Help Wanted: The Harvest Is Great, the Workers Are Few
Help Wanted
Not too long ago, if you were walking into a store, you might see a sign that said this:
HELP WANTED
Before the internet, before social media, before LinkedIn and online job boards, this is how you advertised if you were hiring. You posted a sign that said, “Help Wanted,” and if someone was interested in working at that particular store they would walk in and ask to speak to the manager.
I knew a man who, out of college, walked into IBM because they were hiring. He just happened to bump into one of the VPs in the lobby, ended up in his office for an impromptu interview, and then worked his entire career there. He retired just a few years ago. He told me that story one morning over coffee and I couldn’t believe it. It’s rare, these days, to meet someone or know someone who has worked their entire career in one place.
These days, it’s not uncommon to have multiple careers, multiple jobs, sometimes all at the same time. Add to that, there is a lot of turnover in the marketplace. People are always leaving jobs, starting new jobs, and changing jobs. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is different.
Created to Work
We were created to work. We were created to do good work. We were created on purpose for a purpose.
We live in a world where there is much to do, a lot of help is needed, there are people who are hurting, dying, suffering all around us. And there are people doing good things all around us. Sometimes people do good things for people because they care and they have compassion. They want to make a difference. That’s their motivation. And that’s good. We call these people humanitarians. I’m thankful for people like that. But that’s not who we are.
We live in a world where there is much to do, a lot of help is needed. There are people who are lost, confused, alone, and living apart from God all around us. As the people of God, as the church of Jesus Christ, we too are full of care and compassion. We want to make a difference. But that’s not our primary motivation. We have Good News to share. We want to make an ETERNAL difference. And, like Jesus, sometimes that means we start by helping with the immediate needs before us, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, but our aim is always point people the saving love of God.
And while we may not always see it, there is a huge HELP WANTED sign posted for those who have eyes to see.
The Good News According to Jesus
Throughout this series we’ve been leaning into the Gospel according to Matthew. In the middle of his Gospel he puts up a “Help Wanted” sign for the church to see. Sometimes, it’s helpful to remember that Matthew, who was one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers, one of the original twelve disciples, wrote this Gospel for the church.
As you read Matthew’s Gospel, you see all through it instructions for the church about how to live and who we’re called to be. And you see that clearly at the end of Matthew 9 and into chapter 10. Let’s look at Matthew 9:35:
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.
Pause: Jesus is preaching and teaching the Gospel? What is the Gospel according to Jesus? What Gospel is He preaching at this point in His ministry?
When we think about the “Gospel,” we think about the Good News about the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. But that hasn’t happened yet. So what Gospel, what Good News, is Jesus announcing?
What’s interesting is that Matthew makes this exact statement TWICE in His Gospel. It’s always important to notice how a storyteller tells a story, especially when that storyteller is writing a Gospel. Especially when that storyteller is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
If you back up to Matthew 4:23, when Jesus is beginning His ministry, Matthew tells us…
23 Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.
In Matthew 4:23 and Matthew 9:35, Matthew says the same exact thing about Jesus. Whenever something like this happens in Scripture, it’s always good to see what the author might be doing, might be pointing us toward.
By repeating this statement, Matthew creates a kind of bracket, so it makes you wonder what’s inside this bracket and what might that tell us about this Good News, this Gospel, that Jesus is announcing. Between Matthew 4:23 and 9:35, Jesus is calling His disciples, He’s healing the sick, He’s casting out demons, He preaches the Sermon on the Mount — one of the most significant teachings in all of Scripture about who we are and how we are called to live as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus continues to heal people and cast out demons. He calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee. He raises the dead. He forgives sin. And then, Matthew repeats this statement about Jesus announcing the Good News about the Kingdom.
What Is This Good News?
So what is the Good News, the Gospel, according to Jesus at this point in His ministry?
Here’s the Good News… In Jesus, God’s Messiah, the Kingdom of Heaven is breaking into the here and now. Things are being set right, made new. Jesus is making things the way they were always supposed to be. The sick are healed. The dead are raised back to life. Sins are forgiven. And this is Good News! Is there more Good News on the way about eternal salvation and life everlasting? Absolutely. But Jesus is bringing Good News to the people of Israel as God’s Messiah. He is ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven into the here and now.
You see, there is an already/not yet-ness to the Kingdom of Heaven that Matthew wants us to see. Jesus has already come. He announced that the Kingdom of Heaven is NEAR and that the Kingdom of Heaven is ALREADY among you (Matthew 4:17, 10:7, 12:28).
And if you fast-forward to the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells a story about serving the least of these. He tells His disciples, anytime you visit those in prison, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, it’s as if you were doing it for Jesus. This is how the Kingdom of Heaven continues to break into the here and now through the church. Whenever we do good for others in his name, we participate in making things on earth as they are in Heaven. And in this way, the Kingdom is near, the Kingdom is here.
