Matthew 9:37

Tuesday, 6 May 2025

 

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Matthew 9:37

 

“Then He says to His disciples, ‘Indeed, the reaping – plentiful, and the toilers – few’” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion for them. It also noted that they were enervated and strewn as sheep with no shepherd. Having looked on such masses of people, Matthew next records, “Then He says to His disciples.”

 

Without going any further, one can sense that something about those lost sheep will be expressed by Him. The narrative is carefully leading the reader to understand the heart of God as it is displayed in the Person of Jesus. And what is it that moves Him concerning the situation? Matthen next records, “Indeed, the reaping – plentiful.”

 

In other words, Jesus is now changing the metaphor from sheep to stalks of grain. He is looking out at the masses as if they are a field of grain ready for harvesting. In such an instance, there is only so much time to accomplish the labor.

 

It is the time of the harvest, which is a new word, therismos. It signifies a reaping. The grain is on standing stalks. These must be cut and bundled into sheaves to be taken to the threshing floor, where they are threshed and winnowed to obtain piles of only grain.

 

In this case, there are so many people in need, signified by saying that the reaping, meaning that which is harvest-ready, is plentiful. Like the metaphor of sheep, this one is seen in the Old Testament as well. The book of Ruth, when understanding the typology presented, gives a beautiful picture of the use of stalks, grain, threshing, winnowing, etc. In the case of threshing, Micah uses the symbolism of the nations ready to be threshed –

 

“Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, ‘Let her be defiled,
And let our eye look upon Zion.’
12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 ‘Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall beat in pieces many peoples;
I will consecrate their gain to the Lord,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.’” Micah 4:11-13

 

As for Jesus’ words concerning the masses around Him, He next says, “And the toilers – few.” There is another new word here, ergatés, a toiler. It signifies a worker, laborer, toiler, etc. One can see the base word, erg, used today in words like ergonomics. There is a sense of doing labor.

 

Jesus’ concern is that with such a great multitude that are ready for being brought into the kingdom, there must also be laborers sufficient for the harvest. He alone was being burdened by the masses and knew it was time to delegate responsibility to others to meet this great need.

 

Life application: The Bible is replete with metaphors that bring man to the most basic interactions with the creation. Metaphors of inanimate objects abound, such as water, rocks, mountains, trees of various types, etc., are used to give us clues about our interactions with Him, even in typology, anticipating Christ.

 

There are metaphors, as seen in today’s passage, that deal with agricultural themes. This is about as basic as it gets for human existence. People need to eat, and so we plant, cultivate, and harvest food to meet that need. God uses such actions to teach us other, spiritual, truths.

 

Interacting with various animals, such as sheep, horses, lions, bears, etc., is all placed in Scripture, which asks us to think about the characteristics of those animals. God created them, and so the way He did so can be used to show us things about ourselves, our societies, etc. They can reveal aspects of the nature of God, enemies, our emotions, and so forth.

 

When you come to a passage that speaks of a valley or a river, think about why that is included in the Bible. God is not going to waste words as He continues the narrative. Rather, He is immersing us in information about things we should contemplate and grasp that will tell us the things He wants us to know.

 

Let us never tire of thinking about the details in God’s word. It is an endless source of wisdom and wonder.

 

Lord God, thank You for Your wonderful word. It is so filled with amazing details of seemingly basic things that will lead us to marvelous understandings of things otherwise unimaginable to contemplate. Men everywhere can pick it up and find value in the words because we all interact with these basic aspects of Your creation. What a treat! Amen.