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Introduction
Our new brother in Christ, Andrew, went into Brownsville this week to take care of some business.
Andrew told me that he was praying with people all day long.
He prayed personally with more than 24 people by the end of the day and had the opportunity to lead one man to Christ.
That man had the opportunity to lead his brother to Christ the following morning.
I had asked Andrew to exchange a handful of old foreign currency we had laying around.
There were bills from Venezuela and Canada and Brazil.
These had come back with family on mission trips for many years.
Some of it had been in my father's desk drawer since the late 80's.
Andrew agreed to help us out and stopped along the way at the currency exchange office.
The lady at the exchange office took one look at the currency and called Border Patrol.
It turns out that it's illegal to carry certain foreign currency in the USA.
Instead of being understanding, Border Patrol tackled Andrew and wrestled him to the ground and took him to detention for questioning.
In the end it turned out that Border Patrol overstepped their authority and had to release him, but not before Andrew had the opportunity to share his faith with the officers who arrested him and their sergeant.
By the end of the day Andrew and I had the opportunity to take a meal to a family in need and we were able to proclaim the name of Christ in one of the darkest corners of the lower valley.
These officers were not persecuting or mistreating Andrew for his faith, but the point here is that he did not miss the opportunity to share his faith boldly before the agent in charge.
The agent claimed he was not a Christian, but he did recognize Andrew’s faith and that God was working in the situation.
So… note to self… put that foreign currency away...
Today we are continuing our series on the Sermons of Jesus, specifically we are in Jesus’ Missionary Discourse, which is located in Matthew 10...
[pray]
Father God, you are our God most high.
We praise your Holy name above all.
We worship you and put you above all.
Please help us to be bold for you, God.
Help us realize when people so desperately need you.
Give us strenth and compassion to be able to speak boldly the name of Jesus Christ and proclaim the Good News before our neighbors, friends and colleagues.
Lord, I know that you are working right here in Los Fresnos.
I pray that you would bring souls to Christ right here and shine your magnificent light across the valley.
Father, please give me mental clarity, precision of speech, and a heart for your people as I speak your word to your people this morning.
Amen.
[warning]
Today’s message goes into some detail of some troubling topics for young minds including persecution and methods of death.
While I won’t detail any gruesome details of death and torture, I do want to give you a warning, in case you have children here who might be sensitive to such subjects.
Instructions for Future Disciples
Last week we spoke of the naming of the apostles and a missionary journey that Jesus sent the apostles to bring the gospel of the kingdom of heaven to Israel.
If you’ll recall, I told you that the mission that the apostles were sent to complete was not a mission for us to take up.
It was specific for their work at the time the assignment was given.
This section of the text that we are focusing on today seems to take a jump forward in time.
It does not match the instructions given to the apostles, but seems to be addressing future disciples.
The Apostle’s Missionary journey is not documented for us.
But we do know that their journey was taken to generally friendly territory in Israel.
While Jesus was gaining attention among the Israelites and even getting negative attention from the religious elite in Jerusalem, He was still a popular favorite among the people of Israel.
In verse 16 we see that Jesus begins to prepare his disciples for a more frigid and even hostile reception as they preach the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Jesus tells His disciples in verse 18 that they will have the opportunity to give their testimony to the Gentiles.
This is contrast to His earlier statement in verse 5, which says “don’t go to the Gentiles.”
This contrast leads us to believe that Jesus is talking about a different time frame.
We can certainly see that some of the events detailed here are recorded in the book of Acts, but we do not see Jesus’ return recorded in Acts.
Given the vicious persecution indicated in this passage, most scholars agree that this message has shifted from the immediate future of Jesus’ time to a time far in the future, much closer to the return of Jesus Christ.
This period of time leading up to the return of Christ is what we call the Great Tribulation.
Much of it is outlined in the books of Daniel and the Revelation.
This is a time that we have a great deal of prophetic imagery telling us what to expect when that time comes.
But as prophetic imagery goes, it can be difficult to interpret in advance and much easier to understand in hindsight.
But much of the prophecy speaks about a worldwide open hostility against the Jewish people and the followers of Jesus Christ.
I won’t be covering this aspect of the Great Tribulation today.
My goal today is to reveal to you the truth in Jesus’ words here in Matthew 10.
Jesus teaches here that the Great Tribulation will be a time of opposition, a time of opportunity, and a time of obligation.
This could very well be a time that someone in this room could experience.
I. Tribulation: Time of Opposition - v 16
The Tribulation will be a time of great opposition to the teaching of Jesus Christ.
His church and His disciples will come under direct attack because of the name of Jesus Christ.
Jesus refers to His sheep (those who follow Him) during this time as sheep living among wolves.
His advice for this situation is to "be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”
The word “shrewd” is not necessarily in common usage these days.
The word “shrewd” [Gr.
φρόνιμος phronimos] means to have common sense and good judgment in practical matters.
How this relates to snakes is a bit lost to us in this age.
I mean we get “Wile E. Coyote” but shrewd serpents is another thing altogether.
My guess is this relates back to the crafty serpent in the garden with Adam and Eve:
The serpent in the garden was deceitful.
This is not the same meaning that we are seeing here with shrewd.
The meaning here is that the snake is smart or wise.
Be Smart but Keep Yourself Free From Sin
What Jesus is really saying here is that the opponents of Christ will attack His church and His disciples will be like wolves in the sheep pen.
Jesus is using proverbial language to say “be smart, yet keep yourselves free from sin.” Pastor Warren Wiersbe tells us that the disciple during this time needs to be “tough-minded and tenderhearted.”
Persecution of Believers
Jesus warns the believers that persecution will come on many different fronts:
History of Christian Persecution
Jews persecuted Christians from the very beginning.
It was the sanhedrin courts that tried Jesus and made their recommendation to Pontius Pilate.
Of course Jesus was crucified by Rome and the Early Church experienced persecution at the hands of both the Jewish religious councils and the government of Rome.
Peter & Paul were martyred in Rome around 66 AD.
Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified upside down at his request, since he did not feel worthy to die in the same fashion as Jesus Christ.
Andrew is said to have brought the Gospel to what we now call Russia and the former Soviet Union.
He also preached Christ in Asia-minor, the area that is now called Turkey, and Greece, where he is said to have been crucified.
Philip is said to have ministered in Carthage, which is in Northern Africa and also in Asia Minor.
In his evangelistic efforts a Roman proconsul’s wife converted to Christianity.
Philip was arrested cruelly put to death in retaliation for the wife’s conversion.
Matthew ministered in Ethiopia and Persia.
Some old reports claim that he was not martyred, but others claim that he was stabbed and died in Ethiopia.
Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India with Thomas and also had missionary journeys to Armenia, Ethiopia and Southern Arabia.
Accounts of Bartholomew’s martyrdom conflict as to method of death.
James, son of Alpheus, ministered in Syria where he was martyred by being stoned and clubbed to death.
Simon, the Zealot, ministered in Persia, where he was killed for refusing to worship the sun god.
Thaddeus is reported to have been killed with an ax in Syria.
Matthias was the apostle that replaced Judas.
Tradition reports that he traveled to Syria with Andrew, where he was burned to death.
John is the only apostle thought to have died a natural death in his old age.
He led the church in Ephesus and tradition has him caring for Mary, the mother of Jesus, in his home.
In the mid-90’s AD, John was exiled to the isle of Patmos, where he is credited with writing the book of the Revelation.
Mark is reported to have ministered in Alexandria and was drug through the streets by a rope around his neck for attempting to turn the Alexandrians away from their traditional gods.
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