And we're going back into Matthew's Gospel this morning. And so before the summertime, if
! you can remember that we reached Matthew chapter 9 and verse 34. And we're going to pick up
! that this morning from verse 35 to chapter 10 and verse 15. It's a Thursday morning. You've
got to be up early for a meeting in the city. But you've slept in late. So you gobble breakfast
down. You run to the bus stop. And it's absolutely packed because it's rush hour. There's a real
scrum. As the doors open, you manage to get on to the E1. You get to Ealing Broadway and
it's no better. You're faced with that great conundrum. Do you go Heathrow Connect to Paddington?
Oh, it's not called that anymore, is it? Or do you go Central Line? And so you go for
the train to Paddington. You manage to somehow miraculously get a seat. But there's people
standing in your face. There's a man with a satchel who every time he turns around hits
you in the chops. And when you get to Paddington, you go to the underground and there's that horrific
moment where you are waiting to go through the ticket barrier and nobody can get out. And
they've managed to shut the food station from any more people getting in. And so you're
trapped there. Just standing there. In typical British fashion. You go on the tube and there's
a man next to you who is far too close with personal hygiene issues. If you're meeting, it's
okay. It's a normal prostrating meeting. But then you have to go to see your friends
in Reading later that evening. You go to Paddington and it's six o'clock and yet there are a group
of men who are in their late twenties who've been drinking since lunchtime. There's games
and songs. You finally make it back to Elyle and Broadway about 9.30 at night. You feel
very exhausted. And as you get out of the tube station, there are people already there staggering
a little bit worse for wear. The atmosphere is a bit aggressive. You feel unsafe. You get
home. You kick off your shoes. You lie on the sofa. There's a phone call from your friend.
He tells you he's got some really sad news that his marriage is breaking up. And that he's
the one that had the affair. It's his own fault. You cannot believe that he's been so stupid.
So you flick on the telly. The news is on. There's a woman who's been neglecting her children
and yet she's been claiming benefits of £45,000 per year. On days like that, if you had one
word to describe how you feel towards other people, what would that word be?
Just think of that one word. What would that one word be? How you feel towards other people?
Have you got that word? Jesus says, now is the time for compassion. Compassion. Now is the
time for compassion because they are like sheep without a shepherd. Verse 35 is a drum that
Matthew keeps on beating. He says that Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease
and every affliction. And Jesus is preaching the kingdom. He is saying God's long promised
king has come. And in God's long promised kingdom, everything was going to be restored how it was
meant to be. And so there will be no more tears and no more suffering. And Jesus goes around and he
heals every disease. He is saying God's long promised kingdom has come and I am God's long promised king.
And I have power and authority to fix a broken world. Do you see what I'm doing? Do you see who I am?
So chapter 8 and 9 if you remember them, they just zoom in, don't they, on a couple of days, two or three days in Jesus' ministry.
And we see what was it like? What is the new kingdom going to be like? Well he forgives the man his sins.
He has a meal with a tax collector. He has a debate with a Pharisee. He raises a dead girl.
He heals a sick woman. He gives sight to a woman that was blind. He sets someone free from the grip of evil.
He goes around fixing broken lives. And verse 35 is telling us as we read that, this is just a sample of what Jesus did everywhere.
Do you see what it says? Wherever he went. And he went through, verse 35, all the cities and all the villages.
Get your head around that. According to Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, there are about 204 towns and villages.
In the region. And the smallest of those towns and villages had 15,000 people living in them.
So imagine what it takes to go around 204 towns and villages, day after day, packed with the sort of things we read in chapter 8 and 9.
Everywhere he went, crowds swarmed around him. They pushed and they jostled him.
Everyone wanted something from him. Everyone had a question for him to answer. A sickness to be dealt with.
He was dealing with people the whole time. Crowds the whole time. Religious teachers. Local rulers. Little children. Tax collectors. Prostitutes.
People who no one else would even touch. And as we've seen, Jesus takes the time.
He takes the time to speak to them personally. He looks them in the eye. He listens to their story.
And in between people seeing people like that, he would stand up and he'd preach.
For hours at a time.
