Outline
Ⅸ
Christ is the Shepherd and the Lord of the harvest—Matt. 9:35-38:
A
In His ministry for the establishing of His heavenly kingdom, the Lord Jesus ministered as a Shepherd—vv. 35-36.
B
If we see the vision of Christ as the Lord of the harvest, we will beseech Him to thrust out workers into His harvest—vv. 37-38.
Ⅹ
Christ is the Friend of sinners and the wisdom of God—11:19:
A
As the Friend of sinners, Christ sympathizes with their problems and senses their grief—v. 19a.
B
Whatever Christ did was done by the wisdom of God, which is Himself; this wisdom was vindicated by His wise works—v. 19b; 1 Cor. 1:24, 30.
Ⅺ
Christ is the One who gives rest—Matt. 11:28-30:
A
To take the Lord's yoke is to take the will of the Father and to be constrained by the will of the Father—v. 29; John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38.
B
Because the Lord was always satisfied with the Father's will, He always had rest in His heart; now He asks us to learn from Him—Matt. 11:28-30.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 9:38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest.11:29-30 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
The heavenly King considered the Israelites as sheep and Himself as the Shepherd [Matt. 9:36]. When Christ came to the Jews the first time, they were like lepers, paralytics, the demon-possessed, and all manner of pitiful persons because they had no shepherd to care for them. Now in His kingly ministry for the establishing of His heavenly kingdom, He ministered to them not only as a Physician but also as a Shepherd, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:6 and 40:11. The heavenly King considered the people not only sheep but also the harvest [Matt. 9:37]. The sheep needed shepherding, and the harvest needed reaping. The King of the heavenly kingdom considered Himself not only the Shepherd of the sheep but also the Lord of the harvest [v. 38]. His kingdom is established with things of life that can grow and multiply. He is the Lord who owns this crop. We are both the flock and the crop. The flock is made up of living animals, and the crop, of living vegetation. Under the hand of the Lord Jesus, nothing is lifeless…Everything under the care of this heavenly King is living. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 340-341)
Today’s Reading
We all need to see a vision of the Lord Jesus as the Lord of the harvest. In Matthew 9:38 the Lord told us to beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest…Many times when we sense the need for workers, we sound out the call for help. But from now on, whenever you sense the need for workers, you must first pray to the Lord of the harvest, saying, “Lord, here is Your harvest. You are the Lord of the harvest. We call on You to thrust out some reapers. Lord, send more reapers into Your harvest.”… To pray like this means that we have seen a vision that our Christ, the kingly One, the Shepherd, is the Lord of the harvest. Whenever you pray that the Lord would send reapers into His harvest, you honor Him very much. How different this is from inviting people to help you in your work! When you do that, you do not honor Christ as the Lord of the harvest…You become the master of that work, and He is not considered as the Lord of the harvest.In 11:28 the Lord sounded out a call: “Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”…What a gracious word! The toil mentioned in verse 28 refers not only to the toil of striving to keep the commandments of the law and religious regulations but also to the toil of struggling to be successful in any work…Rest refers not only to being set free from the toil and burden under the law or religion or under any work or responsibility but also to perfect peace and full satisfaction.
To take the Lord’s yoke [vv. 29-30] is to take the will of the Father. It is not to be regulated or controlled by any obligations of the law or religion or to be enslaved by any work but to be constrained by the will of the Father. The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). He submitted Himself fully to the Father’s will (Matt. 26:39, 42). Hence, He asks us to learn from Him. God’s will is our yoke. Thus, we are not free to do as we please; rather, we are yoked… The Lord’s yoke is the Father’s will, and His burden is the work to carry out the Father’s will. Such a yoke is easy, not bitter, and such a burden is light, not heavy. The Greek word rendered “easy” means “fit for use”; hence, good, kind, mild, gentle, easy, pleasant, in contrast to hard, harsh, sharp, and bitter.
The Lord said that if we take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, we will find rest for our souls [11:29]. The rest we find by taking the Lord’s yoke and learning from Him is for our souls. It is an inward rest; it is not anything merely outward in nature. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 341, 371-373)
Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msgs. 29—31