Well, I invite you to turn this morning to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 9, as we're continuing our study in the book of Matthew, and we come to verses 27 to the end of the chapter today. Found on page 968, 968, in the Bibles that are in front of you, we'll begin our reading at verse 27 of Matthew, chapter 9.
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, son of David." When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith, be it done to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, "See that no one knows about it." But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
As they were going away, behold, a demon-possessed man was mute, who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." But the Pharisees said, "He cast out demons by the prince of demons."
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 Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into his harvest."
And may the Lord bless the hearing this morning of his word.
Well, throughout these chapters in matthew these first chapters, uh, today we've been considering up through chapter 9 we have really studied Jesus performing great authority in the ministry and demonstrating his great authority as we've been looking at, to forgive sins, but authority over every aspect of life as we've seen through Matthew's Gospel. Today we come to the end of, I believe, a major section in the Gospel of Matthew that really has been that is summarizing everything that we've been studying since chapter 5.
You see a structure here that comes out in Matthew's Gospel, and we have captured a summary, if you will. If you're looking for sort of a a summary of the the message today this is a summary of what christian ministry is to be it's a summary of what drove jesus in all of his efforts to bring in the gospel of the kingdom that's a Great theme that is here mentioned in matthew's gospel and it anticipates as we see the climax of matthew 28 in the Great Commission: go go and And you'll you'll notice in matthew he emphasizes certain things in the great commission baptize and teach them all that i commanded you and lo i am with you always to the close of the age this is important because the next section he sends out the 12 on sort of a trial run, if you will a mini great commission and all of this that precedes is sort of training for this. It's important today because what we've been studying in the chapters of Matthew so far and what we have in front of us is you might call seminary training seminary training for those going out into ministry to go out and minister the word of Christ. And certain things are emphasized. Certain lessons are learned that are very important for all of us to take in. That today, Matthew orders to show this and to demonstrate this: of what we can expect in Christian ministry, of what the disciples would expect, what should not just be expected but what should drive the ministry.
And looking carefully at the ministry of Jesus and his focus, this was the aim of Matthew in these sections for the disciples but also for us to study and understand Christian ministry. And that's crucial for us in our day to continue to hold on to this.
It's surprising what we find as we sort of close out this first major section of this long run of Jesus' teaching and the many acts that he did in the book of Matthew so far. And Matthew arranges it so that we would be encouraged and not surprised. A student is not above his teacher, as Jesus would say. If he faced certain things, so will we.
It wasn't even easy for Jesus himself. The ministry of Jesus Christ was a bitter struggle, but it's intended to say: this happened for Christ. Keep your eyes on the prize. So it has that enduring quality here that we're going to look at. As we study him and as we see how he endured certain things, what drove him, Christ is demonstrating for us today what ministry and his harvest and his kingdom and his labor is all about, and the difficulty that will accompany it.
So we must pray, as Christ does, calls us to pray. And this section helps us with that. To see what he's doing here, I want you to see a little bit of the structure of Matthew, because I think it helps to make the case for exactly what's happening here. You'll notice in verse 35 what we have is called an inclusio meaning that it's a kind of refrain, if you will, that brings something important together. Notice verse 35: listen to it. "And Jesus went through all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction." That is a kind of refrain that has already been said.
In fact, if you want to see this, I encourage you to just flip back to chapter 4. And when you look back at chapter 4, you will see in verse 23 the very same verse quoted just before the Sermon on the Mount. The very same statement is made. So all of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount and all of the displays of power and all of his healing of all these diseases is demonstrating that the gospel of the kingdom has come the good news of the kingdom. It's all been proven.
But just before this refrain in Matthew, so you have it sort of as a, well, maybe a giant chiasm, but in chapter 4, right before he makes that statement in verse 23, the same one that we have here in chapter 9, verse 32 I'm sorry, verse 35 he said to his disciples, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." So there it is. This is a training session. His teaching and what he has been doing on the field, if you will, is a training session for the disciples.
It's important because it gets us to the heart of Gospel ministry. It it takes us to the heart of what the ministry is designed to accomplish. So I want you to notice today that our text has recorded here two events in sort of rapid fire progression leading to this closing statement and this closing scene of this first section of Matthew.
We have here if you're taking notes the mercy of Christ exhibited the mockery expressed and then the motivation explained of the ministry that he is bringing.
Notice verse 27: "And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, have mercy on us, son of david We've already looked at a lot of affliction in this book. I can't imagine going through this life blind. That has to be one of the worst afflictions to not see anything to not be able to read to not be able to see colors to not be able to enjoy life, always in darkness. It's an awful affliction. That the Gospels give a lot of attention to we don't have so much here a theological point made as it is elsewhere, but what Matthew's intending to do is showcase something about Jesus. showcase something about jesus
He has left Capernaum, and now he's moving throughout Galilee. And in verse 35, "through all the villages and all the cities." But notice this emphasis: that two blind men followed him, crying out. When he comes to the house, they continue to come to him.
