This Sunday's Music:
Rising Sun
Your Grace Is Enough
O Great God
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Holy Holy Holy

This Sunday's Text: Matthew 9:35-10:23
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 he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
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. 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; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 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. 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.
"Behold, I am sneding you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before themand the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious for what you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."

Jesus' ministry saw quite a jump in popularity thanks to His miraculous acts of healing around Galilee. And we see Jesus' heart behind these miracles at the beginning of this week's passage: "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). The people of Israel were hurting, eagerly waiting for their Messiah, and their Messiah had come and compassionately healed their diseases.

But now, as we move forward in the Life of Christ story, we start to see a deeper picture of the heart behind Jesus' ministry. It was not simply that Israel would be healed of their physical maladies, but that they would be healed from the corruption and deceitfulness of sin. For this reason, Jesus sends out His twelve apostles to proclaim the good news that "The kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 10:7) They become the first workers in God's plentiful harvest.

We see the plentiful harvest all around us. Everywhere we go, people are hurting and looking for something that will give them peace and rest. And we have the answer for them, that Christ is the only one who can provide that rest, but only if we realize that we can do nothing to save ourselves and put our whole trust in Him. This message is the greatest news, and it is free for everyone to receive, but so few people are out sharing that news!

Jesus does not paint a very pretty picture by human standards of the life of His messengers. There will be persecution, ridicule, and many will be put to death for their faith. But He also tells the Twelve not to fear, because the Holy Spirit will give them the strength to endure, and the words to proclaim in the midst of those troubles. He concludes by promising that "the one who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22). If we have put our trust in Christ, and have received the new life in the Spirit, He will work in us so that we will endure to the end of our lives, and the result will be eternal life with God the Father.

This is good news! Why would we not want to share it with everyone we know?