The Harvest is Plentiful but the Workers are Few

Read Matthew 9:35-38.

Go ahead. Get your Bible. Or pull it up on your phone or tablet, or Google it. Really. Go ahead. Read it. I'll wait.

What did you see?

Jesus is going through the towns and villages teaching, preaching, and healing the sick. He is working, and as He works, He sees the needs of the people and has compassion on them. Now, He has two choices: He can ignore them, or He can meet their needs. Of course, since He has compassion on them, He is going to meet their needs. What is important here is how He is going to do that. He turns to His disciples and tells them, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 

Could Jesus have met the needs of all the people Himself? Yes! But He chooses another way. Instead, He tells His disciples it is their responsibility to pray to God to send out the needed workers.

Now, read some more.

Continue reading the first 5 verses of chapter 10.

OK?

Now read the first verse of chapter 11.

Here is what happened.

Jesus saw the many needs of the people, God's harvest field. What they really needed was Him, and He knew that. The way He showed Himself to them was through miraculous signs and irrefutable teachings. In order to multiply His message, He equipped His twelve disciples to go out and spread the word. He equipped them, sent them out, and then continued His own teaching and preaching, thus multiplying even further His reach.

The model of Jesus' ministry is one of multiplication. The same is true of Paul, who followed Jesus' example. Both reached many people personally, but they both reached many more through the multiplication process of making disciples. Jesus knew His disciples would mature in their faith as they equipped others, who would mature in their faith and equip others, and on and on. One person may reach a crowd or even a whole town. A dozen can reach a whole region. Hundreds can reach an entire nation, and eventually the entire world. That's what Jesus did.

What about us?

Jesus told His disciples to pray for workers. The very next verse He calls His disciples to Himself, equips them, and sends them out. They were not only to hit their knees and pray. Yes, they were to do that, certainly. But He did not want them to stop there. He sent them out, He commanded them to go out and teach others, show others, what He had taught and shown them.

He commands us to do the same.

One more reading.

Matthew 28:18-20.

Some of you no doubt are familiar with that passage. It is referred to as the Great Commission. After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples their work was not done. It was just beginning.

Where is your harvest field?

The field you are called to may be in a far off nation. It may be in Sunday School, or Church leadership. Or perhaps your field is your family, your workplace, your Tuesday night basketball team or Girl's Night Out. If you reach only one person, and equip them to be a worker for Christ, you have doubled your reach. Then they reach one and you reach another. Then those two reach two more . . . The harvest is plentiful; there is no shortage of opportunity. It is the workers that are few.

Are you a worker?