The Mission of the Church

Please open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 9.

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

We're at the end of chapter 9, starting in verse 35.

!

Heavenly Father, we worship you because you are high and holy.

And yet, you also inhabit those who are lowly and humble in heart.

You have shown us compassion and mercy in sending your only Son, Jesus Christ,

as the good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep.

It's because of Him we have been made new, we have eternal life,

and we have gathered here to worship you with joy and thanksgiving.

And now we ask you, Father, speak to us in the reading and preaching of your Word.

Because we want to be governed and directed and transformed by your Word.

Encourage and build up your saints here this morning as witnesses of Jesus,

as ambassadors of reconciliation,

as those who go out and make disciples of all nations.

in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you are able, please stand and join me as I read God's Word.

Let's honor God by standing together.

Starting in chapter 9, verse 35.

And 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.

When He saw the crowds,

He had compassion for them,

because they were harassed and helpless,

like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples,

The harvest is plentiful,

but the laborers are few.

Therefore,

pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest

to send out laborers into His harvest.

And He called to Him,

His twelve disciples,

and gave them authority over unclean spirits

to cast them out

and to heal every disease and every affliction.

The names of the twelve apostles are these.

First, Simon, who is called Peter,

and Andrew, his brother,

James, the son of Zebedee,

and John, his brother,

Philip and Bartholomew,

Thomas,

and Matthew, the tax collector,

James, the son of Alphaeus,

and Thetius,

Simon the zealot,

and Judas Iscariot,

who betrayed Him.

These twelve,

Jesus sent out,

instructing them,

Go nowhere among the Gentiles

and enter no town of the Samaritans,

but go rather to the lost sheep

of the house of Israel

and proclaim as you go,

saying,

The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Heal the sick,

raise the dead,

cleanse lepers,

cast out demons.

You received without paying,

give without pay.

Acquire no gold or silver or copper

for your belts,

no bag for your journey

or two tunics or sandals or a staff.

For the laborer deserves his food.

And whatever town or village you enter,

find out who is worthy in it

and stay there until you depart.

As you enter the house,

greet it.

And if the house is worthy,

let your peace come upon it.

But if it is not worthy,

let your peace return to you.

And if anyone will not receive you

or listen to your words,

shake off the dust from your feet

and when you leave that house or town.

Truly,

I say to you,

it will be more bearable

on the day of judgment

for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah

than for that town.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

One of Matthew's distinctives

as a gospel

is that it is structured

around five major teaching discourses

of Jesus.

We looked at the first one,

which was a Sermon on the Mount

in chapters five to seven,

and we're now on the second

of the five discourses.

The first discourse focused

on the topic of righteousness.

This second topic focuses on mission,

which is really a buzzword

among many church circles.

When we began our planning process

about 12 years ago

to start this church,

everyone told me

that I should write

a mission statement.

If you visit

any local church's website nowadays,

you will most likely find

on some prominent page

a mission statement

and or a vision statement.

The idea that an organization

should have a clear purpose

and a guiding principle

is, of course, nothing new.

It's been around

for thousands of years.

However, the idea

of having a formal,

concise mission statement

that's memorable for people

is a more recent innovation

from the corporate world.

In the 1970s,

influential business thinkers

like Peter Drucker

emphasized that businesses

should articulate

a purpose statement,

a clear purpose statement.

And then in the 1980s,

as strategic planning

became popular,

the idea of writing

formal mission

and vision statements

became widespread

throughout corporate America.

This trend then spread

to nonprofits,

schools, and universities

throughout the 80s

and the 90s.

And then finally,

in the 90s,

it made its way

into churches,

heavily influenced

by the church growth movement

led by pastors

like Pastor Rick Warren

and Bill Hybels.

And since then,

much ink has been spilled

debating what the mission

of the church is.

And Christians have gathered

around many conferences

and many congresses

to discuss

what is the mission

of the church

and how best

we accomplish that mission.

But what does Jesus

have to say

about all of this?

What is the mission

of the church

according to Jesus

who started the church,

who built the church,

and who continues

to build the church

to this day?

That's what Matthew 9,

35 to 10, 15

teaches us.

And here we see

the principles

that Jesus gives us

but also the pattern

that he sets for us.

