Matthew chapter 9. I'm taking
the title for the message from what is said in verse 36. Matthew
9 verse 36. When he saw the multitude. Now
the Lord has a special vision that we don't have. The Lord
sees the motive, the heart, the mind, the will. He sees us through
and through. He saw the multitude. And when
he saw them, a multitude of sinners, sinners in need of mercy, when
he saw this multitude, he was moved. He was moved in his heart. He wasn't callous and uncaring.
So Lord Jesus Christ is a compassionate, loving, gentle Savior. He was moved with pity. And that's what the word there
means. He was moved with pity. He had pity on them because he
knew their need. They were weak, fainting, vile,
perishing sinners that were scattered, scattered abroad because of sin.
They were as sheep with no leadership, with no shepherd at all. So the Lord was moved with compassion. He hasn't changed. He's the same
Lord. He said, I'm the Lord, I change
not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. The Lord Jesus
Christ, the Savior, the Redeemer of His covenant people is always
moved with sympathy, pity toward those who are in need. Remember
from this same chapter, chapter 9 in Matthew, turn back just
one page, look back to verse 10, remember the Lord crossed
the path of Matthew the publican, and the Lord called him and saved
him, and the Lord went home with him, and verse 11 it says, when
the Pharisees saw the Lord Jesus Christ sitting with sinners,
Why, they said, why does your master eat with publicans and
sinners? And when the Lord heard that,
he said unto them, they that behold need not a physician,
but they who are sick. Go ye and learn what that means. I will have mercy. I will have
compassion. I will have mercy, not sacrifice. I don't need your sacrifices,
for I'm not come to call the righteous but sinners to repent
them. The Lord Jesus Christ is compassionate
to sinful, sinful people. He denies them of a broken heart.
Save us such as be of a contrite spirit. We read in the book of
Micah that the Lord Jesus Christ delights to show mercy. We just read a moment ago in
Lamentations 3 that His mercies are new every morning and His
compassions, they fail Not. The Lord does not change. He's
the same compassionate Savior today. In Hebrews 13, we're going
to study, in Hebrews 13 verse 8, it says, The Lord Jesus Christ
is same today, yesterday, and forever. The gifts and calling
of God are without change. The Lord does not change. His
compassion does not change toward His covenant people. It says
in Jeremiah that He's loved His people with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
does he draw them unto himself." Now, we've learned from this
chapter in Matthew 9 that there's no case too desperate for the
Lord to deal with. The Lord was moved with compassion
upon the multitudes of sinners in need, and He healed them,
as it says there in verse 35. When the Lord healed the demon-possessed
man, the multitudes marveled. Look at verse 32 and verse 33. As they went about, behold, they
brought to him a dumb man possessed with the devil. And when the
devil was cast out, the dumb man spake. The multitudes marveled,
saying, It was never, ever seen before in Israel like the miracle
the Lord just performed. But the Pharisees, these are
the self-righteous, self-centered religious people. They said what
he did, he did in the devil's name and he's acting in the authority
of the prince of devils. And then verse 35, notice the
Lord doesn't rebuke them, the Lord doesn't deal with them.
He just went about his business. He ignored them and went about
his business. He ignored them and went about
his daily business doing the will of God. Remember in Luke
chapter 2, at the age of 12 years old, when his parents went to
Jerusalem for a religious event, and then they stayed many days,
and they traveled back toward their home, and after three days
journey, they looked around and found that their son was missing.
And they went back to Jerusalem and they found him there with
teaching the doctors and the lawyers, this 12-year-old boy.
And they said, well, aren't you concerned that we're worrying
about you? And he said, don't you know I
must be about my father's business? He came here to do the business
of the father. He prayed that in John 17. He
said, I've glorified thee on the earth, I've finished the
work you gave me to do. He said to his apostles on another
occasion, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and
to finish, finish there, finish the work that God gave me to
do. I want to show you an example
here another time. Turn over to Matthew 15. And
the point I'm making is the Lord Jesus Christ ignored these Pharisees. They said something very vile
and vicious against Him. Well, this man doing the work
of the devil. And He didn't rebuke them. He
simply walked away and went about doing the will of God. And that's
a good lesson for us. Don't try to argue with people
who want to argue just to argue about religious things. Just
walk away. Walk away. Look at Matthew 15. Here another occasion, the Pharisees
were all upset because his disciples didn't wash their hands before
they ate. And the Lord called the multitude
and said to them, Hear and understand. He said, It's not that which
goes into your mouth that defiles a man, but that which comes out
of the mouth that defiles a man. You see it there, Matthew 15.
