"Sent Out"_Matthew 10_Sep 26 2021

5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

Have No Fear

26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

(Pray…)

There are two extreme ways to interpret what Jesus says here in Chapter 10

Anything Jesus said must be literally applied to our lives - he gave his disciples these instructions, but it all applies to us

Jesus was only speaking to his disciples - these words are an historic record of what he said only. None of this really applies to us today

We need to be careful to avoid both of those extremes

It’s been said before: The Bible is written FOR everyone - but not written TO everyone...

Chapter 10 simple explanation:

Jesus sending out his disciples - to continue the work he was already doing

His disciples were simply being commanded to imitate him

It’s also important to realize:

During this time was still part of the Old Testament covenant

Remember, back in Chapter 8? When Jesus healed and cleansed the leper -

He instructed him to show himself to the “priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded”

This was to fulfill the Mosaic Law they were still under

The New Covenant didn’t happen until the death, resurrection, and arguably the ascension of Jesus Christ

Even in this context, we can still apply this passage to our lives

This commissioning of the disciples is meant for us too

Jesus is still calling us to complete his mission:

Share the gospel with others

Love and show compassion for others

Make disciples of all nations - not just Jewish people - all people

Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit

Teach them to observe all of Christ’s teaching

We are called to imitate Jesus

That’s the simple message of Chapter 10 - that his disciples imitate Jesus - and we imitate Jesus

We’ve always been called to continue the mission of Jesus

That’s clear from the gospels

It’s clear from the Book of Acts

It’s clear from Paul’s letters

And it clear from the rest of the NT

There’s no mystery here

So here, Jesus is commissioning his disciples to go on a short-term mission

There are some key elements we can glean from this passage

Jesus “sent” his disciples out

He limited their reach - “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”

It was not time to reach the whole world - that came later

In addition to healing, the disciples were called to share the good news of the kingdom

Jesus wanted his disciples to live simply - and don’t get bogged down with a lot of material possessions

Here’s how this applies to us:

Jesus has sent us out to the world

We are no longer limited to who we can reach - we are called to reach the world

We are called to share the good news of the gospel

We are called to live simply

The OT patriarchs like Abraham moved about with all of their wealth

In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with wealth - but we need to be careful we’re not sharing a “wealth gospel”

In that sense, we are called to live simply - and not make wealth part of our gospel message

Living simply is duplicatable...

Verse 1 says Jesus gave them a specific and limited authority

The authority he gave them was:

Over unclean spirits

To cast them out

And to heal “every disease and every affliction”

That word, “affliction” is a special case of the original Greek word

My ESV says “affliction” - most Bibles say “sickness”

The word means: sickness, a weak sickness, calmness of the sea

“Affliction” is probably not the best English word to use

This Greek word for “weak sickness” only shows up three times in the NT - and only in Matthew - it’s always rendered as “every disease and every affliction”

The NT is full of the word, “affliction” - but it means a broader sense of suffering

It’s a different Greek word - which means suffering, or tribulation

Here, Jesus is giving them authority to specifically heal all types of sickness

In this discourse, Jesus only instructs his disciples to do a few things:

V. 7 Proclaim, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand”

V. 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons

The rest of this chapter is mostly about how they should go about doing this

And it includes the suffering they will endure in order to obey his instructions

Do you remember, back in Chapter 4 - before Jesus even had his 12 disciples

Jesus preached “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and then it says that he preached the “gospel of the kingdom”

But that he also healed “every disease and every affliction (sickness)”

And now he’s sending his disciples out to do the same thing

This is a model for us - we are to imitate Jesus

We reach out to the lost

We lovingly preach the gospel

We lovingly help people with their needs

In the first century, to heal somebody was a big deal - they had none of the medical technology we have

A lot of illnesses rendered you hopeless of getting better

Simple ailments back then were a scourge to the people

But a lot of those ailments today can be treated by going to the doctor

I’m not saying that God does not heal - I absolutely believe God heals today

I’m saying that a huge physical need back then was to treat their diseases

We still have the need for God to heal people - and to even cast out demons

But there are different needs today

Financial needs

Spiritual needs - correct doctrine

Emotional needs

Today - leprosy is treatable

It is extremely rare in the United States

But it’s still devastating in India, Brazil, and Indonesia

People with leprosy in other countries are still ostracized - many of them live in poverty, and have no access to medical treatment

In the First Century, there was no medical treatment

If you had leprosy, you were considered unclean - you lived away from general population - and you relied on God’s healing

In modern, Western Civilization we are blessed with amazing medical technology

There is nothing wrong with it

But it’s also like a double-edged sword

Our tendency as Christians in America - is to lean too much on technology

It gives us a false sense of security to the point where we think we don’t need faith in God

An atheist can live a full, comfortable life - lulled into the notion they don’t need to rely on the Lord

We are blessed in America - but we should never forget where our blessings came from - Amen??

One of the problem areas of this passage, comes from the fact that Jesus seems to blend future prophesy into his practical teaching

Look at verse 23 - Mt 10:23

Matthew 10:23 ESV

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

So much has been written on this passage.

