GID5 Chapter 1 - The Call to the Harvest
The Call to the Harvest
While teaching and training His disciples, Jesus on several occasions gave them calls to preach the Gospel to the people around them. At other times, He taught them to look below the surface to see the spiritual needs of people. Before He ascended to heaven, He gave a commission to His disciples to make disciples of all nations. This commission is still operative for us today as the task is still unfinished.
Training and Preparation of the Disciples
For what purpose did Jesus appoint the 12 apostles? (Luke 9:2)
Soon after, He sent out another group. How many did He send and what was the purpose of the sending? (Luke 10:1,5)
Jesus used metaphors to describe people’s spiritual need and their response to the message of God.
In Matthew 4:19, what was the metaphor for their coming work in following Christ?
In Luke 5:1-11, what was the result before and after they followed Jesus’ instruction?
What do you think is the point of this instruction and the point of the whole incident?
NOTE When Jesus mentioned fishing (e.g. in Matthew 4:19), it was not line fishing but net fishing, in which a net is cast from a boat and required more than one person (as in Luke 5:1-11 and John 21:1-9).
In John 4:34-38, just after Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman who then believed in Him, what metaphor did He use to reflect the response of the Samaritans?
What is Jesus teaching about the spiritual harvest that is different from gauging the ripeness of the corn harvest? (John 4:35)
What words or descriptions did Jesus use to describe the urgency of the harvest? (John 4:35-36)
The Great Commission
In the 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension, Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom of God and gave His ‘Great Commission’. Different Gospel writers emphasise different aspects of the Commission.
Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’
By whose authority were the disciples sent out?
What were the disciples commanded to make?
NOTE In the Greek text the main verb is ‘make disciples’, which describes the primary work. It is supported by three participles — ‘going’, ‘baptizing’ and ‘teaching’ — which describe the means to reach this aim.
Mark 16:15 He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’
Where were the disciples to preach the Gospel?
Luke 24:46-48 He told them, ‘This is what is written: the Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’
What was the message that the disciples were asked to preach?
John 20:21 Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’
How do the following verses help the disciple to obey Jesus’ Great Commission the way He obeyed the Father’s mission for Him? (John 4:34; Mark 10:45; Philippians 2:8)
Acts 1:8 ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
Where does our power for ministry come from?
Note the different places named (Jerusalem — city base; Judea — surrounding province; Samaria — neighbouring culture; ends of the earth — totally cross-cultural). Is there any pattern or purpose in the order? What principle or strategy can be applied to reaching the world?
“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”
—Hudson Taylor, Founder of the China Inland Mission (now the OMF)
The Harvest
The group of faithful disciples numbered about 120 when Jesus ascended to heaven. How did they do in terms of fulfilling the Great Commission? They boldly and faithfully spread the gospel first to the Jewish population in Jerusalem. Thousands responded (Acts 2:41 and Acts 4:4).
From Acts 13 onwards, the church crossed a major milestone by sending missionaries from the new sending base of Antioch to the rest of the world. It was said of Paul and his team members that ‘these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also’ (Acts 17:6 ESV). Such was their impact. Eventually, the Roman Empire became the Holy Roman Empire.
What is the challenge before us today? The world population is more than 8 billion according to Worldometer. (Worldometer is an interesting source giving population updates by the second. It also gives population statistics of countries by size.)
According to the Pew Research Centre, Christians constituted 28.8% in 2020. The rest of the world constitutes a huge challenge if we are to fulfil the Great Commission.
Size of major religious groups, 2020 (Pew Research Centre)
Note: 1. The “Religiously unaffiliated” category consists of people who do not identify with any religion. 2. The world population in 2020, according to UN data was 7.79 billion. Image reproduced from “How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020”, published by the Pew Research Centre, 2025.
Trends
The above study by the Pew Research Centre noted that between 2010 and 2020, the fastest growing group are the Muslims with an increase of +1.8 percentage points, followed by the Religiously Unaffiliated group. In the same period, Christians saw the largest decline by -1.8 percentage points. This study also highlighted the next highest growth in terms of percentage of population was the “Religiously Unaffiliated” group. This group increased their percentage share by +0.9 percentage points. The share of all other religious groups remained unchanged or declined.
Projections to 2050
The Pew Research Centre also projects that by 2050, the number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world and by 2070 will overtake the latter in population size. This is the projection based on the differential fertility rates of Muslims and Christians (Source: The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050).
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/
In view of the opportunities, what is the great need? (Matthew 9:36-37)
What should Christians do? (Matthew 9:38)
What did Jesus teach His disciples about how to view the harvest? (John 4:35-38)
God’s Part
When Christians look at the challenge before us, it seems an impossible task. That might be true if we were to try to reach the world on our own strength and by our own abilities. The following Scriptures will give us much encouragement. God is so much more active in people’s lives than is realised. His acts may be mundane like providing what we need or He might intervene in miraculous ways. Be amazed at the various ways God works. The same God who worked in the book of Acts is still at work today.
Power for the Ministry — What is the promise of help as we witness to others? (Acts 1:8)
From Zechariah 4:6:
What must we not depend on?
On whom should we depend?
What is the Father doing for Jesus regarding people? (John 6:37)
According to John 6:44, who is drawing people to Jesus?
What is the Father doing to people to help them come to Jesus?
God’s Acts — What had God been doing as a testimony that He is good and caring? (Acts 14:15-17)
In Acts 17:26-28, what has God been doing for mankind?
Why did He do those things? (Acts 17:27-28)
God’s Intervention — From Job 33:14-22, list the different ways that God speaks to or intervenes in a man’s life.
What does God provide to help man through his life? (Job 33:23-28)
Why does God go through all the trouble of intervening in a man’s life? (Job 33:29-30)
Do you think it is a certainty that a person will notice all that God is doing in his/her life? (Job 33:14)
Divine Partnership — The work of ministry is a partnership: labourers do one part and God does another. What is God’s part specifically in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9?
Application
Has God done some of these amazing things in your life or that of your family or friends? List what you think He has done.
Review the chapter. What is God saying to you about the harvest?
What is one thing you can do about the harvest?
Concluding Note
God has always been working to draw people to Him, prior to our attempts to witness to others about Jesus. When our eyes are opened to see what God has been doing to bring people to Him, it makes evangelism so much ‘easier’.
Evangelism, then, is more about discovering God’s prior work and building on that work to lead others to Christ. In the end we will have to ‘present’ Christ to them, but God has already done His work.
This style of evangelism can be called ‘Theocentric Evangelism’ — evangelism centred on God’s prior work rather than the Christian’s attempts in the present on his work of witnessing.
This interesting article titled ‘Discovering God’s Prior Work in Bringing People to Himself’ by Wong Kim Tok, is available on The Navigators Singapore resource website pages. Those interested may use this link to access it:
https://navigators.org.sg/donation/index.php?route=news/article&ncat=7&news_id=118