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[0:00] And we're going to continue looking in Matthew's Gospel.! Let's pray.

[0:14] As we already prayed Lord so we pray again that may we see wonderful things out of your law.! For Jesus' sake, Amen.

[0:25] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. We're looking at Matthew chapter 9 verse 35 to 38. We've got a new international version.

[0:38] It says, it's a little paragraph that says the workers are few. Let me ask you as an introduction how you see people.

[0:50] You see a lot of people and what do you think about them when you see them? Oh sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. This is the plan. I don't know why I put this first.

[1:01] Let's do this. How do you see people? That's what I was saying. So if you're walking around at night and you see people, you might think that they're a bit of a threat.

[1:11] And you might try and avoid them. You might see people as threats and dangers. If you're going for a train and it's a crowded station and the train you want to get to is there and there are people in the way, you might see these people as obstacles that you probably want to get past as quickly as possible.

[1:36] You see people as obstacles. If you're driving in town and you're down in Valley Gardens or something like that, you might see people as idiots.

[1:52] That idiot. That's what they, all the person was doing was driving their car. They're an idiot. And you might also see them as traffic. So I'm sorry, I'm late.

[2:04] I'm stuck in traffic. To which the answer is, well, actually you're traffic as well, aren't you? There we are, you see. How you see people and what you, the way you see people says, actually says a lot about you and your situation, doesn't it?

[2:20] Says a lot about you and your situation. Now, how does Jesus see people? And in this section here, Jesus sees people and we're told what he thinks about them.

[2:34] Now, strange enough, he thinks of them as animals and vegetables. He does. He sees them in verse 36 as sheep needing a shepherd.

[2:48] That's what he says, isn't it? They're sheep without a shepherd. He saw the crowds. They were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

[2:59] He sees them as animals. He sees them as sheep without a shepherd. And he also sees them as vegetables. He sees them as a harvest field needing to be harvested. He says the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

[3:12] Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. And I think it's interesting how Jesus sees people. The fact that he sees people as sheep needing a shepherd is a very telling thing about Jesus.

[3:32] And I think it tells us he's somebody quite remarkable. And I think that's a desirable thing about Jesus, that he's the sort of person who doesn't see a load of people as obstacles or idiots.

[3:46] He sees them in this compassionate way as sheep without a shepherd. And the fact that he sees people as harvest is a little less cozy.

[3:59] And I think it actually shows Jesus as rather disturbingly authoritative because he says this is a harvest. I am the Lord of the harvest and I want this harvest brought in.

[4:12] And we say, well, you've never asked us. And he says, I'm not going to ask you. I'm just going to get that harvest in. So there's something here about the way Jesus sees people. And that's what we're going to look at. I'm going to, I hope that we shall particularly see this aspect of sheep without a shepherd.

[4:30] There's something compassionate going on here. So let me do a bit about the context. Jesus, sorry, Matthew is keen to portray Jesus as the key figure in the kingdom of God, which is now, as we go through the gospel, beginning to burst through in various ways, like a powerful earthquake beginning to shake the landscape.

[4:57] And this is the kingdom, the long awaited kingdom, which is now imminent. And Christopher read that, didn't he, that the the 12 disciples go through and they're going to say, as you preach, preach this message, the kingdom of heaven is near.

[5:15] So that's what's happening as we go through Matthew's gospel. We've had a long section. I don't know whether you remember it. The ways of the kingdom, the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus, in some very incisive and radical ways, says this is what the kingdom will be like.

[5:35] In some ways, it's just like you might have expected from if you've studied the Hebrew scriptures. In some ways, it's radically different. And you remember that he pronounces blessings at the beginning.

[5:46] Blessed are the rich, powerful. No, he doesn't say that. Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And so on. And in chapters 8 and 9, which we've been going through, we get these snapshots of the evidence for Jesus as king of the kingdom.

[6:06] Look at the things that he does. He cleanses a leper. He heals a centurion's servant. Actually, he heals many people. He calms a storm.

[6:18] He takes a stormy man and brings him to peace. He takes a paralyzed man and raises him up. He calls the sort of people that you wouldn't have expected him to call. And so on and so on.

[6:29] And you get a bang, bang, bang, bang. The evidence for Jesus as king of the kingdom with his huge authority. And in fact, you will have noticed as we went through those two chapters, he has huge authority and feels perfectly at ease making huge demands on his followers.

[6:48] Let me go back and bury my father, says one would-be follower. And Jesus says, no, follow me. Let the dead bury their dead. This makes this very radical calls.

