The Minister's Job Description

Matthew 9:35-38

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

...............

This chapter provides a wonderful balance for the minister's job description. As I have read through these accounts and descriptions of Jesus, I have been stung by how far I have to go to be even close to the kind of person He was. Well, no duh! We all have infinitely far to go to be like Jesus. But, while we will never quantitatively match our Savior in any respect, there are qualitative aspects to his ministry that we should expect to reflect in our own, whether it's in a church, or in our workplace, or in the ministry we have in our homes. I see three qualities in this chapter that we should strive to reflect:

(1) Healing. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (9:12-13). Doesn't this passage hit you like a laser beam? I spend every waking hour trying to perform for my boss, for my family, for my Lord....and God does not desire sacrifice! At least not in comparison to MERCY. Now, some acts of sacrifice are motivated by mercy, but the passage here is loud and clear. We are called to show mercy, which implies being around people who need mercy, like the "sinners and tax collectors." There is no shortage of needs in this world, so we have no excuse really. While we can never match the quantity of healing work accomplished by the Great Physician, there is a quality here that we must emulate.

(2) Teaching. "Teaching in their synagogues..." This chapter does not belong to one of the five major teaching sections of the book of Matthew, but don't gloss over the teaching aspect here. Jesus is mostly healing people, but even these healings are occasions to make a point, and Jesus never misses such an opportunity to explain the nature of His kingdom. The explanation about fasting (9:15-17) is the largest exposition here. I would also include the reference to "sheep without a shepherd" as an allusion to the need for ministers who teach, admonish, encourage, and generally use all types of words to keep their flocks from being "harassed and helpless."

(3) Laboring. "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." There is no doubt that ministry is labor. I must confess the tendency to slide into "accidental" ministry, hoping for opportunities to hit me in the face, rather than laboring for a chance to glorify Christ in what I do. Picking up on the "harvest" imagery, and taking a look forward to the farming analogies of Matthew 13, I think we should be reminded that the labor of ministry may sometimes be like planting seeds, or at other times, like reaping a harvest. Let us not belittle one aspect over another.

Before I leave the whole quantitative-qualitative concept, I'd like to include one more verse that keeps popping into my head throughout this discussion. In Colossians 1:10, Paul describes what it means to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him." It means...

bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

There is a similar balance here that is incredibly vital to our growth and encouragement in the faith. The quantity of our good works may not be infinite, but the quality of our ministry includes many different kinds of good deeds (including healing, teaching, and laboring). And I love the reminder that a life which is truly pleasing to God is not made up of mere externals, but consists of an increasing knowledge of Him. Do I know Him better this year than last year? That may be hard to measure, but I sure hope the measure of my ministry includes such an important, and biblical, criteria.