And he says that

we are authorized

by Jesus

to proclaim

the gospel

of the kingdom

and make disciples

who will.

That's the main point

of this passage.

And I'm going to address

this passage

in three points.

First,

why the laborers are needed.

And then second,

who the laborers are.

And third,

what the laborers do.

Verse 35 summarizes

what Jesus has been doing

over the last several chapters.

Jesus went throughout

the cities and villages,

the densely populated cities

as well as the more

sparsely populated villages,

proclaiming the gospel

of the kingdom

and healing every disease

and affliction,

it says.

This is the good news.

That's what the gospel means.

The good news

of the kingdom.

The good news

of the kingdom

is that God's appointed king,

the messianic king,

the promised king

has come.

And because of that,

regime change

is afoot

in the world.

This king,

Jesus,

binds Satan

who is elsewhere

called in scripture

as the ruler

of this sinful world.

And Jesus redeems

a people for himself,

inaugurating his kingdom.

And therefore,

it calls,

when Jesus proclaims

the kingdom

in Matthew 4, 17,

he says,

repent,

for the kingdom

of heaven is at hand.

Jesus is saying,

now is the time

of that regime change.

And if you want

to be on the right side

of history,

if you want to follow

King Jesus,

then now is the time

to turn away

from your former allegiances

in following the prince,

the ruler of this world,

the devil,

and pledging allegiance

instead to Jesus.

And if Jesus

is here as the king,

of course,

with any regime change,

there are sweeping

policy changes

and the way he governs

is different.

And that's what we see

as the signs

of the kingdom,

that the kingdom

has dawned upon this age.

And that's why he heals,

that's why he casts out demons.

These are all signs

of the kingdom

that has come.

That's why in Matthew 12, 28,

Jesus says,

if it is by the spirit of God

that I cast out demons,

then the kingdom of God

has come upon you.

The kingdom has come

because the Christ,

the king,

has come.

And good news for us

is that this king,

this new king who rules,

is merciful and compassionate.

It says in verse 36,

when he saw the crowds,

he had compassion for them

because they were harassed

and helpless

like sheep

without a shepherd.

At first,

it seems a little unnatural

to go from talking

about kingdom

and kings

to talk about sheep

and shepherds.

But these two ideas

are actually intimately related

in scripture.

In Matthew 2, verse 6,

Matthew 2:6

it cited Micah 5, verse 2,

Micah 5:2

which prophesied

that from the tribe of Judah

would come

a ruler

who will shepherd

my people Israel.

Rulers in scripture

are often described

as shepherds.

When God appointed Joshua

to succeed Moses,

for example,

in Numbers 27,

he did so

so that Joshua

shall go out before them

and come in before them

who shall lead them out

and bring them in

that the congregation

of the Lord

may not be as sheep

that have no shepherd.

It is the responsibility

of shepherds

to go out

and come in

before the sheep

to scout out the land

to see where

the green pastures are,

where the still waters are,

to look out for

potential predators

and threats to the sheep,

to ward them off

off when they come

for the sheep,

to tend for the sick

and the wounded sheep,

to be always a step ahead

of the sheep

so that he can chart

the course

and show them the way

to follow.

For these reasons,

the image of a shepherd

was a popular one

in scripture

for a leader

or a king.

Unfortunately,

in the history

of God's people

that we see

throughout the Old Testament,

all human kings

fell short

of God's ideal

and standard.

They did not fulfill

the God-given responsibilities

of shepherds

and rulers.

For example,

in Ezekiel 34,

God passionately

denounces

the shepherd kings

of Israel

for not feeding

their flock

and instead

gorging themselves

upon the fat sheep

and clothing themselves

with the wool

of the sheep.

And then God says

to them,

the weak you have not strengthened,

the sick you have not healed,

the injured you have not bound up,

the strayed you have not brought back,

the lost you have not sought,

and with force and harshness

you have ruled them.

So they were scattered

because there was no shepherd

and they became food

for all the wild beasts.

That's God's assessment

of the shepherd kings of Israel.

And then God makes

a shocking,

a breathtaking promise.

He says,

Behold,

I myself

will search

for my sheep

and will seek them out

as a shepherd

seeks out his flock

when he is among his sheep

that have been scattered.