[7:01] I am lord of all, so if you're going to be my servant, you must totally be my servant. Very challenging. If you're thinking about whether you want to sign up for the Christian life, let me assure you it is as radical as that.

[7:16] Jesus won't let you sign up for, you know, a sort of 50% deal. He says, if you're going to be my follower, it's going to be all or nothing. It is.

[7:27] It's going to be all or nothing. And in the chapters that we were going through, we notice consistently that Jesus operates via some sort of relationship.

[7:41] And as Chris was pointing out last week, wasn't it? That when this relationship is in its sort of fullest state, it seemed to be a relationship of faith.

[7:55] Jesus said, what do you believe about me? What's your assessment of my ability? Do you think I am able to do this? So the king and the kingdom is to do with faith.

[8:08] It's a person-to-person thing. Do you trust me? And again, if you are thinking about becoming a Christian, you can't do it just by something external.

[8:22] The becoming a Christian is a person-to-person relationship with Jesus. On his terms, you know, what he says is the way the relationship operates, is the way the relationship operates.

[8:35] And that's why we listen to what he says, which is what we're doing this evening. And just continuing the context, we will have noticed, end of chapter 9, verse 34, the kingdom is not unopposed.

[8:52] There are other forces at work other than this growingness of the kingdom. And there are opposition forces. And as we go through Matthew's gospel, we find a conflict and a tussle and huge pressures mounting up, which will in the end culminate in the death of the king.

[9:15] And it's there in chapter 9, verse 34, the Pharisees said it is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons. Opposition. And as we get to our passage, we are at a hinge point in the next stage of the advancement of the kingdom.

[9:36] And I've drawn a hinge, just in case you didn't know what a hinge looked like. And we're going to move, now please notice, we're going to move from a catalogue of Messiah's works that he does single-handed, because all those miracles were single-handed, weren't they?

[9:50] It was him and him alone who did those things. And the thought is that we're moving to instructions for multiple workers in the kingdom.

[10:02] And that's where we're going to go as David takes us next week, and then we go on from there. So we're moving, and it's worth noticing this, from what Jesus does single-handedly to something that many people are involved with.

[10:18] And that's where the hinge comes. And I would like to try and make the case for this hinge being made of compassion. I'd like to try and make that case that this hinge is all turns on compassion.

[10:37] So let's look at this. So there were three headings. First of all, Messiah's kingdom actions. So let's read what it says here. 9.35, 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.

[11:01] So these are kingdom actions. I'm sure I have not got, there's something I've missed here, when it says he went through. I'm sure there's a gap there, if I can think of it, or maybe you can think of something later on.

[11:16] I think there's a significance there that I haven't got the hang of. But anyway, he went through all the towns and villages. So you can picture, if you would, Jesus as he makes his way here, there, and so on.

[11:31] And as he goes, he teaches in their synagogues. So he goes to his own people, in their own gatherings, with their own scriptures, and he meets them at that point, and proclaims the kingdom.

[11:48] Preaching the good news of the kingdom. Preaching meaning, not so much doing a monologue, as telling people something that they haven't heard before.

[11:59] It's to be a herald. And he tells them, there's something that you have, there's something new on the scene. It is good news. The kingdom is here.

[12:11] Everything that you have hoped would be fulfilled is beginning to come to its fruition and its fulfillment. He's heralding the good news of the kingdom, and he's healing every disease and sickness.

[12:25] And that's quite a statement, isn't it? I remember the preacher, Dick Lucas, saying in his own inimitable way that all the hospitals must have been emptied for that short period when he was doing this, because every disease and sickness was healed.

[12:43] So if you worked for the NHS in those days, you would have either been put on sabbatical or short hours or something like that, or put to cleaning all the sterilizing equipment, because there weren't any sick people.

[12:54] And what is he doing? This is a little summary, of course. It's a summary of everything we've seen before. It's signs and symptoms of the coming of the kingdom.

[13:09] So I was just sitting next to Vicky, who's not here this evening, is she? Vicky Elubo at lunchtime, and she was telling me with great pleasure of her current experiences.

[13:24] And those of you who know Vicky will know what her current experiences are. Her tummy is considerably bigger than it has been. You know, something's going on there. And she gets kicked from the inside.

[13:35] That's not normal, is it? And, you know, she's starting to like pickled gherkins and not sleep properly. And you think, something's, you know, that's not normal.

[13:49] I haven't had those symptoms. My wife did once, but I, you know, are you pregnant by any chance? Three times.