And so it's no wonder, is it, that we read of him feeling so tired that he falls asleep in the back of a boat.
And at the end of chapter 8, he says, he had nowhere to lay his head.
Just kept down wherever he could.
And so many times, he was just nodding off and then somebody else was at the door wanting to see him.
It was a mystery, non-stop, of people, people, people.
Loading him down with sorrows.
Casting their burdens before him.
Crying out for help. Now how does that feel?
How does he feel about all these people?
Well, if it was us, if it was me, I'd have enough of them.
But look how he feels in verse 36.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them.
Because they were harassed and helpless like sheep.
Without a shepherd.
He had compassion on them.
It's actually a really strong word.
He is moved in the inner core.
It's like his guts are wrenched by them.
Why?
Well, it tells us because they were harassed and helpless.
Literally flayed and torn to pieces.
They were helpless.
Whipped from all sides.
They don't know where the next blow is coming from.
There's nothing that they can do to protect themselves.
Why?
Well, because they are like sheep without a shepherd.
And that is a phrase that's really rich in Old Testament history.
Sheep without a shepherd.
In the Old Testament, the Lord described his people as his sheep.
And he appoints leaders to be their shepherd.
To care for them.
We don't see today, do we, why the role of shepherds is so important.
Most sheep, when we're driving along the motorway, there's sheep on the hillside, aren't there?
But there's never a shepherd.
I asked the children in school, have any of them seen a shepherd?
And none of them have.
None of them had seen a shepherd.
There's not much sign of shepherds in London.
Why?
Well, not in London, but in England.
Because, isn't it, it's a rainy country.
As I think we're probably experiencing just on the left.
It's a rainy country.
And so there's loads of grass.
There's loads of green grass.
You don't have to hunt for grass.
You just let the sheep in the field and let them go.
You probably don't have wolves in this country.
And so you don't need a shepherd to fight off the wolves.
But if you were in the Middle East, your whole life depended on the shepherd leading you to green pastures.
And water.
Sheep in the middle of those long, hot summers.
When water was hard to find.
And along the way, you'd cross rocky terrain.
And if you got lost, if you got caught in a thicket, your shepherd would come and would rescue you.
And if wolves came, your shepherd would stay and protect you.
Or would he run away and leave you?
God's people were like sheep without a shepherd.
And they were ripped to pieces.
They were hurting.
They were desperately lost.
And not just because it was their own stupid fault.
Not just because they kept getting caught up in the thicket.
But because their shepherds, the very people that were supposed to look after them, weren't looking after them.
And the religious leaders didn't show them the way to go.
And so when Jesus looks at the grim-faced crowds barging their way through Oxford Street.
Or when he sees the supporters going into Wembley Stadium.
Or clubbers worse for wear on a Saturday night.
Or gangs who fight with knives.
His first emotion is not daily male outrage.
In his compassion.
He doesn't say it's their own stupid fault.
Leave them to it.
They've been badly let down.
Where are the shepherds?
Where are the fathers?
Where are the church leaders?
The political leaders?
Who has cared for them?
Who has shown them the way to go?
They've been left to the wolves.
But back in the Old Testament, the Lord made a promise, didn't he?
He made a promise that he would come.
And that he would come and be the shepherd of his sheep.
Prophet Ezekiel, there's a beautiful thing.
He says, I will come and I will gather up my lost.
And I will bind up the injured.
And I will strengthen the weak.
And I will lead them to good pasture.
And I will come and I will take care of my sheep.
And that is what he promises.
And that is exactly what Jesus is doing in Matthew 8 and 9.
That's why he goes tirelessly from one town to the next town.
And he says, I'm here.
I've come for you.
It's alright.
I've come to bind up your wounds.
It seems to me that we often talk about what Jesus has achieved for us.
And the salvation he has won for us.
And it is mind-blowing.
But what has really struck me in these chapters in Matthew is the window that we get into his heart.
It's not just what he's done, as wonderful as that is, but what he's like.
And so maybe this morning you think of yourself as someone in the crowd.
Someone whose life has been torn to pieces.
And you feel rather lost.
And you don't know which way to turn.
