The Harvest (Lk. 10:1-3, 16)
I am so grateful for the agricultural lesson Pastor Ryan gave us last week. At the time, I had no idea that the Holy Spirit was teeing me up for today’s message. If you recall, Pastor Ryan told us about all of the corn and soybean that is produced in Iowa. He also mentioned how one kernel of corn planted can produce an abundance of fruit. One thing that he didn’t mention is how many thousands of workers it takes to harvest all of that corn and soybean. Once upon a time, it was expected that if your family farmed, then you would farm as well. That isn’t exactly the case anymore. Many kids who grow up in a family of farmers, leave the rural land in search of something bigger and better in the city. As you might imagine, this leaves a hole to be filled in the agricultural workforce, plus it makes it extremely difficult for those few who stay back and farm the land.
There are many contributing factors which account for why one generation decides not to farm the land, opting, instead, for an air-conditioned office somewhere at the top of the Devon Tower. One reason might be the hard work that is involved and the dangers associated with farming.
Did you know, farm labor is ranked among the top ten most dangerous jobs in America. More dangerous than working in law enforcement. It is safer to be a police officer than it is to be a farmer. Depending on your source, for every 100k workers, farm labor accounts for more than 20 deaths annually, while law enforcement peaks at around 12.
And there you were thinking farm life was easy. This isn’t Green Acres.
Now, I want you to keep all of this in mind, the hard work and the dangers, as we unpack our scripture for today.
Luke 10:1–3, 16 NKJV
1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 16 He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
For the past three weeks, we have touched on the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus, the cost associated with choosing to follow Him, and the life-giving purpose of His mission. If you were unsure about where you stood with Jesus three weeks ago, I hope that has changed for you. I pray that you, like Peter, understand that Jesus is God’s Messiah sent to save the world and furthermore, I pray that you have chosen Him for yourself. For those of us who have been awakened to our need for Christ, my prayer is that over these past three weeks you have made up your minds about how serious you are in following Him. My prayer is that you have laid your life down and picked up your cross. Finally, I pray that the Holy Spirit was able to make you aware of what spirit motivates your responses and that you have committed to being a life-giver everywhere you go.
With a personal relationship with Jesus, a serious commitment to follow Him no matter the cost, and the right spirit, it's time to hit the road ourselves.
Sent (Lk. 10:1)
Luke 10:1 NKJV
1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.
First, Luke tells us that this all took place after a scribe and a couple disciples (Mt. 8:19-22) said they wanted to follow Jesus wherever He went (Lk. 9:57-62). I’m not sure if these guys made the cut or not, but Jesus proceeded to select 70 or 72 more disciples, besides the Twelve, to serve as forerunners on His kingdom tour and He sent them out in pairs.
Here is something that I’ve found to be interesting about this number of 70/72. This number just so happens to correspond to the number of nations mentioned in Genesis 10 (show chart). Tradition holds that every nation on earth descends from the sons of Noah. The bridge between Genesis 10 and Luke 10 is, as many scholars see it, a call to global evangelism. The Gospel is to be taken to the far ends of the world. While He doesn’t state that in Luke 10, Jesus does instruct His followers to do just that,
Acts 1:8 NKJV
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
And following this announcement, we find in Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, a multiplicity of nations hearing the Gospel in their own language.
Acts 2:1 NKJV
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Acts 2:4–5 NKJV
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
Another thing that interested me about this number of 70 is that it ties back to Num. 11 connecting Jesus, yet again, with Moses.
Numbers 11:16–17 NKJV
16 So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.
The same Spirit by which Moses was able to carry out the work that Yahweh had given him to do would also work in and through the 70 elders who stood with him. Similarly, the same Spirit by which Jesus did all of the works He performed while on earth would also work in and through those 70 men He chose in Luke 10 and, because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore, this same Spirit will be at work in the sons and daughters of the Lord who, by faith, will follow Him wherever He leads.
As the Scriptures remind us,
1 Corinthians 12:4–11 NKJV
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the sameLord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
The apostle Paul reminded us that we are working in tantum with God in the field of souls to be reaped for His glory.