[14:00] Yes. Correction. I stand corrected. Three times. You know, something is going on in there. And there are signs on the surface.

[14:11] And when you put two and two together, you see there's something really powerful going on. And as Jesus does these things, preaches, teaches, heals, you think, that's not normal.

[14:23] You know, what's going on under there? There's something under the surface quite powerfully happening. And we're seeing the signs of it on the surface. And Jesus is showing, through these actions, the coming of the kingdom.

[14:39] So, number one, we have Messiah's kingdom actions. And we then have Messiah's kingly perception.

[14:50] So, verse 36, when he saw the crowds, when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them.

[15:02] Because, they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He sees the crowds, he has compassion on them, because they're like sheep without a shepherd.

[15:17] Now, let's just stop on this, having compassion. Because I think this is a big thing. So, one way to do it is think, all the things it doesn't say. It doesn't say, there were all the crowds, but Jesus wasn't that bothered.

[15:35] It doesn't, it doesn't quote Jesus as saying, do I look as if I care? He doesn't say that, because he has compassion on these people.

[15:46] It's not indifference. It's not disgust. Because, it doesn't say, Jesus was disgusted, when he saw them.

[15:57] And he said, get them out of my sight. It doesn't say that. It doesn't say that. It doesn't say, it's not a reaction of control, or force.

[16:10] These people need bringing into line. It doesn't say that. It says, Jesus saw them, and he had compassion on them. He didn't see them as something to be avoided.

[16:26] How can I get away from these people, as quickly as possible? You know, they're ignorant. They are, if you're in a Hindu society, you say they're low caste people. They push and shove.

[16:37] They don't take any notice, of what I say to them really. They don't get it. How can I avoid them? It doesn't say that. He could have said things like that, couldn't he? But what it says is, he saw these crowds.

[16:55] And he had compassion on them. I think that's a very remarkable thing. Now, my counting went wrong. I thought it was three times, in Matthew's Gospel, that he has compassion, but I don't think that's correct.

[17:12] It is said of him, at the feeding of the 5,000, which is Matthew 14, 14, when Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

[17:28] In 1532, at the feeding of the 4,000, 1532, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion for these people.

[17:42] They've already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way. And in 1827, I think this is the two notices, 1827 is the story of the debtor, and the one to whom he owed a huge debt, and the one to whom he owed the debt, in 1827.

[18:09] It says, the servant's master took pity on him, and cancelled the debt, and let him go. He forgave that huge debt, out of compassion.

[18:23] Do you know, I remember going to some lectures, by a very, very clever, Bible teaching man, R.T. France, and he led a prayer meeting, and I thought, you know, this is going to be, you know, I'm going to get a Greek and Hebrew, coming out of my ears, by the time he's finished leading this.

[18:41] And what he actually said was, I'd like us to think about those few words, in that passage, where it says, I forgave you all that debt. The servant, the servant's master had compassion, and forgave him all that debt.

[18:56] Isn't that a powerful thing to think about? And the Lord, that's how we're to understand our relationship with the Lord. I forgave you all that debt. The master who had compassion, and forgave him all that debt.

[19:10] And it's also in 2034, chapter 20, verse 34, with two blind men, who say they want to receive their sight. And it says in verse 34, Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes.

[19:25] So I think it would be fair to say, that the compassion that Jesus shows, is not a blip, but a consistent feature, of the way he responds to people.

[19:37] And we can say, he is not just compassionate occasionally, but that's part of his character, to be compassionate. It comes from the word, or a word to do with guts, so your tummy, so where you feel, so perhaps if you feel anxiety, you might feel it in your tummy, so when you feel compassion, you might feel that in your tummy, or in your guts, or perhaps linked with the womb, of the woman in which all the maternal instincts lie, the sense of compassion for a child.

[20:16] And some of us, went to, one of the first SGP conferences, where, do you remember going to that? Where the chap from St. Helens Bishopsgate, preached on, it was William Taylor, who preached on, gut-wrenching compassion.

[20:38] I don't know if anybody remember that, but he preached, and he said, this is what Jesus has, as he looks out on the world, gut-wrenching compassion. Such a powerful thing, is stated in these verses.

[20:53] This is the Jesus who wept over Jerusalem, and I ask the question, whether we are at all like him in this. Because he would have us be like him in this, wouldn't he?

[21:10] He would have us be people, who look out on crowds, and not see them as idiots or obstacles, but to look with compassion. And I suppose you could take it a little bit further, and say, if we haven't got the hang of this, we really haven't got the hang of much, in the Christian life at all, have we?