Yet, we still await the return of our King. And one day, Jesus will come again. When He does, He will fully and finally usher in His Kingdom where everything will forevermore be the way it’s supposed to be. Where God’s shalom, God’s peace, will be fully realized.
Where there will be no more sickness, hunger, death, or dying, or sin, or darkness, or shame. And we long for that day when Christ will come again.
Jesus knows He came to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven. But He also knows, the day when His Kingdom will fully and finally come is still on the horizon. So…
Compassion for the Crowd
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus sees the crowds, He sees the people, and He is filled with compassion.
He knows everything there is to know about them. He knows their faults and failings. He knows their deepest darkest secrets. He knows their worries, insecurities, and questions. He knows their struggles, and fears. Knowing all this, Jesus isn’t filled with judgement. His response isn’t wrath. He is filled with compassion. Why? Because they were “confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
A woman I know who grew up around sheep once shared three things that are true about sheep:
- They are high maintenance. They need a lot of care and attention.
- They are easily stressed. They are high anxiety, get nervous real fast, and so you have to be able to care for them and calm them down.
- They only have about a three-day memory. In other words, they suffer from short-term memory loss. They can’t remember what you did for them last week, last month, much less last year.
I couldn’t help but think about what Matthew said here. As Jesus saw the crowds he was filled with compassion “because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Over and over again throughout Scripture, we are compared to sheep. And now I think I know why:
- We are high maintenance. We need a lot of care and attention from our Shepherd.
- We are easily stressed. We are high anxiety, get nervous real fast, and we need our Shepherd to calm us and care for us.
- We, too, suffer from short term memory loss. We forget how faithful God has been. We forget what He’s done in the past and so we forget to trust Him in the present.
But here’s the Good News, when Jesus sees the crowds, and no doubt, when He sees you and me, He was and He is filled with compassion.
Seeing the people, Jesus said to His disciples…
The Harvest Is Great
37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
Jesus sees the people, He sees the need, and He tells His disciples that the harvest is great… in other words, there is much work to do! Help Wanted!
People need to hear the Good News. People need to know that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. People need understand that Hope is on the way. Those who are like sheep without a shepherd, confused, lost, helpless, and alone need to know that there is a Good Shepherd who has come to gather His sheep, protect His sheep, care for His sheep, and provide for His sheep. That’s what the Good Shepherd does!
But someone needs to GO and share the Good News! Workers are needed to continue and carry forward the Good work that Jesus has begun. The Help Wanted sign has been posted and Jesus tells His disciples that the first thing we need to do is PRAY!
Remember, Matthew is writing this Gospel for the church. And Matthew wants the church to be a praying church. What do we do when we see the need? We PRAY. What do we do when we hear the call? We PRAY.
We PRAY for the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers into His fields.
We PRAY.
Sent to Go
But then, watch what happens next. Sometimes we stop reading right there because it’s the end of chapter 9. But Matthew didn’t break his Gospel into chapters and verses. That happened hundreds of years later! Matthew wrote one continuous story that was originally intended to be read aloud at church! So we keep reading and listen to what Matthew says next.
Matthew 10:1
1 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority and power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
5 Jesus SENT out these twelve, instructing them: “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not go into a city of the Samaritans; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:5-8)
First, Jesus tells them to PRAY.
Then, Jesus SENDS them to go and do exactly what He’s been doing. To go and announce that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
First we PRAY.
Then we GO.
Preach the Gospel. Die. Be Forgotten.
Count Zinzendorf was part of nobility in eastern Europe in the 1700’s but declined the benefits of nobility and instead decided to raise up a missionary movement called the Moravians. These people would say good-bye to all their comforts, to what they know, their culture and language, even their families, and set sail for a land they did not know in order to reach people they did not know with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Every time a group would leave on mission, fully aware that they would not return, Count Zinzendorf would say:
“Preach the Gospel. Die. Be forgotten.”
In other words, let everything you do be for the name of Jesus. Let everything you say point people to Him. Don’t worry about your name, your legacy, your life. Let everything be only about the name of Jesus. Preach the Gospel.
The psalmist said it this way in Psalm 115:1:
“Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”
What Count Zinzendorf wanted for the missionaries he sent out was for them to make so much of Jesus until their final breath that when they died people would not remember them or their name, but the people they reached would never forget the name of Jesus.
In the same way, may you leverage your life, everything you are, everything you have, to make much of Jesus, to share His truth and His grace with others, to share the Good News about the great love of God revealed on the cross where Jesus bled and died so that you and I might received the forgiveness of sin and walk in the newness of life. May you never be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That you will share this Good News with others until the day God calls you home to be with Him. And when all is said and done, may you have been so effective at sharing the Good News about Jesus that people will not remember your name, but they will never forget the name of Jesus.
May you…
Preach the Gospel. Die. Be forgotten.
Jesus said, I came to seek and save the lost.
Who in your life needs to hear the Good News about Jesus?
Will you share this Good News?
The harvest is great. The workers are few.
PRAY.
Then GO!
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