And you maybe think that Jesus is going to be outraged at you.
And you think that he will look down his nose at you.
And he'll have no time for you.
No, look at what it's like.
Look at what he's like.
He has compassion on you.
He's saying to you this morning, I am the shepherd you need.
I've come to take care of you.
And the movement in this passage, and the movement in Matthew's Gospel as a whole,
Matthew shows us Jesus' mission,
and then he shows us that Jesus' mission continues through his followers.
So when we think about the crowds in Ealing,
when we think of the people closer to home,
when we think of our boss who we work with,
who's so difficult,
when we think of that mum at the school gate,
who's just always talking about herself,
when we think about our neighbour who is so grumpy,
when we think of that relative who is always stirring up trouble in our family,
if we're following Jesus,
we will feel as Jesus feels.
And not disdain,
but compassion for these people.
We are so quick to think,
don't we?
I am so quick to think,
it is their own stupid fault.
And we'll leave it at that.
And Jesus just reminds us
that they are lost
because they don't have a shepherd.
Don't think of them as people
that just need a good telling off.
Think of them as people
who need a good shepherd,
who needs Jesus desperately.
It is a time for compassion.
Secondly,
it's a time for prayer.
That's verse 37.
A time for prayer.
Then he said to his disciples,
the harvest is plentiful,
but the labourers are few.
Therefore,
pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest
to send out labourers into his harvest.
He could have said,
couldn't he,
there's thousands and thousands
of lost sheep
who need a shepherd to round them up.
And who is going to go after them?
That would have worked,
wouldn't it?
But he changes the image.
He changes the image
from sheep to crops.
And what he's saying is this,
the crops are ripe.
There is a massive harvest out there
that needs to be gathered in.
And the Old Testament
looked forward to the day
when the Lord would gather his people
into his kingdom.
And Jesus is saying,
the time has come.
And it's not just a handful
of religious types
who need bringing into God's barn,
as it were.
There are millions and millions
of people who need to be gathered
into the harvest of God.
And the harvest is plentiful,
but the workers are few.
In other words,
there are not many people
to go out and gather them in.
And I think we don't believe Jesus.
Unless we...
Because when we look at our city,
and when we look at
the crowds going into the rugby,
and when we look at the kids
in the playground of our schools,
and when we get on the tube
in the morning,
and there's just hundreds
and hundreds and hundreds
of people,
we don't think of them
as ripe and ready for harvest.
To be gathered in.
What do we think of them as?
We think of them as not interested.
They're not really interested
in Jesus.
We look to China,
or we hear about China,
and we hear about millions
of people becoming Christians.
We look at the revivals
in Africa or South America.
And maybe we think
the harvest is plentiful there,
but it's not plentiful here.
Not in London.
When we think of our city,
we think of it often
as a spiritual desert.
We think maybe there's not much
call for Christian workers
around these parts.
There's no harvest to bring in.
But the image of harvest
is not whether people
feel ripe or not.
Jesus says
they are like ripe crops.
As a matter of fact,
that is what they are like.
Because the point about
ripe crops is that
you can't leave ripe crops
out of the field,
can you?
You need to go and
gather them into the barn
before they perish.
And Jesus is saying
there are millions
and millions of people
out there,
and you just can't
leave them out there.
You need to go
and gather them
into the kingdom of God.
But there are not many
workers to get them.
Verse 38.
Not verse 38,
verse 37.
Therefore pray earnestly
to the Lord of the harvest
to send labourers
out into his field.
And we see how
Jesus' followers
get involved in
Jesus' mission.
And it's very beautiful.
He doesn't say,
he doesn't say,
the harvest is ripe,
the harvest is plentiful,
the workers are few,
there's loads to do,
so it's all down to you.
Go on,
get out there,
good luck.
We're not told,
are we,
just to get on with it.
The workers are few,
so,
ask the Lord of the harvest.
The first thing to note
is just that,
is that he is the Lord
of the harvest.
It is God's harvest.
He is in charge
of the whole operation.
But amazingly,
and wonderfully,
God gets us involved
in his plans.
And getting involved
starts when we pray.
When we pray.
