The Lord's Harvest and Workers

The Harvest and the Laborers

1. The Gospel lesson we've just heard reminds us to investigate what harvest the Lord meant when He said, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Luke 10:2). He then added seventy-two others to His twelve disciples, whom He had named apostles, and sent them all, as His words indicate, to the harvest that was ready.

What was this harvest? It wasn't among the Gentiles, where nothing had yet been sown. We must understand that this harvest was among the Jewish people. It was to that harvest that the Lord of the harvest came, and to that harvest He sent reapers. But to the Gentiles, He sent not reapers but sowers.

Understand, then, that the harvest was among the Jewish people, while it was sowing time among the Gentiles. The apostles were chosen from that harvest where the grain was already ripe, for there the prophets had already sown. It's delightful to contemplate God's field, to rejoice in His gifts, and to see the workers in His field. In this field labored the one who said, "I worked harder than all of them" (1 Corinthians 15:10). But the strength to work was given to him by the Lord of the harvest. Therefore he added, "Yet not I, but God's grace that was with me." He clearly showed he was employed in this field when he said, "I planted, Apollos watered" (1 Corinthians 3:6).

This Apostle, changing from Saul to Paul—that is, from proud to humble (for Saul is derived from "Saul," but Paul means "little"; interpreting his own name, he says, "I am the least of the apostles" (1 Corinthians 15:9))—this Paul, the little and the least, sent to the Gentiles, says that he was sent particularly to the Gentiles. He writes this, and we read, believe, and proclaim it.

In his letter to the Galatians, he says that having been called by the Lord Jesus, he came to Jerusalem and "communicated the gospel" to the apostles (Galatians 2:2). They gave him their right hands as a sign of harmony and agreement, confirming that what they had learned differed in no way from his message. Afterward, they agreed that he should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised—he as a sower, they as reapers. Fittingly, though they didn't know its significance, the Athenians gave him this title. For when they heard him speak, they said, "What does this babbler want to say?" (Acts 17:18)—literally, "this sower of words."

2. Join me in examining God's farming work and the two harvests—one already past, the other yet to come; the one already completed among the Jewish people, the other yet to happen among the Gentiles. Let's prove this, and from what source but the Scripture of God, the Lord of the harvest?

We have it stated in today's reading: "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." But because in that harvest there would be opposing and persecuting Jews, He says, "Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves" (Luke 10:3).

Let's find something even clearer about this harvest in John's Gospel, where the Lord sat by the well when He was tired. Great mysteries were taking place, but we don't have time to explain them all. Let's focus on showing a harvest among the people to whom the prophets had preached—they were sowers so the apostles could be reapers.

A Samaritan woman speaks with the Lord Jesus. When the Lord had explained how God should be worshiped, she says, "We know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ, and He will teach us all things." And the Lord answers her, "I who speak to you am He" (John 4:25-26). Believe what you hear; why look for what you can see? "I who speak to you am He." The woman had said, "We know the Messiah is coming," whom Moses and the Prophets announced, "who is called Christ."

The harvest was already forming heads of grain. When it was still growing, it had received the prophets as sowers; now that it was ripe, it awaited the apostles as reapers. As soon as she heard this, she believed, left her water jar, and hurried away to announce the Lord. At that time, the disciples had gone to buy bread; when they returned, they found the Lord talking with the woman, and they were amazed. Yet they didn't dare ask Him, "What or why are You talking with her?" (John 4:27). They were amazed but restrained their curiosity.

The name of Christ wasn't new to this Samaritan woman; she was already expecting His coming and already believed He would come. How had she come to believe if Moses hadn't sown the seed? But hear this stated even more clearly. The Lord then said to His disciples, "You say the harvest is still four months away? Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" (John 4:35). And He adds, "Others have labored, and you have entered into their labors" (John 4:38).

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets worked at sowing; when the Lord came, the harvest was found ripe. The reapers were sent with the Gospel as their sickle, carried the sheaves to the Lord's threshing floor, where Stephen was to be threshed.

3. Then comes Paul, and he is sent to the Gentiles. He doesn't hide this when he discusses the grace he had specially and particularly received. He writes that he was sent to preach the Gospel where Christ had not been named (Romans 15:20). But because that first harvest was completed, and all the remaining Jews are no longer a harvest, let's consider that harvest which we ourselves are.

It has been sown by apostles and prophets. The Lord Himself sowed it, for He was in the apostles—Christ Himself reaped it. They are nothing without Him; He is complete without them. He says Himself to them, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

What does Christ say now as He sows among the Gentiles? "A sower went out to sow" (Matthew 13:3). There, reapers were "sent out" to reap; here, a tireless sower "went out" to sow. Why should He be concerned that "some seed fell by the wayside, and some on rocky places, and some among thorns" ? If He had been afraid of these unproductive grounds, He would never have reached the good ground. Why should we be arguing about the Jews and talking about the chaff? Our only concern is that we not be "the wayside," nor "the rock," nor "the thorns," but "the good ground."

