. He's moved with compassion. He 
sees the destitution of people and he wants to remedy that. 
He wants to help. So notice in 1414, and when Jesus 
went out, he saw a great multitude and he was moved with compassion 
for them and healed their sick. 1532, same emphasis. 1532 now Jesus called his disciples 
to himself and said I have compassion on the multitude because they 
have now continued with me three days and have nothing to eat 
and I do not want to send them away hungry lest they faint on 
the way notice in 1827 1827, then the master of that servant 
was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 
It's a parable, but Jesus holds this out as a commendable trait 
on the part of that master. And then look at chapter 20 in 
verse 34. Chapter 20 at verse 34, well, verse 33, they said 
to him, Lord, that our eyes may be open. So Jesus had compassion 
and touched their eyes and immediately their eyes received sight and 
they followed him. Again, brothers and sisters, 
we need to understand this about the Savior. Last week I mentioned 
it's not only the what of the gospel, the fact that Christ 
lived, died, and rose again, but it's the why, because God 
so loved the world. It's the why. Christ has compassion 
upon fellow persons that are suffering. Christ has compassion 
on those who are weary and scattered. He has compassion on those in 
need. That's the Savior the church 
preaches. That's the Savior the church evangelizes with, or evangelizes 
in light of, and engages in missions. We don't have a begrudging, miserly, 
Ebenezer Scrooge-like master. We have a benevolent one. We 
have a compassionate one. We have one who sympathizes with 
the weaknesses of his own people. R.T. France makes this observation 
concerning the use of the word compassion. He says his response 
is described by the strongly emotional Greek verb, which speaks 
of a warm, compassionate response to need. No single English term 
does justice to it. Compassion, pity, sympathy, and 
fellow feeling all convey part of it. But his heart went out 
perhaps represents more fully the emotional force of the underlying 
metaphor of a gut response. A further feature of this verb 
appears through a comparison with its other uses in Matthew. 
In each case, there is not only sympathy with a person's need, 
This is important. It's not just sympathy with a 
person's need, but also a practical response which meets the need. Brethren, there's quite frankly 
times where we have compassion for one another. We have fellow 
feeling with our brothers and sisters. There's not anything 
we can really do to mitigate the problem. I mean, it's nice 
to have misery in company, it's nice to have sympathy on the 
part of a fellow, but that's not how this verb is employed 
relative to Jesus. He not only has that compassion, 
but he has the omnipotence and the power to do something to 
correct it. He goes on to say, emotion results 
in caring and effective action. In this case, the action of sending 
out his disciples among the people. It is a verb which describes 
the Jesus of the gospel stories in a nutshell. Again, it jives 
with what we see in Hebrews 2.17, on fellow feeling. Therefore, in all things, he 
had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and 
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. If he isn't 
who he is, then we are dead in our trespasses and sins. It was 
requisite that he be both God and that he be man. And that 
according to his manhood, according to his humanity, he has this 
compassion for sinners. Now notice the rationale or the 
reason for this. When he saw the multitudes, he 
was moved with compassion for them because... Go back to chapter 
9, verses 1 to 8. When they bring this paralytic 
in to the Lord Jesus, they're obviously bringing the paralytic 
in to be healed, right? They're not bringing the paralytic 
to Jesus to be forgiven of his sins, but that's what Jesus does. Jesus speaks to his greater need. There is a problem bigger than 
paralysis, and it's the sin issue. And so when Jesus sees the man 
on the bed, he says, son, your sins are forgiven you. Of course, 
they say, well, who but God alone could forgive sins? This man 
blasphemes. Well, Jesus knew this and Jesus 
addresses that. He says, which is easier to say, 
your sins are forgiven or take up your bed and walk? Well, it's 
easier to say your sins are forgiven because we don't know if that 
actually transpires. I can say your sins are forgiven, 
but there's no light that shines over your head to indicate that 
your sins have been forgiven. It's easier to say your sins 
are forgiven. So what does he do? Son, take 
up your bed and walk. Why? Because the fact that the 
guy was able to comply with that command illustrates that what 
Jesus had said in the forgiveness of sins was true. The picking 
up the mat and walking was exhibit A in the courtroom. He does have 
authority on earth to forgive sins. He does have the power 
to speak the word of forgiveness. And that was the abiding lesson. 
So again, when Jesus looks upon these multitudes, yeah, they're 
politically oppressed. Yeah, they probably got money 
problems. Yeah, there might've been inflation. Yeah, the cost 
of doing business in the Roman Empire might've been soaring. 
