Matthew 9.35-38

The God Who Is Never Too Busy

Matthew 9:35-38

By: Lindsey Bell

I’m busy. My guess is, you are too. Sometimes, we just don’t have time to help other people. At least, that’s what Satan wants us to believe.

Let’s dig into our text for today: 

³⁵ “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’” (Matthew 9:35-38, NIV). 

There are a couple of things from this text I want to draw your attention to. First, I want you to see Jesus as he really was: a busy man who had way more stuff to do than time to do it. Jesus was only actively involved in ministry for three years. In that amount of time, he needed to teach twelve men how to disciple the world. Twelve men, I’d like to add, who were not in the business of disciple-making. These men were misfits and sinners, not Bible College graduates. 

Jesus clearly had his work cut out for him. He was a busy man. And yet, as this text shows us, he wasn’t too busy to see the hearts of those he came to serve: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” 

I can’t help but wonder, do we take time to see the hearts of those we interact with? Or do we just walk on by, ignoring the genuine needs of those around us? Sure, we’re busy. But so was Jesus. If he can make time in his busy schedule to have compassion on those around him, we surely can too.

The second thing I want to draw your attention to is the fact that Jesus told his disciples to pray for more workers. What I have to wonder, though, is this: why didn’t the disciples recognize the need themselves? Couldn’t they see the need with their own eyes? They were, after all, right there with Jesus and the crowds. Surely they noticed the urgency of the situation. 

Then again, maybe they didn’t.  I know we often don’t. We look at Robin and the church staff and assume they’ve got it covered, when in reality, they need help. What Jesus said before is still true today: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” 

My question to you, then, is this: are you praying for more workers? Or are you too busy? 

Because believe me, the need is there. Just this week I heard about the following situations: 

1. A man admitted to his wife that he was having an affair.
2. A pregnant woman with two small children was diagnosed with colon cancer. 
3. A four-month-old baby boy was found dead in his crib.
4. Another young child was abducted from his home and is still missing.

Marriages are failing, loved ones are dying, and people are broken. 

The question is, do we see them? And maybe more importantly, do we care?