I had a discussion
this week
about prison ministry,
about us
going into Wormwood Scrubs.
And I spoke to somebody
from Daylight Prison Ministries,
a brilliant organisation.
And he says,
it's quite difficult
to get in,
but there may be
opportunities next year.
And he said to me,
it may seem a little thing,
but pray for opportunities
in prison ministries.
He said,
because we've noticed
that when we pray
for opportunities,
the Lord gives them.
So simple, isn't it?
Lord, please send workers
into the harvest field
to bring people
into your kingdom.
I hope that as we
move into a new building,
we will see people
coming to the church.
As elders,
we are praying
and seeking the Lord
as well about
whether we can plant
another congregation
in a kind of
Axbridge area.
But get this
from this passage,
the first thing
we've got to do
is pray.
To pray that God
would raise up people
in our church family
and in the Axbridge area
who will bring in
the harvest.
I love the story
of St. Helens Bishopsgate
in the city.
Most of you will know it
as a very,
very large church.
But it all started
when a group of
businessmen
in the early 60s
began to meet
to pray.
There were about
seven or eight of them.
They wanted to reach
the city
so they prayed.
And they asked then
a very young man
called Dick Lucas
to come and give
a series of talks
in a church building.
It wasn't being used.
The talks went down well.
They ran for two months.
And then a post
came up in a church
for the vicar
of a church called
St. Helens
and they prayed
that he would be appointed.
It was a long shot.
Dick Lucas was
a rank outsider
but he was appointed.
And like every
great work of God
it was traceable
back to people
praying.
Praying,
Lord,
we long for people
to be brought
into your kingdom
but the Lord
of the harvest
is huge
and there's not
many of us
and so please
send more workers
because without workers
we'll never get
the harvest in.
And so we tend
to look at London
and think
there's not much
of a crop
to be brought in.
We're discouraged.
We think people
are not interested.
There's nothing to harvest.
But Jesus says
no,
there is plenty
to be harvested.
The harvest
is plentiful.
The reason why
not much has been
brought into the barns
is there aren't
enough workers
going out
and bringing them in.
Fifty years ago
China didn't look
ripe to this.
All the missionaries
have been kicked out.
looked like the end
that God's people
prayed.
And the Lord
has raised up
workers to bring
in the harvest
and if we would
follow Jesus
we must have a heart
like Jesus.
And Jesus longs
for people to be
brought into his kingdom.
So the first move
will be to pray
for more workers.
More workers
in our schools,
more workers
in our offices,
more workers
in our streets,
more workers
in our hospitals,
more workers
in our prisons.
Pray that the Lord
would raise up
workers who are
bold enough
to say the time
has come.
And when I say
workers,
don't think
full time
Christian ministry.
Don't think that.
What is
these workers
that he's talking
about?
They are workers
who are bold
enough to say
the time has come,
God's King is here,
come into the kingdom.
And we can pray
with confidence,
can't we,
this morning?
We don't have to
twist the Lord's
arm on this,
it's a prayer
the Lord is longing
to answer
because he is
the Lord of the
harvest and it
is his harvest.
So,
let's be people
who want to be
part of what
God is doing.
Which means
when we look
at our family
or our school
friends or our
city or the
places we work
in, we are going
to pray,
Lord send more
workers and it's
a prayer that he
longs to answer.
Pray it and watch
how he answers it
because he will.
And of course
people who pray
for more workers
to be sent
often end up
being sent
themselves.
Because where
our prayers go
our hearts follow.
And where our
hearts go so often
do our hands
and our heads
and our feet.
Which leads me
to the third point,
time for compassion,
time for prayer,
and then thirdly
time for evangelism.
Time for evangelism.
Let me just
clarify what I
think that is.
Evangelism is
telling other
people about
the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Jesus is the
Jewish Messiah.
And it may be
that you're very
suspicious about
this.
It may be that
you're very
nervous of this
tell all the
world kind of
thing.
Why do
Christians think
that they need
to go imposing
their views on
everyone else?
Or you think,
well I do
follow Jesus
but it just
wouldn't occur
to me to tell
someone else
to come into
the kingdom.