All those needs, all those tangible realities are there, but when 
he's moved with compassion, notice the specifics of the text. Verse 
36, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary 
and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. So the first term 
is probably better translated, harassed. They were harassed 
and scattered. They had been bullied, oppressed, 
and troubled. The problem wasn't the Roman 
government, though I don't think Jesus would say it's okay to 
be wretched and tyrannical and subjugate people in a godless 
way. Jesus wouldn't do that. But the 
problem or the evoking of the compassion is predicated on the 
spiritual needs of these people. They have been bullied by the 
religious leadership in Israel. The second term literally is 
thrown down, dejected, helpless, confused. It's reminiscent of 
what we saw in John 6, 68, when Jesus asks the apostles, do you 
also want to depart? He says, or Peter says, Lord, 
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal 
life. I mentioned there, they're not going to go to the Pharisees 
and the scribes for any kind of comfort and help in terms 
of eternal life. They're not going to go to the 
Baptist because the Baptist has said he's not the Messiah. They're 
not even going to go to Moses. As great as Moses is in terms 
of the law, they need that comfort that the gospel brings. Look 
back in the section, specifically at verse 34. The Pharisees said 
he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons. You think with 
that kind of an attitude, that kind of a mindset, when they 
witness the Lord Jesus cast out demons from some pathetic person, 
instead of praising God, marveling in the presence of God, esteeming 
the glory of Jesus Christ, they complain? They charge him as 
being filled with the devil. So the people at that time are 
not gonna flock to these. They were hypocrites relative 
to the law. They heaped up burdens that they 
themselves were not able to carry. They were not faithful men. There was a dearth in the land 
at that time in Jesus' ministry. Chamberlain again says, these 
shepherds, like negligent parents, have neither taught the people 
well nor set before them a godly example, so that the sheep are 
confused and vulnerable to assault. More tragically still, the shepherds 
themselves have become predators, whose false piety and intolerable 
demands threaten to destroy the sheep. I mean, it's bad enough 
that they didn't do their job. But it's doubly worse that not 
only not doing their job, they've become actively opposed to the 
people they're supposed to actually care for, right? If you have 
a man that doesn't do his job, he should be fired. If you have 
a man who not only doesn't do his job, but actively persecutes 
those under his charge, he should be imprisoned. He should be taken 
out. He should be restrained from 
such a position where he can affect people in that way or 
manner. And brethren, there is a whole host of absolute consistency 
with our own generation. There are faithful churches, 
bless God Almighty, but there's some faithless ones as well. 
There's some terrible places where instead of the gospel of 
our salvation, it's self-help, it's do-goodery, it's just sing 
kumbaya and everybody be happy. We have churches today that are 
woke. Churches today steeped in leftism. Churches today celebrating 
sexual perversion right alongside of the world. Churches today 
that will not discipline offenders or transgressors of God's holy 
law. Churches today that couldn't explain the law of God if given 
hours to do so. So the similarities are consistent 
with what we find today. Christ would look upon our landscape 
and have the same compassion. The problem is doctrinal, as 
a religious leader was not expected to heal them and to cure their 
sickness. When he says, or when the text 
says, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary 
and scattered, or they were bullied or oppressed or troubled, they 
weren't supposed to be, you know, fixers of everything in terms 
of their temporal need. They weren't supposed to feed 
them and clothe them and care for them. It is a spiritual malady. It is a spiritual problem. It 
is the lack of teaching and preaching the word of God faithfully. The 
lack of proper instruction hurts sheep. I know that's odd. But 
the lack of proper instruction hurts sheep. Just like if you 
had a sheep at home or a lamb at home and you didn't feed it, 
it's eventually going to get crippled and die. The same thing 
happens in the professing sheep of God. If we don't feed them 
the truth, they're going to be crippled and ultimately die. 
