Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. – Luke 10:2
Many Christians today are stepping back from evangelism, especially street evangelism. One reason is simple: evangelism often comes with resistance. When we look at Scripture, we see that the disciples faced opposition everywhere they went. They were mocked, beaten, imprisoned, and persecuted. Yet in the midst of danger and suffering, they did not stop preaching the gospel. Because they all knew that winning a soul was the very heartbeat of God.
God expresses his displeasure in the death of the wicked. “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). Why is this so? Because when the wicked die without repentance and believe in Him, their death does not lead them to God but to eternal separation from Him. Yet the Word of God speaks very differently about the death of those who belong to Him. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). Why is it precious? Because they are coming home. Their death is not a loss, but a gain. They leave this world to be forever with the LORD, in His presence and in His glory.
Here we begin to understand what is truly precious in the sight of God and what He loves most. It is the human soul. God values the soul more than all the riches of this world. Jesus Himself said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” and again, “Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36–37). A human soul is worth more than any wealth this world can offer. Even if all the riches of the earth were gathered together, they could never compare to the value of one soul. Your soul and my soul are precious in the sight of God. When we truly understand this, it changes the way we see people. We no longer see them as just human beings passing through life but as precious souls with eternal value.
Now that we understand the seriousness and the importance of evangelism for every Christian, we also understand that this is not something we can skip or avoid. Before our main verse, we see that the LORD Jesus sent out the seventy to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. But before He sent them, He first taught, trained, and prepared them. He gave them power and authority over evil spirits and authority to heal the sick. He did not send them out in their own strength, but in His power, with His authority, and with His purpose.
When Jesus says, “The harvest truly is great,” He is talking about the people souls waiting to be gathered. He is saying that their hearts are ready to receive God and His great salvation. After being separated from God for thousands of years, the souls of people have grown dry and weary. People are thirsting for meaning, for life, for light, and for the presence of God, who alone is the source of all these things. Now, the LORD Jesus speaks to all of us with urgency that the field of the harvest is ready. It is full and overflowing, yet only there were too few who were willing to work. Gathering a harvest requires effort. It means standing under the heat of the sun, bending the knees, and laboring throughout the day.
The LORD Jesus knows this reality that many Christians see evangelism as a tedious task rather than a privilege and a blessing. For some, evangelism feels uncomfortable. It interrupts their routines and challenges their comforts. For others, it brings opposition and resistance such as mocking, offense, rejection, and even hatred.
Yet Jesus speaks these words to awaken us. He calls our attention to something far more precious than comfort and far more important than avoiding opposition. He calls us to see the urgency of the harvest. The problem is not that the harvest is small, but that our focus is often misplaced. Too often, we are still living for ourselves instead of for God. Our eyes remain fixed on our own desires rather than on His heart. We labor to satisfy our own pleasures instead of seeking what is pleasing in the sight of God.
The LORD Jesus is calling us to refocus our attention and realign our priorities. We have become caught up in the things of this world and distracted by the enemy from our greatest calling.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:19-20
We are called to go out, to preach the gospel, and to labor willingly in the work of God, without murmuring and without complaining.
This is why the Word of God praises the feet of those who bring good news. God honors those who are willing to go, to carry the message of peace, and to proclaim salvation. As it is written, “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” (Isaiah 52:7) and the Christians who loves to win souls for God are counted wise, As it is written, “… And he who wins souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30). When you truly love Jesus, you will begin to love those whom Jesus loves. And when Jesus becomes precious to you, the souls that are precious to Him will also become precious to you. This is the true heart of evangelism.
Now that our hearts are ready and prepared, we can better understand the next words of the LORD Jesus saying, therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Jesus reminds us that He Himself is the LORD of the harvest. He is the One in charge. Long before we ever step into the field, God has already begun the work. Scripture makes this clear. Paul says, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6). God is the One who brings growth. Our role is to plant and to water, but it is God who causes hearts to respond and lives to change. Salvation does not come by human effort alone. God is the One who touches the mind and softens the heart. Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44).
The Word of God tells us that the LORD searches the hearts and minds of people. “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins” (Jeremiah 17:10). He knows the condition of every soul and the thoughts of every heart. He sees and hears the cries of those who long to be free from the power of sin and death, for “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth” (Psalm 34:17). Often, God answers those cries by sending us His laborers into His harvest. Yet many times, in our ignorance especially in our first encounters, we may resist them or oppose them. We fail to recognize that through them that God is reaching out to us through them. God is answering the cry of our own souls. As Scripture says, “How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Romans 10:14–15). This is why we must remember that the harvest does not begin with our effort; it begins with God. God who is the LORD of the harvest is already at work. He is simply calling for laborers who are willing to respond, willing to obey, and willing to join Him in the work He has already begun.
Now we understand what is precious in the sight of God, and that is the human soul. We understand that people are ready and prepared to receive the gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ, the gospel that brings salvation, life, and freedom to all who believe and receive it. We also recognize the great shortage of laborers needed to carry out this work. The need is great, the harvest is ready, and the time is now. Jesus calls us to pray, but not with distant or passive hearts. This prayer is not only about asking God to send others into the harvest. It is also a prayer that our own hearts would be willing. It is a prayer that we would begin to see, hear, and feel the cry of dying souls. These are the people searching for deliverance, healing, and freedom from the power of darkness.
God desires to shape our hearts so that they beat like His. He longs to give us a heart that carries His burden. It is a heart that is ready to go, ready to testify, and ready to witness to the goodness of God in our own lives and to His plans for the lives of others. This is how we become part of His great harvest. As we step into this calling together, we come to understand something important. Whether we are those being reached or those laboring in the harvest, we all need God. We all depend on Him. For this reason, we all called to continue to pray for willing hearts, for more laborers, and for God to do what only He can do in us and through us.
thespeiro.com 