A sermon based on Matthew 9:35-10:8, Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
Chinese Confucian scholar was converted to Jesus Christ. He later explained to his friends why he became a follower of Jesus with a story:
He said to his friends, “A man fell into a dark, dirty, slimy pit…. He tried to climb out of the ditch by himself, but he couldn’t….. He looked up and saw Mr. Confucius, the leader of Confucianism. Confucius came close, saw the man in the pit, and said, ‘Poor man, if only he’d listened to my ethical teachings and followed them, he would’ve never gotten into that pit!’ Then he walked away.”
Later, Mr. Buddha came along and saw the man in the ditch, helpless, broken, and dying. Then he said to him, ‘Poor man, if you’ll try hard by your own efforts and come up here, I’ll help you!’ Then he walked away.”
Then came Mohammed, the founder of Islam. He saw the man in the pit, gasping for his last breath, slowly dying by now. Mohammed said to the man in the pit, ‘Oh, poor man. If only you’d prayed five times daily, given alms to the poor and needy, and just followed the Five Pillars of Islam, you wouldn’t have been in this situation.’
But then came Jesus, the Confucian scholar said to his friends. He saw me in the pit, in my dungeon, already dead. And He said to me, ‘Poor son,’ and He jumped right down into my dungeon, lifted my lifeless body out of the ditch, put me on His shoulders, and brought me up. He knelt over my lifeless body and breathed His life in me!” [John Pollock, A Foreign Devil in China, p. 54]
All religions teach that you can be saved by your own good works, except biblical Christianity. The Apostle Paul says, “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” (Rom 3:20)
Because the truth is, “We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23). In fact, the prophet Isaiah points out that “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags before God…” (Isa 64:6). All of our human righteousness and effort, no matter how good it seems, is not enough before God to put us right with Him…
It is only through Jesus Christ that we can be saved……For He alone bore our sins and died for us on the cross…. Here’s what Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Here’s my point: there are countless people in our cities, neighborhoods, and communities who are yet to experience the saving grace found only in Jesus Christ… and many believe they are going to heaven because they are good enough….
In today’s gospel reading, we see Jesus challenging His disciples, telling them to look beyond themselves, to see beyond the four corners of the church, and to notice the great multitudes of people who are without hope, facing a Christ-less eternity, separated from God forever…Here’s how Jesus describes their spiritual condition: “weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.” They are outside the church, anxiously waiting to hear the good news of the Kingdom…Jesus refers to them as the “Great Harvest!” ready to be harvested.
So, here’s God’s #1 desire for His Church: that we will be a harvest-driven people, seeking to create a disciple-making culture, equipping our people to be an outward-looking community. So, in what should our priorities be rooted in becoming a disciple-making and harvest-minded church?
First, Jesus says, seek to develop a heart of compassion for the lost/harvest.
I. COMPASSION FOR THE “HARVEST” (9:36)
Matthew’s gospel says Jesus was traveling through all the towns and villages of that area, He was teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom…..And he healed many people who were sick with every kind of disease and illness.….But when He saw the crowds, he had compassion…in other words…When He saw the crowds, His heart broke……And Matthew gives us the reason why Jesus’ heart was broken for the multitudes….It says, “because they were confused and helpless…” Other translation says, they were harassed like sheep without a shepherd.”
The original word used here for compassion, literally means “the bowels”…… In ancient Greek, your bowels were considered the seat of your emotions, especially love and pity…… Figuratively, then, to be “moved in the bowels” means to feel deep sympathy, pity, or compassion for another. (Strong 4697)
In fact, the word “pity” is the strongest term used in the NT and is considered the most intense expression of compassion, used only of Jesus in the Gospels.
APP: Are you moved with compassion for those who are spiritually disconnected from God? Does your heart break over people who are spiritually confused, harassed, and helpless? Do the things that break the heart of Jesus also break your heart?
You see, my heart cannot be moved with compassion unless I see people as God sees them….It says, “When Jesus “saw” (that’s the word) the crowds, He was moved with compassion.” (v 36)….Many religious people had seen them only as objects to be exploited….but Jesus sees these people differently….
