Heart for the Harvest

Matthew 9:35–38 (NKJV): "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"

Jesus walked approximately 21,000 miles during His three-year public ministry. That equates to an average of 20 miles (32km) a day, spending at least 1,076 days and nights on the road. People today travel far and wide searching for gods, but in Christianity, God Himself came down to us. Jesus traveled, preached, taught, and healed, driven by compassion.

Jesus Had Compassion

Matthew 9:36 (NKJV): "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."

Compassion made Jesus different from the philosophers and thinkers of His time. What drives and moves us today? Compassion should be our driving force. Compassion without action is merely observation.

Examples of Jesus’ Compassion:

• Matthew 15:32 (NKJV): "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat."
• Mark 8:2–3 (NKJV): "I have compassion on the multitude... if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way."
• Matthew 14:14 (NKJV): "He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick."
• Matthew 20:34 (NKJV): "Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight."
• Luke 7:13 (NKJV): "When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, 'Do not weep.'"
• Mark 6:34 (NKJV): "He was moved with compassion... because they were like sheep not having a shepherd."

Church is not perfect because it is not for the perfect. However, being present in the house of God reminds us of His goodness and mercy. It is a joy to serve in His house.

We also have a "one another" ministry: to love, pray, greet, serve, forgive, comfort, and edify one another. God often uses what we already have, not what we lack. We do what is possible and leave the impossible to God.

Jesus Made a Complaint

Matthew 9:37 (NKJV): "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few."

We need laborers, pioneers, and workers for the harvest field of souls. We must take this "complaint" seriously. There are countless souls waiting to be reached.

Jesus Gave the Great Commission

Mark 16:15 (NKJV): "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

Commission is not an omission—it begins with prayer. Jesus did not command the whole world to go to church; instead, He commanded the church to go to the whole world. Reaching the lost for His glory is our responsibility as believers of Christ.

Conclusion

During the 9/11 attacks, while everyone ran for their lives, 343 men and women from the New York City Fire Department, including paramedics, rushed into the collapsing towers to save people. Compassion drove them to risk their lives.

We are called to be "paramedics" in God’s kingdom, saving souls from perishing. Where fear knocks on the door of our hearts, let us send faith to open it.