If we don't take seriously the process of identifying men after 
having prayed, qualifying men, training men, and sending those 
men out to proclaim the gospel of our salvation, we are not 
engaged in what Christ has called us unto. Bless God most high 
for the privilege of participating in this. The Lord Jesus has moved 
to compassion over something that is far more menacing than 
just physical distress. It is the sin problem. Now, when 
Jesus does this, he's moved with compassion for them because they 
were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. This 
is not a unique sort of metaphor in biblical history. Numbers 
chapter 27. Numbers chapter 27, you remember 
Moses knew, Moses understood he was mortal. Moses knew that 
he would eventually die. What's Moses' heart with reference 
to the people? Now Moses is a wonderful example 
of a faithful leader. A faithful leader at times who 
even got exasperated. Remember Moses saw the task ahead. He saw the incorrigibility of 
the nation of Israel. And at times it was almost like 
he would throw up his hands. That's not inconsistent for a 
human being. That is not an inconsistent response 
in terms of Moses. But you know what really moved 
his heart? It was the people of Israel. It was the same concern, 
it was the same flock, it was the same desire that we see imaged 
by or mirrored by our blessed Savior in Matthew's Gospel. Notice 
in Numbers 27 at verses 15 to 17. Then Moses spoke to the Lord, 
saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, 
set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them and 
go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that 
the congregation of the Lord may not be what? Like sheep which 
have no shepherd. And of course, Joshua, the son 
of Nun, is the man that God raises up to replace Moses. And Joshua 
does that. Joshua is faithful. Joshua, like 
his namesake Jesus, evidences and demonstrates salvation is 
of Yahweh. But as well, turn to 1 Kings 
chapter 22. That incident when Ahab wants to go out to battle, 
or he's being called upon to go out to battle. Or he is rather 
initiating a call to battle with Syria with Jehoshaphat. Hey, 
Jehoshaphat, join my team. Let's go fight the Syrians. Jehoshaphat 
doesn't just wander into the battlefield. Jehoshaphat says, 
hey, do we have any prophetic direction here? Kind of like 
a word from the Lord before we undertake this battle plan. And 
so, of course, Ahab says, yeah, I've got a lot of prophets and 
they've all affirmed my decision. And Jehoshaphat must have sensed 
something because he says, is there no other prophet? And Ahab 
says, well, yeah, there's this one. His name's Micaiah, but 
he's really a pain. He never tells me what I wanna 
hear. I mean, typical, isn't it? That's man in sin. I want 
a prophet who's gonna tell me what I wanna hear. Well, this 
Micah, the prophet, as he begins to prophesy, notice what he says 
in verse 17, 1 Kings 22. He said, I saw all Israel scattered 
on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord 
said, these have no master. Let each return to his house 
in peace, which they would because Ahab would ultimately die in 
battle. But turn over to the prophet 
Jeremiah. You see in Jeremiah, you see 
in Ezekiel as well, prophesying concerning the new covenant when 
there would be shepherds after God's heart that would come to 
minister to the people of God. We'll just look at the Jeremiah 
one. Notice in Jeremiah 23, at verse 1. Woe to the shepherds 
who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, says the Lord. 
Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds 
who feed my people. You've scattered my flock, driven 
them away and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to 
you for the evil of your doing, says the Lord. Brethren, there's 
comfort there. God will not be mocked. And while men may escape earthly 
tribunals, earthly firings, earthly imprisonments, earthly executions 
for sedition, there will be recompense when they stand before God Most 
High. He says He'll deal. He says He'll 
take care of it. And then he goes on in verse 
3, Now notice the connection in verses 5 and 6. It is consequent on the coming 
of the Messiah. It is connected to the arrival 
of Christ. It is connected to the first 
advent. Notice in verse five, behold, the days are coming, 
says the Lord, that I will raise to David a branch of righteousness. 
A king shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness 
in the earth. In his days, Judah will be saved 
and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is his name by which 
he will be called, the Lord our righteousness. Beautiful. So 
when the Lord Our Righteousness comes, when He inaugurates the 
New Covenant, He will ordain a class of men who are specifically 
set apart to shepherd the flock of God. You see that in seed 
form here in chapter 10 in Matthew's Gospel. He tells them to pray, 
He then prays, He then appoints them, and then He dispatches 
them to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to make 
known the glory of God's blessed gospel. And then in terms of 
the messianic application, turn to Micah 5. Micah 5, a passage 
that we think of typically at Christmas time, along with Isaiah 
9.6. We need to expand our horizons 
and think of these texts all throughout the year. And I'd 
love to sing, veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, hail the incarnate 
deity, pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel, 
more than once a year. So if we sing a carol at some 
point in our church's life, I hope you don't get bent out of shape 
and leave. Notice in 5-2, but you Bethlehem 
Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, 
yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in 
Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. That announcement concerning 
the coming Christ, that announcement that looks back, both back in 
history and forward in history. At the time of the prophet Micah, 
Israel had experienced salvation another time from Bethlehem. 
It was David. But Israel is going to see more 
salvation come through Bethlehem as the, at least locale, through 
Messiah, through David's greater son. Now notice what happens 
according to verse three. Therefore he shall give them 
up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. 
Then the remnant of his brethren shall return to the children 
of Israel, and he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength 
of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, 
and they shall abide. For now he shall be great to 
the ends of the earth, and this one shall be peace. So back to 
Matthew chapter 9, Jesus is moved with compassion for them. Not 
that he's uncompassionate or not compassionate towards physical 
distress, but the accent here falls upon the spiritual distress. The fact that the Pharisees and 
the scribes and the Sadducees couldn't teach the law of God. 
Rejecting Jesus, they had no gospel of God either. They had 
effectively closed up heaven to the people that they were 
supposed to be leading, and helping, and shepherding, and feeding. 
It was a miserable climate that Jesus saw, and as a result, according 
to his humanity, he's moved with compassion. And that brings us 
thirdly to consider the instruction to his disciples in verses 37 
and 38. Notice the declaration concerning 
the harvest. He changes the metaphor from 
sheep having no shepherd to the harvest. Notice in verse 37. 
Then he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, 
but the laborers are few. Now the use of harvest is oftentimes 
referred to the Day of Judgment. You see that in Matthew's Gospel. 