1 Corinthians 3:9 NKJV
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
The same Spirit Who empowered Jesus to heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, raise the dead, and preach the coming kingdom of God, is the very Spirit by which the Apostle did the same thing, and it will be this same Spirit of God Who will demonstrate His power through you who believe.
Finally, the number 70 symbolically represents the highest ranking Jewish council, known as the Sanhedrin. These 70 men were responsible for preparing the nation of Israel for the arrival of the Lord’s Messiah. In much the same way, so were the 70 men Jesus chose.
Harvest (Lk. 10:2)
After selecting those men, Jesus gave them some important information.
Luke 10:2 NKJV
2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great...
In this verse, Jesus informs these men, and us as well, that there is an abundance of souls to be saved. “The harvest truly is great.” I don’t really think that it takes much convincing for us to see that we are living among spiritually ripe fields for the kingdom. As politics constantly divides nation against nation. As economic disparity increases. As homelessness rises. As wars break out all across the globe. As families are splintered day by day. As crime continues to be a threat. As sickness and death plagues humanity. As selfishness and individualism motivates the heart of man. As we increasingly become more self-reliant and less reliant on the Lord there is always opportunity to scatter the seeds of grace among those around us.
Folks, there is a day coming when it will be too late to share our hope in Christ with that family member who is trapped in sin. It will be too late to talk to that co-worker about the love of Christ. It’ll be too late to speak the Name of Jesus to your neighbor. We aren’t promised another opportunity to tell someone about the goodness of our God. We need to speak now!
In the Lord’s Revelation, the Apostle John recorded this scene.
Revelation 14:14–16 NKJV
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Daniel Akin explains it this way,
The divine, heavenly “terminator” has come. Judgment day has arrived and it cannot be delayed. God’s wrath comes via the Lamb. God’s wrath comes on time. The ministry of mercy is over. Sowing the seed of the gospel is at an end. Tomorrow or “someday” is now today.[1]
However, the problem isn’t a shortage of people to tell about Jesus, the problem is that not enough people are sharing the message of God's grace and truth.
We need laborers.
Laborers (Lk. 10:2)
Luke 10:2 NKJV
2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few;
David Garland shared this convicting observation as he contrasts the Parable of the Laborers in Matthew 20 with the shortage of laborers in Luke 10.
“For [temporary] harvests, there was a surplus of workers ready to go into the fields (see Matt. 20:1-7), but the spiritual harvest is totally different. The laborers are few because few are willing to work under such stringent demands for so little reward.”[2]
To put this in modern terms.
There are crowds of people flooding job sites like Indeed, desperate to find work in this world. Staffing agencies are overwhelmed, unable to place everyone who’s lined up hoping for a position. But when it comes to the work that actually matters — the work of building the Kingdom of God — only a small number is willing to step forward.
This isn’t about answering the call to be saved. This is a call to the saved — a summons to those who have already been rescued to join the rescue mission of God.
Last week we learned from the apostle Paul that those who have been reconciled to God have been entrusted with the same message of reconciliation. We carry the only word that can pull people out of darkness, and we are called to deliver it to the world with courage and urgency.
But we need labourers today church. We need men and women, boys and girls, young and old, autistic and non-autistic, verbal and non-verbal, educated and illiterate. We need people like you, who will go in the Name and Spirit and power of God with the message of His saving grace.
The harvest is great, but the laborers are few and far between. An increase in harvest requires an increase in helpers and the way to increase your workforce, Jesus says, is by praying.
Pray (Lk. 10:2)
E.M. Bounds, one of the most prolific authors on the subject of prayer, said this,
Prayer is a wonderful power placed by God in the hands of His people, which may be used to accomplish great purposes and to achieve unusual results.[3]
Folks, prayer is not one option among a long list of other options by which we may accomplish the things of God. It is THE option.
Leonard Ravenhill, one of the 20th century’s greatest revivalist and evangelists, said that our attitude toward prayer tells whether we are trusting in God or trusting in ourselves,
“that what was begun in the Spirit we can finish in the flesh.”[4]
So Jesus says, “Since the harvest is great. The laborers are few. You need to pray.”