[21:29] We haven't learnt much from the Saviour, if we haven't learnt, what compassion is. So if not, well, if not, then what?

[21:41] So Messiah's kingly perception. And let's just take this a little bit further. He sees these people as being harassed and helpless. So I get myself back to Matthew chapter 9.

[21:53] They are harassed and helpless. Look at those words. The harassed word is a word that means, like, troubled, got at.

[22:06] I suppose if you were surrounded by mosquitoes, trying to eat you, in the twilight of a hot country, you would be harassed by mosquitoes. Get off, get off, get off. Like that. They're harassed, all sorts of things getting at them.

[22:19] And Jesus can see this. And they're helpless. The idea behind this is that they're tossed about. Now, Facebook, it says, specifically, select videos for me to watch.

[22:34] I don't believe a word of it, because I look at the videos, and all sorts of strange things, that's specifically selected, suitable for me to watch. But one of the things that it says, I'd really like to see, is this one on a fairground ride, where there are people, you know, let's imagine it's one of these things that drop, drops, really suddenly.

[22:53] Do you know these, these fairground rides that do that? And they put a camera there, and there's two people, who are just sort of laughing, and smiling, and saying, this can't be that bad, can it? And then suddenly, they get dropped, and they go all over the place like this, as well, tossed around, and they look extremely comical.

[23:10] Mind you, of course, I wouldn't watch a video like that, to the end. Anyway, these people are harassed, and they are tossed about. They're just all over the place, and Jesus sees the world around, he sees his world, and no doubt he sees our world as well, of people who are got at, and thrown around in all directions, and Jesus has compassion on them.

[23:39] Jesus notices this. And I think it's interesting, what he does notice, because you could easily say, he noticed their guilt. I'm sure he does.

[23:50] Or he noticed their sin. And Jesus is not blind, to people's sin. But what's said here, is he noticed their human condition.

[24:00] What it's like to be, on the receiving end, of being in a world like we are, without a saviour. Knocked about. Nowhere to turn to.

[24:12] Tossed this way and that. No stability. And he says, I feel so sorry for these people. I feel compassion for them. And it's said, that he sees them as sheep, without a shepherd.

[24:35] Now, that stands alone. You know what sheep are like. You know what a shepherd's like. But actually, there's a little bit more to it, than what stands alone. If you're, a Bible looking up person, please get your Bible ready.

[24:48] Because these are quotes, or this is a quote, from a number of places. So, Numbers 27, would be the first place, that this is a quote from.

[24:59] So, to go back into the Old Testament. Don't worry, if you can't find it. So, I'm going to read it, all being well. Numbers 27, from verse 15.

[25:12] So, this is Moses, who has been told, he can no longer lead the people, and somebody else must take them, into the promised land. Excuse me.

[25:26] Numbers 27, 15, Moses said to the Lord, May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community, to go out, and come in before them, one who will lead them, out, and bring them in, so that the Lord's people, will not be, like sheep, without a shepherd.

[25:46] So the Lord said to Moses, take Joshua, son of Nun, and lay your hand on him. So, that sheep without a shepherd, is thinking of, when they didn't have Moses, and Joshua is appointed, to lead them into the promised land.

[26:05] Let's, do the next one. 1 Kings 22, 1 Kings 22, verse 17, is a vision of, what judgment will do, to God's people, when they're defeated, in battle.

[26:35] And the prophet Micaiah says, this is what it will look like. 1 Kings 22, 17, Micaiah said, I saw all Israel, scattered on the hills, like sheep, without a shepherd.

[26:49] And the Lord said, these people have no master, let each one go home in peace. So here's a picture of, the nation, suddenly all in chaos, because they've got no leadership, they've got no king, specifically.

[27:04] And, therefore, they're not gathered, they're scattered. And they don't have any direction, or protection. And, they're like sheep, without a shepherd. And, there's one other, reference, worth looking at, which is, in Ezekiel 34.

[27:23] Which is, more or less, the same, situation, of, people, under judgment, people, lost, people going off, in all directions.

[27:36] And, if we just pick out, of this quite long, section, Ezekiel 34, verse 11. Ezekiel 34, verses 11 to 16.

[27:49] God says, this is what, the sovereign Lord says, I myself, will search for my sheep, and will look after them.

[28:00] As a shepherd looks after his scattered sheep, when he is with them, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them, from all the places, where they were scattered, on a day of clouds, and darkness.

[28:12] I will bring them out, from the nations, and gather them, from the countries, and I will bring them, into their own land. And I will pasture them, on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements, in the land.