Now, if you put this together with the next scene which we're going to do here as they were going i want to skip down to that behold a demon possessed man who was mute was brought to him." And Jesus is going to give him deliverance. So the gospel of the kingdom has arrived. The gospel of the kingdom has come, and Jesus is never alone.
I want you to notice that he's never left alone. There are constantly people coming. There are constantly people coming, and some of the most inconvenient of all people. These blind men are yelling out along the road and following him. And they're bringing to him remember chapter 4 paralytics they're bringing to him all kinds of diseased, epileptics, all these people who are full of all kinds of problems. They're bringing him demon possessed people, paralytics, here a mute man. And he continues to bear it all.
Now it's really hard. You know, when we have reports constantly of people who are sick or people who face various difficulties, you know the difficulty of bearing that, you know the discouragement of that. It just seems like it's constantly coming. You know, we hear report after report. We go through one death, and then we know something's coming soon. This is a lot to carry. You know, this is weary. This is difficult. The challenges of this never seem to go away. And this is exactly what Jesus is showing us here. He is continuing to bear it all.
They just keep coming. They just keep coming. Remember what he said? What I said? This section is closing out the summarizing ministry activity of Jesus. He faced this his entire ministry. But I take these two accounts together. Notice what they're asking: mercy, mercy! We need, Lord, mercy! In total faith, these two blind beggars are crying out, "Son of David!" which is clearly in that time, we know from the extent literature It's it's a messianic term it's faith that this is the Messiah. "Have mercy on me!"
I don't know about you, see how prominent a prayer this is in the Bible? That's why I picked Psalm 51 today. At the heart of that Psalm is that very cry: "Have mercy on me, oh God, according to your compassions, be merciful to me." Think of how we sing it: "On your grace I rest my plea. Plenteous in compassion, now, blot out my transgression now."
That's clearly on their minds. Just like these people who've been coming, the paralytic, son, take heart, forgiven are your sins." Jesus looks at them and he says, "Do you believe that I'm able to do this?" They said, "Yes, Lord." And he reaches out and he touches their eyes and says, "According to your faith, be it done."
What a moment in ministry! What a moment of power!
But then in the next section, he says, "When you go into a city, inquire who in it, now think of the training here. He's going to send them out. "When you go in it, inquire in it who is worthy. And if they are worthy, let your peace come." And that leads us to the great question, I think, that's driving this section: of who is worthy? Who are those who are worthy? And what we see in the Gospels over and over is that those who are worthy are those who are the ones who are constantly crying to him for mercy.
This happens with both the accounts here, in a sense. Their eyes were opened, the mute man spoke, the demon was cast out.
In the next section, my point is this: before the disciples, Jesus never turned away people who came to him in faith for mercy. I think we need to remember that Jesus did not turn away, in the in the scriptures or in the Gospels, people who were coming to him constantly for mercy. He said it in John 6: "He that comes to me I will in no wise cast out." He always had time for them. He always gave place to them. And I think this is a valuable point in front of the disciples.
"I have come for mercy and not sacrifice." This is the purpose for which I've come in ministry. His desire was to now think about this this will this will round out as we get
To the end here his desire was to deliver those who cried out for mercy to you too, we're no different than these people. The same burdens, the same sense of failure, the same heart that cries out because of sin and failure is in these people, and his attention is here. He's able and willing. And you need to remember this when you cry out to mercy. for him. You remember this one of the shortest prayers in the Bible is "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." That guy goes down to his house justified. You can be in your bed at night in all distress and worry, and you can cry out for mercy and know he is hearing and answering.
This is what he delights to do. This is the compassion of Christ exhibited. it's mercy exhibited And that's important for ministry and the training, isn't it?
But now the mockery exhibit expressed. Notice what follows. It's interesting. In the first account, we read in verse 30 that Jesus sternly warned. There's like I think three words in the original see none discover It's a stern warning. You don't say a word about this: "See that no one knows about this."
What's the next verse you read? "But they went out and spread his fame throughout all the district." Now that's direct disobedience!
Why would that be captured? This is where I was stuck this week. I was stuck. You got to make a decision here. I, when I meet with Pastor contraris we talk about these things, and we both disagreed. So we didn't come to an agreement on this verse. Hold that thought. Hold that thought.
In the second account, after he heals the mute man, we read: "The multitudes marveled and said, we've never seen anything like this in israel
Now, here's what follows: "But the Pharisees said, he casts out demons by the prince of demons
Wow! Out of seemingly nowhere! Do you understand the statement that is They didn't just see, disagree, that the man was healed. They said, "This happened because it was a direct work of Satan, the prince of demons. It was his power that made this man well. He's doing it by Satan's power!"