It's not that here. The use of harvest is used here 
in terms of the mission given specifically to the apostles 
in chapter 10, and then the mission given to the church in Matthew 
28. Now, they're parallel missions. Remember in Matthew 10, they're 
simply to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In other 
words, they will be geographically confined to the boundaries of 
Israel. But in terms of the Great Commission, 
Jesus has all authority, all power, everything in heaven and 
on earth. And he tells the apostles, the church as a whole, to go 
therefore and to make disciples of all the nations. So we see 
that same sort of emphasis. What do the nations need, whether 
they be Jew or Gentile? They need the truth of God's 
word. They need the law. They need the gospel. They need 
Messiah. They need that one who is a light 
unto the Gentiles. That's the emphasis that we find. 
So the harvest is the going out by the church, calling sinners 
to faith and repentance, and bringing them into the barn, 
bringing them into the church that they may be instructed. 
France again says, from being the recipients of his ministry, 
they are to become its agents, sharing not only in the proclamation 
of the kingdom of heaven, but also in the works of mercy and 
power, which the preceding chapters have shown to characterize the 
authority of the Messiah himself. So France appropriates it right 
to this passage, right to the situation. He said to his disciples, 
the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Before 
we notice that problem, the laborers are few, do we believe the harvest 
truly is plentiful? Think about that. The harvest 
truly is plentiful. I think it's symptomatic at times 
of hyper-Calvinism or just a cold orthodoxy amongst the reform 
where we don't really see the harvest truly is plentiful. We 
think it's the frozen chosen. We think it's the handful that's 
gonna fall into heaven. No, the harvest truly is plentiful. See, if we're taught to believe 
that the harvest truly isn't plentiful, then we probably won't 
go out there for it. We probably won't have any impetus. 
There'll be no incentivizing. If we think we're it, why would 
we go out there? The harvest truly is plentiful. Turn over to Revelation chapter 
7. Revelation 7 gives us a view of the church triumphant, and 
it uses the language of a multitude that no man can number. Look 
at Revelation 7 at verse 9. Revelation 7 verse 9, after these 
things I looked and behold, a great multitude which no one could 
number. You mean Jesus was right? The harvest truly is plentiful? 
Yeah, Jesus is right. The harvest truly is plentiful. 
Brethren, if we think the harvest is truly one denomination, we're 
not gonna care about anybody else. If we think the harvest 
is only about a handful of people that subscribe to one particular 
creed, we'll never do anything. We need to believe what Jesus 
says concerning the nature of the harvest. It's truly plentiful. There are sinners out there to 
be saved. There are sinners out there that have yet to be called 
unto faith in our blessed Savior. So after these things I looked, 
and behold, a great multitude, which no one could number, of 
all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before 
the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with 
palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice 
saying, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne 
and to the lamb. You see the response of the redeemed 
in heaven? They don't pat themselves on 
the back for their free will. They don't pat themselves on 
the back for their good decision-making capability. They praise God most 
high. Salvation belongs to our God 
and to the lamb who sits upon the throne. The saints in heaven 
sound like Jonah in the belly of the whale. The salvation is 
of the Lord. The saints in heaven sound like 
the apostle in Romans 9. It does not depend then on him 
who runs or him who wills, but on God who shows mercy. You see, 
the saints in heaven aren't Arminians. They're certainly not Pelagians. 
Now, I'm not saying that Arminians don't necessarily go to heaven. 
If they go to heaven, they don't keep their Arminianism. It's 
like my brother has said before, when I've asked him, well, was 
so-and-so a Paedo-Baptist? He used to be. Now he's in heaven, 
he's been illumined. Just a joke, I hope everybody 
doesn't lose it on me. All right, and turn back to Matthew 
28. Matthew 28, again, the harvest truly is plentiful. Let's not 
just gloss over that or forget that. Matthew chapter 28, great 
commission, already alluded to it. Verse 18, and Jesus came 
and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to me 
in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples 
of all the nations. Now put your finger there and 
go back to Psalm 2. Psalm 2. Psalm 2 is the rationale upon 
which Jesus says what he says in Matthew 28. Look at Psalm 
2. So you've got the mutiny of man, the rage of the nations 
in verses 1 to 3, and then you've got the response of Yahweh in 
verses 4 to 6. So with reference to the mutiny 
of man, Yahweh responds according to verse 4. How does the father deal with 
the mutinous rebellion on earth? By the establishment of the messianic 
king. By the sending forth of the son 
of his love. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten son. In the fullness of the times, 
God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law. 
