Matthew 9 - Doing the Things Jesus Did!
Verses of the Day
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming 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.”
Jesus only had three years to accomplish the purpose for which God the Father had called him. These verses summarize what Jesus focused on. Jesus taught in their synagogues. When Jesus was a young boy he got up and read the Jewish scriptures on the Sabbath and expounded upon them. The elders were amazed at how learned he was and wondered where he had gained his knowledge.
The teaching included a portion of the Torah, the Law, and also a reading from one of the Prophets. Of course, the prophets were all pointing to him, but the majority of the Jews missed that point.
Next, Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom. "Proclaim" is the same word as "preach". Jesus taught parables about what the kingdom of God was like. Importantly the kingdom had come through him. Jesus' life would show the world what it looks like when God is reigning.
Finally, Jesus healed every disease and sickness.
Just look at how many people healed in this chapter. A paralyzed man was healed. He raised the synagogue leader's daughter from the dead. He healed a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. He healed two blind man. He delivered a man from a demon, who had rendered him muted. Not a bad day for the Son of God.
Despite all of this, he realized many would not believe in Him. As the crowds watched Jesus, when he looked at them it broke his heart. He often called him the "lost sheep of Israel". Their shepherds had failed them. They were supposed to feed them God's Word and protect them from wolves in sheep's clothing.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were more interested in their own pedigree and power than taking care of the sheep of God's fold. Jesus realized he could not minister to all of these lost sheep at once. This is when he turned to his disciples and said,
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few!"
The harvest he was talking about was the harvest of souls. The harvest was full of both Jews and Gentiles. This is why Jesus called 12 disciples and sent them into the harvest field. For three years he lived with them, ate with them, did ministry with them. Day in and day out the disciples saw Jesus, the only Son of God, living out his obedience to the Father. They saw his miracles, deeds of power, and the compassion he had on all people. They knew he loved all people including them.
The time had come. It was time he for them to do the things that he had been doing. Stay tuned for chapter 10.
Application
At some point in your life God will call you from learning about Jesus to doing the things Jesus did. This is what it means to be his disciple. A better word for disciple is "apprentice". An apprentice learns from someone and at some people does the things he has seen them do. The purpose of the apprenticeship is not to gain more knowledge but to do the thing for which they were apprenticed for.
No one would be an apprentice of a master mechanic and then not fix things. He could memorize all the books in the world but if he didn't do what the master mechanic taught him to do, he would failed.
One of the greatest joys of being a disciple of Jesus is doing the things he did. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Are you willing to be sent into the harvest?
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