SI: I met a young lady two weeks ago, and she said… “I’m fed up with church, so disappointed with church. I am not going to church anymore; the church has failed me. I have been hurt… from over five churches that I went to… etc.”
ILL: It says a bald eagle has such exceptionally sharp vision that it can spot it’s prey from up to about 3–5 miles away, while soaring high in the sky. Likewise, we will not be moved with compassion for the lost until we see people from above.
ILL: A man had a dream. In his dream, he entered Heaven. The brightness, angels, singing & rejoicing, the happiness he felt, and most of all – seeing God in all His glory – filled him with heavenly wonder & joy. An angel came up to him and said, “Come, I want to show you something,” and led him to one of the balconies of Heaven. “Look down there,” he pointed. The man saw a dark world: “That’s the world I came from!”
The angel said…He saw the world differently…. By a Dream.”] “What do you see?” “I see multitudes of blindfolded people, many of them going over a cliff (to their destruction).” The angel asked, “Will you stay here and enjoy Heaven, or will you return to earth a little longer and tell them about this beautiful place?” ….The man awoke from his dream, never the same. And he became an ardent witness to the lost! (Changed, Walter Knight’s 3000 Illus., p. 644)
Second, God wants us to devote our time to the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom.
II. PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM (10:5-8)
After Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages declaring the good news of God’s kingdom, in chapter 10, He selected His disciples. Then it says in verses 5-7, “Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: ‘Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, 6 but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. 7 Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
That is the heart of the message: the good news of God’s reign and rule has come.
APP: How are we investing our time, efforts, and resources in reaching those who are confused, harassed, and helpless beyond the walls of our local church? Are we committed to equipping our people and encouraging them to boldly share their faith every day?
APP: Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, America is open to the Gospel…..People are more open to the Gospel….especially the Gen. Z (born 1997-2012)…..they are craving for the spiritual and religion……Read the report in the New York Post, the Christian Post, Axios, and City Journal.
My friend, let’s realize that the harvest is all around us. Connect to a Small Group meeting in your area and reach your community. Let us reach our dying world. That is why we exist as God’s Church.
Third, we must dedicate ourselves to relentless prayer for harvest workers.
III. RELENTLESS PRAYER FOR HARVEST WORKERS (9:38) When Jesus saw these people confused, harassed, and helpless, 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.”
There is a need for our hearts as God’s people to be dedicated to ceaseless prayers that God would raise up harvest church workers. Prayer is the key to our local church aligning itself to the will of God in recognizing and understanding that the laborers are called and sent by the Lord of the harvest, not us.
APP: The enemy is using every means to deceive and to mislead our generation , lying to the confused, harassed, and helpless…..using his own satanic workers to indoctrinate into believing his lies about how they can destroy themselves…..Without faith-inspired prayers, we cannot take on this task…..Only through fervent prayers will we send His workers for the task.
Finally, Jesus wants us to demonstrate His power through…
IV. HEALING AND RESTORATION (10:1, 8)
In 10:1,8,God invites us to participate in His mission of extending His kingdom, even in hostile territories…..This task involves ways to demonstrate His acts of mercy to our broken world…
The mission of the disciples was deeply an act of God’s mercy to restore that which was broken by sin……They are sent to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, and drive out demons (10:8). This is not just about physical healing but about restoring people to wholeness—socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically……The work of healing, restoration, and justice is not confined to Jesus alone; it is entrusted to us, His followers….And this should be our priority as well.
CONCLUSION: Eva Hart, a survivor from the Titanic that sank on April 15, 1912, said, “I saw all the horror of the sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful cries of drowning people.” Only one lifeboat, No. 14, rowed back to the scene after the ship sank and chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few.”
I pray that we will be that one lifeboat to row back to the drowning scene of our society to chase the cries in the darkness, seeking to save a precious few for whom Jesus died.
So, let our priorities be….
- Develop Compassion for the Harvest…..2. Devote to the Proclamation of the Gospel of His Kingdom……3. Dedicate Ourselves to Relentless Prayer for Church Workers…….4. Demonstrate God’s Act of Mercy to our Broken World Through Healing & Restoration.
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