It just seems
so presumptuous
and so arrogant.
Well in this
next little bit
we begin to see
the logic of
why everyone
needs to know.
There's a lot
in verses 1-15
of chapter 10.
I'm going to
try and steer
the main road
through it.
And Jesus is
describing the
specific mission
that he sent
his 12 disciples
on.
And it's a
mission to
Jewish people.
So if you
look at verse
6 it says
and tell the
lost sheep
of Israel.
Go tell them
that the king
that they've
been waiting
for has come.
And in this
17 onwards
really that is
the longer term
mission to
the non-Jews
to the Gentiles
to the rest
of the world.
That's going to
be carried out
not just by the
12 but by
Christians
throughout all
the ages.
So if you
want verses
1-16 lay a
foundation and
verse 17
from verse 17
almost what
we'll see is
the fact that
Jesus is the
Jewish Messiah
and that is
the reason the
whole world
needs to know.
So let's look
at verses 1-16.
They underline
why he's the
Jewish Messiah.
He's been
talking to his
disciples in
general and
then in
chapter 12
chapter 10
verse 1 he
calls the
12 disciples.
And again
the Old
Testament looked
forward didn't
it?
It looked
forward to
the time
when the
scattered
people would
be made
truly gods
again.
And belong
to Jesus.
Now you
remember Israel
was founded
wasn't it?
On 12
tribes.
And Jesus
is reforming
the people
of God
here.
He is
reforming
people of
God
not on the
12 tribes
but on his
12 disciples.
And he's
saying do you
want to be
part of the
people of
God?
Well you've
got to
follow me.
And the
Lord is
gathering up
in this
passage his
scattered
people.
He's
gathering them
all together
and he's
gathering them
around me
himself.
And Jesus
says go tell
the lost
sheep of
Israel I
come.
And the
message that
you're to
go with is
verse 7.
It is this
the kingdom
of heaven is
at hand.
It's here.
It's exactly
the same
message that
he's been
preaching.
And the
miracles that
he gives
them power
and authority
to perform
well that's
in verse 8
isn't it?
For they
are to
heal sick
raise the
dead
cleanse the
lepers
cast out
demons.
It's exactly
the same
miracles he's
been performing.
In other
words they
are going
to Jewish
people who
are waiting
for the
signs of
the Messiah.
The King.
They've been
waiting for
Jesus to
come and
Jesus says go
show them
the signs that
I've come.
And then
he says
verse 9
Acquire no
gold or
silver or
copper for
your belts.
No bag for
your journey
or tunics or
sandals or
staff.
For the
labourer
deserves his
food.
And whatever
the town or
village you
enter find out
who is worthy
in it.
Stay there
until you
depart.
He's partly
saying that
don't pack a
spare coat.
Basically the
message.
It's really
urgent.
Partly he's
underlining the
message that
you take to
these people.
It is one
that they
should welcome.
You are
going to
them.
It is a
message that
they should
welcome with
open arms.
They've been
waiting for
this good news
for hundreds
and thousands
of years and
the worker is
worth their
keeps.
In other
words when
you tell
them when
you travel to
the villages
and you tell
them that I
have come they
should invite you
in.
They should be
so glad that
you took the
trouble to
tell them
this good
news.
They'll be
so grateful
they'll look
after you
and they'll
see you
right for the
next leg
on the
journey.
But not
everyone will
be like that.
There'll be
two reactions.
So some
will receive
you and some
will reject you.
Look at
verse 11.
And whatever
town you
enter find out
who's worthy
and stay
there until
you depart.
And as you
enter the
house greet
it and if
the house is
worthy let
your peace
come upon
it and if
it's not
worthy let
your peace
return from
it.
And if
anyone will
not receive
you'll
listen to
your words
shake off
the dust
from your
feet when
you leave
that house
or town.
So the
people that
will receive
you,
peace be
upon them,
the Messiah
has come.
You receive
them because
that means
they've been
restored to
God.
You've been
brought to
this eternal
kingdom.
It's eternal
peace but for
those who
reject you,
you shake
the dust
off your
feet.
