Matthew 9:35-10:10

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

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

! 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.