END SEC 3. Matthew 10:32-11:1: Confession and Conflict

Introduction

If you have your Bibles turn to Matthew 10:32

In 1955, a black minister and sharecropper by the name of Moses Wright was hosting two of his nephews from Chicago in his home in Money, Mississippi. One of his nephews was named Emmett Till.

On August 28th, just a week after Emmett arrived, two white men, Roy Bryant and his half-brother J. W. Milam, used a pistol to knock on the front door of the home around 2:30 in the morning. The men declared they "were looking for the boy that did the talking."

Moses pleaded with the men to leave his nephew Emmett alone. "He's only 14, he's from up North. Why not give the boy a whipping, and leave it at that?" Moses’ wife, Elizabeth, offered money to the intruders, but they ordered her to go back to bed.

So Moses led the men throughout his home with flashlights until they found Emmett in a bed, sleeping. They woke him up and told him to get dressed. Milam, at 6 feet 2 inches and 235 pounds, turned to 5 foot 3 inch Moses and asked him. "How old are you, preacher?" Wright said that he was 64. "If you make any trouble, you'll never live to be 65."

Moses said that as they made their way to Milam's pick-up truck, he heard one of the men ask someone waiting in the vehicle whether Emmett "was the right one." When the person responded yes, they drove off.

The Wrights got word to Emmett's mother in Chicago that her son was missing. The family and a local sheriff attempted to look for him by searching along riverbanks and under bridges, "where,” as Moses would recall, “black folks always look when something like this happens."

Emmett Till's body was found in the Tallahatchie River, a heavy gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam were arrested and brought to trial.

Realizing the danger, Moses put his wife Elizabeth on a train to Chicago. She wrote him begging him not to testify. Most local whites didn't think he'd show up. When the trial began, Moses defied all odds and testified.

When he stood up in open court and pointed his weathered finger at Milam and Bryant, his bravery surpassed his unimpressive height. With the simple words "There he," Moses Wright went down in history. It may have been the first time ever that a black man stood in open court in the South and accused a white man of a crime — and lived.

Moses said that during his testimony he could feel the "blood boil" in the hundreds of white spectators. After the trial, Moses fled to join his wife in Chicago, leaving behind his 1941 Ford and his cotton blooming in the fields.

He returned in November to testify at the grand jury hearing for Milam and Bryant's kidnapping case. When the grand jury refused to return an indictment, Moses Wright left for Chicago. He never again returned to Mississippi.

Moses testified to the truth, even though it would cost him dearly. He counted the truth as worthy of even the potential of his life being taken from him.

His confession to the reality of what happened was worth the conflict it would cause.

We are into the final week of Jesus’ second major teaching - his second “discourse” - in the book of Matthew. We’ve worked our way through some teachings

Last week we studied how he invited them to share in his mission by refusing to fear those who seek their destruction. (24-31)

Now, Jesus offers one final teaching to his followers before finishing this discourse.

In this final teaching we see the need to confess Christ and the conflict that will undoubtedly follow because of it.

Matthew 10:32–11:1 ESV

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. 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. 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.” 1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Sermon

So what is it that Jesus is calling his followers to in this passage? Confession and Conflict

Fearless Confession (10:32–33)

Now, we often think of confession in the terms of confessing when we have done something wrong, but it can also mean to acknowledge or testify to something.

In fact, in the King James translation of the Bible it chooses the word “confess” instead of the ESV’s “acknowledge.”

So what are the followers of Jesus supposed to be confessing or acknowledging?

HIM!

And it is not an empty command to acknowledge him before men!

Jesus is making a promise that all who acknowledge him before men will be acknowledged by him before God the Father!

Jesus is promising to be faithful to represent us before God if we are faithful to represent him before man!

Do you understand what that means?!

All of us have rebelled against God, choosing for ourselves what is right and what is wrong!

Because of that we deserve to be destroyed by God!

Before you think that you can be “good enough” to avoid this destruction, Jesus already taught in his first discourse, his first teaching, that you have to be perfect!