Who are they talking to? Now, this issue is going to come up again. The Pharisees will do this again in Matthew's Gospel. He will confront it. But isn't it interesting that Matthew just leaves it alone? Boom! Said they, just undermined everything he did, and nothing said. Matthew wants us to think about i believe what Jesus had to endure in ministry. Matthew wants us to think about what Jesus himself had to endure in ministry.
Put it together: he shows mercy, and those to whom he shows mercy go out and directly disobey him. And then when it seems like such a success he heals the mute man, the demon-possessed man the crowds were amazed. I woke somebody up, I'm pretty sure the crowds were amazed. And the whole thing is undone by the Pharisees. Direct disobedience and then you're called a demon. Satan did that.
Now, I don't really like to be undermined in ministry, you know? It's not fun when things are out and things are said, and you know they're not true. You don't like that, about you? do you? None of it's corrected. None of it.
Sometimes you have to stop and say, "Why did he say it this way?" and ask the question, "Why is nothing else said?"
Now, think of our environment. What we would do. What conclusion are we drawing?
I think the first point is kind of crucial. They didn't obey. And we might come to the conclusion and say, "Well, how could they not? How could they obey They were just healed! Who would who would not go around and tell everyone?" But Jesus said, "Don't!" Doesn't the Great Commission say, "Go into all the world, baptize the nations, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded"? When in Acts they went out, they didn't go where they wanted. The whole time the Lord was directing where they would go, shutting doors. "You go here." At one point, remember, the Lord put the Spirit put up a stop sign for Paul's ministry. "You're not going to bithnia
I couldn't get away from this thought: Do we think ministry was easy himself? for Jesus? Look at the disobedience. And then look at what was said about him: "You're doing your work by demons."
If someone were saying that in the church today about me, I might blow a gasket! Problem after problem after problem. His whole ministry was bitter struggle.
He's teaching at one point in John 6, and he says things that are hard to understand, and it drove away 5 000 people. I've always wanted to title my sermon "How to Shrink Your Church." In the next section, all these people turn against him. His own brothers. They got up, this is Luke's record, they got up, they drove him out of the town and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built in order to throw him off the cliff. I've never had that happen yet. Escondido has a lot of cliffs!
This was hard business, this ministry. At times, it seemed like nothing was working.
I think embedded here is a reminder to all servants. Since I believe this is training, "Come, I'm going to make you fishers of men." And we have a close in this inclusio. To all servants of the Lord, no matter your station, really. We're not greater than our Master.
I mean, we all want fame and success today. But Jesus demonstrates endurance, unwavering commitment, when it seemed like nothing for him was working.
It's mysterious to us, isn't it? I mean, he had the power to change everything in a moment and didn't. You know what he could have done to those Pharisees right then and there? Psalm 2 style? He's directly disobeyed, and then he's called Satan. And does he retaliate? And we have some people today justifying putting up middle fingers to the culture. Does he? He could have exercised wrath. Couldn't he have?
See, over time, we can simply become jaded in this life with all, and it doesn't matter our calling, all the opposition, all the difficulty. You just become worn out. It seems like nothing works. It seems that God's ways fail constantly. That is an underlining problem that we sense at times.
It doesn't seem like church discipline works. That's why we jettison it. And the results at times seem like they're nil to none. This does not feel bad for pastor's time what I'm about to say this is not but you understand: there's a reason right now that there's major burnout in this. The numbers leaving the ministry are surprising. 48 feel the demands of ministry are more than they can handle. At any given time, 75 of pastors want to quit over severe stress that causes depression, fear, bewilderment, alienation.
Why? Because there's a lot of pressure for success. There's a lot of pressure for success. We want to see people love the church. We want to see people embrace the Gospel. We want to see people eager for worship who would say, "I could never miss," but who make excuses all the time. We want to see people cry for mercy, and we don't seem to see it as much as we want. We want to see people receive the word carefully and with respect. We want to see people honor the Sabbath. Because it's a burden? No, because it's good for you. It's right for you.
And these things are always a fight. He's training them.
"Consider Him, Hebrews, who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."
How do you not apply it? This is why, beloved, this summary section is so important. Matthew shows us the motivation of Christ's entire ministry. What drove him? This was the learning moment for them before they're sent out. You're going to go out, and you're going to face all kinds of opposition.
I want you to notice what he said right before he sends the disciples out. We get this refrain again, right? "And Jesus went through all the cities and villages, verse 35, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction."
He just kept doing it. You realize that this was the purpose for which he came forth. Mark says, Mark says the purpose for which Jesus came forth. He said, "We got to keep moving on to the towns, for I came to preach, not just to heal. Preach the gospel of the kingdom, good news."
Through all this difficulty, he just kept on preaching. He is not wavering here, and showcasing the power of the kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel, moving along to continue to show the coming of the kingdom.
