Sermon: God Answers the Prayer to Send Out Workers
Matthew 10:1-15
Truth Taught- As we pray for workers to be sent out into the harvest field, God often calls us to go.
Introduction
Last time we looked at the fact that Jesus saw the helpless condition of the people who were like sheep with no shepherd. We also remember that He told His disciples to pray for workers to go out into the harvest field made up of lost helpless souls.
The mission must always begin with prayer. Prayer is the connecting power between our efforts and God making those efforts effectual. We must never think for a second that anything of eternal significance can be accomplished without prayer. We can do nothing without God’s aid.
What happens when we obey our Lord in this matter? What happens when we pray that God would send out workers into His harvest field? Many times, He sends us out. This is exactly what happened in our passage today. They prayed for workers and Jesus appointed them as the workers.
Matthew 9:37–10:15 (ESV)
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Here is where, it seems, we get confused about prayer. We think that praying is like magic. We pray and God mysteriously works and poof out of thin air comes the answer. That’s really not how prayer usually works. If you think about what James teaches us about faith and works, the same is true for prayer. Prayer without works is also dead. So, beloved, our prayers do not just make something happen by themselves but our praying must be accompanied by works. Prayer makes our efforts fruitful because we are acknowledging the fact that our efforts are entirely futile without God equipping us and making our work successful.
So, they prayed that the Lord of the Harvest would send out workers into His harvest…Here’s what happened.
Matthew 10:1–15 (ESV)
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
1. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Workers
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Our Lord’s mission has been building and now we come to the exact time He calls His chosen to go out and do the very things He did. They are equipped with the same miracle-working abilities that their Teacher had. Jesus gave them authority to cast out demons, heal every disease and affliction, raise the dead, cleanse lepers. They were not given the ability to forgive sin, however, that is reserved for God alone. They were given the same message Jesus preached, namely the Kingdom of God is at hand. They called the people to faith and repentance and their actions showed that they too were endowed with authority over demons and sickness.
Matthew names the specific men whom Jesus called. It’s important for us to realize that as we pray for workers that Christ may very well send us out to be the answer to our own prayers. We will not go out on our own but with authority of Jesus, Himself.
The Apostles were given authority in every realm.
The 12 Apostles were the answer to the prayer for workers. These 12 are symbolic for the 12 tribes of Israel. Israel was the sheep that had no shepherd. These 12 are the shepherds of Israel. The apostles will teach the people and lead the people into the righteousness that God desires. That’s why Jesus picked 12, one for each of the tribes of Israel.
The 12 are mentioned by name and they are a mixed bag of men to say the least. They were made up of fishermen, Zealots, Tax collectors and just plain people. We don’t need to spend much time here but to say Jesus chose them for a specific task. They were trained and turned loose to carry on Jesus’ mission.
We, as God’s witnesses are not given the same authority as the Apostles were. Our calling is not to cast out demons and heal every disease and affliction. We are given authority to speak truth and make disciples and when we do these things we pray and ask God to come to our aid and empower us to do so with His authority.
We are not apostles in the sense of the 12 who were the first ones to go out. They were also given authority to write Holy Scripture. They were given certain authority that we are not given.
2. Jesus Gives Them Instructions, Three Aspects of Their Mission
A. To whom are they to Go?
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Why go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? Jesus was first and foremost Israel’s Messiah.
Matthew 2:4–6 (ESV)
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
Jesus was Israel’s Savior/Shepherd first. He was her Messiah, her King. This would be the standard practice until after the resurrection when Jesus would expand the mission to go to all peoples. It is true, of course, that Gentiles were saved during our Lord’s ministry but His focus would remain on the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
At Jesus’ ascension He would expand their mission to include all nations.
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
B. The Nature of the Mission
7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
The message was very simple and very important. The lost sheep needed to repent and turn to Christ because the Kingdom is at hand. If we look to Jesus’ message and even John the Baptist’s message we see the same thrust. The Kingdom of God is in their midst because the King is present and they are not ready to meet the King. They are consumed with sin and in need of repentance and forgiveness. So, Jesus sends the 12 out with the same message He preached, repent and believe the Gospel.
