Matthew 9:38 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 9:35-38

Here is, I. A conclusion of the foregoing account of Christ's preaching and miracles (Matt. 9:35); He went about all the cities teaching and healing. This is the same we had before, Matt. 4:23. There it ushers in the more particular record of Christ's preaching (Matt. 5:1-7:29) and of his cures (Matt. 8:1-9:38), and here it is elegantly repeated in the close of these instances, as the quod erat demonstrandum?the point to be proved; as if the evangelist should say, ?Now I hope I have made it... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 9:37-38

9:37-38 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest." Here is one of the most characteristic things Jesus ever said. When he and the orthodox religious leaders of his day looked on the crowd of ordinary men and women, they saw them in quite different ways. The Pharisees saw the common people as chaff to be destroyed and burned up; Jesus saw them as a harvest to be reaped and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 9:38

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest ,.... By "the Lord of the harvest" is either meant God the Father, whose are all the elect, who has a hearty concern for them, and will have them all gathered in, not one of them shall be left; or the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who has the care and charge of the whole election of grace; and who as he must, he will bring them all in; and who has power of sending forth labourers, as the following chapter shows; and so this is a proof of prayer being... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 9:38

That he will send forth laborers - Οπως εκβαλλη εργατας , that he would thrust forth laborers. Those who are fittest for the work are generally most backward to the employment. The man who is forward to become a preacher knows little of God, of human nature, or of his own heart. It is, God's province to thrust out such preachers as shall labor; and it is our duty to entreat him to do so. A minister of Christ is represented as a day-laborer: he comes into the harvest, not to become lord of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 9:38

Verse 38 38.Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest As no man will of himself become a sincere and faithful minister of the gospel, and as none discharge in a proper manner the office of teacher but those whom the Lord raises up and endows with the gifts of his Spirit, whenever we observe a scarcity of pastors, we must raise our eyes to him to afford the remedy. There never was greater necessity for offering this prayer than during the fearful desolation of the church which we now see every... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:35-38

The missionary work of Christ. I. HIS JOURNEYS THROUGH GALILEE 1 . He went everywhere. His activity was unceasing. He visited every city and village in that thickly populated district. It was a new thing in the history of the world—a Missionary of salvation sent from heaven, spending his time in ceaseless journeys, in constant wearying labour, and that not for gum, not for pleasure, but for love's sake, to win dying souls to God and heaven. It is a high example to the ministers... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:36-38

The sheep and the harvest. Jesus is moved with compassion at the sight of the multitude. There is always something pathetic in such a sight. The needs of the people made it especially so for Christ. To him the people are of deepest interest. His heart goes out, not to favourites, not to a few select, refined, or saintly souls, but to the multitude. As he gazes at the great moving mass of humanity, it calls up to his mind two images. First, it seems like a flock of sheep without a shepherd.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:36-38

The mournful picture redeemed by compassion. Notice, in introduction, how the language which here describes the compassion that moved the vast heart of Christ leads us to most grateful apprehension of the sweet condescending sympathy (not only of Jesus Christ with humanity, but) of Jesus Christ's humanity with our own. How delicately in touch with this latter is it said that the fountains of compassion in that vast heart were freshly opened, freshly drawn upon, as Jesus "saw;" saw " the ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:36-38

The impressions produced by multitudes. "When he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion." Notice how his daily work of healing must have brought Christ sympathetically near to all the sorrows of men. Illustrate from the itinerating work of the Eastern hakim, or physician. It is usual to bring out all the sick of a district when the hakim arrives. Compare the crowds in our marketplaces round the quack-medicine vendor. I. THE IMPRESSION MADE ON CHRIST BY THE SIGHT ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:37-38

The utterance is given word for word (except one transposition) at the beginning of the address to the seventy in Luke 10:2 . But while serving there as an introduction to the rest of the speech, the reason for it is so much more self-evident here that St. Matthew seems to have recorded it in its original connexion. Our Lord himself, feeling the shepherdless condition of the people, desires to call out the interest of his disciples in it. He wants them to realize both the need of the people... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 9:35-38

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 9:37-38

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 9:38

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 9:38

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 9:38

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:35-38

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:36-38

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:36-38

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:36-38

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 9:37-38

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