[28:24] I will tend them, in a good pasture, and the mountain heights, of Israel, will be their grazing land. They will lie down, in good grazing land. They will feed, in a rich pasture, on the mountains of Israel.

[28:37] I myself, will tend my sheep, and make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost, and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured, and strengthen the weak, but the sleek, and the strong, I will destroy.

[28:53] I will shepherd the flock, with justice. And there's God himself, sort of in a rather, what's the word, indignant way, saying, all the other shepherds, have failed.

[29:06] And this is what's happened, to my people. They've got scattered. They're all over the place. I am going to go, and get them. I will bring them back. I'll shepherd them myself. Sort of, in brackets, because nobody else, seems to be making, any sort of good job of it.

[29:22] I'll shepherd them myself, and I'll bring them back. And there'll be one flock, and one shepherd, and I'll place over them, my servant David, is what it goes on to say. So, I think this is all, in the background, as Jesus, sees these people, as sheep, without a shepherd.

[29:40] shepherd. He must surely have, these things in mind. And he's saying, what they need, is, a good shepherd.

[29:55] What they need, is a, the sort of shepherd, that the Lord himself is. The Lord's my shepherd. shepherd. A king, who will serve them, by gathering them, and protecting them, and they will no longer be, harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

[30:18] And when you begin to think about it, that way, it's a really large statement, that Jesus is making. I'm going to fit into that gap, that is left, by all the, false shepherds, and the human shepherds, and I'm going to shepherd them, as the Lord himself.

[30:36] So this is how he sees the situation. The Messiah's kingly perception. Number three. The Messiah's delegating reaction. Now, he sees them as sheep, without a shepherd.

[30:51] Yeah? Verse 36. He sees them as sheep, without a shepherd. And you think, what's the therefore, going to be? What's he then going to do? So, you would assume, that he's then going to say, they're like sheep, without a shepherd, so I will shepherd them.

[31:16] That's pretty much, what you'd expect him to say, isn't it? I'm the shepherd, they're the sheep, I'll shepherd them. That's what's going to happen. But it isn't. It isn't what happens, is it?

[31:28] He says to his disciples, and you can see it yourself, verse 37, he says to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.

[31:42] Ask the Lord of the harvest, to send labourers into his harvest. The harvest is much, the workers are few. pray the Lord of the harvest, to send out, the word is rather a strong word, sort of kick out, push out, labourers, workers into the harvest field.

[32:02] And this is a fascinating reaction, it seems to me. Stop to think about it, it's not what you would expect. They lack a shepherd, that's the thing that they lack, they lack a king, they lack a real person, who will care for them, and has the power to, to bring them back, and look after all these people, they lack a shepherd.

[32:22] The shepherd can protect them, from being harried, and harassed, and he can stabilise them, from being thrown about. They're without a ruling king, but Jesus says, the way to resolve this problem, will need a considerable number of people, on the ground, to work in this field.

[32:48] That seems to me to be, a change of direction. They need a shepherd, therefore I need some labourers. And he's moving from, a single handed operation, to a delegated operation.

[33:05] And it's showing us, that the king, works his kingdom, through, people. Through delegates. He's going to delegate this work, share it out, pass it on, and he's going to get, his disciples, in on the act.

[33:25] Now it's a thing about God, isn't it? That he loves, to get us in on the act. God has power, to convert, anybody he wants, instantaneously, without using us at all.

[33:41] But he, likes to use us. Which is a thing. And he even says, I know what I'm going to do, but I'd actually like you, to ask me to do it.

[33:54] That's what he says, isn't it? Therefore, ask, the Lord of the harvest, to send out workers, into his harvest field. He's referring to himself, and the workers, are the people, who pop up in the next verse, he called his 12 disciples.

[34:08] It doesn't even, show us, the, the actual act of prayer, that he's responding to. But he says, I would like, there to be an act of prayer, which I will respond to. There we are, I've just responded to it already.

[34:20] Here are these 12 people, that I'm calling. Whoops, I thought there was more on that screen, than that. But, he, he gets us in, on the act.

[34:31] Let's continue with this. He designs, to work, via, his disciples, askings. So let's, ponder that bit. That's prayer.

[34:42] Askings, meaning, he tells them to ask. He's the Lord of the harvest. He could do it, any way he wants.

[34:52] But he says, I would actually like you to ask me about this. Here's a great big harvest, in Brighton and Hove. And, we could, if we can put it this way, the Lord says, yeah, certainly, but I would like you to ask me about that, actually.

