🍂 Matthew 9:37-38 | They Are Ready

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Happy Wednesday, {{first_name | everyone}}!

I’m excited to dive into two important words in our memory verse: harvest and laborers.

I’m MORE excited to share the story about how my best friend’s brother-in-law came to faith last week.

In today’s email…

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Then he said to his disciples, “The _______ __ _________, but the ________ ___ ___;

therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the _______ __ _____ ___ _______ into his _______.”

Matthew 9:37-38

The agricultural metaphor Jesus uses in Matthew 9:37-38 helps us understand the nature of God’s mission and the urgency of the need. Let’s dig in.

The Greek word therismos refers to the act or season of reaping when the crops or grain are fully mature and ready to be gathered up.

Throughout Scripture, reaping is used in a few ways. Sometimes it signals judgment and at other times, it means restoration.

But Jesus uses it to focus on readiness.

In Matthew 9, the “harvest” isn’t about judgment or the end of days but about people in need who are ready to take a step towards God.

Every human heart wants and needs the gospel of the kingdom, but just as a crop can’t harvest itself, God invites laborers (us) to play a role in pointing them to Jesus.

Ergatai simply means workers, hired hands, or those who toil and serve. Greeks understood it broadly to be anyone that worked with their hands (most jobs in that time!).

In our verse, however, it’s more symbolic. Jesus is referring to workers of God, or to use another metaphor Jesus used, these are “fishers of men.”

Think about the nature of work for a moment: it takes time, intention and resources to accomplish. The same is true of the work God calls us to through this verse.

How much time, intention and resources do you currently devote to praying for, serving, and engaging in the ‘harvest’ right where you are?

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂

People are more ready to hear the good news than we often realize.

Just last week, my best friend’s brother-in-law came to faith in Jesus. Not through a well-crafted theological presentation or fierce debate.

Someone at his gym randomly asked him, “Are you a Christian?”

That’s it. He went home, looked in the mirror and asked himself “What am I doing? What do I actually believe?”

God did the rest. A few days later, he gave his life to Jesus.

And now, his girlfriend is open to faith and goes to church with him every weekend.

THAT is what our verse this week is about. The harvest is plentiful.

It reminds me of Acts 8, where the Ethiopian eunuch was reading the Scriptures but didn’t understand what they meant. God sent Philip to come alongside him, to explain, to walk with him toward understanding. Philip didn’t convert him through argument or pressure. He simply guided him to see what God was already revealing.

And the eunuch’s response was to be baptized. He wanted to respond to the good news of Jesus. He was ripe for evangelism.

He just needed a laborer to help him.

God invites us into the same kind of work. We are involved in the process, and indeed, it’s a great honor to be part of someone’s spiritual awakening.

The field is ready to be harvested.

At the end of our memory verse, I noticed something subtle (bolded below):

The harvest belongs to God. It’s His. But He is inviting you to participate in it.

Are you in?

Who in your life might be like that eunuch — curious, searching, and waiting for someone to walk beside them?

When you identify them, be like Philip and start harvesting for the Lord.

"Pray for us."

This is what Christians facing persecution around the world ask of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We can answer that call together as the Malachi Daily community.

But if you're like my wife, you might ask, "But how do I know who or what to pray for?"

Answer: The 2026 VOM Prayer Calendar

For each day of the year, this prayer calendar has a specific prayer request for one of the hostile areas, restricted nations, or monitored nations where Christians are being persecuted today.

Whether you're new to prayer, struggle with consistency, or you've been wanting a way to pray for the global church, this calendar is a great place to start.

Every day, your prayers will reach across borders and past prison walls to strengthen those who need it most. Click below to get your free 2026 Prayer Calendar.

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into the verse and its themes:

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Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:37-38