Now look at verse 12. Then came his disciples and said
unto him, Knowest thou not that the Pharisees were offended after
they heard that? And he answered and said, Every
plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted will be rooted
up. Verse 14, Let them alone. They be blind, leaders of the
blind, and if the blind lead the blind, Both will fall into
the ditch. Simply leave them to their own
ignorance, their own blindness. And that's what the Lord did.
When the Lord went about doing the will of God, died for our
sin according to the Scripture, was buried and raised again the
third day, we read that when Peter went to the house of Cornelius
to preach the Gospel, He said to that Gentile and those in
his house, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost
and with power, who went about doing good, healing all that
were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. He was always about doing the
will of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, it says
there in verse 35, he went about the cities, the villages, Teaching. The Lord was a teacher and a
preacher in their religious assemblies, preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Everyone that came to Him in
need, He never turned away from them. Those who were in need,
the Lord Jesus Christ ministered the gospel to those sinners in
need, wherever he was, whether it be a little village or a larger
city, and every place where the Jews assembled to worship, he
went there and preached the gospel to them. Preaching, it says there,
the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel of the kingdom. Now,
there's just one gospel. It's the gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the gospel of God's grace,
the gospel of God's glory, The gospel that includes all salvation
in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Alone. What was he doing? Preaching,
preaching, preaching the gospel. Now turn back, hold your place
there, and look back at Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4. When he began his ministry, he
began the same way. In Matthew chapter 4, look at
verse 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogue, preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
healing all manner of sicknesses, all manner of disease among the
people. The Lord Jesus Christ was the
preacher of God's truth. He said, I speak not my own words,
but the words of him that sent me. And that word gospel means
good news. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is good news, glad tidings to those who are in need, to
those who are sinners. The wages of sin is death, right?
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The gospel of God is the power of God and the salvation through
the Lord Jesus Christ. Preaching the good news of the
gospel. We have peace with God. Now think
about this. God who is holy, we are sinful. But we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. He made peace for us with His
own blood. Being justified by faith, we
have peace with God. We don't make peace with God.
He is called the God of peace. Christ made peace for us with
His own blood. In Christ, we have peace with
God. In Christ and Him crucified, we have pardon from all sin.
We have pardon from all our sin. By the one offering, he perfected
forever them that are sanctified. We studied in Hebrews 10. Pardon
from all sin. Jeremiah said, for I will pardon
them whom I reserve. That's what God said to Jeremiah.
You tell the people, I will pardon them who I reserve. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. And then the Lord Jesus Christ preached reconciliation. He preached reconciliation through
his blood atonement. God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself. He preached salvation by himself,
in himself. He said, I am the way, not a
way, the way, the truth, and the life. So he preached peace
with God through his sacrifice, pardon from all sin, his blood
cleanses us from all sin. We have atonement and reconciliation
in the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified. We have righteousness
imputed unto us freely by his grace, and we have that blessed
salvation. Neither is there salvation in
any other but the Lord Jesus Christ. Now aren't you glad that
he came and gave himself for us? And he came and declared
the gospel of the kingdom of God. He's Lord in his kingdom. He's Lord in salvation. But it says also there that he's
healed, healing every sickness and every disease. Now, how many
diseases and sicknesses do we know of? Well, there's probably
thousands of them. But the Lord Jesus Christ heals
every one of them. There's no sinner too desperate
for the Lord Jesus Christ to save. You remember those seven
names of Jehovah that we often study? There's a paper on the
table there. There's sevenfold name of Jehovah.
Jehovah Jireh, which means the Lord will provide. Jehovah Sidcanu
means the Lord our righteousness. Jehovah Rapha is the Lord our
shepherd. Jehovah Shalom is the Lord our
peace. But it's also, there's a name
in Exodus 13 called Jehovah Rapha. Jehovah Rapha. You know what
that means? He's the Lord that healeth thee.
