(“Pray Fervently For Harvest Workers”)

Matthew 9:35-38 (NASU)

(Matthew 9:37-38)

Heavenly Father, You are a great King (c.f. Psalm 47:2b). As such, You are worthy of our adoration and worship, our reverence and love – and last but not least, our obedience (c.f. Psalm 2:11; Revelation 4:11; John 14:15).

You have commanded us to pray (c.f. I Thessalonians 5:17) – Jesus taught His disciples how to pray (c.f. Luke 11:1-4) – Your word gives us some specific examples of prayers offered by Your people. Yet Your word is right when it says “we do not know how to pray as we should” (c.f. Romans 8:26) – and part of the reason is because when we do pray we often focus on many of the less important matters of life, while neglecting weightier issues (c.f. Matthew 23:23).

Our Savior taught us to pray for everyday matters under the phrase “our daily bread” (c.f. Matthew 6:11) – but He also told us to “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38). We confess we do the former quite often – and the latter far less, if at all.

Therefore, we ask You to use the preaching of Your word this morning to teach us and/or persuade of the importance of praying for harvest workers – and then enable us to start doing so, without neglecting to pray for lesser things like our daily bread (c.f. Matthew 23:23). For we ask this in Jesus’ name – Amen.

(A) THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

(1) Prayer is an integral part of evangelism. Indeed, if we’re going to successfully carry out the mandate to be Christ’s witnesses (c.f. Acts 1:8) we must pray. We must pray for ourselves – we must enlist the prayer support of our Christian brothers and sisters on our behalf – and then we must reciprocate by praying for them.

(2) Paul frequently asked other Christians to pray for him. Nor did he usually ask them to pray for things like safe travel, and/or relief from physical aches and pains. Rather, he asked other believers to pray that he would be a faithful witness for His Savior, Jesus Christ.

(a) Hence, he said in one place: “pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (c.f. Ephesians 6:19-20) – and again, in another place: “(pray) … for us … that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned, that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak” (c.f. Colossians 4:3-4) – and once more, in yet another place: “brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you” (c.f. II Thessalonians 3:2).

(b) Even when Paul did ask for prayer concerning personal issues (like being released from prison, for example) (c.f. Philemon 1:22), it was NOT so he could “spend it on his own pleasures” (to paraphrase a verse found in the Book of James) (c.f. James 4:3) – but so he could continue serving Christ by proclaiming the Gospel and/or bearing witness concerning Him (c.f. Philippians 1:19-26).

(3) In this morning’s text Jesus exhorted His disciples (and us) to pray for something related to the work of evangelism – to pray for something related to being His witnesses, saying: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:37-38).

(a) So far in this series, the main thing I have asked us to do is start trying to build relationships and/or friendships with non-Christians – to follow Jesus’ example of “eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners” (c.f. Mark 2:16) – to follow His example of being “a friend” to people who are still lost in their sins (c.f. Matthew 11:19).

(b) Verse thirty-six of today’s Scripture lesson says Jesus “felt compassion” for the lost people with whom He was dealing (c.f. Matthew 9:36). So last week I also urged you to start “beseech(ing) the Lord” – i.e. to start pleading, begging, and/or imploring Him – to give us (individually and collectively) a Christ-like “compassion” for the lost people who live around us (c.f. Matthew 9:36).

(c) This morning I’m going to ask us to start doing another thing. It’s probably something Jesus did, although I can’t think of a biblical example. However, it’s clearly something He told US to do – namely, “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38).

In order to do this effectively, however, it will be helpful to know what Jesus meant – and/or to know why we should pray for this particular thing, beyond the fact our Lord and Savior commanded us to do so (which means if we love Him, we will strive [by His enabling grace] to obey Him – c.f. John 14:23-24).

(B) TWO REASONS FOR “BESEECHING” PRAYER

(1) Since most of us don’t normally use the word “beseech” in our everyday conversations, we need to make sure we know what it means. For to say it’s simply means “to pray” would be an understatement. It means that, to be sure – but it refers to a particularly intense kind of praying.

(a) The Greek word for “beseech” (“deomai”) means “to beg, to implore, to plead, and/or to entreat”⁴ – thereby indicating the thing we are “beseeching” the Lord about is something we want very much.

In this case, the thing we are pleading and/or begging the Lord to do is “send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38).

(b) Another picture that might help us understand the intensity of this word is to imagine a prisoner⁵ bound in chains “beseeching” his jailor to release him – or “begging” his lawyer to pursue new evidence that might set him free – to picture Joseph, “pleading” with Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer to mention him to the king once he is released from prison, because (as Joseph said) he had been “kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and (had) done nothing (to deserve being) put … into the dungeon” (c.f. Genesis 40:14-15). Prisoners do not make such requests half-heartedly – rather, they try to be as persuasive and insistent, as earnest and/or fervent as they know how to be.

