A Ready Harvest

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.” (Matthew 9:35-38 ESV). Everywhere Jesus went, He was very much in demand. There was always a crowd around Him, and understandably so. He was God in human form, walking through their streets. Everyone wanted something. There would be those who always wanted a touch, like the woman who had spent all of her money on doctors, trying to be cured, but to no avail. When she touched the hem of His garment, she was restored and healed. There is the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman who brought her demon-possessed child to Jesus; and, the story of Jairus, who came and asked Jesus to touch his sick daughter. Everyone needed something, but Jesus knew they needed more than just a healing, more than just a touch, and more than just a word. He knew the deepest need was in their soul. We see this demonstrated time and again. Despite His incredibly busy schedule, He went out of His way to meet someone in a little town where Jacob's well was located, even though she had no idea she had an appointment with God. She went to that well at that time of day, because she was a social outcast. Sometimes when people do things that are wrong, we get angry with them. Not only do we hate the sin, but we end up hating the sinner also. Yet God wants us to see that while we can hate the sin, there is still a sinner who is loved by God. Maybe no one has ever told him or her there is another way to live. That’s the story of Matthew. Matthew was a local “bad guy” since he not only worked to collect taxes, but did so for a foreign government. When Jesus came to Matthew’s house for dinner, the local religious leaders didn’t question the menu; they questioned motives. They simply couldn’t believe a person who loved God would share a meal with people who didn’t. Christ’s response is filled with irony. He responded that he had come to call sinners to repentance. The irony is that he was explaining this to religious leaders he would later address as being some of those sinners. We should be reminded that Jesus has already seen to the harvest. It is ready. Our call is simply to go into it loving others has Jesus did. We will see a great bounty then!