So will I

seek out my sheep

and I will rescue them

from all the places

they have been scattered

and I will feed them

on the mountains of Israel

by the ravines.

I myself

will be the shepherd

of my sheep

and I myself

will make them lie down.

I will seek the lost

and I will bring back

the strayed

and I will bind up

the injured

and I will strengthen

the weak.

After seeing how

the shepherd kings

of Israel have failed,

God looks and says,

No more of this.

I myself

will come

to shepherd

my people.

And then,

a few chapters later

in Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel 37:24

verse 24,

God says

that his rule,

God himself,

his rule

as a shepherd

over Israel

will come

in the form

of a new David.

He says,

My servant David

shall be king

over them

and they shall

all have one shepherd.

But that raises

some questions, right?

How can

God himself

be the shepherd

but also

how can this shepherd

be a David?

Aren't those two things

mutually exclusive?

Well,

that's

those two options

find their reconciliation

and unity

in Jesus Christ.

That's why

Matthew has been

taking pains

to demonstrate to us

that Jesus

is a son

of David

from the lineage

of the kings

of David

from the Davidic line.

And that's why

he also told us

specifically

in Matthew 3.17

that Jesus

is the son

of God.

Jesus

is the son

of God

who has taken

on human flesh.

The incarnate God.

God in human flesh.

Jesus

has come

as God himself

to shepherd

his people

and as the new

and better David

to shepherd

his people.

To take them

to green pastures

and to bind up

the wounded.

That's the good news

of the kingdom

of God.

In the course

of his ministry

of course

Jesus sees

many people

ministers

to many crowds

and his assessment

after that period

of ministry

reflects God's heart

from Ezekiel 34.

When he saw

the crowds

he had compassion

for them

because they were harassed

and helpless

like sheep

without a shepherd.

Sheep are

famously helpless

without shepherds.

I'm sure

very few of you

if any

have experienced

shepherding sheep

but I have read

that sheep

have such a bad

sense of direction

they're not like

cats and dogs

you know

you leave them out

they'll go out

and wonder

and find food

and they'll come

back to their home

or they'll know

where to go

to get food.

Sheep are not like that.

They don't have

a good sense of direction

and so they actually

get lost

and they often wonder

and they don't know

how to find their way

back to the green pastures

that they had fed

on the day before

and so that's why

they need shepherds

to guide them.

Not only that

the sheep are also

naturally defenseless

like you've seen sheep

right?

They don't have

sharp claws

they don't have

sharp teeth

they're also

not very fast

right?

And so

when predators

come after them

they kind of

get eaten

right?

And they don't have

a way to

they can't

camouflage

they can't

fly

they don't have

anything that

really many of

these other animals

have.

They're very

defenseless

naturally.

Sheep also

tend to get

spooked very easily

so they

you can just

startle them

and then they'll

just like dash

off blindly

and sometimes

when they're

spooked like that

they'll run

off cliffs.

So sheep

are famously

helpless

without their

shepherds

and that's why

that image

is used

again and again

that God's

people would not

be like a

sheep

like sheep

without a

shepherd

and isn't

that a true

assessment of

what we all

were like

before Jesus

found us?

We were all

lost following

the course of

this world

following the

patterns of

this broken

and sinful

world

looking for

some semblance

of order

and purpose

and meaning

and fulfillment

and despairing.

Aren't we all

running after

the pleasures

of sin

in search

of some

fulfillment

only to

learn

that

sin

is always

a game

of diminishing

returns.

It always

gives you

less

and less

and less

only to drive

you further

in

deeper

into sin

and more

sin

and more

sin

until you

are no

longer

enjoying

any of

the pleasures

of your

enslaved

by it.

