Today our Gospel reading from Matthew 9 and 10 records Jesus sending out his 12 Apostles on their first preaching mission – to the cities and villages of Judea. It gives us an opportunity to consider the importance of the preaching office today, and to appreciate Christ’s teaching about those whom he sends to us, to preach the gospel of his Kingdom.
If you were with us during the midweek Lenten services this year, you heard a little more in depth about each of the 12 Apostles Matthew lists here. Each one of them a unique gift to the church, and from whom we learn about Christ, even today.
First note, this was a preliminary mission. It was preliminary, in that they were sent to the Jews but not yet the Gentiles. That would come later, in the Book of Acts, and beyond. But like Paul, who preached first to the Jew and then to the Gentile, Jesus orders his 12 to follow the same pattern. The preaching of the Gospel is orderly, not chaotic. And it is always to be done in accord with Christ’s sending and instruction.
It is also preliminary in regard to the preaching office. The Apostles were a special group, the first pastors, the first to hold the public preaching office in the church. They alone were given the authority to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons as they preached.
But they would not be the last pastors. Later, they would direct their successors to see that others were trained and taught, so that in every place God’s people would have someone to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
And you might say it was preliminary in that it preached a simple message, “the kingdom of heaven is near”. But later the apostles, and now all faithful pastors, are more specific about how that kingdom comes through the person and work of Jesus Christ, the one who lived and died and rose for you and for all.
And so the Office of the Ministry is a gift Christ gives to his church. That is to say, pastors are God’s gift, not in and of themselves, for we are poor sinners just like you are. But to facilitate the hearing of his word, for the giving of his most precious gift, Christ gives another gift, an instrumental gift – the office of the pastor.
It goes by many names in Scripture – Elder, Overseer, Bishop, Preacher, or Pastor (which means, Shepherd). Jesus has compassion on people who are sheep without a shepherd, hearers without a preacher, recipients of the word without one to administer the word to them.
Without the word, and without pastors to preach it, we are all like sheep without a shepherd. We are harassed and helpless. Harassed, assaulted by the temptations and troubles of the world. Helpless against the temptations and schemes of the enemy. Spiritual lost and wandering, were it not for our Savior Jesus Christ, and the word that proclaims him, and the ones he sends to proclaim that word.
Now, some will say, that when Jesus mentions laborers, that he’s not only talking about pastors. And we would grant that, too. For there are many hands who push the plow in this vineyard. Of course, we give thanks to God for all the workers he provides that his church may continue its work: Pastors as well as teachers. Church workers – deaconesses, directors of parish music, and so many others. Laypeople, too, who each work according to the needs that are presented, and the gifts God has given each one.
But in the church, the public preaching of the word is given to those who bear the office, and that’s the most pertinent kind of labor Jesus speaks of here. Word and Sacrament ministry is essential to the church’s being and well-being, and it is the only office Christ has commanded the church simply must have. All others, whether professional or volunteer, come and go as the church sees fit in her stewardship of the Gospel.
Now, if you follow the discussion in our own church body, the LCMS, you may have heard much discussion lately about the pressing need for pastors or the pastoral shortage. At the national convention next month, church leaders and delegates will be discussing the best ways to train pastors, the role of seminary education, and various attendant matters. Messiah has participated in some of this, too, as we’ve had 2 vicars in recent years, men training for service as pastors – and also by supporting many others through their seminary years. And all of those are good things. But notice clearly what Jesus says is the solution to the pastoral shortage.
Prayer. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. But he doesn’t say, “therefore establish an endowment fund for seminary education” or “design new programs to entice more men into the ministry”. Not that those are bad things to do. But that’s not Jesus’ solution. He simply urges us to pray. Prayer that the Father would send more. And isn’t that so like our Lord?
For he urges us to pray for all good gifts: Daily bread. Forgiveness of sins. Comfort and peace. Health and healing. Good government, peace, even seasonable weather. So many of these good gifts he gives even without our prayer, and yet he urges us to pray for them. Ask the Father, as dear children ask for everything they need.
And what a good gift the preaching of the word is! It is simply how God creates and sustains faith. It is the law which convicts us of our sins, a constant reminder of our need for God’s grace. And it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a message of pure and free forgiveness won by Christ at the cross, where he shed his holy, precious blood for you. Where he took your place under God’s righteous wrath. And what preaching is complete without the further proclamation of his victory over death and hell, also for you, for me, for all?
That word is also preached to you through the sacraments. There, in Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, Christ attaches his word of promise to a visible means. And so it’s only natural that these means of grace, these good gifts, are given along with the word of the gospel – and administered by the preacher of the gospel.
This preaching, this word, this Gospel, is also given freely. This is not to say that we shouldn’t pay our pastors. But the free preaching of God’s word is never transactional. We preach to all who would hear. We don’t play favorites or attach strings. Pastors have received the word ourselves freely, and so we also freely give it, preach it, to any and all.
I once heard a pastor say that when it comes to the church and his salary, he preaches for free, but gets paid to go to meetings. There may be some truth in that. But the point is, Christ gives us his grace and all blessings freely, so the preacher also freely sets that word before you.
Thanks be to God the Father, who sends us his dear Son our Savior. And thanks also for sending laborers into the harvest, that we might receive this Gospel of Jesus Christ with joy. Let us continue to pray for such laborers, and for such a harvest of faith and salvation, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
