14.01 | Delegated

Matthew 9:35-10:15

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:35-38

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Do you feel the overwhelm?

So much to do. So much to keep up with. So many needs. So many problems to be fixed, tasks to be accomplished, people to keep in touch with, messages to respond to. Our jobs demand increase, squeezing budgets and maximising output. Our devices beep and buzz at us, and we find ourselves passing problems we could help with, simply because we stretched so thin we 

might 

just 

snap.

I wonder if Jesus felt a bit of this too. He travels through, we read, all of the cities and villages, and heals every disease and every affliction. And yet, still, however comprehensive this sounds, and however much He gives, as He surveys the crowds He is struck by the overwhelming needs. People who are hurting, directionless, lost. Sheep without a shepherd.

Vulnerable, directionless, hurting, lost.

Desperate for a piece of Jesus.

To switch metaphors, the harvest is plentiful. 

So what does He do?

He goes against the grain of every egotistical, self-reliant, superhero complex we can think of.

He delegates. 

Now I find delegating difficult. I’m a high-functioning, high energy, high capacity, Type 1 (Enneagram) perfectionist. I usually know that, if I try a little harder, I probably have a little more to give. I can stretch a little further. And I want the standards to stay high. And I don’t want to burden people. Letting go of responsibility is challenging.

But Jesus lets outrageous responsibility go without a blink. He even gets his disciples to pray for it to happen (making them the immediate answer to their own prayers). 

Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Cast out demons.

This is not delegating the minor tasks while He keeps the big stuff. He’s giving them awesome authority and awesome responsibility that their lives may have awesome impact.

Why?

Because Jesus knows that delegation of His task is precisely what He came for. He didn’t merely come to model purposeful living, but to unleash it in each individual life He comes into contact with. 

Heal. Raise. Cleanse. Cast out.

This is what the apostles were created for. At least, it’s the little part that they were created to do on this side of eternity. 

This was their story.

But it is your story too.

Jesus knew that He lived with limits. His purpose was not to hoard vocation, but to model and to release it.

The harvest is plentiful. He sends you.

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Reflect:

Three movements to prepare for today.

• Look. Look at your day. Do see the harvest? Hold it before Him. Hold it with Him. 

• Join. Are you all in to join what He wants to do through you today? Are you ready to be His agent of restoring love, a channel of His power, and bringer of His peace? Offer Him all you have to offer, and be ready for Him to interrupt you. There is life and energy beyond what is possible that He unleashes in us when the workers are willing. 

• Pray. Are you holding onto tasks that belong to another? Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His field. Name what you cannot do, and prepare to give them away.

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Pray:

Lord Jesus,

I look, and I see

I see needs and hurts and brokenness

That quickly seems beyond my ability to help with in any way.

It is not beyond yours.

Lord Jesus, send,

Send workers into your harvest field. 

Mobilise a movement in my city of those who know you, love you, and will carry your presence wherever they go.

Lord Jesus,

I offer you myself today.

I see all my shortcomings,

And I probably dwell too much on them;

I give them far too much credit as obstacles for your power.

Instead, today, I give you simple, humble, availability.

Help me to take every opportunity

To love greatly, to pray expectantly, to speak truthfully, and to go after each one as eternally precious

For Your glory,

From your heart,

Within your goodness,

And in the power of your Name,

Amen.

Old Testament:

For those of you also reading the Old Testament, your additional readings are below:

Genesis 30:25-31:55 | Psalm 8