In this instance, the thing we are being persuasive and fervent about – the thing we are praying for passionately and intensely, is that the Lord would “send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38) – that He would raise up people to “work the fields” (as it were) so some who are still lost in their sins can be saved!

(2) In verse thirty-seven, Jesus gave two reasons why we should “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38) – the first being, because “the harvest is plentiful” (c.f. Matthew 9:37a).

(a) That phrase (“the harvest is plentiful”) has been generally understood as a metaphor indicating many people are ready to hear the Gospel – that many people are ripe to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.¹

[1] That interpretation seems to gain some support from our Lord’s words in John chapter four, when He pointed to the Samaritans coming out from Sychar to meet Him (because of the testimony of the woman Jesus talked with at Jacob’s well), (as these people were coming out, Jesus pointed to them) and said to His disciples: “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together” (c.f. John 4:35-36).

What happened over the next several days appears to bear this out, because Scripture says “many more believed because of His word” (c.f. John 4:41) – thereby indicating many Samaritans came to saving faith in Jesus during His two day stay in that city.

[2] The idea people are ripe to hear the Gospel may or may not be Jesus’ point in Luke chapter ten, where we’re told He sent out His disciples and seventy others in pairs, saying in part (this is Luke’s version of this morning’s text): “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (c.f. Luke 10:1-2).

In this case it should be noted Jesus did not promise His disciples they would meet with great success. Instead, He said: “I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves” (c.f. Luke 10:3) – and a few verses later He added that those who did not receive His disciples or their message would be punished more severely in the day of judgment than the inhabitants of Sodom (c.f. Luke 10:10-15).

(b) The word “harvest” has also been interpreted as a reference to “all the lost”² – “those who are supposedly seeking after God”² (regardless of their current spiritual condition) – those who can be, will be, or have already been brought within reach of the Gospel³ (regardless of whether they’ve responded positively or negatively) – or “those who have been elected for salvation”² (regardless of whether or they’ve heard the Gospel and/or responded in repentance and faith yet or not).

(c) It’s possible, however, the word “harvest” has a connotation that’s different from the idea people are ripe to hear the Gospel – one having to do with God’s judgment² on unrepentant sinners when the end of the ages comes.⁶

[1] For example, the prophet Joel said: “Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (c.f. Joel 3:13-14). In this instance, the “harvest” clearly has to do with God’s judgment – and people are pictured as facing a “decision” (prior to that harvest) that will seal their eternal destiny.²

In the parable of the wheat and tares, Jesus spoke of two types of plants being allowed “to grow together (in the same field) until the harvest” – He then went on to say that “in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn’” (c.f. Matthew 13:30). Here the harvest imagery is clearly one of blessing for Christ’s redeemed people – but it’s also just as clearly a time of judgment for those who have rejected Christ.²

Through the prophet Hosea the Lord said: “In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself. Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you …” (c.f. Hosea 6:10-11a). Given the context, can anyone seriously doubt this “harvest” is one of judgment?⁷

In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John described God’s judgment in terms of a “harvest”, saying in part: “(an) angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God” (c.f. Revelation 14:14-19). Once again, the harvest imagery is unmistakably associated – not with people being ripe for salvation – but being ripe for God’s judgment.⁸

[2] So, when Jesus said “the harvest is plentiful” (c.f. Matthew 9:37a), He may NOT have been saying people are ripe to hear the Gospel and be saved (as we’re often told). Indeed, while that may be true occasionally in some parts of the world – just the opposite is true in many other places, like here in the United States, where few seem interested in hearing the true Gospel. Hence, its more likely Jesus was saying there are “plentiful” numbers of people who NEED to repent and be saved, before the time of the “harvest” of God’s judgment comes – because once the “harvest” begins, any chance of their being redeemed will have vanished forever.

The point is, there are people all around us who need to be saved. Whether they respond positively or not, there are “plentiful” numbers of people who need to hear the Gospel – there’s no lack of individuals who need to repent of their sins and profess faith in Christ BEFORE the “harvest” of God’s judgment comes, after which, the poignant lament found in the Book of Jeremiah will be true of them: “Harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved” (c.f. Jeremiah 8:20).

(3) The second reason Jesus gave for why you and I should “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38) is because “the workers are few” (c.f. Matthew 9:37b).

(a) The contrast between a “plentiful” harvest and “few” workers is deliberate.⁹ There have always been far more people who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ before the day of God’s judgment comes, than there are workers willing to tell them – far more “tax collectors and sinners” who need a Christian to “eat” with them (c.f. Luke 5:30), than Christians willing to do it – more lost people who need a Christian friend (c.f. Luke 7:34), then there are Christians willing to befriend them – more non-Christians who need to hear what one of Christ’s witnesses has to say, then witnesses willing to speak up before its too late.

