Catch the Vision for the Harvest

Matthew 9:36 shows how Jesus interpreted the need for the harvest—why it needs to be done: “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them.” This verse gives a window into the heart of Jesus. His was a heart of compassion. If we’re to have the type of ministry that Jesus had, it will be because our heart is becoming like the heart of Jesus. We too will have a heart of compassion.

The compassion of Jesus is a common theme that keeps coming to the surface in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 14:14 says, “When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.” Again, in Matthew 15:32, Jesus said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” And in Matthew 20:34 we read, “Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.” What we discover is that compassion is at the heart of Jesus and all that He does.

Compassion is a pretty strong word. You would think that the reason for Jesus’ compassion would be because of the sicknesses that He encountered. Everywhere He turns He meets people who are blind, epileptic, paralyzed or even dead. That is certainly worth our feeling compassion for them. Watch even a little T.V. and an ad comes on showing pictures of people somewhere who are suffering many things. It is an attempt to raise money to help these people. It is hard to watch and you can’t help but feel compassion for them. It pulls at the heart strings. It makes sense to be moved with compassion when we encounter the sick.

But what moves Jesus isn’t the physical illnesses that He encountered. Matthew 9:36 goes on to say, “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.” What moved Jesus was the great spiritual need of the people. Without Jesus, their lives had no center, their existence seemed aimless, and their whole experience was one of futility.

The prophet Micah wrote: “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel” (Micah 5:2, as quoted in Matt. 2:6). And through Ezekiel, God said: “Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd” (Ezek. 34:23). But Jesus saw the situation as similar to what Ezekiel had said earlier in the same chapter: “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them” (Ezek. 34:6).

So Jesus saw the people as distressed and dispirited; as harassed, confused, bothered, and unable to help themselves. This, even more than the illnesses He encountered, moved Him with compassion. Like Jesus, we must be moved with compassion by the spiritual need of the people we know and encounter. That is the vision for the harvest that we must catch.

If we are to serve like Jesus served, we must have a heart that is becoming like the heart of Jesus—one filled with compassion for the lost. There are people around you who are “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36b). Look around you and see people the way Jesus sees them, and feel compassion for them the way He does. They are the harvest! Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. Their salvation is why outreach is needed. Catch the vision for the harvest and witness for Christ at every opportunity. Amen.