He's our healer. For all of our spiritual diseases
and spiritual sicknesses, He's our healer. He is what He's called. With His stripes, we are healed.
Peter writes about it this way, from Isaiah 53. who his own self
bear our sin and his own body on the tree, that we being dead
to sins should live unto righteousness by whose stripes we are healed. We are healed in Christ. God
made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be
made to righteousness of God in him. Healing every sickness,
every disease known among the people, the Lord is our great
healer. and powerful physician. He's
never lost a patient. He's healed every patient that
came to him with a vile, wretched disease. He healed every one
of them. The Lord has never turned a needy
sinner away. When that, we read about it,
when that, ruler of the synagogue when his little girl was dying
and dead, and the Lord went to his house and He raised her from
the dead. There's never a case too desperate
for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord never turned a needy
sinner away. That woman that had an issue
of blood that came to Him, what did He do? He healed her. She
was diseased with this terrible issue for 12 years. The Lord
never turned a mercy beggar away. Everyone that came to Him in
need, He never turned away. Rather, supplied their every
need according to His riches in glory through the Lord Himself. Turn over here again, we're going
to see this. Turn to Matthew 11. Matthew 11,
verse 4. When John the Baptist sent his
disciples unto the Lord, for more information concerning his
person and work. The Lord said to them in Matthew
11 verse 4, you go and show John again those things which you
do here and see. The blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, The
dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me." There
was no case too desperate for the Lord. And there's no sinner
too vile and wretched that the Lord's mercy can't reach down
into your heart and save you by His grace. He came to seek
and to save sinners, didn't He? Sure He did. Now look at verse
36. He came to seek and to save the
lost. This is a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Now look at verse 36. When He
saw the multitude, these multitude of people who were sick, who
were diseased, when He saw the multitude, He
was moved. What would you think would move
the heart of God? What would you think would compel
Him to show pity? But when He saw the multitude,
He saw their need, didn't He? He saw their need. He was moved
with compassion. He was moved with pity because
they fainted. They fainted. They were weary. They were sick, they were laden
with sin, and they were scattered abroad as sheep having no, no
shepherd." We have here a glorious description
of our God and Savior in the Lord Jesus Christ. Full, and
underscore that word, full of compassion. Full of compassion. Now hold your place here. And
I looked at that word, compassion, and I found it's used in several
places here. Turn to Matthew chapter 14, verse
14. Matthew 14, 14. And Jesus went
forth and saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion
toward them, and he healed the sick." Here's another occasion
when the Lord had a multitude of sinners, and then again turn
to Matthew 15, verse 32. Matthew 15, 32. And Jesus called
His disciples unto Him and said, I have compassion on the multitude,
because they continue with Me now these three days, and have
nothing to eat. I will not send them away fasting
lest they faint. The Lord Jesus Christ knows our
every need and he deals with his people in loving, pity, tender
compassion toward us. Our Lord Jesus Christ is that
great a merciful and great high priest.
He's the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep.
He is that prophet full of compassion. No man ever spake like that man
spake. Remember, they marveled at his
words. His words are with power. Our great high priest can be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He was tempted and
tested in all points like as we are, yet without sin. And
yet He knows our frame. He knows that we are but dust.
And yet He has compassion upon us. His love toward us never
fails. His compassion toward us never
fails. He shall not fail or be discouraged. He had compassion on them. Notice
the middle part of verse 36 in Matthew 9. because they had problems. Because they had problems, they
fainted and were scattered, and they were the sheep having no
shepherd. They fainted because of their
sinful, weary condition in body and in mind, burdened and weary
with the tradition of the Pharisees and doctrines that are described
in Sadducees, and weary with the ceremonies of the law. They
could not find salvation or satisfaction in the deeds of the law. And
he describes them as sheep scattered. Isn't that true? All we like
sheep have what? Gone astray? We've everyone turned
our own way? Thank God the Lord Jesus Christ
the Good Shepherd came and laid down his life for the sheep. Let's turn and read that over
here in John chapter 9. For whom did the Lord Jesus Christ
die? He died for those scattered sheep.
