Day 61 | Matthew 9:35-38 | Harvest is great. Harvesters are few.

Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38 [NLT]
³⁵ 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. ³⁶ But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:35-38, New King James Version)

The harvest is plentiful, where are the workers?

Observation: (What does your mind’s eye see when you read this scripture?)

I see Jesus traveling from village to village bringing his message of hope to anyone who would listen. Healing anyone that he could and joining them where they were. (What joy those towns and villages must have experienced)Note that He came to them. He was not expecting them to come to him. He did not set up a big church and say, “Now come to Me all you sinners. Come over here where I’ve made camp!” Nope, He went to them and healed them where they were. This seems very symbolic of how he stands at the door of our hearts and asks to come in. He does not ask us to first meet Him in church and then He will help us.

I find it interesting that this brief definition of how Jesus went to the people is followed by his statement that “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”…the order of these two verses does not seem happenstance.

The farmer does not wait for the grain to walk into his silo. The wine maker does not expect the grapes to get themselves into the wine press. As followers (disciples) of Christ we are called to go out and share with others where they are. Do not settle for inviting them to your church and expect the miracle to happen there…Jesus knew that we need to be “harvested” gently. Go into their homes. Go where the harvest is, and be a good worker.

What is a good worker? Well, if you were harvesting grapes, for instance, would you pull them roughly off the vine and toss them like an apple in a box. No, because you are not harvesting apples, you are harvesting grapes. The point is that a good worker learns about his harvest and knows about it and finds out the best way to handle it before attempting the harvest.

Application: (How do I apply this to my life?)

I need to be more careful in how I try to share Jesus. I need to spend time getting to know the “harvest” and I need to make sure that I am listening to the greatest harvester of all.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,

Help me to be a good worker. Help me to handle the harvest in the way that You would have me. All too often I think I know the right way to do things and all too often I choose the easy way or the least scary way; but Your way is best. I know now that I need to know the harvest. Thank you for being the Good Shepherd. Help me to learn to hear Your voice and respond.

Be with the Wilson’s today. I do not know the details of what happened but I know that they need You. Please be with the family of the gentlemen who was in the car accident. Give them comfort and bring to them someone who can show empathy for their loss and sorrow.

Continue to bless our small group bible studies. Help us to get to know each other better so that we can treat each other like a precious harvest.

I love you Jesus. Amen.

_____________________

Don’t forget to share what you have seen in this scripture in the comments section below.