[35:12] That's what prayer is. That's what having a prayer meeting is, isn't it? Like we had the other, Sunday evening, at Park Hill, and we prayed, for, the work, of the gospel, in, East Brighton, Mid Brighton, Jesus says, I would like you to ask me about this.

[35:30] Then I'll do it. I'm going to, but I'd like to be asked. Ask the Lord of the harvest. And who is the Lord of the harvest? Who owns the harvest fields? Well, of course, it's Jesus. It's his harvest.

[35:43] You notice the way that he's so, like he does on so many occasions, without any sort of embarrassment, or hesitation, says, I'm the Lord of the harvest, of course. My harvest doesn't stop to qualify that, or justify it.

[35:58] He just assumes that that's the case. And what prayer is to be prayed, and what action is to be sought? Well, the specific prayer is, that the Lord of the harvest would send out laborers.

[36:11] I'm sure that's not the only prayer that can be prayed, but I think it's not without significance, that that is the specific prayer, that he says. He specifically says, ask the Lord of the harvest, to send laborers into the harvest.

[36:26] Now, I think we could do far worse, than actually do what he says. We could actually pray that prayer, couldn't we? Lord Jesus, it's your harvest. Will you send out laborers, into Bevendine, into Moolskam?

[36:41] Will you send out laborers, into Ashton Rise? Will you send out your people, into Queen's Park? Lord, will you send out people, into Hollingdean, and Hollingbury?

[36:55] Will you send out laborers, into this harvest? And the Lord says, ask me about that. And, in this, as we can see it, that's exactly what he does, to the next verses, are this, exactly happening.

[37:15] Whoops. So, the law, the Messiah's delegating, reaction. He has compassion, he says, send out laborers. That's the sequence of it, isn't it?

[37:27] And the laborers, in this case, are the twelve apostles. Apostles means, sent ones, and I'm going to be careful, because David's going to take us, through that next week. Now, let me ask the question, there are twelve of these guys, yes?

[37:41] Do you think, this principle, extends beyond these twelve? Okay, my wife says yes. It was a sort of, rhetorical question actually. Let me, let's just, ask the question, a little bit further.

[37:57] The exact passage says, there's a big harvest, here are twelve people, that I appoint, to go as laborers.

[38:09] I think, I think those people, have a specific role, and we'll leave this to David, for next week, but I, it can't be the case, it can't be the case, that, all the harvest, that Jesus intends, is looked after, by just those twelve people, who are now dead anyway.

[38:31] It can't work like that, can it? Would you like to turn, to the end, of Matthew's gospel, Matthew 28, excuse me, Matthew 28, 19, sorry, 18, Matthew 28, 18.

[38:53] Then Jesus came, to the disciples, and said, all authority, in heaven, in heaven, and on earth, has been given to me, therefore, go, and make disciples, of all nations, baptizing them, in the name, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them, to obey everything, I have commanded you, and surely, I am with you, always, to the very end, of the age.

[39:26] Just to take, one simple point, from that, Jesus says, go to all the nations, so he's including, China, and India, and Italy, and Spain, except some of them, haven't been invented yet, but he means all nations, and it is impossible, that just twelve people, could do that, it must, have repercussions, that go on, to another layer, of delegation, and another set of people, and another generation, so this, I would deduce from this, that the principle, covers, more than just those, twelve people, and I would say, that, it is still, ongoing, to pray the Lord, of the harvest, to send laborers, into the harvest, I would say, it is still, ongoing, for him, to be sending people, and indeed, it is vital, that he sends people, isn't it,

[40:27] I would say, Lord, send, people, who can, preach, your word, and make known, the things, of your kingdom, raise up, different people, with different gifts, but raise them up, send them out, particularly, raise up, leaders, for your people, so that they are not like, sheep without a shepherd, and that is a thing, perhaps in a moment, we can actually pray that prayer, he likes to involve us, in this, and one of the ways, he involves us, is to, get us praying, and another way, is that some of us, he will send, because the very people, that he asked, to pray the prayer, were the very people, who ended up sending, now then, have I got one more click, I don't think I have actually, so let's leave that up, on the screen, because, I meant to say, it's still, the thing, to pray, because it's still, the thing, that he sends, because he is still, the one, who sees people, and has compassion, on them, that's where, that's where it all comes from, isn't it, he has compassion, therefore, pray, therefore, he sends, so that he can have this harvest, because he has compassion, let's stop there,

[41:51]  I will click in case, ah, it was there, yeah, Jesus still has compassion,