Matthew 9:35-10:8 * June 8, 2008
* Pentecost 4 *
Pastor Leyrer
Dear Friends in Christ,
What comes to mind when you hear the words “mission work” or “missionary?”
If we think only in terms of those serving different cultures in different lands, or those laboring to spread the Gospel in isolated parts of our own country, or those who make this their profession while we as fellow Christians support them with our gifts and prayers, Jesus challenges our thinking today.
To borrow a phrase used in our church body a few years ago, what Jesus would have us know is that every church is a mission church and that every member is a missionary. In other words, when it comes to spreading the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, He wants all hands on deck. Because, the need is endless.
But there is a flip side to this. Where there is an endless need there are also endless possibilities. So on the basis of our text what we’d like to concentrate on today is
THE ENDLESS NEED AND THE ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES
for spreading the message of Jesus Christ
This text is almost a manual for mission work. As such we’ll work through it as if it had four chapters, each describing some practical aspect of the work at hand.
Chapter One: The
35 Jesus went through all the towns
and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching 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.”
Let’s note the setting for our Savior’s words. He is busy preaching the good news. In His great love and compassion for mankind, He notes the condition of those who do not know Him. They are described as harassed (by fear, uncertainty, and hopelessness), helpless (i.e., unable to change their spiritual situation on their own), and like sheep without a shepherd (directionless, wandering aimlessly about, and in need of guidance).
That
being said, Jesus also notes the disparity between the number of those who need
Him and the number of those who can do something about it when He remarks: “The
harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”
In view of this, Jesus proposes a solution. He tells His disciples then and now to pray
for workers.
So in this first chapter Jesus identifies the mission: bring relief to the harassed, helpless and directionless masses. That sets the stage for how this is going to be accomplished.
Chapter Two:
The Method
He called his twelve disciples to him and
gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and
sickness. 2 These are
the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his
brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and
Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot,
who betrayed him.
The method for getting mission work accomplished is found in a single word: people. Jesus commissions His disciples and gives them the authority to do miracles in order to authenticate and validate the truthfulness of the message they proclaimed.
The word “disciple” means learner or follower. And that’s what the Twelve were. They had learned from their Master who Jesus was and how He had come to set people free from the guilt of their sin and the impossibility of performing their way into God’s favor. They had been trained in truth through the time and conversations they had with Christ.
And they had followed Him. Recall Peter’s Spirit-produced reply to Jesus when asked if the Twelve wanted to abandon Him: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:68).
Now the followers were to become leaders and the learners, teachers. This is marked by a significant shift in terminology. Initially they are called disciples; now they are called “apostles,” from the Greek word which means to be sent out.
As we hear their names and learn about them in Scripture we cannot help but notice how ordinary they were. They were not the best and the brightest the world had to offer. They were not scholars or royalty, but regular, working class, salt of the earth kind of people. People like us. At least four fishermen, one a tax collector, one a political activist and who knows what else; men of varied occupations and personalities, but men whose devotion to Christ as a group surpassed any individual differences they had.
The method to accomplish the mission: people. What were they to say?
Chapter Three:
The Message
5 These
twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the
Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of
On this missionary journey the Twelve were to concentrate on their countrymen. After his death and resurrection Jesus commanded the message be taken to all nations.
The message, confirmed by the power to do miracles, was simple and straightforward: “The kingdom of heaven is near.” This can be understood a couple of different ways…
In a very obvious, physical sense the kingdom was near because Jesus, true God, King of kings and Lord of lords, was physically among them. The Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament had now entered their time and space.
But in a wider sense the
kingdom of heaven and all that it means – forgiveness of sins through faith
in Jesus Christ and Christ’s subsequent rule in our hearts through His Word,
the promise of living with Him in heaven eternally – is near, meaning it is available, at hand, accessible. Wherever the Gospel is preached, the kingdom of heaven is near.
In other words, the disciples were to talk about Jesus. They were to proclaim sin and grace, Law and Gospel. That was the message they were to spread. Why?
Chapter Four: The Motivation
Certainly the Twelve would carry out their mission because Christ told them to, but Jesus reminds them of something deeper. Freely you have received, freely give. They were not just following instructions; they were responding to God’s amazing grace. They were only passing on to others what had first been given to them in and through Jesus Christ: peace, assurance, confidence, hope.
Let’s apply the four points we’ve just made to our lives today.
#1: The mission of believers is to reach out to the hopeless and helpless who do not know Christ. Those who do not know Christ generally fall into one of two categories. First are those who have never heard of Jesus. Second are those who think they know about Jesus but don’t seem to be interested. Both need to be reached.
The first category is easy to understand. There remain places in our world where the Gospel message is new material. For these situations we do exactly what Jesus told us to do. We pray for workers and support workers. We pray for an increase in mission activity and for the zeal and strength of those presently doing the work.
But what about that second category: those who don’t seem to be interested? Or don’t seem to care. Or don’t want to take the time to find out what Christianity is really all about? Or think its fine for you, but it’s just not their cup of tea. Or have been turned off to Christianity because of a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of what it is?
How are they going to be reached? Same way as the first category…
#2: The method God has chosen to spread His Word to people is through people. In other words, us. We are Jesus’ modern day disciples – schooled and instructed through the time we spend with Him at worship and in His Word. We are the method.
Perhaps you have heard that story (told to make a point; it’s not in the Bible) about Jesus ascending into heaven and being welcomed by all the angels. Gabriel is especially glad to see Him and asks Him now that He’s returned what plan he had to ensure the spread of the Gospel on planet earth. Jesus told him that he entrusted the work to twelve men whom He had spent time with over the last three years. Gabriel became visibly concerned because he knew of the fearfulness and frailty of human beings. So he asked Jesus what would happen if they failed. What was His alternate plan? To which Jesus said: I have no other plan.
We are the plan. Which leads to…
#3: The message we are to proclaim is simple. We proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Lord. This we proclaim certainly by our words when we have the opportunity, yet not only by words, but by actions. We proclaim this message most often not in front of crowds, but in front of individuals in everyday, normal settings.
It comes through loud and clear from the hospitalized Christian who accepts what the Lord has brought into his or her life, confident that God will take care of them. Or the Christian who walks away from the dirty joke or the office gossip. Or the Christian who distinguishes himself or herself at work by not liberally sprinkling their conversation with vulgarities and curse words. It comes through when Christians silently bow their heads and quietly say the table prayer at a restaurant. You get the picture.
By words and actions, we proclaim the message because this is…
#4: Our motivation for sharing: Freely we have received, so freely we give. God in His grace has called us to be His own. And until He takes us to be His own, He has asked us not to change the world, but to simply represent Him well. And perhaps He then will also give us the opportunity to see how He can change someone’s world.
Recently I came across a picture of this statement found in
the front of a
Through word and deed, through actions and attitude, it is our blessed privilege to make Him known. There are endless needs and endless opportunities. Every church is a mission church, and every member a missionary. Amen.