Now notice the Messiah declares, the Messiah gives us a bit of 
insight concerning this decree. The decree is verse six, I have 
set my king on my holy hill of Zion. Now the Messiah lets us 
in on what this entails. So verse seven, I will declare 
the decree. The Lord has said to me, you are my son. Today 
I have begotten you. Now notice this next verse. Ask 
of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance 
and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break 
them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them to pieces 
like a potter's vessel. See, there's no accident to the 
commission wherein Jesus says, go therefore and make disciples 
of all the nations. Why? Because the Father gave 
that to the Son. The task is quite simple in terms 
of definition. Go, do what Jesus says. Call sinners to faith and repentance. Once they express faith and repentance, 
you baptize them, you put them in churches, and you teach them 
all that I have commanded you. Teach them to observe all that 
I have commanded you. And then he gives that assurance, 
that promise, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of 
the age. See, brethren, the problem is 
never Christ and His reign. The problem most often is that 
the church does not embrace the reality that the harvest truly 
is plentiful. I mean, we should be singing 
Psalm 72 all the time, Christ shall have dominion. Look back 
at Matthew chapter 8. Jesus heals the centurion's servant. 
Notice what we find in this particular section. Pick up at 810. When 
Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, assuredly, 
I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in 
Israel. And I say to you that many will come. Notice, many 
will come. We just miss that, don't we? 
We just gloss over it. Many? No, no, there's only a 
handful. No, no, there's only a few. No, no, the old boys were 
right. There's only this small group 
that's gonna enter. I know the way is broad that 
leads to destruction. I know the way is narrow that 
leads to life. But I also know that in that 
particular context, I don't think Jesus is making an eschatological 
pronouncement. I don't think he is telling us 
there how many people are gonna be or not be in heaven. I think 
he is pressing persons ethically. Understand that the way is broad. There's a whole host of ways 
that you can go about damning yourself. There's only one legitimate 
way by which you'll enter into the kingdom of heaven. So when 
we find passages in the scripture, for instance in Matthew 22, many 
are called but fewer chosen. Brethren, that's not a pronouncement 
on eschatology. That is Christ pressing his hearers 
that they close with him. Later on in Matthew 26, when 
he inaugurates the new covenant, he says, my blood which is shed 
for the remission of the sins of what? A few? A handful? Five? No, four. Many. There is great hope in the Bible 
for the Church of Christ. So back to 8-11. I say to you 
that many will come. Now notice the language here. 
From east and west. What's that mean? From outside 
of Israel. Remember, Abraham was given that 
encouragement by God. I want you to look north. I want 
you to look south. I want you to look east. I want 
you to look west. Everything you see, you will inherit. Now, 
obviously, people will say, well, that's the land of Israel. Paul 
tells us it's the world. Romans chapter 4 verse 13 tells 
us that Abraham would inherit the world. Why is that? Because Abraham was glorious 
and righteous and spotless and holy? No, because he's the father, 
according to the humanity of our blessed Savior, who is the 
seed of Abraham, in whom all the nations of the earth are 
blessed. So verse 11, I say to you that many will come from 
east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in 
the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom, he's pressing 
those in Israel, the unbelievers, the sons of the kingdom will 
be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion, go your way. And as 
you have believed, so let it be done for you. And his servant 
was healed that same hour. So back to our text, the harvest 
truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. That's the problem, 
right? He gives us the promise. The 
harvest truly is plentiful, but there's an adversity there. It's 
a problem. We've got this harvest field. 
We've got all these sinners from every tribe, tongue, people, 
and nation, but we've got a manpower problem, right? That's exactly 
what he says, but the laborers are few. This sets the stage 
for chapter 10. Notice in verse 1 of chapter 
10. And when he had called his 12 disciples to him, he gave 
them power over unclean spirits to cast them out, to heal all 
kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. In the parallels, 
and I think it's Mark, we see that he prays and then he does 
this. We assume the same thing here. 
He prays and then he does this. He bids us pray and do this, 
and then he himself prays and does this. There's a pattern. 
He wants us to get it. He wants us to understand. He 
wants us to go thou and do likewise. Pray for laborers, for this plentiful 
harvest field, and pray that God will raise them up and send 
them out. It's a blessed thing. As well, 
this is an abiding need until the end of the age. We've seen 
it in Matthew chapter 28. Go therefore, make disciples, 
and lo, I am with you, what? Even to the end of the age. What's 
the church's job for as long as she's on earth? It's what 
we find in passages like these. It's to pray for men, to identify 
those men, make sure those men are qualified, and then send 
those men out. Sort of like an arrow from the 
bow sent out into the battlefield. That's what we look at it as. 
Acts 14.23, on their way back, having gone through the first 
missionary journey, they went to the churches of Southern Galatia. 
