Introduction:

He never let up. "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness." The verbs in this sentence give us the idea of continuing action. The Savior kept on going and going.

But why did Jesus keep on going? The answer is clear. He looked around and saw all the harassed and helpless sheep. And he is the Good Shepherd. He knew he could help these suffering people. For Jesus it wasn't about the popularity. It wasn't about the power of having a huge following. It was simple. He kept going in order to reach out to these helpless sheep. It was about the salvation of souls.

The Holy Spirit has recorded these words in the gospel of Matthew to show us Jesus' concern for the helpless sheep in the world. We all like sheep have gone astray and so Jesus kept on going for us also. Let us rejoice that Jesus had compassion on us with his life, death, and resurrection. Then let us learn how to reach out to the helpless sheep of this world with compassion, prayer, and with preaching.

1. With compassion (v. 35-36)

As Jesus went through all the towns and villages he saw a huge number of lost sheep. And the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. Jesus did heal the people of their maladies and illnesses, but his fervent desire was to heal them spiritually. Christ saw the great spiritual need in these people.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them. This was a gut-wrenching pity, not just a passing, "Oh, that's too bad." His compassion came from sorrow knowing that these people were being led into the fires of hell by their spiritual leaders.

The Bible tells us that they were harassed and helpless. The word "harassed" has the idea of being cut in many different places and bleeding, like if a person were to walk through a bush full of thorns. The religious leaders of these people were the ones harassing them. These men placed all kinds of laws on the people and when they couldn't live up to the law; these leaders offered no comforts for their cut and bleeding consciences. This left the people of Jesus' day feeling alone and helpless. Once the law had beaten them down, there was nothing to soothe them, nothing to heal them. They were abandoned in their suffering. Their sin and guilt harassed them and Jesus took pity on them.

That same kind of guilt is common in our world today. Maybe you have been harassed by it yourself. The law only condemns us. It shows us our sin. It exposes our guilt. It reveals the punishment that we deserve. Try all you want, you will never satisfy the law with your good works. The law demands perfection. And you are not perfect - nor am I. We are sinners who deserve to be sentenced to the prison of hell for all eternity.

Jesus took pity on us though and the Christ made atonement for our sins against God's law. He stepped in between us and God. Then on Judgment Day, when we stand before the Almighty, Jesus will say that he obeyed the law perfectly for us. He will pronounce that he served our sentence of hell on the cross and he paid for our guilt with his own blood. And our risen Lord will say to those who believe in him, "Because I live, you too shall live." The law will have no power over us because the gospel of Jesus is this, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

And not just for us, but for the whole world. Remember, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." With this in mind, it is crucial that we look around us and with the help of God find the harassed and helpless sheep that are in the world today.

There are religious leaders today who oppress the people with the law and give them little to no comfort with the gospel. These people crush the sheep with guilt and then abandon them with no hope. I once talked to a Buddhist who felt this way. When I told him that Jesus took away all of his sins and salvation was a free gift, I sat with him silently as he cried tears of joy.

Don't just pass these peoples' lives like you might pass by an accident on the highway. Don't just gawk at the wreck of an unbeliever's life for a second and then move on. Jesus has compassion on you. Reach out with compassion to these helpless sheep.

2. With prayer (v. 37-38)

Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." In Jesus' day there was a large spiritual harvest. This harvest was all the people who would come to know Jesus as their Savior through the gospel. But the harvest would not gather itself in.

Today there is a large spiritual harvest also. However, as in Jesus' day, it is the same today. The harvest will not gather itself in. The Bible tells us so. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." And, "no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." Nobody can come to Jesus or believe in him on their own.

So the harvest is waiting, but the workers are few as Jesus said. So what should we do? Jesus answer is simple - pray. Pray that God would send out workers. Have you prayed for this lately? I hope your compassion for the helpless and harassed sheep will move you to pray. God answers our prayers and according to his will he sends out the workers. So pray for workers to help the lost sheep.

Pray also for those who are now preaching and teaching. And then Pray for those who are training to be preachers and teachers. As we offer these prayers to God may it become very clear to us that we depend solely on God to bring the harvest in. It is God's work. Pray that there are workers sent into the harvest field.

3. With preaching (v. 1-8)

Then Jesus followed the command of prayer with action. He sent his disciples to go out and preach to the helpless sheep he had pity on. Simon, Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James and Thaddaeus, Simon and Judas went and preached the gospel to the harassed and helpless sheep. After Jesus' glorious ascension into heaven, most of these men would go again and take the Word to the world.

They shared the gospel because the gospel of Jesus Christ saves and only the gospel of Jesus Christ saves. Their compassion moved them. God answered their prayers. And they went and preached to helpless sheep.

Jesus concluded with the words, "Freely you have received, freely give." There would be no charge. Salvation is on Jesus. We pay for nothing. We have a compassionate and generous God.

Reflect on the grace and generosity of Jesus by freely giving to others. Share the good news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection with the helpless sheep of this world. You can preach the good news that Jesus lived for us, died for us, and rose us.

Here at St. Stephen, we are developing a way to help you do this. By now, you have probably seen the teasers about the Andrew Plan. This will be a project that will involve the entire congregation. With the help of God, it could be huge. Pastor Keller and I and the Evangelism committee are very excited about it. Everybody can get involved. It is easy. It is free. It is rewarding. Through the Andrew Plan, you will be able to reach out with compassion to the helpless sheep of this world. Yes, even you.

I would like everyone, if they can, to come to Bible class in the gym today to find out more about the Andrew Plan. It does involve you. We want your compassionate heart. We want your prayers. We want you to help us preach the good news of Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION:

Jesus kept going on his mission. He never gave up, not even when he was suffering for the sins of the lost sheep on the cross. Moved by Christ's compassion for us, may we also keep going on our mission reaching out the helpless sheep of the world with compassion, prayer, and preaching. AMEN.