Matthew 9 (NRSVue)
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
10 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.
The gospel invites us to the compassionate work of reconciliation and inclusion.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. In verse 36, Jesus’ compassion begins not after the crowds speak to Him, but simply because He sees them. What does this suggest about the spiritual importance of noticing people? How might modern life train people to look at crowds without truly seeing individuals?
2. In this week’s message we heard Pastor Trey state, “Where there is a lack of compassion people suffer alone.” Do we have the compassion for others that will seek out those suffering alone, hidden only by our unknowing? What does it take to see what we have been not seeing all this time?
3. Looking at Matthew 9:38 and Matthew 10:1 together, the disciples first pray for laborers and then become laborers themselves. How can a healthy church help people move from passive into active participation? What practices create a culture where people believe their presence and gifts genuinely matter and they are equipped themselves?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. In Matthew 9:36–37 Jesus looks at weary, scattered people and calls them a “plentiful harvest.” What does this reveal about His desire for people—not merely to survive spiritually, but to be restored into wholeness, dignity, and belonging? How should this shape the way believers view and care for one another within the body of Christ?
2. Even torn apart and moved, the Ferguson family dining table was still all there just waiting for its new placement and purpose. With a little help and elbow grease the table is better suited today to the purpose at hand. The inherent tableness of the table didn’t change, only its placement and small generous addition. How are we called to reassemble the pieces to make something better? Have you been part of a new purposing in your life or in helping/witnessing a new purposing in someone else’s?
3. Even the 24 hour news cycles inundating our cable television can’t keep up with all the terrible things happening each day, recognizing the plight of others has always been easy. What does it take for us as individuals, and as a community, open our hearts and be something more for those in need?
4. Like a table big enough for eight, many of us have a capacity greater than we are experiencing currently or had been in the past. In what way has your greater capacity been realized along the way? What helped you to realize this greater capacity?
5. Whether a missing bench or a placement against the wall, there were inhibiting factors for the Ferguson table being fully utilized. How has your capacity as an individual, and as a community, been hindered by the limits we have placed on ourselves? In your daily life, in your church building, or in your work place — where have you found tables placed against walls keeping the marginalized or needy from a seat at the proverbial table? How often are these walls unintentional yet very real for those on the other side?