When we

all search

for love

but learn

that there's

no security

in the fickle

love of man

we were

worn down

rejected

hated

we have

all sought

peace

and freedom

of conscience

but we're

constantly

plagued

by

unresolved

guilt

shame

and self

loathing

in this

sin

ravaged

world

rife

with

disasters

diseases

death

infested

with

demons

we were

lost

harassed

and helpless

like sheep

without a

shepherd

that's what

we all

were like

apart from

Christ

but thanks

be to God

that God

sent a

shepherd

and our

good shepherd

is not

indifferent

to our

plight

he says

Jesus

has

compassion

for the

sheep

that's a

lovely

word

it's a

word

that means

to have

pity

to show

sympathy

feel sympathy

for someone

when you

see the

need

or plight

of someone

else

when you

see someone

in need

their plight

and then

you feel

that lump

in your throat

or when you

feel that

tears

walling up

in your eyes

when you

feel like

your heart

is lurching

forward

to do

something

to meet

that need

that's

what we

call

compassion

and that's

what Jesus

feels

for those

who are

harassed

and helpless

and his

compassion

prompts

Jesus

to turn

to his

disciples

and say

this

in verses

37 to

38

the harvest

is plentiful

but the

laborers

are few

therefore

pray

earnestly

!

to the

Lord

of the

harvest

to send

out

laborers

into

his

harvest

Jesus

is

switching

metaphors

once again

now going

to the

metaphor

of the

harvest

it's

teaching

us

he's

teaching

us

through

this

that

we

need

to

proclaim

the

gospel

because

there

are

many

who

need

to

hear

the

gospel

and be

saved

in

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 2:3

2

verse

3

God

describes

his

people

Israel

as

the

first

fruit

of

his

harvest

the

harvest

represents

those

who belong

to

God

those

who will

come

to

him

and the

fact

that

Israel

is

called

the

first

fruit

means

that

there's

the

rest

of

the

fruit

that

is

still

to

come

and

that's

the

fruit

that

Jesus

is

speaking

of

here

this

metaphor

also

conveys

the

urgency

of

our

mission

because

farmers

must

reap

the

crops

while

they

are

ripe

in

a

timely

manner

because

there

is

a

narrow

window

during

which

they

can

achieve

peak

yield

and

peak

quality

of the

crops

if

you

wait

too

long

they'll

be

destroyed

by

pests

or

by

cold

weather

or

they

will

spoil

and

be

less

flavorful

Jesus

is

saying

that

the

fields

are

white

for

harvest

he

says

in

John

4

35

to

36

that

already

the

one

who

reaps

is

receiving

wages

and

gathering

fruit

for

eternal

life

he's

saying

the

time

is

now

there

are

people

who

are

ready

to

hear

the

gospel

and

believe

right

now

this

verse

single-handedly

dispels

an insidious

lie

that

I believe

the enemy

has sown

among

many of

God's

people

how many

times

have you

thought

to yourself

nobody's

interested

in

Christianity

nowadays

if I

tell people

about

Jesus

I'm

only

going

to

face

rejection

I've

even

heard

pastors

say

here

in

New

England

that

it

feels

like

we

are

fishermen

crowding

over

a

small

pond

that

only

has

a

few

fish

left

in

it

but

Jesus

does

not

say

that

the

harvest

is

scanty

while

the

laborers

are

many

he

says

the

harvest

is

plentiful

but

the

laborers

are

few

the

condo

building

that I

live

in

has

55

units

there

are a

few

Christians

in

the

building

I'm

really

grateful

that

I don't

know if

Seblee

is here

today

Seblee

has been

living there

as long

as we

have

with her

husband

Teodro

and their

faithful

believers

and I'm

also really

grateful that

we recently

had Gary and

Natalie move

into the

building

we almost

got Tony

but we

didn't

and

I'm grateful

for more

Christians

coming to the

building

because that's

more laborers

over the last

several years

and I'm kind

of ashamed

to admit

this

but I've

only

shared

the

gospel

with a

few

of my

neighbors

in the

building

but if

there were

more of

us

sharing

with a

few

more

couldn't

we

reach

more

isn't

there

a

harvest

that

is

ready

to be

harvested

to be

reaped

crops

that are

white

for the

harvest

what we

need

more

is not

more

harvest

it's

more

labors

that are

needed

why do

we

celebrate

and rejoice

and thank

God

when we

grow

as a

church

it's

not

because

we

like

big

churches

in fact

I think

I've

heard

many of

you say

that you

don't

like

big

churches

we

rejoice

because

it

means

that we

are

adding

more

labors

that

will

be

trained

and

sent

out

for

this

ripe

harvest

Romans 10

13

to 14

says

everyone

who

calls

on the

name

of

the

Lord

will

be

saved

how

then

will

they

call

on

him

in

whom

they

have

not

believed

and

how

are

they

to

believe

in

him

of

whom

they

have

never

heard

and

how

are

they

to

hear

without

someone

preaching

and

how

are

they

to

preach

unless

they

are

sent

and

how

can

more

gospel

laborers

!

