“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’”
— Matthew 9:37–38 (NASB)

One of the most palpable differences between church during the first and last halves of my life is that it has been a long time since I have met Christians on fire to share their faith and win others to Christ. If you’ve only been a Christian during the past 20 or so years you probably don’t realize that at the same time America’s space program reached its apex by placing a man on the moon, Christianity in the Western world was experiencing evangelistic growth which looks almost surreal in hindsight. Why are things so different now? Is the harvest over or are we simply no longer sending out workers?

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“Then a scribe came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.’ Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’ Another of the disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.’”
— Matthew 8:19–22

We are presented with two examples of people who are prevented from giving their all to Christ. Their specific cases typify the broader categories of those who have difficulty severing ties with the old life either because of their attachment to material wealth or because of their commitment to earthly relationships. Every Believer at one point or another is probably faced with the dilemma of what they will ultimately do when it comes to that one, particular worldly person, place, or thing which tugs at them most from the old life.

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“’Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”’”
— Matthew 7:21–23 (NASB)

Just because someone says they are doing something in the name of Jesus does not mean it is actually from Jesus. This not only applies to those claiming to prophesy in Jesus’ name whose predictions do not come true or the charlatan faith-healers whose exploits cannot be medically substantiated, but as a general rule. Much spiritual damage lingers today among Jewish Holocaust survivors whose Nazi tormenters claimed to be Christians acting in the name of Christ. But even if a prophesy comes true or a miracle can be substantiated, it is important to know that an authentic messenger is proven by the quality of their obedience to God’s Word and ways and not by such works alone.

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“’And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.’”
— Matthew 6:7–8 (NASB)

I think that parents relate really well to this, especially those with small children who try to wear the parents down by means of a barrage of pleadings for something. The parent already knows the situation, has the greater insight into why the child should/should not be granted their request, and the annoying behavior is not going to change the parent’s mind. I believe a significant part of what Jesus is teaching when it comes to prayer is that it is more akin to a conversation than a negotiation. In fact, in what we have come to call “The Lord’s Prayer” to follow, the example does not place us personally at the center, but orients the focus on God the Father instead.

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"'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'"
— Matthew 5:3

I don't think we completely understand the full and shocking effect this opening beattitude held for those hearing it for the first time. In the cultural and historical context of the time, it was something radically different than what had been taught in the Temple and synagogues for a very, very long time. What the average Jew had been told by the religious elite not just for their entire lives but for generations previous, is that the kingdom of heaven could only be attained by a lifetime of work and perfection which few had the means or motivation to pursue. They had been taught it would only be the super-powerful in spirit who would ultimately make it.

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"'As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.'"
— Matthew 3:11–12

John covers quite a lot of ground in a single sentence. The two baptisms mentioned as "with water for repentance" and "with the Holy Spirit" are probably the ones which we focus the most on, and understandably so. They address the immediate need to be reconciled through the forgiveness of sins and to inqugurate a new life that is Holy Spirit led in place of the sin-based one we leave behind. But there are two other events spoken of here, the first we usually characterize as Pentecost when the Holy Spirit "appeared to them tongues as of fire" (Acts. 2:2) and the ultimate work of judgment to come expressed here as "unquenchable fire".

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"The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:"
— Matthew 1:1

There is probably no chapter in the New Testament which is rushed through faster by the average adult reader than the very first chapter of the New Testament. After all, a genealogy is a strange way to begin a Gospel and it just quickly leads into that cute little Christmas story we tell to kids every year, right? And so we usually rush right past the very first verse of the opening chapter which establishes Matthew's overall goal, to announce that it is the Person of Jesus who is "the Messiah, the son of David". Matthew begins what will be his life's focus and ministry, to proclaim to everyone who might read his Gospel that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's Word in the arrival of "the Messiah, the son of David".

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