He died for his elect. He died for his chosen. Over
here in John chapter 10, he said, I am the good shepherd. He's
the same good shepherd that David said, the Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want. I am, he is God Almighty, the
I am that I am. I am the way, the truth, the
life. I am the good shepherd, the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling,
and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, seeth the
wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf
catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth,
because that's what he is. He's in it for the money. Speaking
of those Pharisees, they don't care for the sheep. The Lord
said, I am the good shepherd. You see verse 14. And I know
my sheep, and none of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
You see that? Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold, also I must bring, they shall hear my voice.
There shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father
love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again.
Verse 18. No man takes it from me. but
I lay it down of myself, I have power to lay it down, I have
power to take it again, this commandment I have of my Father. He is our Good Shepherd who came
and gave His life that we might have salvation. Now, and because
of that, because of Christ's coming, because of Christ's dying,
because of Christ's saving a multitude of sinners, look at verse 37.
Matthew 9, verse 37. And the Lord said to his disciples,
including the apostles, we're going to see that in the next
chapter, where he ordained the 12 and sent them out to preach
the gospel. He said unto his disciples, the
harvest truly is plenteous. The harvest is great. There's
a great multitude of sinners that God's going to save by the
sacrifice of the shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. The harvest
is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few. The laborers are few. Pray ye therefore, pray ye therefore,
the Lord of the harvest, to the Lord of the harvest, that he
will send forth laborers into his harvest. Now whose harvest
is it? It's his. The Lord Jesus Christ
has a great and plenteous harvest." And he's talking about the harvest
of souls. Sinners saved by His grace. The
harvest is great. The harvest is plenteous. There's
a great multitude of chosen, blood-bought sinners who are
blessed with so great salvation in Christ alone. You remember
we studied about it in Revelation chapter 5? Talking about the
Lord Jesus Christ who loved us and gave himself for us. He redeemed
us with his own blood out of every kindred, tribe, nation,
tongue, and people under heaven. 10,000 times and thousands and
thousands of thousands. Because we have a great God and
great Savior who cannot fail, He is most willing and able to
save His covenant people, and He did. He's able to save to
the uttermost all that come to God by Him. He said, all that
the Father gives to me will come to me, and those that come to
me, I'll never cast them out. I like this description of those
people for whom Christ died in Revelation 7. It said, A great
multitude, which no man could number, of all nation, kindred,
and people, and tongue, stood before the throne, before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palmed in their hand, and
cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God! which sitteth
upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Who gets
the glory? Salvation to our God. A great
multitude of sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
great Savior who truly saves His people from their sin. That's
why the harvest is plenteous. Call His name Jesus, He shall
save His people from their sin. The Lord doesn't try to save
people. He doesn't attempt to save sinners.
He saves them by His power. He saves them by His grace. Christ
is a Savior who really saves. Christ is a Redeemer who truly
redeems us from all our sin. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. We are redeemed, not
with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Without the Lord Jesus Christ
and Him crucified, there would be no harvest of souls, would
there? No sinner saved. We would be hopelessly lost.
Without God, without Christ, without hope, with no salvation
had not Christ come as a surety of that everlasting covenant
and laid down his life for us to secure salvation for us. Now he says here, the harvest
is plenteous. The harvest is great. A great
multitude of sinners saved by the blood and righteousness of
Christ. But the laborers are few. I can just imagine, oftentimes
you go into these little stores and shops, especially these days,
and there will be a sign that says, Help Wanted. Help Wanted. Apply Within. Help Wanted. And
that's what the Lord is saying here. The harvest is plenteous,
but the laborers in the field are few. Send forth, therefore,
the laborers into the field. Help wanted. We learn here the
importance the Lord places upon the preaching of the gospel.