On their way back, they stop in each city, and what do they 
do? They appoint elders in every city. Why is that? Because without 
preaching, without the proclamation of the truth, without the word 
going forth, we're going to have similar situations, where there's 
going to be a bunch of sheep that are scattered, having no 
shepherd, those who are bullied, those who have not been treated 
properly, those who have not been cared for. 2028. The Apostle 
addresses those Ephesian elders, and he says, "...shepherd the 
church of God, which He made you overseers of. Do so in a 
manner that is consistent with the dignity of the flock." We 
see qualifications for elders. 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, 1 Peter 
chapter 5. Our confession of faith is good 
here. "...the grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled 
to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit 
of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the 
ministry of the Word." ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the 
Word. Yeah, somebody could be walking out in the bush, trip 
over a Bible, pick it up, read it, and get saved. I get that. 
I admire that. I praise God for His sovereignty. 
But since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did 
not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the 
message preached to save those who believe, 1 Corinthians 1.21, 
of his own will, by the word of truth he brought us forth. 
We see this emphasis on preaching, on the ordinary means of grace, 
ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the word, by which also and 
by the administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper, prayer 
and other means appointed of God, it is increased and strengthened. Spurgeon made this observation 
with reference to his students at the pastor's college. He said, 
brethren, if you are not theologians, you are in your pastorates just 
nothing at all. Everybody would leave today. 
Oh, he triggered us. He said we're nothing. He insulted 
us. Wherein is his dignity? He'd 
be canceled. He'd be fired. Don't you ever 
say anything that may ever possibly create even the little bit of 
discomfort in the ones who hear you. All right, Spurgeon, you're 
done. You're canceled. Brethren, if you are not theologians, 
you are in your pastorates just nothing at all. You may be fine 
rhetoricians, you may be rich in polished sentences, but without 
knowledge of the gospel and aptness to teach it, you are but a sounding 
brass and a tinkling cymbal. Oh, we need Spurgeons galore 
today, because we got big problems today. The thought of theology, 
the thought of, you know, actually having to think through passages. Did you see in the psalm? How 
do we praise our God? We do it with understanding. 
Love the Lord your God with all your heart. So what? Mind and 
strength. We want a mindless, bailistic, 
orgiastic worship experience that simply tantalizes the flesh. 
The religion of Yahweh was not that way. You saw no form, but 
you heard the word. The same obtains in the new covenant. The apostles were not immune 
to the empire. The apostle Paul had lots of 
truck, lots of travel in the Roman empire. He would have seen 
theater. He would have seen the mimes. He would have seen drama. He 
would have seen all of that media available to get the word out. What's he saying? For since in 
the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased 
God through the foolishness of the message preached to save 
those who believe. We preach Christ and Him crucified. To the Jews, a stumbling block, 
and to the Greeks, foolishness. But to those who are being saved, 
Christ, both the wisdom and the power of God. See, brethren, 
that's the emphasis here. The Lord Jesus sees this scene, 
and then He recommends, or gives rather, the remedy. The harvest 
truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. And then He gives this 
solution in verse 38. Therefore pray the Lord of the 
harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. He's not like 
so many today that can identify the problem and then go have 
coffee. We've got, you know, masters 
at the identification of problems. We need fixers, solvers, persons 
that do what they're supposed to, to bring the remedy. So he 
sees this, we see the expression of his heart with reference to 
this wretched condition of the people. And then he says to them, 
the harvest truly is plentiful, laborers are few. So what do 
we do, Lord? Well, I'm gonna tell you, therefore pray the 
Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Again, sometimes I think we gloss 
over the little words like His. It's not our harvest. It's not 
about my kingdom. It's not about my celebrity. 
It's about Him. And when the church takes that 
seriously, then we'll act in a way that is consistent with 
that. It's God's harvest. It's Christ's kingdom. It's Christ's 
blessed provision to sinners undone. And we, by grace, have 
been saved. by grace have been formed into 
a church, excuse me, we by grace are now called to do what Eve 
was supposed to do with Adam. God gives Adam the dominion mandate, 
Eve says, help me. Eve is supposed to assist him 
in that. This is Christ's project. He's about this mandate, but 
he calls upon us to serve. He calls upon us to preach. He 
calls upon us to go. He calls upon us to pray. He 
calls upon us to participate. Look what he does with the apostles. 
