Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Mat 9:36 But seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion on them, because they were tired and scattered like sheep having no shepherd.
Mat 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.
Mat 9:38 Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send out laborers into His harvest.
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| Out on the Congo Outback Roads |
We are struck by the fact that Jesus did not just talk. His Kingdom is not in words but in actions.He did teach and preach but this was always accompanied by the healing of every sickness and every disease among the people.
The Motivation for all this ministry was that He was moved with compassion for them for they were tired and scattered like sheep without a shepherd.
Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Notes
Jesus went about or around: This is a continuous process as the verb is in the imperfect tense. Moffat says, “He made a tour”to ‘all the cities and villages’ He did not pick this nice village and leave another out. He was all inclusive.
Illustration
When living in the Kasai Orientale of the Congo we attempted to spend one week each year in each of the 17 Stations of the Pentecostal Church of Congo in our area. There were some 1,000 local assemblies grouped in 50 - 60 churches in each ‘station’
preaching the gospel of the kingdom: Proclaiming the Glad Tidings of the Kingdom of God.
The Rule and Authority of the king was heralded and demonstrated.
Compare Mat 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Eaton’s Bible Dictionary:A word of Anglo-Saxon origin, and meaning “God's spell”, i.e., word of God, or rather, according to others, “good spell”, i.e., good news. It is the rendering of the Greek evangelion, i.e., “good message.” It denotes
(1.) “the welcome intelligence of salvation to man as preached by our Lord and his followers.
(2.) It was afterwards transitively applied to each of the four histories of our Lord's life, published by those who are therefore called 'Evangelists', writers of the history of the gospel (the evangelion).
(3.) The term is often used to express collectively the gospel doctrines; and 'preaching the gospel' is often used to include not only the proclaiming of the good tidings, but the teaching men how to avail themselves of the offer of salvation, the declaring of all the truths, precepts, promises, and threatenings of Christianity.” It is termed “the gospel of the grace of God” (Act_20:24), “the gospel of the kingdom” (Mat_4:23), “the gospel of Christ” (Rom_1:16), “the gospel of peace (Eph_6:15), “the glorious gospel,” “the everlasting gospel,” “the gospel of salvation” (Eph_1:13).
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| Missionaries of the Congo Evangelistic Mission mid 1970s at Kipushya, Kasai Orientale |
Mat 9:36 But seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion on them, because they were tired and scattered like sheep having no shepherd.
Notes
But seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion on them,
Mat_9:36-38. Jesus compassionating the multitudes, asks prayer for help.
He had now returned from His preaching and healing circuit, and the result, as at the close of the first one, was the gathering of a vast and motley multitude around Him. After a whole night spent in prayer, He had called His more immediate disciples, and from them had solemnly chosen the twelve; then, coming down from the mountain, on which this was transacted, to the multitudes that waited for Him below, He had addressed to them - as we take it - that discourse which bears so strong a resemblance to the Sermon on the Mount that many critics take it to be the same. (See on Luk_6:12-49; and see on Mat_5:1-48, Introductory Remarks). Soon after this, it should seem, the multitudes still hanging on Him, Jesus is touched with their wretched and helpless condition, and acts as is now to be described.JFB Commentary
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted — This reading, however, has hardly any authority at all. The true reading doubtless is, “were harassed.”JFB
and were scattered abroad — rather, “lying about,” “abandoned,” or “neglected.”
as sheep, having no shepherd — their pitiable condition as wearied under bodily fatigue, a vast disorganized mass, being but a faint picture of their wretchedness as the victims of pharisaic guidance; their souls uncared for, yet drawn after and hanging upon Him. This moved the Redeemer’s compassion.JFB
Mat 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.
Mat 9:37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is abundant, but the reapers are few; WNT
The harvest truly is plenteous ... - Another beautiful image. A waving field of golden grain invites many reapers and demands haste. By the reference to the harvest here, he meant that the multitude of people that flocked to his ministry was great. The people expected the Messiah. They were prepared to receive the gospel; but the laborers were few. He directed them, therefore, to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth reapers. God is the proprietor of the great harvest of the world, and he only can send people to gather it in.Barnes
Mat 9:38 Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send out laborers into His harvest.
Because of the Scarcity of Labourers in God’s harvest Jesus says PRAY. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out labourers.
God’s call on My Life
The Assemblies had a vigorous missions outreach into the Sepik River district of New Guinea, and Ipswich was a vital part of all they were doing there. Four brothers in our assembly supported Pastors Tommy and Stella Evans. They were missionaries from India, who were asked to go to head up the Sepik Outreach. This particular year we had the visit from the Congo Evangelistic Mission of the New Zealand Missionary, Elton Knauf. I was in my mid teens and remember clearly the slide-show in our house, of pictures of rolling savannah grasslands and village churches of Central Congo. This short, sandy-headed Kiwi, was someone who was tough of nature and persistent. He walked with a definite limp as he’d contracted polio as a boy. This did not stop him from being a pioneer missionary in the isolated centre of the Congo.
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| First Trip to Kipushya kms from Kamina |
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| Welcoming a New Missionary Cliff Bond to Kipushya |
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| The Main House is being rethatched with Eddie and Heather Rowlands and their four children Lloyd, Allison, Paul and david Rowlands with my new Bride, Esther Herschell |
Just one year later we were spending our Christmas Holidays at the Burleigh Heads Convention Centre. On New Year’s Eve they showed a film about a black missionary to Africa. At the end they appealed for people to come forward who were willing to serve the Lord in Missions. I went forward and there at the altar the Lord revealed to me the Cross and His cleansing power in my life. Then I saw an amazing vision of some Africans lined up in their regal paraphernalia, leopard skin skirts, wild pig and hippo tusks around their necks.
Instantly I knew that God was calling me to Africa into missions where Pastor Elton Knauf was. Ten years later, soon after arriving in the Congo, there were these same men standing in front of me and I knew I had come home.
The Lord confirmed the call to me firstly through my Father. At 18, having just finished Grammar School my father asked me, “Ken, what do you want to do with your life?” I answered, “Dad, I feel God wants me to be a missionary.” To my amazement he added, “That’s right son. He’s told me too.” Thank God for godly praying parents who were sensitive to what God was saying to their children.
Another confirmation came unexpectedly from the Lord at a young people’s youth camp at Yukanavale, Toowoomba. The preacher stopped in the middle of his message and pointing to Ian Smith and me sitting at the back of the meeting, he prophesied saying, “Ian, God wants you to serve him amongst young people here in Toowoomba and you, Ken, He wants you to go overseas and preach His Word.” Amazing! I had known seven years before but God was making sure that I was listening.
The only job I was offered after leaving school was to do teacher training for primary schools. I knew that this would be used by God in ways that as yet I did not realise. When eventually I did apply to the Congo Evangelistic Mission, they were especially looking for teachers for their teacher training program.
In mid 1960 we read in the Brisbane Courier Mail that two missionaries, Teddy Hodson from England and Elton Knauf from New Zealand had been missing and they were now confirmed dead murdered by rebels in the North Katanga Province of the Congo. Actually my parents received a letter from Brother Knauf in the mail, one month after we’d heard that he was killed. This whole event made a lasting impression on my life. The letter had taken six weeks to arrive from the Congo. Now I knew at 18 that the Lord was sending me to Congo to replace a martyred saint.
The Call of God is essential for work in the Heart of Africa. Without it you surely would not survive the hassles and pressures. The Apostle Paul said, “I, Paul am called to be a Missionary of Christ Jesus by the express will of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:1
Maybe the Lord, Himself, is calling you to move into mission work under His Mighty Hand.
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