Out of compassion, Jesus would later say, “ 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Jesus felt deeply for these people because they were seeking the genuine God of peace and only found a religion that heaped upon them unbearable guilt and the weight of man-made rules so large as to make them faint trying to carry them. What caused Jesus to be so affected? Matthew said it was because Jesus saw the people as harassed and helpless. The sense of compassion here expressed a deep feeling in the heart that stirred affection. The third behavior cited was that Jesus had compassion on the crowd. Matthew placed healing the body as second to proclaiming the good news. Healing was an act of mercy and was used to authenticate the messenger and the message of the kingdom. The second behavior cited was that Jesus healed those who were ill. The first thing mentioned was proclaiming the word of God to those seeking God. In writing, especially ancient writing, the most important person, or the most important thing is mentioned first. Jesus proclaimed the coming of the kingdom to people in the synagogues. The first behavior mentioned was that Jesus preached the good news to those who had a desire to know God. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’” (Matthew 9:35-38).Īt this moment, Jesus was in Galilee walking from town to town sharing the gospel message among the Jews. Jesus was attracting a significant following of people as he preached and healed everyone who came to him. Jesus’ behavior was a teaching behavior for his apostles. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. In the Gospel of Matthew, we read, “ 35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. Jesus spoke about the harvest in our New Testament reading today. There was an urgency to bringing in the food before it spoiled or was eaten by insects or scavenging animals. When crops reached their fullness and ripeness, there was a limited amount of time to gather those precious crops and get them safely into use or storage. It was understood because failure to bring in the harvest, for whatever reason, could mean starvation and death. The days of harvest, in Jesus’ time of public ministry, was understood by everyone. This week, I would like us to focus on a final element of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and that is the harvest. As light, we are to shine before others so that people will know that our works, or deeds, are from God. As the salt, we are to bring a touch of God, a bit of heaven, wherever we go. We have come to understand that having the power of the Holy Spirit evidences and sustains our faith journey with Jesus. The presence of the Holy Spirit comforts us and provides us with an understanding of the blessings we have in received.Īs we discussed last week, the Holy Spirit also equips us to be salt and light in the world. For the past few weeks, we have been talking about the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Apostles and in our own lives.
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