Let our hearts be well-prepared, so that from them may come "thirtyfold," or "sixtyfold," or "a hundredfold"—some more, some less, but all is wheat. Don't be "the wayside," where the enemy like a bird can take away the seed trampled by passersby. Don't be "the rock," where shallow soil makes the seed sprout quickly but can't withstand the sun. Don't be "the thorns," the desires of this world and the anxieties of a disordered life.

What's worse than the anxiety of life that doesn't allow you to attain Life? What's more miserable than losing Life by caring for life? What's more unfortunate than falling into death by fearing death? Let the thorns be uprooted, the field prepared, the seeds planted, let them grow until harvest. Long for the barn, not fear the fire.

4. It's my responsibility—as one whom the Lord has appointed, despite my unworthiness, to be a worker in His field—to say these things to you, to sow, to plant, to water, even to dig around some trees and apply fertilizer. It's my duty to do these things faithfully; it's yours to receive them faithfully; it's the Lord's responsibility to help me in my labor and you in your belief, all of us working, but in Him overcoming the world.

I've already told you what belongs to your role; now I want to explain what belongs to ours. Perhaps some of you think this is unnecessary, saying to yourselves, "If only he would let us go! He's already said what belongs to our role; as for what belongs to his role, what's that to us?" But I think it's better that in mutual love, we should belong to each other. You are now one family, and we who serve are managing the household. We all belong to one Lord.

What I give isn't my own, but comes from Him from whom I also receive. If I were to give from my own resources, I would be giving a lie. "For the one who speaks a lie speaks from his own resources" (John 8:44). You should listen to what belongs to the dispenser's duty, whether to rejoice if you find yourselves fulfilling it, or to be instructed if you don't. How many among you will someday be dispensers! I was once where you are now. I who am now seen distributing food to my fellow servants from this higher position was, a few years ago, receiving food with my fellow servants from a lower position. I'm speaking now as a bishop to laypeople, but I know that in speaking to them, I'm speaking to many who will someday be bishops too.

5. Let's see how we should understand what the Lord commanded those He sent to preach the Gospel, and let's consider in our minds this prepared harvest. "Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you" (Luke 10:4-6). If peace "rests" on a house, does the other lose it? No! That's far from the thinking of the saints.

This shouldn't be taken in a literal, physical sense. For the same reason, neither should the "money bag," "knapsack," or "sandals." And especially in the instruction that seems to command pride—that we "greet no one along the road."

6. Let's learn from our Lord, our true Example and Helper. Let's see that He is our Helper: "Without Me you can do nothing." Let's see that He is our Example: "Christ suffered for us," says Peter, "leaving us an example that we should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21).

Our Lord Himself had money bags on the journey, and He entrusted these bags to Judas. It's true He suffered from a thief, but as I desire to learn from my Lord, I ask, "Lord, You suffered from a thief—where did You get what he could steal? You've warned me, a weak and frail person, not even to carry a money bag, yet You carried bags and had something the thief could take. If You hadn't carried anything, he couldn't have found anything to steal."

What else can He say to me but this: "Understand what you hear: 'Carry no money bag' means don't be wise in your own eyes only. Receive the Holy Spirit. It should be a fountain in you, not a money bag—something from which you can distribute to others, not something kept shut up." The knapsack is the same as the money bag.

7. What about "the sandals"? The sandals we use are made from the skins of dead animals—coverings for our feet. By this, then, we're told to renounce dead works. Moses was told this figuratively when the Lord said to him, "Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5). What ground is holier than God's Church? Let's stand in it, and take off our sandals—let's renounce dead works.

Regarding these sandals, my Lord gives me further assurance. If He hadn't worn sandals Himself, John wouldn't have said of Him, "I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals" (Luke 3:16). So let there be obedience, and don't let a haughty severity creep in. One might say, "I fulfill the Gospel because I walk barefoot." Well, you can do that, but I cannot. But let's both keep what we both have received together. How? Let's be filled with love, let's love one another. Then I will love your strength, and you will carry my weakness.

8. What do you think, you who refuse to understand these words in their proper sense and are forced by your misinterpretation to criticize even the Lord Himself about the "money bags" and "sandals"? What do you think? Should we neither greet our superiors when we meet them nor return the greetings of those below us? Will you fulfill the Gospel by remaining silent when you're greeted? If so, you won't be like a traveler on the road, but like a milestone pointing out the way.

Let's set aside this crude interpretation and understand correctly the Lord's words, "greet no one along the road." There's a reason we're given this instruction, and the Lord wouldn't want us to disobey what He commands. What, then, does "greet no one along the road" mean?

