Jesus, the Shepherd (Matthew 9:35-10:15)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
So often songs capture the heart and mind quicker than words stated can. Something about words put to melody pierce the heart much more quickly and stronger too. Maybe that is why in the early days of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, my alma mater, one of the founders of the seminary, Basil Manly Jr. put words to melody to capture the mission of Southern Seminary in the hymn Soldiers of Christ, in Truth Arrayed.
This is likely not a hymn most of you know, in fact that the majority of you have never heard. And yet, it is a remarkable hymn on mission. It goes like this:
1. Soldiers of Christ, in truth arrayed,
A world in ruins needs your aid:
A world by sin destroyed and dead:
A world for which the Savior bled.
2. His gospel to the lost proclaim,
Good news for all in Jesus’ name;
Let light upon the darkness break
That sinners from their death may wake.
3. Morning and evening sow the seed,
God’s grace the effort shall succeed.
Seed-times of tears have oft been found
With sheaves of joy and plenty crowned.
4. We meet to part, but part to meet
When earthly labors are complete,
To join in yet more blest employ,
In an eternal world of joy.
What a beautiful way to put the mission of the church to melody to paint what we as soldiers of Christ, as Christians are being called into. For truly a world is in ruin and needs aide. A work so plentiful, yet so few laborers. And it is this that we want to talk about this morning.
Please take out your Bibles and open with me to Matthew 9:35-10:15. Feel free to use the table of contents if you need help finding it or if you are using one of the Red Pew Bibles there in your seat, you can find Matthew 9:35-10:15 on page #968.
Recap
Recap
While you heard me only read the short hymn, Soldiers of Christ, in Truth Arrayed, you will have to take my word for the moment that it has a beautiful tune with it, a tune that unites the verses and the hymn as a whole. Similarly, the Gospel According to Matthew, has a tune, a melody that runs through it, a melody that shapes the whole of the gospel.
The melodic line of Matthew, that is the beat that Matthew marches to is that Jesus is the eternal king who has been given all authority over the heavens and the earth and that all are to obey him. This line is first shown in the beginning of Matthew’s gospel as we saw back in Matthew 1:1 “1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” In it being stated that Jesus is the Son of David, it is picking up that he is the forever son to sit on David’s throne forever as King. The authority has been a central theme through the Sermon on the Mount with Jesus’ teaching, his authority over sickness, demons, nature, and even death. And it is summed up at the close of Matthew’s gospel in the Great Commission there in Matthew 28:18 “18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” But how are people to learn of this authority and be taught to obey this forever King? They must be told. They must have someone come and instruct them, lest they be like a sheep without a shepherd which wanders aimlessly. And so, as we prepare to read Matthew 9:35-10:15, we see the beginning of the mission of the church.
Main Idea: Jesus, the great shepherd has come in compassion to rescue a world in ruin, and we as his disciples are now brought in to join that same work. We are going to unfold this in 3 points: (1) The Heart of Mission, (2) The Laborers of Mission, and (3) The Instructions of Mission.
1. The Harvest of Mission
1. The Harvest of Mission
The Mission of the Church is not something foreign to us. The one who is the Forever King and has been given all authority came and lived and set an example of the mission during his three years of public ministry. Look again with me there at Matthew 9:35.
Jesus labored to go throughout all the cities and villages of the region to proclaim the message of the kingdom. He went into the synagogues where Israel’s people gathered and taught about the kingdom in order to persuade them, to show them the truth. Jesus verified his teaching during that time by healing every disease and every affliction to show he indeed had all authority over all things. Jesus did this continuously throughout his ministry. But as he went, as he saw those in Israel who were hurting, Jesus had compassion. Verse 36.
Consider the language of lost sheep and shepherds here. This goes back to our Scripture Reading from earlier in the service from Ezekiel 34:7-15 where the shepherds of Israel were indicted for their failure to feed and care for the sheep of Israel. They had fed themselves, yet neglected their sheep. And yet the LORD promised that he would search for his sheep. That he would seek them out, and rescue them that had been scattered. That he would gather them and feed them. That he would make them lie down in good pastures. That he would strengthen them.
This was the case in Ezekiel’s day, and it is what Jesus is still seeing in his own day. He is seeing the shepherds of Israel not shepherding the sheep of Israel, in fact he is seeing many who are lost, who have been harassed and are helpless. And his heart burns for them with compassion.
I do not want to presume we all have the same definition or understanding of what compassion is. Therefore I want to borrow a definition from Alasdair Groves in a Christian Counseling & Education Foundation podcast episode on Jesus and his compassion, compassion is defined as follows, “An ache on the heart that presses towards action to make things better.” [1]
The heart of Jesus ached as he saw the harassed and helpless sheep of Israel who had not been fed. And so, his very ministry was focused on seeking to bring them relief. He therefore pre them that this kingdom is at hand, giving them hope.
