Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear ones.

Becki and I managed to squeeze in a walk/jog before she had to do her other stuff then get off to her Bible Study appointment in Woodburn. On that walk, Dandy lost another ball. Nevertheless, during the rest of the excursion he kept telling me that surely I had another one hidden away to throw if I only would. And I kept telling him I didn’t.

There is definitely a lot of resource for inspiration within this reading of Matthew 9. I found myself responding differently this time near the end. It says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because THEY WERE HARRASSED AND HELPLESS, LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD” (v. 36). Those words had a special vibration for me. I confess that I said, “Lord—I feel like that’s me!—I’m there in that crowd too!—I’m one of those dumb sheep!” It seems that after 70 years of time and experience I would have figured out how to do life just right by now—and it would just become easier as I learn how to do it better. But, alas!—we continue to face difficult issues with difficult decisions. On the other hand I have to reason that if I were able to get it all figured out just right, was on a financial roll, and never ever lost an argument, I think I could get pretty cocky and arrogant—and I probably wouldn’t be as motivated to do the Proverbs 3:5-6 thing. Ya think?

It’s kind of funny—to think that Jesus actually selects and commissions some of those dumb sheep to be His “workers in (to) his harvest field.”

Anyway—have a blessed day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

I want to give some introductory attention to the idea of “Lord” and begin with a quote from Philippians 2:9-11. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In review of chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew, we’ve seen Jesus presented with a huge amount of authority—as Lord over sickness, Lord over spirits, Lord over weather, Lord over sins, Lord over death, and now as Lord over the harvest—the harvest of the souls of men for the Kingdom of God. Notice that it is “his harvest field”—not ours. All we need to do is confess that He is LORD over it all.

Notice that Jesus is not all that satisfied with the size of the crowds, the excitement, and the healings. (Many churches are.) He recognized that there were still deeper needs that could only be met by precept-upon-precept teaching and discipleship—an ongoing vital relationship with the Good Shepherd. And He had to recognize that beyond this crowd of people were many, many more just like them.

Jesus presents a prescribed prayer request to His followers. We are instructed to pray that the Lord of the harvest would raise up and send workers into the harvest. Jesus knows what He’s doing. It’s downright clever! He knows that no one can legitimately pray a prayer like this without making himself available to work in the harvest. He knows that if we can embrace the importance and seriousness of this task, we actually become answers, at least in part, to our own heart-level prayer.

However you process this, you can’t deny the fact that all around you, wherever you are, lots and lots of people are wandering around like sheep, confused, struggling, hurting, and desperately in need of the Life of Christ.