The Commissioning of the Called - Part 2

The Promise of Persecution — (Vs. 16-28)

The message Jesus delivers here was not only for the here and now but for every age to come down throughout history.

What few commentaries I’ve read, believe this message mostly applies to the coming tribulation period but there is no denying that the promise of persecution has been felt in every age of Christianity starting with the disciples and continuing even unto today.

Jesus tells them here that He’s sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Jesus knew that sheep were defenseless in the midst of wolves but if these men were going to change the world, then that’s how it would have to be done.

There’s one thing about the commission that I don’t want you to miss and that’s the directness of the message that Jesus delivers to the disciples here.

Does He tell them that it’s going to be easy and everything is going to go according to plan?

Or that everyone they come into contact with would welcome them and their message in with open arms?

Absolutely not!

It’s actually right the opposite!

Basically He tells them how dire the situation could get and paints the grimmest picture possible that they might expect before sending them out.

There’s one thing the disciples would not be able to say and that was, “I didn’t know what I was getting into.”

William Barclay writes — NO one can read this passage without being deeply impressed with the honesty of Jesus. He never hesitated to tell people what they might expect, if they followed him. It is as if he said: ‘Here is my task for you—at its grimmest and at its worst—do you accept it?’

So, Jesus sends them out with power to perform miracles and a message to preach and tells them to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

John Phillips said, — Being wise as a serpent will enable the Lord’s ambassador to see trouble coming and to be prepared to handle it if he cannot avoid it. Being harmless as a dove will enable the Lord’s servant to display the Spirit of Christ when trouble does overtake him.

As I began to think about the commission of the passage here, and our commission today, I couldn’t help but to think of how we are sent out and the main weapon that we are equipped with....does anyone know what that weapon is?

Listen, I have not been endowed with power from on high to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead or cast out devils but the weapon we have ALL been given is the Word of God!

Think about it, the disciples here didn’t have the luxury of a Bible to carry around with them. Yes, they had scrolls of the Old Testament but they weren’t equipped with what we have today!

We so often take this Book right here for granted but if we only understood the power contained within these pages we would never leave home without it, we would write it’s words upon the tables of our heart, and we would wield it with great precision!

The Bible says in the Book of Hebrews that...

Hebrews 4:12 KJV 1900

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When the Bible says that the Word of God is “quick” here it means it’s alive!

It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires!

Isaiah 40:8 KJV 1900

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.

This Book and the words contained herein are the most powerful weapon this world has ever seen!

It has the power to end wars, it has the power to overcome evil, and it has the power to change lives!

And it is available to you and I to use, to learn, to lean on when times of persecution come!

And I assure you that if your life has been changed by it, and you are trying to live by it and share the message contained within it’s pages, at some point you too will suffer persecution!

John 15:18–21 KJV 1900

18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

John 16:33 KJV 1900

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

In this world we “shall” have tribulation but we should be of good cheer because our Lord, the one our message is about, the one for which we shall suffer persecution, He has overcome the world!

And after telling these twelve men that He’s sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves, He begins to prepare them for what they may encounter.

Now, from studying the scripture, we know that they experienced none of these things on this trip but…it wouldn’t be long before the onset of persecution would come and come in some of the unlikeliest of forms.

Jesus begins here in Verse 17 by warning them of persecution from the so called Church.

From the Church — (Vs. 17)

Jesus Himself would be the first to suffer persecution from the Church, but He definitely wouldn’t be the last.

Down throughout the centuries the Church, especially the Catholic Church, has persecuted Christians in ways that only the Romans had dreamed of torturing people!

Even in our own Bibles we read of how the Jews took Jesus before their councils and their high priests and beat Him and had Him scourged and flogged by the Romans before having Him crucified on that old rugged cross!

He would be the first of many to give their lives for the true cause of Christianity!

Not long after, the majority of His own disciples would also give their lives for the same cause. Not all may have been persecuted by the Church but all persecuted for the cause of Christ for sure!

It is believed that all but John died a martyr’s death for their belief in Jesus. And even John was persecuted and exiled for his belief in Christ.

The Church wasn’t the only one’s Jesus warned them of though. He also warned them that persecution would come from the State.

From the State — (Vs. 18)

We see this also beginning with Jesus when He was brought before Pilate and then King Herod at His trial.

After this we also see Paul who while in prison got the opportunity to appeal unto Felix, Festus and King Agrippa.

Down through the ages, there have been countless men and women brought before kings and dignitaries and pleaded their cases for the cause of Christ.

Share story from Foxes Book of Martyrs.

Not only would there be persecution from the Church and the State but also from their own families.

Look at what Jesus says next on down in...

From the Family — (Vs. 21-22)

We can also see this play out in the life of our Lord first hand.

John 7:5 KJV 1900

5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.

It is believed that even Jesus’ own Brothers didn’t believe in Him until after His crucifixion and resurrection at which point we know at least two of them believed because we have their Books…Jude and James.