And that's
a really
significant
Jewish thing
to do.
When you
shook off
the dust
of your
feet you
were saying
these people
they are no
longer part of
why people
Israel.
They are no
longer part of
God's people
and for
them,
verse 15,
there is a
sober warning
of judgment.
People often
say,
don't they,
Jesus claimed
to be nothing
but a good
teacher.
And when
people say
that I wonder
what gospel
they'd be
reading.
Do you see
what he's
doing there?
He's saying
tell Israel
I am here.
The Messiah
has come.
And those
who accept
me,
well they
can be part
of God's
people.
And those
who reject
me,
well they
cannot be
part of
God's
people.
And they
are right
for judgment.
Do you
see the
extraordinary
thing he's
saying?
Where you
stand with
God hinges
completely on
how you
receive me.
And that's
not the
sort of thing
good teachers
say.
And if we
see verses
1 to 16
as a kind
of model
for mission
trips or
how we go
about evangelism,
I think we're
missing what
Matthew is
wanting us to
see.
Because apart
from anything
else,
it's not a
very good
model for
mission.
Jesus tells
us not to
go to the
Gentiles.
By the
end of the
chapter,
and by the
end of
Matthew's
gospel,
he's telling
us to
go to the
whole world.
He tells
them here,
don't take
stuff for
the journey.
But elsewhere,
Jesus does
say take
stuff for
the journey.
By the
time Paul
is ministering,
he doesn't
shake the
dust off his
feet whenever
people reject
The message.
He stays
and he
perseveres.
Because they've
got to know.
It's not a
model for
mission.
It's a very
specific mission
to the
lost people
of Israel.
But the
reason Matthew
includes it,
he's saying
to you and
I, do you
see who
Jesus is?
Do you
see who
Jesus is?
He is the
Messiah.
He wanted
Israel to
know that
he had come
for them.
It's not a
model for
mission, but
it is the
motivation for
our mission.
God.
The reason
the Bible
starts with
Genesis and
with creation
is to show
us that the
God of the
Bible is the
creator of
the whole
world.
In the
beginning,
God made
the heavens
and the
earth.
The whole
earth is the
Lord's in the
fullness thereof.
He is the
one true God
of the whole
world.
And then the
Bible is the
account of the
one true God's
one true plan
to gather
people from
all the
nations to
his kingdom.
And he says
he's going to
do it.
And he will
do it through
a king.
And he'll do
it through a
king who will
come from
Israel.
And Jesus
is saying he
is the king
of the Old
Testament promise.
But the king
of the Old
Testament promise
for Israel
wasn't just
for the Jewish
people.
He was going
to be God's
king for all
people, for
all nations.
And he was
going to be
given power and
authority over the
whole world.
So the fact
that Jesus is
the king that
Israel has been
waiting for means
he's not just
Israel.
He's the
climax of the
one true God's
one true plan
for the whole
world.
And he's come
to gather up
people of all
nations into
God's kingdom.
And he's here
for everyone.
And so when
you tell
somebody that
Jesus is
God's king
for you,
and he is
king of all
kings and
lord of
lords,
that it's
not a
controlling
thing to
do.
It just
flows out of
who Jesus
is.
That if
Jesus was
just another
religious
teacher,
then we
might want
our friends
to know
about him,
or we
might not.
But we
wouldn't go
on about
him,
would we?
But if
he is the
king that
the Old
Testament was
waiting for,
then everyone
needs to know
about him.
Because where
we stand with
God hinges on
how we receive
him.
It's a time
for compassion.
To think of
the people we
know and
love, or
even the
people that
we've got no
time for.
They are
lost and
they need
the shepherd.
And it's a
time for
prayer.
Our
compassion will
mean,
won't it,
longing for
them to be
brought into
God's kingdom.
That we
look out of
our city and
we cry out,
Lord, raise
up workers
to bring in
the harvest.
And it's a
time for
urgent evangelism.
Why are we
doing what
we're doing?
Well, it's a
chance to tell
them about
the shepherd,
who cares?
Now is
the time.
The Jewish
Messiah has
come.
And that
means everyone
needs to know.
Let's pray.