Verse 35 reads:
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.
Chrysostom here advises us to observe how Jesus conducted Himself in situations when He was being slandered, and to take from this an example for our own lives. Saint John also explains most fittingly what our motivation must be in performing good deeds, so that we never grow weary even when we encounter obstacles. He says the following:
“The Lord not only refrained from punishing them for such insensibility, but did not even reproach them, thereby manifesting both His meekness and refuting the slander raised against Him. At the same time, He wished by the miracles that followed to convince the people even more, and afterwards to expose (the Pharisees) with words. Thus Jesus went about the cities and villages, through the synagogues, teaching us thereby not to answer slander with slander, but with abundant good deeds. If you do good to your neighbours not for the sake of men, but for the sake of God, then regardless of how people behave, do not cease doing good; thus you will receive a great reward. The one who ceases to do good because others speak ill of him shows that he did not do good for God’s sake, but for the praise of men.”
We therefore clearly see what our driving force towards virtue must be: when we perform a good deed, we must do it solely and exclusively for God’s sake. In that case, rejection by others, the lack of recognition, or indifference will not disappoint or sadden us.
Saint Nicholas of Ohrid points to yet another feature of Christ’s person—that nothing was difficult for the Lord when it concerned the salvation of humankind. He writes:
“City or village—it is all the same to Him. He does not seek either city or village—He seeks people. The evangelist says ‘through all cities and villages’ to show Christ’s zeal in action. ‘Zeal for Thy house has consumed me’ (Ps. 69:9). For Him, indeed, one day was as a thousand years. Christ’s work had three aspects, as shown by the evangelist’s words. He taught; He preached the good news of the Kingdom; and He healed every disease and infirmity among the people. He taught—that is, He interpreted the spirit of creation and of the old law. He preached—that is, He laid the foundations for the New Creation, the Kingdom of God, the Church of the saints. He healed—that is, through deeds He confirmed His teaching and His preaching. And all of this the Lord did out of love not only for the people of His time—His contemporaries (for He is the contemporary of all that was, is, and will be)—but also out of love for us.”
Thus Blessed Jerome adds:
“You see that Jesus preached the Gospel equally in cities and in villages and in settlements—that is, in both great and small places—for He paid no heed to the power of the renowned and celebrated, but only to the salvation of believers, fulfilling the task given Him by the Father and possessing an unquenchable desire to save the unbelieving by His teaching.”
Blessed Theophylact of Ohrid likewise writes:
“As a Lover of mankind, the Lord does not wait for people to come to Him, but He Himself goes to them, so that they might not have the excuse to say: ‘No one has taught us.’ Here one can see that there is no excuse for those who act as though the Church did not exist, who do not wish to hear what she preaches. This verse may also serve as an apologetic answer to those who reproach the Church for allegedly being inactive, as well as to those who are bothered even by the mere mention of faith and of God—the Church preaches and actively engages in mission precisely because her Founder did the same. This is the sole reason for the Church’s mission: to do everything that the Lord Jesus Himself did on earth.”
We now come to the final three verses of chapter nine of the Gospel according to Matthew:
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples: “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.”
Chrysostom again points out that by this action too the Lord seeks to train His apostles:
“See again how far the Lord is from vainglory. In order not to draw all people after Himself, He sends the disciples. Yet He sends them not only for this reason, but also so that they may be trained—so that, being educated in Palestine as in a school of warfare, they might be prepared for the struggles that await them throughout the world. Therefore, just as fledglings are taught to fly, He opens to them the widest field for their activity, as far as suited their strength, so that they might more easily approach the struggles to come. At first He makes them physicians of the body, so that later He may entrust them with what is most important—the healing of souls. And see how He shows the ease and the necessity of this work. ‘The harvest is plentiful,’ says Jesus, ‘but the labourers are few.’ I am sending you, says the Lord, not to sow, but to reap. Similarly, He said in the Gospel of John: ‘Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour’ (Jn. 4:38). Thus He removes them from conceit, urges them to vigilance, and shows that the prior labour was greater. Notice also: the Lord begins here, as always, with mercy, not with judgment. ‘He had compassion on them, for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.’ By this Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders, for they, though called shepherds, revealed in themselves the qualities of wolves, for not only did they fail to correct the people, but even hindered them from becoming better.”
Saint Hilary of Poitiers, commenting on these verses of Scripture, writes that the Lord had been preparing the people for the reception of the Spirit throughout the ages, and he also shows how we may attain this gift:
“The Lord had compassion on a people wearied under the burden of the law and oppressed by the assaults of the unclean spirit, for until then they had no shepherd to restore to them the care of the Holy Spirit. The richest fruit of such a gift had already ripened, but there was no one to reap it. … For however many might attain it, this gift is always poured out in abundance and richness upon all. And since it is beneficial that there be many through whom the gift of the Spirit is imparted, Christ commands His disciples to pray the Lord of the harvest to send more labourers into His harvest… for this gift is sent to us by God only through prayer and fervent supplication.”
This is also instruction for us—that we must be persistent and fervent in prayer if we wish the situation in our people and in their relationship to the Church to change for the better. For this reason Justin of Ćelije writes the following:
“The harvest is plentiful: there are many who hunger and thirst for immortality, who hunger for the bread of life and thirst for the water of life, ready to enter the Kingdom of the Holy Trinity. Therefore: pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into His harvest. Pray, for prayer is given to you as communion with God. Prayer is your pre-harvest and harvest labour: God creates, prepares, forms, and sends forth the labourers into His harvest. The harvest is His, not yours. Not human; you are called to enter into the work, to cooperate with God through prayer, and to perform that holy work of God in a holy manner.”
Blessed Jerome of Stridon makes the interesting observation that the labourers include not only the apostles, but all who follow their path:
“To speak plainly, the harvest represents the multitude of the faithful. The few labourers are the apostles and those who imitate them, the men who are sent into the harvest.”
Blessed Theophylact of Ohrid draws attention to the expression Lord, noting that it refers precisely to Christ, and explains how the Son of God demonstrates this:
“The Lord of the harvest is Christ Himself, who is the Lord of the prophets and the apostles. This is seen when He chooses the Twelve without seeking (permission) from God.”
Adapted for the contemporary reader on the basis of patristic commentaries by: Stanoje Stanković.
