A Messiah with No Complex

Scripture Matthew 9:36-38

 As your pastor here are six things I think are important for you to know at the beginning of 2010.

1. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

2. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

3. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

4. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that deep down inside we all believe we are good drivers.

5. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

So where are we in Matthew? We are at the end of the first part of Roman numeral II. We have been introduced to the Messiah, met his witnesses, heard his preaching, seen his miracles and the amazing affect of his light shining in Galilee. It seems like Jesus is off to a fantastic start. 

What do you think is going through Jesus mind? Now that he’s had this auspicious beginning what’s he focusing on. We might expect Matthew to tell us how exited Jesus is plus maybe a little exhausted. Or how fulfilled he feels and yet he remains very determined to keep up the pace. There also the possibility that even though he’s psyched by what’s been going on he may have a growing anger a Rome because of the injustices he’s been seeing.

 Matthew answers the question for us.

  Matthew 9:36-38. 

  35 Jesus went around visiting all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues, preached the Good News about the Kingdom, and healed people with every kind of disease and sickness. As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 So he said to his disciples, “The harvest is large, but there are few workers to gather it in. 38 Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest.”

So there you have it. First and foremost Jesus saw people and he felt compassion for them. That’s it. No looking back and swelling with pride. At this state of his ministry, when he’s at his peak, Jesus saw people and he felt compassion for them. Only the Pharisees were raining on his parade.

  Look back at verse 33. After they see Jesus at work the people said, “We’ve never seen anything like this before.” They saw Jesus and Jesus saw them. It was like computer dating. They needed Jesus and he loved them.

 This phenomenon has never changed. Let’s call it the Messiah Factor. No matter what world leaders are trying to accomplish. No matter what the religious leaders are up to. No matter what the most recent crisis is, Jesus sees the people. Jesus feels compassion for the people.

How does the Messiah Factor show up in our day and age?

   Some people felt harassed and worried when Bush and the Republicans were in charge. They thought the threat of terrorism was being exaggerated to justify pouring money into the military industrial complex. In the process the bad guys were destroying the planet and giving Wall Street an excuse for the rich to get richer.

Some people feel harassed and worried with Obama and the Democrats in charge. They think sympathy for the poor is being used as an excuse for the government to control everything and spend everything. They’re afraid that national security and personal freedom are being sacrificed for international popularity and socialism.

Someday God will tend to the leaders in both parties.  But for now, the Messiah Factor, tells me that Jesus is not mesmerized by what’s going on is Washington. I don’t think he starts his day with either the Drudge Report or moveon.org.   I think he starts his day with a cup of coffee and a printout from your heart.

Jesus has already spent time feeling compassion for you today. I don’t know what he thinks about the special senate election in Massachusetts or the recent Supreme Court decision, or the outcomes of the economic stimulus, but he looks at you and all the other people affected one way or the other by each of these. He looks with compassion.

Another important aspect of the Messiah Factor. Jesus fame is spreading. He’s like a rock star. Everywhere he goes there’s a large crowd. Everyone is pointing at Jesus. “There he is.” But He doesn’t turn to his disciples to discuss how to take advantage of his fame. He’s not thinking about the budding opposition. He’s not thinking about Rome. Jesus is not thinking about Jesus. He points the disciples’ attention to the harvest.

a. The harvest is plentiful

b. But the laborers are few

c. Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest

b’. To send out laborers

a’. Into his harvest

  Jesus used this literary chiasm, to add to the message of the words. Notice that a and a’ are like bookends. They’re about the harvest. B and b’ are about the laborers. And in the center of it all, the focal point is the Lord of the harvest and a call to action. Everything derives its meaning and purpose from the Lord of the Harvest.

 Because the Lord is the driving force, his presence generates action. In a the harvest is plentiful but static. Nothing’s happening. In b the laborers are few and they also are doing nothing. But after the Lord of the harvest is acknowledged, the laborers will be sent and the workers will be in the harvest. The punch line at the end is that the harvest is his harvest.

 Now let’s look at a third aspect of the Messiah Factor. Jesus has just been in the harvest and he’s been unstoppable. He’s done more in a couple of months that most evangelists and pastors and whole churches do in a lifetime. And what does he do, he tells the disciples to pray that God will send him some help.

To me this is astounding. If only all of us were as humble as Jesus. Jesus did not have visions of grandeur. He was the Messiah but he didn’t have a Messiah Complex.

This is the second time in Matthew that Jesus told his disciples to pray for something. Earlier he had told them to pray for those who persecute you (5:44).  Rarely does Jesus mention specific things we should pray for so when he does we should pay double attention.

When Jesus was on earth, he saw the crowds and had compassion on them because they were harassed and endangered like sheep without a shepherd. He realized there was a need for more laborers to go into the harvest so he asked his disciples to pray for them.

When Jesus looks down on the North Country he sees crowds of people who are harassed and endangered because they are like sheep without a shepherd. He sees that we need laborers for the harvest. He tells us to pray for them.

 I want to close with this devotional from Our Daily Bread.[1] It’s about sheep and it may be about one of us on any given day. When our text says that the people looked like helpless sheep, it’s referring to a special phenomenon to sheep.

 In his classic book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, W. Phillip Keller gives a striking picture of the care and gentleness of a shepherd. In verse 3 when David says, “He restores my soul,” he uses language every shepherd would understand.

Sheep are built in such a way that if they fall over on their side and then onto their back, it is very difficult for them to get up again. They flail their legs in the air, bleat, and cry. After a few hours on their backs, gas begins to collect in their stomachs, the stomach hardens, the air passage is cut off, and the sheep will eventually suffocate. This is referred to as a “cast down” position.

When a shepherd restores a cast down sheep, he reassures it, massages its legs to restore circulation, gently turns the sheep over, lifts it up, and holds it so it can regain its equilibrium.

What a picture of what God wants to do for us! When we are on our backs, flailing because of guilt, grief, or grudges, our loving Shepherd reassures us with His grace, lifts us up, and holds us until we’ve gained our spiritual equilibrium.

If you’ve been cast down for any reason, God is the only one who can help you get on your feet again. He will restore your confidence, joy, and strength.

Youth Message

Tell me about Jesus.

Who can tell me something Jesus did?

Who can tell me something Jesus said?

Who can tell me something Jesus felt?

What’s Jesus doing now?

 When Jesus was on earth he taught people the truth, healed people, raised people from the dead, prayed for people, spent a lot of time with people loving them and helping them get to know God.

 In heaven he’s still doing the same stuff including teaching you and praying for you and loving you.

 Today your treat is a pretzel because Monks invented the first pretzels and they used them to teach children about prayer. They were the first treats given out as rewards for learning. So when you eat a pretzel remember Jesus is praying for you and you should pray for someone too.