Now we come to the enlargement of the King’s ministry (9:35—10:15).
The continuation of the King’s ministry in chapter nine brought forth another situation that enabled Him to reveal Himself. After the healing of the woman with the flow of blood, the raising of the young girl, and the healing of the two blind men and the dumb man, the Lord is revealed as the Shepherd and as the Lord of the harvest.
Verse 35 says, “And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness.” Every disease and every sickness in this verse signify spiritual illness.
Verse 36 says, “And seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion concerning them, because they were harassed and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd.” This indicates that the heavenly King considered the Israelites as sheep and Himself as the Shepherd. When Christ came to the Jews the first time, they were like lepers, paralytics, demonpossessed, and all manner of pitiful persons, because they had no shepherd to care for them. Now in His kingly ministry for the establishing of His heavenly kingdom, He ministered to them not only as a Physician, but also as a Shepherd, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:6 and 40:11.
In the midst of the situation portrayed in verse 36 the Lord revealed Himself as the Shepherd. This is a further revelation. He is not only the Physician and the Bridegroom, but also the Shepherd. Without the further continuation of His ministry, this environment would not have been produced. Therefore, we see once again that in order to have Christ revealed to us, we must have the ministry to bring forth a certain environment. The great feast attended by tax collectors and sinners was an excellent opportunity for the Lord to reveal Himself as the Physician. Furthermore, the environment when so many were rejoicing and feasting together gave the Lord the opportunity to reveal Himself as the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new wine, and the new wineskin. Then in verse 36 when the Lord was moved with compassion because of having seen the people harassed and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd, He could reveal Himself as the Shepherd.
In verse 37 the Lord said to His disciples, “The harvest indeed is vast, but the workers are few.” The heavenly King considered the people not only as sheep, but also as the harvest. The sheep needed shepherding, and the harvest needed reaping. Although the leaders of the nation of Israel rejected the heavenly King, there was still a good number among the people that needed reaping.