How could Jesus speak in two contexts?:

1.) Giving instructions and warnings to his disciples for their short mission, two thousand years ago

2.) Giving all readers a prophetic glimpse of what has yet to happen in the future

Verses 17-24 have been put into question by scholars:

Have these things Jesus talked about actually happened, or are they meant for us

It would seem that when Jesus said the phrase, “before the Son of Man comes” (verse 23), he’s talking about his Second Coming

In other words, he seems to be saying, “When you get persecuted in one Jewish town, go on to the next, but I promise you, you won’t get through all Jewish towns before my Second Coming.”

The problem is that the Second Coming hasn’t happened yet - and all of his disciples are long gone by now

So what did Jesus mean by that?

I believe he was simply saying, specifically to his disciples, that their job in ministering to Israel will not be completed before the Son of Man returns (Second Coming).

It’s like if Nolan and I went to the movies

And before the movie starts, I tell Nolan, “We will not finish this huge tub of popcorn before the movie ends.”

A large tub of popcorn is huge!

And anyone entering the theater 30 minutes later, might see that we are finished eating - but we haven’t finished the tub - and the movie is still playing

That’s where we are:

The disciples never finished preaching and healing throughout the towns of Israel

And Jesus has yet to come back to Earth on his Second Coming

In context, Jesus was talking about persecution

What happens on that day when Jesus returns for us? No more persecution

So, the simple explanation is to expect that persecution will continue - all the way until the return of Jesus

He is speaking to his disciples for the purpose of their immediate mission set before them - but within his instructions, he makes mention of prophetic truth.

He spoke the truth - the job of reaching Jewish people with the gospel won’t be completed in a long time

Jesus seems to speak in dual contexts now and then - the present time he walked on Earth and the future (Mt 6:10; Mt 9:16-17, etc).

He sometimes did this in his parables - like the Parable of the Wedding Feast - which foreshadows our future place in heaven

Much of what he is saying in this discourse applies to us (Mt 10:29-33; Mt 10:37-39).

Mt 10:31 “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Mt 10:32 “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,”

Mt 10:38 “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

Plenty of this discourse applies to us when we read it in proper context

So Jesus has called his 12:

first, Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James’s brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (the zealot), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

The Bible calls them apostolos, apostles which means “those sent out”

Jesus just finished telling his disciples in chapter 9: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”

And now he's sending out the laborers

Jesus gives them specific authority over: unclean spirits & to heal everything

Jesus begins giving them a dose of reality – that they may not be received

The dose of reality is that they might suffer

So, they are sent out

Here is their message they are to carry: “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”

Jesus told them to deliver that message along with: healing people, casting out demons, and raising the dead

In verses 11-13, Jesus puts houses and towns into two categories: worthy or not worthy

Jesus told them to stay in a “worthy” house - not necessarily a “comfortable” house

And that worthiness is based on if those people accept the disciples

If you accept God’s disciples, you accept God

The Bible says the peace of the disciples either come upon them, or it's returned back to them - If they're not worthy, then the disciples need to shake the dust off their feet

And in verse 15 – God will harshly judge them

Jesus is preparing the disciples for the harsh things that will happen to them

He's promising they will go through suffering - but God will protect them

Starting in verse 16:

Jesus tells them, “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

He's getting them ready - he promises they will be:

Delivered over to the courts to be flogged

Dragged before governors & kings to bear witness for his sake

But the Holy Spirit will speak through them

Who does this sound like?

It sounds like the persecution Jesus went through! We are to imitate Jesus!

Then he says:

Family members will fight against each other

And the disciples will be hated for Jesus' sake

Question: if Jesus sent you on a mission, but promised all this suffering – would you still go?

None of us can escape suffering on earth

But God wants to use your suffering for his purpose

You’re either going to suffer doing God’s will - or suffer alone

1 Peter 3:17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

Even Jonah – in his self-inflicted suffering – he eventually obeyed God – and God used him mightily

His attitude didn't help him to avoid suffering – but God still used him

You are capable of surrendering to God better than Jonah did

Imagine if God called you to walk through the middle of Nashville for three days and preach the gospel:

And he guaranteed that everyone in Nashville would repent and turn to Jesus

That there would be a major revival - lives would be changed - miracles would happen

Would you do it?

But…the catch would be: that you would have to endure suffering

Would you still do it?

The disciples were promised persecution - not because of who they were, but because of Christ

If you’re receiving persecution because of you, there’s something wrong

Righteous persecution comes from a Christlike walk - you receive persecution because of who Jesus is - not because of who you are

Jesus said, “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.”

How does God want to use your life?

Here's the wonderful thing -

We're called to preach the Good News that Jesus died for your sins – and rose from the grave – so that you can have eternal life!

That’s the Gospel - that’s what we’ve been called to share

As we close - I want you to realize that whenever you are showing the love of Christ - even through suffering - God’s protection is on you

You are called to imitate Jesus

You are called to carry on his mission

(Pray…)