Scripture: St. Matthew 9:27-38 (NKJV)
27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and
saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” 28 And when He had come into the
house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that
I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their
eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes
were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.”
31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that
country.
32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and
demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the
multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” 34 But
the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and
every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved
with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep
having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is
plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Devotion
“But when [Jesus] saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them,
because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He
said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are
few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His
harvest.’”
The people had men who pretended to be teachers, laborers, and shepherds
according to God’s Word. But they were false teachers, and they brought the
people more burden than help. They created heavy burdens for the people with
false works of the Law and offered no comfort in the holy blessings that would
come from God’s anointed Good Shepherd.
This problem continues to plague the multitudes to this day. The Word of God is
widely available for all nations to hear, but too many of the
so-called-laborers have twisted the Law and the Gospel into a message that
brings weariness and disorder rather than repentance and peace in Christ
crucified.
Such false laborers should not be seen as “better than nothing.” They harm
God’s sheep. They starve His lambs. As our Lord says, we are to pray for
faithful laborers who come from the Lord of the harvest and bring His true
blessings. He has established faithful pastors and orthodox congregations in
this world, and His gifts of faithful preaching, Baptism, and the rightly
administered Lord’s Supper are made available to God’s lambs!
We pray: Heavenly Father, Lord of the harvest, continue to send faithful
laborers who rightly teach our need to repent according to Your holy Law, and
who faithfully feed us on the gifts of Your Gospel and Sacraments, unto
forgiveness and everlasting life in Christ Jesus. Amen.
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
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