Matthew 9:35-38
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.”
I contend no leader in history was more pragmatic than Jesus. While many have wielded great power and influence over millions of people; and others have wowed the masses with their words, charm and grace, Jesus didn’t do any of that. He did the total opposite. He was practical, straightforward and simple. He was the Great Pragmatist.
What exactly is a pragmatist? The Cambridge dictionary says, a pragmatist is someone who deals with problems in a sensible way that suits the conditions that really exist, rather than following particular theories, ideas, or rules. And looking at this morning’s scripture we see Jesus doing exactly that. People were sick, so he healed them. They were unaware of the virtues of the Kingdom, so he taught them. And because of his godlike nature, he had compassion for all humanity. His love couldn’t allow him to witness the hurt, pain and struggle of the masses and not respond in some tangible, meaningful way.
The challenge was, all he had at that moment were his disciples. The task of physically addressing all the issues that Jesus knew existed were too much for his small band of followers to handle. But they had a powerful weapon that he knew would work. PRAYER! I’m certain some will say, “prayer is not a practical solution to worldly problems. Prayer is good for spiritual development and reflection, but not for ‘real’ problems”. And to that I would reply, “you obviously don’t know what prayer can do”.
Of all the things humans can do to improve our lives and the world’s situation is pray. And by pray I’m not referring to simply begging for the things we personally want or need. I’m not talking about seeking God for more money, fortune or fame. And I’m certainly not focusing on empowering oneself. What I am saying is we must pray the prayer Jesus is asking us to pray when he ask us to. The leading of the Spirit is the key element in todays example. Notice the instruction to the disciples. Jesus admonished them to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Sounds simple enough. But it is profound in its impact.
Firstly, it notes and acknowledges the limitations of the disciples in the face of the extreme need. As powerful as they may have been, the demand for help was greater than they could handle alone. The Lord, and he alone, calls to task those he has prepared beforehand. He alone knows what each of us has to offer. And he alone assigns mission, purpose and responsibility to every believer. And along with that, we who are not called to a particular assignment must learn to yield to the anointing on those that are selected to do a particular work, irrespective of our opinion or foreknowledge of them. There’s a reason Jesus didn’t assign the disciples to start working the harvest. If it were time to fish, perhaps he might have called Peter and John, but in this case it was farmers that were needed. And they didn’t have that skill.
In our complicated world, with countless distractions, boundless temptations and seemingly endless darkness, evil and destruction, we have the only answer. We have the simple formula to this world’s madness. Pray. But the prayers must be done in accordance to the will and way of God, and instruction of the Holy Ghost. The Bible declares the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous avails much. When there’s a need for peace, pray for the Lord to send peacemakers. When there’s hunger, lack and need, pray for the Lord to send folk with resources. And when folk are in need of love and compassion, pray for spirit filled servants to bind wounds, uplift spirits and mend brokenness. And perhaps he may even send a few of us!
God Bless