Whenever and wherever and whomsoever the Lord Jesus Christ is come
in saving power to any sinner, he usually uses the means he
has appointed, and that is the preaching of the gospel, the
ministering of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
That's why the Lord said that He went forth into every village
and city preaching, preaching, The Word of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's why we spend our time here, for the most part, when
we meet together in teaching and preaching the Word of God. That's what we need. And the
Lord usually uses the means He has appointed to call out His
people through the preaching of the Gospel. We've seen that
all through the book of Acts. They went everywhere, scattered
because of persecution from Jerusalem, being scattered, from persecution,
and they went everywhere doing what? Preaching, preaching, preaching
the gospel. The apostles went everywhere
preaching the gospel. We read of one man named Philip,
who was a deacon in the church, and God sent him down into a
desert country to preach to one man, a eunuch, and he preached
Christ unto him. He said, please God, do the preaching
of the gospel to call out His people. The laborers are few.
Pray to the Lord of the harvest. Let's go over here to Romans
10. Romans chapter 10. I'm trying
to show you the importance the Lord places upon calling sinners,
saving them by His grace, and then sending them out into the
world to preach the gospel. Look at Romans 10 verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's true. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. But how then shall they call
on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? God's got to send the gospel
preacher, a laborer, into the harvest. How shall they preach
except they be sent as it is written, how beautiful are the
feet of them that preach? the gospel of peace, and bring
glad tidings of good things. But they've not all obeyed the
gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed, I report,
to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. You remember Isaiah
53? So then, faith comes by hearing,
hearing by the word of God. There is a necessity of preaching
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The harvest is truly
as plenteous. Laborers, they're few. So what are we to do? Pray. Look
at verse 38. Pray therefore. Pray to who? Pray to the Lord. Pray to the
Lord to send out gospel preachers. Gospel preachers. Pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into
his harvest. Laborers into his harvest. Pray
that the Lord be pleased to raise up men to labor in the gospel
ministry, to boldly and faithfully preach the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ without compromise. Without compromise, to boldly
declare God who is God, sovereign, holy, eternal, man as he is,
wicked and sinful, and shut out, Christ as he is, God Almighty
our Savior, salvation as it is by the grace of God alone. The
apostle writes this, though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to
glory of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me
if I preach not the gospel. And then we studied in 2 Timothy,
where Paul said, I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall quicken the living and the dead, preach the
word, preach the word, always preach Christ the word, Christ
the word. The risen Lord Jesus, before
he ascended to heaven, he said to the church, go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature. Go and preach
to everybody, every creature. The Lord must call, the Lord
must equip, the Lord must send and put men in the ministry,
or all else is vain. But we pray to the Lord, don't
we? The Lord sends a gospel preacher. I know two congregations right
now who have been without a pastor for a number of years. And what
are they doing? They're praying to the Lord.
Lord, send me a gospel preacher. Send me a gospel preacher. When
we started going to Kingsport, Tennessee back in 2006, I believe
it was, and we went there for six years,
every Sunday, nearly every Sunday evening, preaching, preaching,
preaching. Not only preaching, but praying.
Praying for what? Praying that the Lord would establish
a gospel ministry there. Praying that the Lord would send
a gospel preacher. And we prayed for six years.
And finally, in 2012, the Lord sent a faithful gospel preacher. And we prayed and we prayed and
the Lord supplied, supplied. And we're thankful for the ministry
that the Lord has established there in Kingsport and for what's
going on there with Pastor Gabe Stoniker. We're thankful. The
Lord was pleased to raise him up. teaching the gospel and sending
to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want you
to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I'm going to close with this
reading. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. My preacher, my pastor, used
to tell us young preachers all the time, Pastor Mahan would
often say this, he said, we don't need more preachers. The woods
are full of them. What we do need is more gospel
preachers, and there's a difference. There's a difference. There's
a difference. Here's what we knew. Find 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Look at verse 1. Therefore, seeing
we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we don't
quit, we don't faint, but we have renounced the hidden things
of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, not handling the
Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God, But if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are
lost, and whom the God of this world, talking about Satan, had
blinded the mind of them which believe not lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. Now look at verse five. For we
preach not ourselves, we're not preaching ourselves, but Jesus
Christ the Lord. and ourselves, your servant,
for his sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Now watch this, verse 7. We have
this treasure, the treasure of the gospel, we have the glory
of God that shines in the face of Christ. We have this treasure
in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be
of God and not in us. Who gets the glory in preaching
the gospel? It's not the preacher. It's God
who sent us to preach his word, to preach his gospel.