He gives them like power. He gives them likability. They're 
gonna go out, they're gonna cast out demons, they're gonna heal 
people, and they're gonna preach the gospel of the kingdom of 
God. Christ isn't one of these sorts of people that is, you 
know, it's all about me here, and I'm not gonna share any of 
this. Go, go do this. Go extend my kingdom. Go to the 
various nations of the earth and tell them, about the gospel 
of our blessed Savior. So the emphasis on prayer. Ryle 
makes this observation. He says, personal work, working 
for souls is good. Giving money is good, but praying 
is best of all. By prayer, we reach him without 
whom work and money alike are in vain. We need to pray. We need to pray. Now, there's 
always those in the Western world. Well, I pray. Yeah, but you have 
a billion dollars. Could you throw a few shekels 
into the cause? I mean, come on. The kingdom of God doesn't 
operate on love and fresh air. We need money for tickets. We 
need money for Bibles. We need money for, I don't mean 
tickets that we got. I mean, tickets to fly and go 
somewhere. Tickets in the post COVID world 
means money expenditure. Tickets for missionaries. We 
need to be able to feed guys that are tasked with preaching 
and teaching. It's an amazing reality. I mentioned 
Gary North a few weeks ago. He said that men want religion, 
but they want it cheap. Well, brother, I'm sorry. If 
a man is called to preach the word of God, qualified by God, 
the apostle Paul says, feed him. You don't keep a muzzle on the 
ox while it treads out the grain, you let the ox eat alongside 
of his labor. And so with reference to this, 
personal working for souls is good, giving money is good, but 
praying is best of all. So don't say, well, you know, 
I'm a prayer warrior. Again, you're sitting on a billion dollars, 
maybe cough up a bit of that or pray about it and then cough 
it up. But praying is best of all, by 
prayer we reach him without whom work and money are alike in vain. And then with reference to prayer, 
we know that in all prayer, we don't pray, for instance, Matthew 
6, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil 
one. And as soon as we get up off our knees, we walk over to 
the computer and we log on to a porn site. You don't do that, 
right? Everybody should be going, no, 
we don't do that. No, not ever. Don't pray, God, keep me from 
temptation and then go walk into temptation. Right? That's intuitive. You all get that. I'm not making 
this up. When you pray for something, you realize that you live in 
light of that prayer and you function accordingly. So God, 
we pray that you'd raise up laborers because the harvest truly is 
plentiful. So what do we do then? Well, we're gonna just wait, 
you know, God will open the ceiling and drop men into our laps. No, 
we need to look for them, we need to train them, we need to 
cultivate them, we need to test them, we need to examine them, 
we need to lay hands on them, and then we send them out. That's 
what we see in the pattern of our Savior. He prays, and then 
He installs. He prays, and then He sends. 
He prays, and then He moves on that prayer. And that's the emphasis 
in the verse. Therefore, based on what He has 
said, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His 
harvest. Well, in conclusion, first, the 
ministry of Christ, the words and works of Christ are authoritative. You see that in Matthew 5 to 
9, both His words and His words. But that compassion and that 
power of Christ are a blessing. It's like we see there in Hebrews 
chapter 4. We don't have a high priest who can't sympathize with 
us. We're just the opposite. We have 
a high priest who can and does sympathize with us. If anything, 
this passage should encourage us with a view of our Savior. 
What a blessed Savior He is. He sees when we're weary. He 
sees when we're scattered. He sees when we're bullied. He 
sees when we're messed up. He's not blind to those particular 
things. The pattern established by Jesus 
Christ here is necessary. Turn to 2 Timothy 2. Second Timothy 
chapter two. Again, I don't think that this 
is a stretch. We'll stop at first Timothy chapter 
two first. First Timothy chapter two, verse 
one. Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, 
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. Beautiful 
statement, huh? First of all, I exhort that you 
have the best preaching you get. You get the best preaching. No, 
no, that's not where he begins in terms of opening up conduct 
that is appropriate for the house of God. Guess where Paul starts? He starts with prayer. Spurgeon 
was once asked the secret for his success. There's no secret. My people pray. There's no secret 
at all. My people pray. It's not formulaic 
in the sense of 2 plus 2 is 4 every single time, but it's kind of 
formulaic. You do what God calls you to do, you be faithful, and 
it's typically in that arena that you experience blessing. 
Right? Again, I don't want to reduce 
it to health, wealth, and prosperity, put 50 cents in and out pops 
your Coke. That's not what I'm suggesting. 
But I am suggesting that faithfulness on the part of God's people, 
more often than not, and there are exceptions, all of us can 
say, you know, I was faithful in that instance, but man, it 
didn't work out well. Hey, that happens. That's the 
price of doing business in God's world. He is mysterious in his 
ways. We don't have, you know, the 
ability to explore the infinite. But for the most part, when we 
do what he calls us to do, when husbands love their wives just 
as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her, and when 
wives submit to their own husbands as unto the Lord, how does that 
household work? Typically pretty good. Typically 
nice, they're not throwing coffee cups at each other, not, you 
know, running around and chasing each other and, you know, hope 
you never come home or whatever it might be. Usually, again, 
usually, not always, listen to the qualification, when we do 
what God says, there's typically blessing. That's the foundation 
of the book of Proverbs, certainly Proverbs. There are some you 
can probably test and try and say, you know, I was that way, 
but it didn't work. They're maxims, they're principles. 
