When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd

 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

- Matthew 9:35-10:4

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus left the home of the synagogue ruler, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"  And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."  And their eyes were opened.  And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."  But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.  As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.  And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.  And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of demons."

 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.   Jesus does His healing work, despite accusations by the Pharisees (see yesterday's reading, above).  My study bible notes that Jesus doesn't condemn sinners, but sees them as lost sheep, who need to be found and brought home.  The other place where we see this language, describing the crowds who follow Him as sheep having no shepherd, is just before the feeding of five thousand in the wilderness.  These people desperately need what He is offering.  My study bible reminds us that compassion means "suffering with."  The image of sheep having no shepherd is drawn from the Old Testament (Numbers 27:17, 1 Kings 22:17, Ezekiel 34:5).  It's an accusation against the Jewish leaders who, charged with the duty of shepherds (or "pastors"), acted as wolves.

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."   The harvest speaks to an abundance of those ready to accept the Kingdom.  Jesus, says my study bible, is both Sower and the Lord of the harvest.  His disciples are not sowers, but those who reap what was sown by the prophets.  In John's Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that He sends them to reap where others have sown. As Christians, we see the Lord working throughout the Old Testament, now Incarnate as Jesus.   My study bible tells us that how many are sent to harvest is less important than with what power they go into the harvest (indicated in the verses that follow in today's reading).

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:  first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.    For these twelve, the titles disciple and apostle are frequently used interchangeably.  Disciple means "learner" and apostle means "one sent out" (generally speaking, with a message).   Here Jesus shares His power, distributing it to these who will work for the harvest.  They are given power to perform miracles -- the entire focus again is on healing and restoration, inseparable from the spiritual focus of what this power is for and where it comes from.  The twelve are named identically in all lists, as many people had more than one name.  Here the names are given in pairs, suggesting who may have traveled together on this first missionary "sending out."  Mark's Gospel tells us they were sent out two by two (Mark 6:7).  We notice that Judas is always identified as the one who betrayed Him.

We have to think about what it means that in the lists of the Twelve, sent out with so much hope, the start of a harvest -- the culmination of an age (the Old Covenant) and the beginning of a new one, why it is never left out that one of these twelve, hand-picked by Christ, will also betray Him.  We just never get away from the aspects of the Gospel (and indeed, all of the Scriptures) that teach us there is a spiritual battle going on here, that there is a spiritual battleground in this world into which we go as His disciples.  It tells us that there will always be choices to make, and that our job isn't to live in a "magical" world in which all is enchanted and life is materially perfect, but rather that as His disciples we go aware, awake, watchful, and prayerful.  We will always need His guidance.  Jesus sends out His disciples, investing them with His own power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.  We have to understand how these things are virtually synonymous in terms of what it means to make spiritual choices.  The emphasis, no matter what the context, is always on healing, wholeness, restoration.  That includes, like a good physician, restoring both by nurturing and by cutting away that which is harmful.  We can't understand what "spiritual battle" means unless we understand that it means we make spiritual choices, and that behind every choice we have, if we think carefully and prayerfully about it, there's a spiritual choice to be made.  What harms?  What nurtures?  What's the goal of health, restoration, and wholeness that gives us an idea of what it is to be in union, or right-relatedness to God?  Ultimately, this is how we understand what love is.  It is how we must think about what mercy is for.  And it's in love and mercy, and our awareness of how we learn to practice that in our lives, that our discipleship grows.  So what's this power for?  What is the mission?   Do we see sheep having no shepherd around us in our lives, situations that need healing?  We should remember that the harvest comes among those who voluntarily want to be a part of the Kingdom.   God does not compel anyone to love Him.  Let us ask for His discernment:  the presence of Judas among the Twelve teaches us that we might need more awareness, more understanding, more guidance than we think.