Beachheads

Matthew 9: Enlarging the Harvest (7)

Pray Psalm 145.1-3.
I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.

Sing Psalm 145.1-3.
Brother James’ Air: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
I will extol You, God, my King, and ever praise Your Name!
I bless You, LORD, for everything each day, and e’er the same!
Great are You, LORD, my praise I bring; unsearchable Your fame!

Read and meditate on Matthew 9.1-38.
Meditate briefly on each work Jesus does in these verses.

Prepare.
1. How many different works did Jesus do in this chapter?

2. There is a focus in this chapter on preparing others for doing such works. How do you see that? 

Meditate.
In Matthew 4, Jesus bound the devil in preparation for ransacking his domain. In chapters 5-7, Jesus set forth His agenda: bringing the Kingdom of righteousness to earth in fulfillment of the Law of God. The sermon on the mount reveals Jesus’ strategy for plundering the devil’s domain and reconciling the world to God. In chapters 8 and 9, Jesus set about establishing beachheads for the Kingdom, preparing the world for that great day when He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and the Kingdom of God would invade and begin to overcome the kingdoms of men (Dan. 2.44, 45).

Chapter 9 shows us more of what we saw in chapter 8. Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, enlisted followers, and continued casting a vision for the great harvest of souls that is to be gathered. He proclaimed His message against the backdrop of Pharisaical traditions. And He demonstrated His power over even the most intractable of maladies. All the while, He persevered in preaching and teaching in the synagogues of Galilee, as multitudes gathered to hear Him. And nothing could stop Him from doing all that He came to do.

Jesus prepared the world for the coming of His Kingdom. He functioned as the Herald of the Kingdom, and He showed us a type or template of what the Kingdom would entail. All that Jesus did in these chapters is in some manner foretold in the Psalms and prophets. By His death and resurrection, Jesus would defeat sin and death, thus clearing the final beachhead for the coming of the Spirit. In His ascension He received the Kingdom, and by pouring out His Spirit He bestowed the Kingdom on His people (Dan. 7.13-18). Their pursuit of the Kingdom would follow the examples and path Jesus set for them in the gospels.

We need to pay careful attention to the works and words of Jesus, because they show us how we should think about the progress of His Kingdom in our own lives. By the power of God at work within us, the effects of sin are overcome and rolled back, and the teaching and presence of righteousness advances.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2.44).

“Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7.14).

“Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15.24, 25).

And in the meantime, we have work to do.

Jesus told Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Lk. 5.4).
Please notice that Jesus could have brought the catch closer to the shore, should He have chosen to; 
instead, He told them to launch out to where the fish were. Jesus was showing us by example how this works.
Witnessing is a process by which we launch out into the deep, into where the fish swim, and cast our nets of love and service where they are. We have serious Kingdom work to do. 

Church is where we worship together with other believers. It is where we corporately praise our God and King, encouraged to go forth into our individual Personal Mission Field, to bring this good news—in the process of our daily lives—to those who so desperately need a Savior.

Church is not an evangelistic hoedown. 
It is not where people get saved. 
Certainly, unbelievers are welcome to join God’s people as they worship, and may in fact, find something therein they find worthy to live and die for; but that is not the supreme purpose of worship. 
We worship to glorify God, praise His glorious Name, and become strengthened and discipled to go forth from there to serve Him in the “deep launch” of our lives.

Our pastor’s job is to disciple and equip us to do the work of ministry.
Our job is not to bring people to them to get saved.
Our job, as Jesus taught, is to launch out into the deep, into the plentiful harvest (Matt. 9.37) 
to do the work we have been called to do.

We serve a King Whose dominion, power, and glory is everlasting,
in a Kingdom that will never be destroyed and will stand forever.

We have a King and Kingdom worth living and dying for.
A King Whose Law gives light and life to all who follow (Ps. 119.105).
Let us joyfully launch out into the deep, through the power of the Holy Spirit,
to let down our nets of service to share the Good News of this One Whom we serve.

Lead on, O King Eternal, 
We follow, not with fears;
For gladness breaks like morning 
Where’er Your face appears;
Your cross in lifted o’er us;
We journey in its light:
The crown awaits the conquest; 
Lead on, O God of might.
(Ernest W. Shurtleff, 1887)

Reflect.
1. Where has God sent you as a laborer in the harvest? How’s it going?

2. How do you expect the Kingdom to make progress in your life?

3. “And in the meantime, we have work to do.” What work? When?

An abundant harvest signified the multitude of people. The few laborers signified the dearth of teachers. He commands them to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. These are the laborers of whom the psalmist speaks: “May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” Jerome (347-420), Commentary on Matthew 1.9.37

Pray Psalm 145.10-21.
Review the works of Jesus in chapters 8 and 9. What opportunities for Kingdom words and works will you have in the day ahead? Seek the Lord for strength and boldness in following Him.

Sing Psalm 145.10-21.
Brother James’ Air: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want
Your works shall thank You; all Your saints shall bless and praise You, LORD.
Your reign we bless without restraint; Your power fills our words.
Our children we shall educate in all Your splendor, LORD.

Your Kingdom evermore shall be; You reign forever, LORD!
Your works You do so faithfully, according to Your Word.
The falling You uphold and the oppressed You rescue, LORD!

The eyes of all look up to You to meet our needs each day.
Open Your hand, provide the food we need, O LORD, we pray!
Kindness and righteousness You do, O LORD, in every way!

Be near to all who call on You; all those who fear You, bless.
Preserve all those whose love is true; save us in our distress.
Our mouths will speak with praise of You; Your holy Name we’ll bless!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.

Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column addresses the question, “How to Church?” Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.