(b) It’s important to note that Jesus’ solution to this scarcity of workers⁹ is prayer – not preaching or teaching (although no means of grace can be entirely discounted) – not special seminars or retreats – not Christian schools or seminaries – not badgering or guilt trips – but “beseeching” prayer! Hence, one writer said: “The Christian’s first responsibility is not to go out and start working as soon as he sees a need, but to come to the Lord in prayer.”¹⁰

That same writer went on to note that “Jesus did not command His disciples to pray for the lost, although that is certainly appropriate – rather, their first prayer was to be that “the Lord of the harvest (would) send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38).¹¹

(c) And if we inquire as to why this is so, the answer is, because it’s “His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38), not ours – therefore, He has a right to determine who will work the fields. One writer said: “by encouraging His disciples to pray in this manner, Jesus underscored the importance of quality over quantity – of character over mere numbers. Those who work the harvest must be God-sent, not self-appointed. They must be men who love God and the lost”⁹ – hence, the need for the Christ-like compassion we talked about last time (c.f. Matthew 9:36a).

(d) Regarding quality over quantity – I remember on the camp meeting circuit, when the day came to set up camp, and there were several big tents to erect, plus numerous other pieces of equipment to unload and put in their proper place, I much preferred one or two men who were willing to take instructions so the work could be done right the first time, than eight or ten people who had no idea what they were doing, but ran around doing it anyway!

Jesus once said: “you (will) always have the poor with you” (c.f. Matthew 26:11a). In the same way, I think God sovereign design is to always have “fewer” workers compared to the size of the “harvest” – “fewer” workers compared to the number of those who need to hear the Gospel. However, it’s His harvest – and if He chooses to use a “few” good workers (as opposed to a multitude of bad ones), that’s up to Him. Besides, doing it that way actually brings God greater glory -- especially since Jesus promised that “All … the Father gives Me will come to Me” – and that “of all … He has given Me I lose nothing” (c.f. John 6:37a, 39b). In other words, despite the relatively “few” number of workers compared to the size of the harvest, all those who have been “appointed to eternal life” (c.f. Acts 13:48b) are going to be saved!

(C) THE CALL TO “BESEECHING” PRAYER

(1) However, that doesn’t minimize the importance of “beseech(ing) the Lord of the harvest to send (more) workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38) – nor does it give us an excuse to disobey our Savior’s command regarding such prayers.

(2) John Calvin seems to have thought the “workers” we are to “beseech” the Lord for are pastors. Here’s what he said regarding verse thirty-eight (c.f. Matthew 9:38): “As no man will of himself become a sincere and faithful minister of the gospel, and as none discharge in a proper manner the office of teacher but those whom the Lord raises up and endows with the gifts of His Spirit, whenever we observe a scarcity of pastors, we must raise our eyes to Him to afford the remedy.” But then he immediately goes on to add this historical application: “There never was greater necessity for offering this prayer than during the fearful desolation of the church which we now see every where around us.”¹²

I would suggest a similar “fearful desolation” can be found in American churches today. Many false shepherds stand in pulpits week after week – many more sow their false “seed” via television and/or the Internet. False gospels are prevalent everywhere – watered-down versions of the gospel are proclaimed for the sake of trying to attract attendees and/or grow churches.

Surely it’s a time to “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send … workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38) – to beg and plead with Him to raise up pastors, teachers, and evangelists who will proclaim the whole truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ without shame or compromise.

(3) Personally, I think the “workers” we are to “beseech” the Lord for has a wider application than just pastors – that it’s probably an exhortation to all Christians to “get off the couch” (so to speak), and starting fulfilling Christ’s mandate to be His witnesses (c.f. Acts 1:8), in part, by “working the harvest”.

(4) Be that as it may, that’s not what I’m asking you to do this morning. This morning I’m simply asking you to start making this prayer part of your own regular prayer time – part of your own private devotional praying (if you haven’t been doing so already). I’m also asking us (as a church) to start making it part of our corporate praying – before Sunday School, on Wednesday nights, during morning and evening worship, whenever smaller portions of this congregation get together for fellowship, study and/or prayer – to “beseech” (i.e. beg, implore, entreat, plead) with the Lord fervently and/or intensely, to “send out workers into His harvest” (c.f. Matthew 9:38).

¹Calvin’s Commentaries: Vol. XVI; Commentary on the

Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke; p. 420.

²MacArthur: Matthew 8-15; p. 114.

p. 1520.

⁷IBID: Footnote on Hosea 6:11; p. 1369.

⁸MacArthur: Ibid; p. 115.

⁹Hendrikson: Ibid; p. 441.