But what drove him? Why would you endure all this? Why would you go through all this when it doesn't seem like it works at times? Why would you put up with being called a demon?
Well, he doesn't, ultimately, you know that. But he's long-suffering for who? All this blasphemy against him, all this disobedience, all this seeming lack of success, we come to the heart of it all in verse 36 today.
"When he saw the crowds, this is an amazing moment. "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd."
It means he welled up with great compassion. Who is this? This is God in human flesh welling up with compassion for rebels, who wanted to help them.
He must have stood up on the hill and said, "Come here, disciples. Come here. Look at them. Look at them. Look at them all wandering. What do you see when you look at them? Are you angry at them? Are you angry at all these lawless people?"
"I see fatigue. They're, using an old word, forlorn. They're dejected. They're deserted. They're harassed. They're helpless. They don't have a shepherd."
He looked at the masses this way. Have we lost that? And all of our frustrations with the culture right now, I wonder, this is the heart of ministry. I feel we forget it. I forget it. You are the people who've come up to Christ today. You're the harvest. There are all kinds of people walking aimlessly. He's the Shepherd of the sheep. He's looking at shepherds who've done nothing in Israel to help these people. their phony religion, their big tassels, their large phylacteries, their ostentatious shows of the Sabbath, their phony fastings, done nothing for them. They're oppressed.
But most of all, Jesus looked at them and he saw in their hearts what all these healings have been exposing. A lot of people are carrying around a lot of guilt. and they're ripped apart inside and they're headed for the final judgment And their sins aren't dealt with and they need me, says Jesus. They don't realize what's about to come on them.
Isn't that a scary thought? No one's thinking about this today. No one's thinking about hell and judgment. It's eternal. No one's worried about it.
See the heart of what he's training his servants in the ministry? Yeah, it's hard. This is warfare for people. This is as hard as it's going to get. Sure, at times it seems like nothing's working, but Paul said, "We endure all things for the sake of the elect." Don't we? He wanted the disciples to understand that what he was doing was the exact opposite of the religious leaders. He's binding up burdens. He's healing. He's forgiving. He's concerned about people's lost state. He's fulfilling Ezekiel.
"You eat the fat and clothe yourselves. The weak you've not strengthened. The sick you've not healed. The injured you've not bound up. The strayed you've not brought back. The lost you've not sought. And with force and harshness you've ruled them, so they were scattered."
That's what he saw that day because there was no shepherd.
"For thus says the Lord God, I myself, I myself will search for my sheep when I seek them out.
He's doing it. This is the Lord. And as a shepherd seeks out his flock when he's among his sheep that have been scattered, so I will seek out my sheep and will rescue them from all places that they have been scattered on a day of dark clouds and thickness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord. I will seek the lost. And I will bring back the strayed. And I will bind up the injured. And I will strengthen the weak. And the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
That's the ministry. And Jesus was willing to subject himself to all kinds of assaults for you.
Now, should we respond to clothes? the harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few."
It may be that Jesus didn't send those out because they weren't sent. The two blind men, they weren't sent.
"Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into his harvest."
That's Romans 10: "How can they call on Him in whom they've not believed? And how can they believe in one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they're sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
You see, when there are a few pastors preaching and everyone wants to be entertained, when there are a few preachers and the office falls into disrepute, that's a judgment on obstinate people.
But when the Lord's reversing the tides, you will hear God's people praying again for godly shepherds who have compassion on people, who deeply desire, through the preaching of the Gospel, to set them free and to demonstrate the compassions of Christ that he is their Shepherd, he's the one that sought them out, he's the one that loves them.
Are we praying that the Lord would raise up pastors? We have a great opportunity right here with so many studying in Westminster Seminary. Do you want to see things turned around in this nation? You think fixing tax problems is the issue? The problem is an entire nation of people who are in darkness without a shepherd.
Here's how you can make a difference: you can pray to the Lord of the harvest that his ministry that is showcased here would fill the earth again, that his people would come on the Sabbath and love to drink from the waters again, and the churches would be full of eager people who are not at the ball game, that God's surprising ways would be fulfilled as the multitude would come into his kingdom that no man can number, because the Lord has filled the land again with preachers.
May the Gospel of the kingdom sound forth. May the same compassions of Christ go out today. May that be our prayer, because that's what's needed.
Amen. Heavenly Father, thank you for your living word, and thank you for exhibiting the heart of the Christian ministry before us. We pray to the Lord of the harvest. Would you raise up and send out again many to preach your Gospel who would be faithful in that, in this vein of ministry, who would seek to preach the Gospel of the kingdom to liberate people and set them free from their burdens. Be merciful, O Lord. Help us. Let us again gather on the Sabbath as those of the harvest to gather around your word and to be fed. And may we then be salt and light in this whole city around us, telling others where the true bread from heaven can be found. Bless your churches, we pray. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.