Can you imagine Jude and James’ thoughts afterwards… “if we’d of only believed while He was here. If we’d of only seen it, we could have learned so much more about Him and His ministry!”

Not only did Jesus mission drive a wedge between Himself and some of His family but it’s done the same down through the ages and will only continue to get worse as we get closer to the end times.

Share story from Foxes Book of Martyrs.

Jesus said, “You shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.”

We’re not quite there yet but there will come a time when these words ring true and those who profess Christ as their Lord, will be persecuted to the point of death by all men!

Finish reading through Verse 28.

Warren Wiersbe — The person who fears God alone need never fear any man or group of men. The fear of God is the fear that cancels fear.

Persecution shall come but I’m thankful that when they do we won’t be left helpless but Jesus gives us some special promises here to get us through.

First, there is the Promise of Provision.

The Promise of Provision — (Vs. 18-20)

Example of Peter — Acts 4:8-22

Example of Steven — Acts 6, 7:54-60

We see two different examples in these scriptures here of the Holy Ghost in action and we also see two different outcomes but in each the scripture was fulfilled...

Matthew 10:22b — “but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

Which leads us to our next promise here…The Promise of Protection.

The Promise of Protection — (Vs. 29-39)

If Jesus holds the place of preeminence in your life, then the promise of eternal protection will be extended to you.

Listen, we need to understand that this promise of protection isn’t a physical one when it comes to persecution but a spiritual one.

Going back to Verse 28, Jesus says, “fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

You can deny Christ before men of whom can only harm your body and you shall taste the death of eternal damnation or when faced with persecution, you can trust in God, stay faithful to God, proclaim the name of Jesus, confess Him before men and you shall find life eternal and a savior in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Matthew 10:38–39 KJV 1900

38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

He that endureth to the end shall be saved!

The end of this life, or the end of persecution whichever comes first…but there is a promise of eternal protection for those who shall endure!

We have seen The Promise of Provision and The Promise of Protection and lastly, we see The Promise of a Prize in Verses 40-42.

The Promise of a Prize — (Vs. 40-42)

William Barclay — WHEN Jesus said this, he was using a way of speaking which the Jews regularly used. The Jews always felt that to receive a person’s envoy or messenger was the same as to receive that person. To pay respect to an ambassador was the same as to pay respect to the king who had sent him. To welcome with love the messenger of a friend was the same as to welcome the friend. The Jews always felt that to honour a person’s representative was the same as to honour the person who had sent the representative.

William Barclay — We cannot all be prophets, and preach and proclaim the word of God; but those who give God’s messenger the simple gift of hospitality will receive no less a reward than that prophet. There are many who have been great public figures; there are many whose voices have kindled the hearts of thousands of people; there are many who have carried an almost intolerable burden of public service and public responsibility, all of whom would gladly have borne witness that they could never have survived the effort and the demands of their task, were it not for the love and the care and the sympathy and the service of someone at home, who was never in the public eye at all. When true greatness is measured up in the sight of God, it will be seen again and again that those who greatly moved the world were entirely dependent on someone else who, as far as the world is concerned, remained unknown. Even prophets must eat and be clothed. Let those who have the often thankless task of making a home, cooking meals, washing clothes, shopping for household necessities or caring for children never think of it as a dreary and weary chore. It is God’s greatest task; and they will be far more likely to receive the prophet’s reward than those whose days are filled with committees and whose homes are comfortless.

Then Jesus finishes it out by saying whosoever even give a cup of cold water to one of His little ones in the name of a disciple shall in no wise lose their reward.

John Phillips — “In the name of a disciple” is a Hebraism meaning “because he is a disciple.”

Whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water “because he is a disciple” shall in no wise lose their reward.

Most believe when it says “little ones” here this is speaking of little in the since of humility or a young person spiritually.

Jesus promises that whoever helps one of His in even the smallest of ways, will receive a reward of some sort.

Close

As we come to a close I want to share something with you from Chuck Swindoll’s commentary on Matthew .

Chuck Swindoll — Your courage to acknowledge Jesus publicly (10:32–33) will be rewarded. Your willingness to accept rejection even from family members (10:34–36) will be rewarded. Your self-denial and self-sacrificial living, even when it could mean suffering and death (10:37–39), will be rewarded. And your generosity, hospitality, and benevolence toward other messengers of Christ (10:40–42) will be rewarded. By the grace of God, awards await us for our loyalty in serving as Christ’s willing disciples.

The implication and application is clear: Press on! Get over rejection from strangers, friends, and family members. You’ll receive a reward! Sacrifice your own passions, priorities, and pursuits. You’ll receive a reward! Take time for the “least” among you who are neglected, suffering, oppressed, and downtrodden. You’ll receive a reward! It may not be revealed exactly what the eternal reward will look like, but we can be sure of one thing: It will make everything we endure in this life worth it. As Paul said in Romans 8:18, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”