Matthew 9:36—10:8

At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Then he summoned his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits
to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the twelve apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

BACKGROUNDER

The heart of Jesus is turned towards the crowds who are drawn to him by his preaching, healing, and casting out of demons. The people are experiencing his divine presence and power, and this by itself calls out a response from them. But who do they think they are experiencing? And what are they looking for? Jesus is, “moved with pity”: his human emotions are evoked. Jesus’s compassion for them reflects the heart of God for his people, for all of us.

Then Jesus turns to his disciples. They are the men and women who have left everything behind to follow him. They have gone beyond the crowds, because they have committed themselves to Jesus. The disciples are people who are so compelled by him that they have left everything behind just to be close to him and to learn from his teaching about God. Christians today could learn a lot from them.

But Jesus asks the disciples to do something different. He tells them to “ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest”. Jesus is reshaping their world, and asking them to look outwards as well. The disciples are to look at the crowds, and others beyond, as an abundant harvest. One day – after Jesus has accomplished his mission by dying and rising again – their mission will begin. They are going to be sent out to gather in the harvest, to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28).

Jesus takes the first step of transforming disciples into missionaries by appointing the Twelve Apostles – literally the Twelve who are Sent. Their proclamation is limited for now into letting people in neighbouring communities know that “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”.

Jesus sends the Twelve out with two conditions that still apply to us today. One, they are to receive power to perform the same signs that he had done: “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons”. But they are to do so freely and generously, because “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give”.

This episode challenges disciples of Jesus today to enter confidently into the mission to gather in the harvest of people in our time and place, people who are also “troubled and abandoned”. And Jesus offers all people hope and healing that he can touch our lives especially if we are lost, “like sheep without a shepherd”.