be

sent

Jesus

!

tells

us

here

in

Matthew

9

38

therefore

pray

earnestly

to

the

Lord

of

the

harvest

to

send

labors

into

his

harvest

because

God

is

the

one

who

ultimately

raises

up

laborers

so

we

must

pray

pray

for

more

laborers

send

more

laborers

and

laborers

go

and

proclaim

the

gospel

so

that

people

might

hear

and

those

who

hear

might

believe

and

those

who

believe

will

be

saved

the

Lord

is

still

whom

shall

I

send

who

will

go

for

us

and

which

of

us

will

say

here

I

am

send

me

that

brings

me

to

my

second

point

who

the

laborers

are

the

need

for

laborers

highlighted

earlier

in

chapter

9

35

to

38

leads

directly

to

Jesus

sending

out

his

12

disciples

that

he

has

already

called

to

himself

into

the

harvest

field

chapter

10

verse

1

summarizes

the

disciples

mission

and

that

closely

echoes

Jesus

mission

in

chapter

9

verse

35

like

teacher

like

student

all

three

of

the

synoptic

gospels

those

are

Matthew

Mark

and

Luke

they

list

the

12

disciples

of

Jesus

and

they

are

identical

in

verse

2

these

are

identified

as

12

apostles

the

word

apostle

is

simply

a

noun

form

of

the

Greek

verb

that

means

to

send

which

is

used

in

verse

5

when

it

says

that

these

12

apostles

because

they

are

the

sent

ones

the

term

apostle

has

a

range

of

meaning

in

scripture

it

can

refer

to

the

12

apostles

the

12

that

are

mentioned

here

and

to

carry

special

authority

and

on

judgment

day

God

says

Jesus

says

in

Matthew

19

28

that

these

12

will

sit

on

12

thrones

judging

the

12

tribes

of

Israel

so

that's

a

close

number

and

the

12

is

obviously

significant

because

there's

12

tribes

of

Israel

so

they're

the

ones

who

are

really

the

founding

members

who

govern

and

will

judge

the

people

of

God

under

God's

authority

under

Christ's

authority

so

they're

the

12

and

the

12

is

significant

because

that's

why

when

Judas

is

scared

he

betrays

Jesus

and

leaves

the

number

of

the

12

in

Acts

1

they

have

to

refill

that

number

and

they

add

Matthias

that's

a

15

verses

5

7

which

specifically

distinguishes

the

12

from

these

apostles

and

these

apostles

are

those

who

have

seen

the

resurrected

Jesus

and

was

commissioned

by

him

to

bear

witness

to

him

to

lay

the

foundation

of

the

church

these

are

the

we

might

call

capital

A

apostles

we

see

in

1

Corinthians

9

1

that

one

of

the

criterion

to

be

this

kind

of

apostle

to

occupy

this

office

of

apostle

Jesus

and

so

we

would

put

in

this

category

James

the

brother

of

Jesus

who

was

called

an

apostle

in

Acts

15

but

also

the

apostle

Paul

who

calls

himself

the

one

untimely

born

because

he

didn't

see

the

resurrected

Jesus

in

the

flesh

but

rather

in

the

vision

later

on

after

his

ascension

so

this

office

of

apostleship

no

longer

exists

because

that

foundation

was

already

laid

Ephesians

2

20

says

that

these

apostles

are

the

foundation

of

the

church

and

they

are

no

longer

any

more

eyewitnesses

of

the

risen

Jesus

and

so

that's

why

the

office

of

apostle

no

longer

exists

however

there

is

still

a

third

category

of

apostles

in

scripture

that

are

mentioned

and

those

who

have

the

apostolic

gift

and

function

but

not

the

title

or

the

office

because

those

no

longer

exist

these

are

what

we

called

church

planting

missionaries

like

Barnabas

as well

as