The Leadership ChallengeSample

Challenge 35

JESUS: EMPOWERING OTHERS

READ: Matthew 9:35—10:15

Jesus is the Son of God. If anyone had the ability to accomplish a mission on his own it would be Him! Yet as we saw in Challenge 33, Jesus selected disciples, followers, to whom He entrusted His mission. And while Jesus is divine, He is also fully human. During His ministry, He could only reach a limited number of people at any given time. In our text today we find a summary of the ways Jesus proclaims and demonstrates the kingdom of God. His heart is filled with compassion for the harassed, helpless, and leaderless crowds. Using the imagery of a field ready for harvest, Jesus responds by telling His disciples to pray for more laborers to go into the fields—and then sending them out. He expands His ability to serve others by empowering His disciples to go out in His name and authority. As we will see as we move through the rest of the New Testament, this empowerment expands into ever-widening circles. Effective leadership isn’t about doing all the work yourself. It isn’t even about delegating to others. It is ultimately about empowering others to fulfill their God-given purpose as better leaders—and followers.

What can the text teach us about the relationship between prayer and action? How does Jesus empower the disciples here? Who can you begin to empower in your circles of influence?