One of the key things we see through the Gospels is that people were hungry for truth, needed to have answers in the midst of their circumstances. Life in rural Palestine was difficult, taxed both by their own religious authorities, and the Roman Authorities, bound by religious and Roman law. Jesus’s compassion on this crowd and his urgent call for workers in the harvest needs to resound to us today.
Matthew 9 vs. 35-38 – Jesus Has Compassion on the Crowd
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
His teaching and preaching, accompanied by signs and wonders had the crowds agog
The good news of the kingdom shown by his healing of every disease and sickness
He was prepared to go to all places big and small and spoke in their synagogues
The Pharisees were threatened by his authority and to him had spiritual blindness
Cocooned by their interpretation of the laws and traditions they in their eyes had logs
Are we indifferent to his kingdom and his power to heal every disease and sickness?
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,
Because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd
Do we see the crowds today and have compassion on them?
Do we need to cry out to him, give us your heart, your eyes to see the need?
A people lost, harassed, helpless without the Spirit in them
Unaware of the need to be in the flock, to be sheep who know the good shepherd
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
The time is coming and now is to stand on his word, and not just sit in a pew
To call out to God empower us to be your harvesters, to you we will come and yield
Our plans, our thoughts, for yours are much higher, greater, let us have your view
For you see the crowds, lost, helpless, harassed, past their veneers all is revealed
To your Spirit, you know all this is about them, may we have your insight and view
We are your sheep, may we hear your voice, step out and reach your harvest field
Mark Maffey, November 2008©
(NIV)