Luke 10:2 NKJV
2 Then He said to them... therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
Pastor Thabiti once said,
The first great work of Christian evangelism is done on our knees in prayer.[5]
And I would add that one of the things that should dominate our prayer life is a call for laborers. I’m not just talking about praying for people to go overseas, although that is important. In a few months we are sending our first missionary teams from this congregation to the Dominican Republic and we all need to be praying for them. And those of you who are signed up to go, you need to seriously pray for yourselves and those going with you. Understand that this is not a vacation. This is not merely an opportunity to see parts of the world that you’ve never been to or to check an item off of your bucket list, you will be on a mission and the Lord’s mission. You will be in a spiritual battle confronting the darkness in the Name of Jesus. So you better pray.
The reason why we pray is because Jesus commands us to. Pointblank. The Word of God is filled with instructions for God’s people to pray and yet, as Leonard Ravenhill again says, the prayer meeting is the Cinderella of the church of today.[6]
2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Matthew 6:5–9 NKJV
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. 6 But you, when you pray...pray to your Father who is in the secret place; 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions... 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Luke 18:1 NKJV
1 ... men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
Philippians 4:6 NKJV
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV
17 pray without ceasing,
Need I go on?
We pray for laborers because the magnitude of God’s work is far beyond our individualistic efforts.
We pray for laborers because the work exceeds our human capacity.
We pray for laborers because they are walking into the lion's den of Satan and he will not go down without a fight.
Pray church! When I send you those emails asking for prayer, stop immediately and pray. When you hear someone’s confession of hardship, pray on the spot for that person.
You are always to pray and never to give up.
GO! (Lk. 10:3)
Here’s the last thing I want to say. Be prepared to be the answer to your own prayers.
Luke 10:3 NKJV
3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
When Alicia and I were just friends, there was a season where we had begun praying for one another’s spouse. I prayed that the Lord would send her a guy who would love her well. She and some of her friends prayed the same for me. I remembered that as I wrote my wedding vow to her and all of a sudden, it hit me, I was the answer to my own prayers for her and she was the answer to her own prayers for me.
Pray for laborers Jesus says, but prepare yourself for the possibility that Jesus might say to you - GO!
How committed are you to this life? Is this really what you want your life to be marked by? Then get in the game and get off the sideline!
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever callson the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:14–15 NKJV
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those whopreach the gospel of peace,Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Our need for God's saving power isn't transmitted through osmosis. The way that sinful people, lost in darkness, held captive by the Enemy, and veiled to the lifegiving light of Jesus Christ, the way that those folks come to a point of awareness of their own depravity and spiritual need is through prayer. It’s through a demonstration of God's power and love and our very own testimony.
Luke 10:16 NKJV
16 He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
Who has a Spirit like Isaiah the prophet? Who responds to the Great Commission by saying “Here I am! Send me!”? (Isa. 6:8-9)
Respond
Just like working on a farm, what Jesus has called us to is incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with its own challenges. I’m convinced that Jesus actually intended for those 70 men to endanger themselves for the sake of the Gospel and the Name of Jesus. I also believe that this same expectation is placed on us today.
Luke 10:3 NKJV
3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
It’s OK if you are rejected. It’s ok if the door gets slammed in your face. Rejoice when you’re insulted. Dust yourself off when you get knocked down and move on. But don’t you dare hide the light God has put in you.
As followers of Christ, we’ve all been commissioned by Jesus to go into the world with the message of the Gospel. Everyone of us are called to do the work of an evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5). If we are serious about denying ourselves and taking up our crosses to follow Jesus, we’re going to take some hits along the way. Yet none of that is a reason to retreat. It’s a call to press on. And if you long to be used by God in a more dynamic, Spirit‑empowered way as you share the hope you have in Christ, then step boldly into the mission—because the God who called you is the God who goes with you.
Tré Clark
Britton Christian Church
8/13/2026
(Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 247.)
(Exegetical Commentary on the NT: Luke, 425-26)
(E.M. Bounds, The Power of Prayer: One-Minute Devotions, June 17)
(Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries, p21).
(Thabiti Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018), 173.)
(Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries, p23)