Because of this compassion, Jesus turns to his own disciples who have been following him. Verse 37.
Jesus moves from the imagery of sheep without a shepherd to that of a harvest as he points out to his disciples the plentiful harvest that lays before them. This continuing to refer to the same people, the same lost sheep, but that there are an abundant amount to be brought in, just like that of the harvest. A plentiful harvest of not just 100’s of acres, but 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of acres of lost sheep to be brought in like that of a harvest needing gathered and brought in.
But here a comparison is being made. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. There is few to labor in gathering the harvest of the lost. And Jesus here is teaching his disciples the need to be aware of this fact.
Friends, the same rings true today. The harvest is plentiful of those who still need to come to Jesus, those to whom the Father has called to himself. But in this moment they have not yet heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The harvest is plentiful, both here and to the ends of the earth, to the nations. For according to Joshua Project, there are 10,280 people groups in the world, with 4,400 of those people groups considered still unreached, that meaning less than 2% in that people group have been reached by the gospel. And yet, even as some are considered reached, many do not still have healthy churches to further and advance the gospel among those people groups. This is the harvest that lays before us.
And with such a harvest, the laborers continue to be few. Few are taking the gospel around the world to reach the lost. Few are proclaiming the gospel of peace and hope. So with such a need, what are the disciples to do? What are we to do? Verse 38.
Jesus doesn’t first tell the disciples to go. He tells them to pray. To pray to the Lord of the Harvest. Before we enter the harvest to labor, we must recognize whose harvest it is, it is the LORD our God’s. He and he alone is over the harvest that is to be gathered in. Apart from his acting, his working, our zeal, our efforts, our going will be pointless.
And so it is to him we must first turn and pray concerning the plentiful harvest. For apart from seeking the Lord of Harvest, any zeal we have will lack the strength to endure, the harvest we hope to gather will not be brought in. A desire to go and labor in the plentiful harvest is a good thing, but it must be done in prayer if it is to be fruitful.
To quote an English Evangelist and Training of Pastors, Charles Simeon, “Who can inspire men with zeal sufficient for this holy undertaking? None but he who formed the universe. We should therefore pray to him to effect this.” [2]
Before we may enter the work of harvest labors, we must seek the Lord of the Harvest in prayer. Prayer to go before us in preparing the fields for harvest. Prayers for affirming and strengthening our hearts to enter and endure in the work. Prayers for even our hearts that struggle with such a work to turn and grow in desire to enter the harvest as joyful laborers, not out of guilt but eager desire to labor alongside our King.
Beloved, as we grow with compassion as we see the plentiful harvest, as we see the few laborers who are laboring for the kingdom, let us seek to do good by first bowing our knees to the LORD of the harvest for these laborers. Just as J.C. Ryle writes, “Never, never may we forget that if we would do good to the world, our first duty is to pray!” [3]
2. The Laborers of Mission
2. The Laborers of Mission
Chapter 10, verse 1. Previously we have been left clueless in the gospel account to the number closely following Jesus, but now we know there are twelve.
The twelve here is tied closely to the twelve tribes of Israel. As Jacob, later called Israel, had twelve sons that become the twelve tribes of Israel, here Jesus has twelve disciples. This signaling to those of Israel that God has not forgotten his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as this renewed hope goes forward, it is also a signaling of something new.
Israel had rejected the grace of God under its shepherds. And now, with the lost sheep of Israel and eventually the nations, a new Israel was coming about. An Israel not defined by bloodline and lineage, but a people defined by faith. A people who longed for the coming Messiah and looked forward to his day by faith being joined with those who believe Jesus is that Messiah King. These would form a new and better Israel, a true Israel as God’s chosen people.
And like Israel when they were called were the least of the people, so were the disciples in that they were from various backgrounds, including those thought to be as the least of these. Verses 2-4.
Two sets of brothers who we were introduced to back in Matthew 4 were fishermen. The book of Acts will later go on to say these were uneducated men. There was an outcast tax collector in Matthew, the author of this gospel who we met earlier in Matthew 9. But even the other pairs are that of ordinary men, along with Judas, who betrayed Jesus.
It is this group of twelve with their different backgrounds, their different skill sets who are first called to follow Jesus as his disciples. It is these twelve who are the apostles who would be first used to spread the gospel and establish the church, even despite their ordinary and slow start.
Christian, it is important for us to see what will be later drawn even more clearly out, that the plentiful harvest is to be reached as disciples are made and go and make other disciples in the same way they saw Jesus make disciples. The harvest workers are not the elite of Israel, but ordinary, faithful disciples.
To attempt to paraphrase a friend, “There are no extraordinary Christians who go and do missions. (he was speaking on missionaries.) Missionaries are ordinary, faithful Christians who answer the call to an extraordinary mission.”