They are basic truths about God's moral universe. When the church 
takes seriously her churchly task, God blesses. So prayer, 
chapter two, verse one. Now notice in 2 Timothy two, 
verse one. You, therefore, my son, be strong 
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and the things that you 
have heard from me among many witnesses. Commit these to faithful 
men who will be able to teach others also. Timothy, it's not 
gonna end with you. Timothy, it's not gonna stop 
with you. As Paul passes the baton to Timothy, 
Timothy must pass that baton to his fellows. He must be in that capacity of 
seeking men out, cultivating those men, trying or testing 
those men, and then bringing those men into the eldership, 
into the pastoral ministry, such that they can preach and teach 
the word of the living God. Now, secondly, in terms of the 
compassion of Christ, he sees the multitudes, he knows the 
problems of the multitudes, and he addresses those specific issues. Brethren, that is very encouraging. It may not be the case that all 
of our civil authority will be marched off and put into prison. 
We may have some challenges ahead. But there is nothing that can 
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus 
our Lord. They can never strip us from 
the hand of the Savior. If that doesn't encourage our 
hearts for perseverance, I don't know what there is. The Lord 
is moved with compassion for the multitudes and he takes action 
to remedy the problem. We see his compassion and maybe 
some of us don't want to go here, but thirdly, what about the compassion 
of his people? Do we think his thoughts after 
him? Are we concerned with the same 
sorts of things that we see Christ concerned with in his earthly 
ministry? We have to have a proper diagnosis 
of the problem. Brethren, it's obvious. Bad religious 
teaching messes people up. It's just that easy, or simple. Bad religious teaching messes 
people up. We have to diagnose the problem. 
What are the issues? Ryle says, what are our feelings 
when we see such a sight? The sheep scattered having no 
shepherd. This is a question that should 
arise in our minds. There are many such to be seen 
on every side. There are millions of idolaters 
and heathen on earth, millions of deluded Mahatma tents, millions 
of superstitious Roman Catholics. There are thousands of ignorant 
Protestants near our own doors. He'd probably change that to 
millions nowadays. If it were thousands in the 1800s, 
you know, we could probably count on millions nowadays. He says, 
do we feel tenderly concerned about their souls? Do we deeply 
pity their spiritual destitution? Do we long to see that destitution 
relieved? That's a great question. Ryan 
will need to ask that. I need to ask that. Mike needs 
to ask that. Any pastor, any preacher worth 
his salt has to ask that. Am I really concerned about the 
fact that sinners are perishing and heading to hell? Does that 
affect me? Does that move me? Does that 
cause me to want to study more and pray more and preach more? 
Those are things that are appropriate to pastoral ministry, to the 
missionary enterprise. If we're not thinking Christ's 
thoughts after Him, if we're not moved to compassion with 
the weariness and the batteredness of the humanity before us, what 
good are we? We could go do a billion other 
things. But an earmark of the ministry is to have that fellow 
feeling with our Savior. He fellow feels with us. He sympathizes 
with us. We need to think alongside of 
Him and have that compassion for the multitudes. And then 
as well, the proper perspective concerning the situation. The 
harvest truly is plentiful. The harvest truly is multitudinous. The harvest is about every tongue, 
every tribe, every people, every nation. Of course we pray for 
our local church. Of course we pray for the churches 
we're in communion with. Of course we pray for other faithful 
churches in our town. We pray for all of Canada. but 
we pray to the uttermost parts of the earth and for the uttermost 
parts of the earth, that God the Lord in his mercy and in 
his grace would raise men up, equip those men, get them identified 
in their churches and get them sent out so they can engage in 
the warfare of calling sinners to faith and repentance. Brethren, 
let us imitate the Savior in this. Let us be likewise moved 
with compassion over the multitudes who have no shepherd, and let 
us preach to them, the great shepherd, the good shepherd, 
the one who laid down his life for the sheep, and tell them 
that everyone who comes to him in faith will have everlasting 
life. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for this section of Holy Scripture and the emphasis that 
we find in terms of the compassion of our Savior in the remedy prescribed 
by the Savior in terms of prayer, in terms of raising men up, in 
terms of sending them out. Again, we thank you and we praise 
you for your provision in our own lives, in our own church. 
We thank you for Ryan. We thank you for Mike. We thank 
you for these brethren in Honduras and Dryden. And God, we thank 
you for those in our town that are faithful servants of the 
Lord God Most High. May you bless your servants, 
and may you send forth your glorious word. And as we sang, pity the 
nations, O our God, and constrain the earth to come. For we know 
that our blessed Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, does save, 
and he saves gloriously and wondrously, and for the glory of our great 
God. And we pray now in his most blessed name, amen. We'll close 
our worship by singing 564. 564, we'll stand as we sing together. 
♪ Blessed be the home of the God 
of Israel ♪ ♪ Who only to Him our rest returns in glory and excel ♪ ♪ Who only to Him our rest returns 
in glory and excel ♪ Amen. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Father, thank you for corporate 
worship. Thank you for the church of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for the fellowship 
of the saints. And may you be glorified today. May you bring 
us again together tonight that we may worship you in spirit 
and truth and rejoice and celebrate in your loving kindness and in 
your mercy. And we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Well, 
please be seated.