Notice in their case they were to preach this message as they were going. They had a lot of territory to cover throughout Israel and there wasn’t time to stop and stay days in any one town or village. We see here that theirs was more of an itinerant preaching ministry…almost like the circuit riding preacher from the 17th century in America.
Their preaching was accompanied by healing miracles, much like Jesus’ was before them.
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons
This list is exactly the miracles Jesus accomplished as He preached the same message. Their ministry was for the most part an exact duplication of Jesus’.
Acts 9:36–42 (ESV)
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
They were to heal without charging for the miracle. Just like they themselves received freely they were to grant the healings without charging the people.
C. Take No Provisions
9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
While they were not to charge for their healing ministry God would see to it that they were provided for. As they traveled bringing the Gospel and healing with them, they would be cared for. They would have a place to stay and food to eat while on their missionary trip. They were not to take extra money with them. They were not to fund raise but simply go as God had sent them.
Part of this was so they could travel light and move more quickly through the towns. Another reason was so that their trust in God’s provision would be highlighted as the hand of God provided them for, because the laborer deserves his food.
So, beloved, we are to pray for workers and then go as God calls us to go. As we go God will provide for us. The provision is already accounted for as we go.
We have the same proverbial truth given by Paul…
1 Timothy 5:18 (ESV)
18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
3. Worthy or Unworthy, the Eternal Significance of the Gospel
11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Here, whether a person, a family, even an entire town is viewed as either worthy or unworthy, it all has to do with whether or not they received the message of the Apostles. To reject the Gospel is to prove that you are unworthy of eternal life.
Acts 13:46 (ESV)
46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
The apostles upon entering a house were to give a God endorsed greeting. One such greeting was Peace to this house.
Luke 10:5–6 (ESV)
5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
The greeting was accompanied by Gospel proclamation if the Gospel was received (if one of God’s elect resided in that house) the message and greeting would remain. If not it would return to the Apostle much like an uncashed check.
Isaiah 55:10–11 (ESV)
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
These human spoken words had the endorsement and authority of Jesus and were considered God’s Words. Every time the Apostles spoke a greeting and the Gospel to a household the Word of God accomplished its purpose. In some cases the lost were made alive by the Spirit of God and believed. In that case the greeting of peace would remain with that household.
In other cases God’s Word was spoken and then rejected and God’s Word accomplished exposing the household’s unworthiness to receive the peace presented. In both cases God’s Word accomplished God’s purposes. In some it was the means of eternal life and in others it was the means of eternal destruction. In both cases God’s Word accomplished God’s agenda.
If hospitality is refused then the Apostles were to symbolically reject them by shaking off the dust from their feet.
Luke 10:11–12 (ESV)
11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Conclusion/Application
What we’ve learned today…
#We cannot do missions, evangelism, be a witness, or do Church any way we please. God has given us certain parameters in which we are to function as His witnesses. For us it is to be 1) living obedient lives and 2) speaking the message of the Gospel.
#When we speak God’s Words of truth then we too speak with authority. God’s Word can go forth from us as well. When we speak truth God’s Word will not return to Him void but it will accomplish all His purposes. When we read God’s Word and call people to obey we do so with authority.
#We must see the importance of the Gospel message. When the Apostles went house to house they didn’t look for the houses with the “good people” because the truth is there are no good people. The only thing that made the difference was the response to the Gospel message. That response shows the condition of the heart. Has God prepared a person for the message or not? Is the soil ready for the seed of the Gospel to be planted? The Apostles had power to heal, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons but they did not know which house was worthy. Beloved we do not know either. The response to the message of the Gospel is the proof of the condition of the person’s heart.
#We have been given the authority to go out and do the work of the evangelist. We are the ones who are to speak God’s Word. We are the ones God uses to expose whether a person is worthy or unworthy. We must pray that God would send out workers and as we pray, we must be ready to go. I pray that as we go we too will share the Gospel of the Kingdom.
*Resources Used:
Matthew by D A Carson in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary
A Theology of Matthew by Charles Quarles
A Gospel of Matthew by France
Matthew by Craig Bloomberg
Matthew by Doriani
Matthew by Charles Price
Matthew by Leon Morris