It could simply mean that He has commanded us to do quickly what He commands. His words "greet no one along the road" are like saying, "Put everything else aside until you complete what I've commanded you." This is the kind of expression people use in everyday conversation to emphasize urgency.

We don't have to look far for an example. Later in the same discourse, He says to Capernaum, "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades" (Luke 10:15). Did the walls of that city touch the clouds or reach the stars? What does "exalted to heaven" mean? "You seem exceedingly happy, exceedingly powerful, exceedingly proud." Just as this was said as an exaggeration to that city, which wasn't actually elevated or raised to heaven, so to express extreme haste it was said, "Run so quickly, do what I've commanded you so urgently that travelers on the road shouldn't delay you in the least. Disregard everything else and hurry to the goal set before you."

9. But there's another, deeper meaning in these words that isn't difficult to understand. It applies particularly to me and all ministers, and to you who are hearers. The person who greets wishes salvation. That's why our ancestors in their letters wrote, "Such a person sends greetings to another." The word "salutation" comes from "salvation."

What, then, does "greet no one along the road" mean? Those who "greet along the road" do so "incidentally." I see that some of you have quickly understood me, yet I shouldn't finish so quickly since not everyone has understood. I can tell some understand from their responses, while others' silence shows they need more explanation.

Since we're talking about "the road," let's walk as if we were on the road: those who understand quickly, wait for the slow ones, and walk at an even pace. What did I mean when I said that someone "who greets along the road" only greets "incidentally"? He wasn't going to see the person he greets. He was busy with one thing, but something else came up; he was seeking one thing but found something else to do along the way.

What does it mean to "greet incidentally"? To announce salvation "incidentally." What is it to announce salvation if not to preach the Gospel? If you preach, do it out of love, not "incidentally." There are people who, though they "seek their own interests," still preach the same Gospel. The Apostle laments about them: "For all seek their own interests, not the things of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 2:21). These people "greeted"—that is, they announced salvation and preached the Gospel—but they were looking for something else, so they only greeted "incidentally." If you do this, whoever you are, you're doing it—no, it's being done through you.

10. The Apostle had to endure such people, yet he didn't instruct them to be this way. These people do something, or something is done through them. They seek something else, yet they preach the word. Don't worry about what the preacher is seeking; make it your concern to hold fast to what he preaches. Let his intention be no concern of yours. Hear the word of salvation from his mouth; hold fast to this salvation from his mouth. Don't judge his heart.

If you see him seeking other things, what's that to you? Listen to Him who is Salvation: "What they tell you to do, do" (Matthew 23:3). Has He given you assurance? He has said, "What they tell you to do, do." Do they do evil? "Do not do what they do." Do they do good? They don't "greet along the road"; they don't preach the Gospel "incidentally." "Imitate them, just as they also imitate Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).

A good person preaches to you? Pluck the grape from the vine. A bad person preaches to you? Pluck the grape as it hangs on a hedge. The cluster has grown on a vine-branch entangled among thorns, but it didn't grow from the thorns. By all means, when you see such a thing and are hungry, be careful as you pick it, so that when you reach for the grape, you aren't torn by the thorns.

In other words, listen to what is good in such a way that you don't imitate any evil in the character. Let someone preach "incidentally" and greet "along the road"—it will harm him because he hasn't obeyed Christ's instruction, "Greet no one along the road." But it won't harm you, who, whether you hear about salvation from a passerby or from someone who comes directly to you, hold fast to that salvation.

Listen to the Apostle, who, as I've already mentioned, helps us understand this: "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my salvation through your prayer" (Philippians 1:18-19).

11. Let Christ's apostles, the preachers of the Gospel who "don't greet along the road"—that is, who don't seek or do anything else, but who with genuine love preach the Gospel—let them come into the house and say, "Peace to this house." They don't speak merely with their mouths; they pour out what they're full of; they preach peace, and they have peace.

They aren't like those of whom it was said, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14). What does "Peace, peace, when there is no peace" mean? They preach it but don't have it; they praise it but don't love it; they speak but don't act accordingly.

But receive the peace, "whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached." Whoever is full of peace and greets, saying, "Peace to this house," — "if a son of peace is there, his peace will rest on him. If not," —perhaps there's no peaceful person there—even then, the one who greeted hasn't lost anything: "It will return to you." It will return to you, though it never left you.

What He means is this: "It benefits you that you've proclaimed it; it hasn't benefited the one who didn't receive it. You haven't lost your reward because he remained empty. You receive payment for your goodwill, for the love you've shown." The Lord will give you this payment, as He assured you through the angelic message: "Peace on earth to men of goodwill" (Luke 2:14).