INTRODUCTION TO DECEMBER LESSONS
Saying that “Jesus is Lord” can be difficult for someone living in a democratic republic. The paradigm of a democracy runs counter to living in a kingdom. Lordship implies that someone else is in charge. Perhaps the earliest Christian confession was “Jesus is Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Romans understood that to be a reference to a king. But Matthew’s audience used other titles to indicate the same; examples include “Christ” or “Son of God.” In this unit, students will learn from the disciples that Jesus is Lord of the harvest, they will learn from the miracles that Jesus is Lord of creation, they will learn from a parable that Jesus is Lord of judgment, and they will learn from the Magi that Jesus is Lord of all.
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Unit: Matthew
Theme: Jesus Is Lord
Lesson Text: Matthew 9:35-38; 10:24-33
Supplemental Text: Matthew 10:1-23; 34-39; Isaiah 6:8; 1 Samuel 3:1-10; Matthew 28:18-20
Aim: Pray for harvest workers, and be a harvest worker.
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Download a PDF of this week’s lesson material (the Study by Mark Scott, Application by David Faust, and Discovery Questions by Michael C. Mack): LOOKOUT_December4_2022.
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By Mark Scott
The God of the Bible is an avid farmer. He scatters his seed almost indiscriminately (Matthew 13:4-5, 7-8). The only thing he enjoys more than planting is harvesting. He is both Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8) and Lord of the harvest (Matthew 9:38). He works very hard in his field, and he invites others to join him there.
The closing paragraph of Matthew 9 functions as both a summary and introduction. It summarizes the content of chapters 8 and 9 and introduces the discourse to the disciples (Jesus’ speech to the Twelve about their upcoming short-term mission trip).
A Prayer to Pray
Matthew 9:35-38
The events recorded in chapters 8–9 are not in strict chronological order. Matthew arranged three sets of miracles containing three miracles each. These are broken up by discipleship sections (Matthew 8:18-22 and 9:9-17). Matthew 8–9 display Jesus going through all the towns (walled cities?) and villages (unwalled cities?).
In these places Jesus did what he always did. He taught in their synagogues, proclaimed the government of God, and relieved suffering wherever he found it. These were his three priorities. He preached to the masses, he taught in smaller formal and informal settings, and he healed the needy. In fact, Matthew 9:35 is identical to Matthew 4:23. So these activities were not just “one and done.”
When Jesus saw a crowd, he had compassion (felt deeply in his stomach area) on them. The Messiah of Matthew’s Gospel is a compassionate king. The Message says, “His heart broke”; the people were harassed (to filet) and helpless (to be thrown down; cf. Matthew 27:5; Acts 27:38). Matthew described these folks as sheep without a shepherd. The same phrase was used at every significant juncture of the Old Testament when God wanted to emphasize the wandering nature of his people (Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:5).
Minister Nate Ross said, “Need leads.” What needs done must get done first. Jesus believed that the answer to the tremendous needs of the people was to have a prayer meeting. Step one in preaching, teaching, and healing is prayer. So, the imagery shifted from livestock (sheep) to grain farming. The Messiah is the Lord over the harvest, so his resources must be tapped. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. The answer was prayer. Ask (make a special request) the Lord to send out (throw out) workers into the harvest field. Jesus taught us to pray, but he also requested us to pray for workers.
A Courage to Hold
Matthew 10:24-33
It is hard to pray for workers without volunteering to be one. If the disciples followed Jesus’ request they would step up and get to the work that Jesus did (teaching, preaching, and healing). Chapter 10 is the second great discourse of Matthew’s Gospel. This might be called “the little commission” to prepare the disciples for the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus was sending his disciples out for a short-term trip while the Teacher went solo for a while (Matthew 11:1). This speech helped prepare them. Many of the teachings are “Twelve-specific” (i.e., apply mostly for just the 12 apostles). But beginning in verse 22 the teachings are more generic for all followers of any age.
To do Jesus’ bidding would require courage. Working in his field is just that—work. And it takes guts. Jesus used two metaphors to drive this home—the student-teacher metaphor and the servant-master (head of the house) metaphor. Jesus would be called Beelzebul (Philistine deity, equivalent to Satan) by his religious critics. The disciples should expect similar labels and treatments.
Three times Jesus told his disciples to “not be afraid,” and he gave three reasons why: (1) They had already begun to live an open life for God, holding no secrets; therefore, they need not fear whatever was disclosed. (2) They do not need to be afraid of death because they fear the One who has power over it. (3) They need not fear because God will care for them in the minutest way (more than he cares for sparrows).
If the disciples would acknowledge (talk about) Christ on their short journey, Jesus would return the favor by “talking about” them to the Father. The flip side, however, is equally true—i.e., they could be disowned. Prayer for workers will embolden those workers to confess Christ in their mission work for him.
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