“‘Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’” ( Matthew 9:38 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest. ).

The primary problem that hindered Jesus’ ministry as He taught, preached, and healed in Palestine is the primary problem that hinders our ministry today: “the workers are few.”

The workers Jesus is referring to are the people who would work in a field that was soon to be harvested—that is what the Lord is calling the disciples to do. This was the first part of our Lord’s training method with the Twelve. His disciples learned that the need for the gospel to be brought into a world that is headed for judgment far surpasses the outreach itself.

Who can reach the lost, hell-bound world of sinful, hurting people who need to hear and believe the gospel? Who will tell them of their plight and lead them to the way of escape?

In His own days on earth, Christ’s workers were few, and they still are today. The first need in His ministry is for workers, and one of the most important things those workers must understand is that their shortage of numbers can be increased only by God’s provision and power.

God’s people need to look at their world the way Jesus looked out at the multitudes in Galilee and over the city of Jerusalem. We need to observe the people around us as Ezra observed his fellow Israelites on the way from Babylon to Jerusalem ( Ezra 8:15 15 And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. ) and the way Nehemiah inspected the walls of Jerusalem before he began to rebuild them (Neh. 2:13).

Ask Yourself

Why are the active, evangelistic servants of God in such short supply these days? What are the causes for our silence, our indifference, our unconcern for the woeful plight of every lost man or woman we meet? As Jesus commanded, make this a specific focus of your prayer—and of your obedience.

From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

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