Beloved, how about we be ordinary and faithful Christians who answer this extraordinary call to enter the harvest as those dependent on the LORD of the Harvest! But what are we to do in answering the call?
3. The Instructions of Mission
3. The Instructions of Mission
By going to the lost sheep, just as Jesus did and proclaiming the kingdom of heaven is at hand in the message of the gospel. Verse 7. As the disciples go, they are to proclaim this message. Where are they to go? Well for now, only to the lost sheep of Israel. Back up there with me to verses 5-6.
As the mission starts, as the disciples are first sent out, they are first sent out to just those in Israel. The reason for that, this was to make clear that outside a small remnant, the house of Israel had rejected God’s Messiah. But make no mistake, they would soon be called to go to not only the lost sheep of Israel, but to the ends of the earth as given at the conclusion of Matthew’s gospel in the Great Commission.
And as they go and proclaim the message of the kingdom, they are to also use the authority given to them to show they come in the name of the LORD. Verse 8.
And as they go, they are to trust the LORD to provide along the way. Verses 9-10.
We must not lose sight here of the primary mission of the church. The primary mission is not to simply do as much good as we can, to do social justice. The primary mission of the church has been from the very start to proclaim the kingdom of heaven in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to proclaim that God’s rule is near and it comes in his forever King who acted on behalf of the people as the forever priest in becoming the sacrificial lamb who was nailed on a tree in the cross.
The healing of the sick, raising of the dead, cleansing of lepers, and casting out of demons was something they did to aide the message, but it was not the main task.
Church, we cannot, we must not ever lose sight of this reality if we are to stay focused on the mission to proclaim the message of Jesus! And as we go, we must be dependent, trusting in the LORD to provide along the way as we go declaring the gospel.
Now, it would be a wrong application to think that trusting the LORD on every occasion would call for no provisions or planning. That is not what Jesus has called these 12 apostles too. Other places in Scripture talk about praying, planning, strategizing. But here, there is a call to go urgently, and knowing the LORD has already set up provisions for them along the way. And that they will have their provisions as workers of the kingdom.
And for us, it is a reminder that even though planning and taking of certain provisions is acceptable and wise, that we are to continually trust the LORD for such provisions along the way. That as we labor for his kingdom, he will provide along the way.
And part of those provisions will come as the disciples enter towns and villages in finding lodging among those worthy. Verse 11.
The worthy here is at first not made clear, but the context helps. Verses 12-14.
The worthy therefore is those who receive and listen to the words of the message of the kingdom of heaven. Those who respond that rule of God has come in Jesus and seek to provide and care for his messengers. And as a result of their receiving the message, peace will come upon them for the very message of the gospel is a gospel of peace.
How true is it, that in receiving the gospel ourselves, that peace came upon us in that first hour we believed? A peace that comes even in the midst of turmoil and hardship as the peace comes from our hopes in God’s rule having come in Jesus! That we have peace not because circumstances provide peace, but in knowing that the LORD has poured out his love upon us to redeem us and therefore he will not leave or forsake us! Beloved, it is this same peace we are to have in Christ continuously. For it is this peace that comes in and through the message of the gospel!
But behold, this peace is for those who receive the message of the gospel. For those who reject the message of the gospel, notice what instructions come to the apostles. Look there at the end of Verse 13 through verse 15.
Peace will not remain upon those who reject the message of the gospel. And in that rejection of the gospel, there will be a wiping away of dust from the feet because of the unbelief that has been encountered. And judgment is settled for those in unbelief. A judgment worse than that of the very pagan cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that were wiped away from sulfur and fire reigning down upon them (Genesis 19). Cities where grievous sin was present. And yet, this judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah is mild compared to the judgment that comes against those who do not receive the message of the kingdom.
PLEAD with Sinners to repent!
These are the instructions we have been given as we go on mission. Instructions that should stir us to understand the mission and the urgency of the mission. The mission being to proclaim the message of the kingdom of heaven in the gospel. The urgency being to rescue the lost sheep by laboring to persuade them to believe before unbelief consumes them and judgment comes. Let us then hear these instructions to help us stay mission focused!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Beloved, a world is in ruin and in need of our aide. Our aide of bringing the gospel of hope and peace to them that God’s reign has come in Jesus! But how are they to hear if we do not go and do not speak the gospel in both evangelism and missions? But how are our hearts to be strengthened for this task, our minds and hearts convinced of our part in it unless we first pray to the LORD of the harvest who is over it all!
Let’s pray…
Endnotes
[1] Alasdair Groves. Jesus and Compassion Episode from Where Life & Scripture Meet . (March 1, 2024). https://open.spotify.com/episode/4PPlTmK7Yue8AhEL5fgpKF?si=4a25a15f0fa14032
[2] Charles Simeon, ESV Church History Study Bible
[3] J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860), 94.
Scripture Reading & Prayer
Scripture Reading & Prayer
7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them. 11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