Not just good enough! You must be perfect, because our Father in Heaven is perfect!

But you’re not perfect! No matter what your mother told you!

Maybe you think like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking how he could inherit eternal life.

In Luke 18 we read this story

Luke 18:18–21 (ESV)

“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”

So the man calls Jesus “good teacher” and quickly gets the response

“No one is good except God!” and tells him to follow the commandments of God (after teaching that it is not only the action that is sin, but also our very thoughts and desires!). To rightly keep the commandment not to commit adultery, we must never lust after anyone who is not our spouse! To rightly keep the commandment not to murder, we must never speak or think sinfully of anyone!

To be good, we must be perfect! This is why Jesus says, “Only God is Good!”

And what does this young man immediately say to Jesus? “Me too! I’ve kept those commandments in deed and I then am worthy to inherit eternal life!”

So often that is our attitude, but it is an attitude that will lead to death!

There is only one human who ever was perfect and it’s not you!

So how can you ever hope to stand before the Father in Heaven?

By being represented by the perfect one! And he is promising that very thing in this passage! He is promising eternal life to those who will be faithful to confess him before people!

I think that’s a pretty nice trade for us!

But since Jesus will recognize us before God if we recognize him before man, then the inverse is also true!

Anyone who refuses to confess Christ will not be acknowledged by him in heaven!

Jesus expects his followers to boldly follow him and be his witness and anyone who thinks they are his follower, yet still refuses to recognize him and confess him as Lord before people will receive the same treatment from Christ!

Matthew 7:22–23 ESV

22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

We cannot truly be followers of Jesus without confessing him as Lord of all Creation and the Son of God before men.

Do you realize that this is why I focus so much on evangelism? Jesus himself has said that if we truly are to be his people we must identify with him! We must proclaim him and his message!

If we refuse to do so because we are afraid of conflict we have to ask if we are truly Christians!

So evangelism is important, 1. because we should care for the souls of others, but 2. because this is the mark of a Christian!

And Jesus has said that if we refuse to act in faith as his followers, then we are claiming his name as ours in vain!

How can we claim to be Christians when we refuse to follow Christ?

And the second thing from this passage that Jesus is telling his people to recognize is that being his follower will produce conflicts!

Conflicts Produced (10:34–36)

Matthew 10:34–36 ESV

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.

Jesus did not come to bring relational peace and prosperity to all the earth!

To those who follow him, they will face conflict with someone! If we are faithfully proclaiming the gospel, then we will offend some people because the Gospel is offensive!

The gospel calls us to reject our preferences and the desires of our hearts!

It calls us wicked and depraved, unable to do good!

And to those who are called by God, they hear this and know it to be true, they turn from their sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation!

But many more will reject and hate this message!

They will reject Christ because he doesn’t let them be comfortable in their own ideals. He commands them to bow before him in the way they practice their religion, the way they spend their money, the way they dress, and the way they have relationships with other people, and they hate him for that!

They want the perk of peace with God without having to give up the very thing that caused the conflict!

They would rather not face the conflict of killing their sin and the conflict created within their families and friends than be at peace with God!

Jesus promised his followers conflict for following him!

And he tells them that they must Count the Cost of following him

Count the Cost (10:37–39)

Matthew 10:37–39 ESV

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.

If we choose anything, even our family, over Christ, we’re not simply a “carnal Christian!” We are utterly unworthy of him and he will not be our representative!

Jesus expects a singular focus from his followers and will not accept those who are unwilling to take up their instrument of torture and death, the cross, and follow Jesus right into conflict, pain, and even death!

Are we better than our master? Do we think that we deserve more favor than he?

No?

Then pick up your cross and follow Jesus into being hated and possibly even killed.

Do you think you should have a life of luxury when Jesus was often left with no bed or pillow?

No?

Then start praying and considering what you can give up in order to further the kingdom of God.

In Luke’s telling of this same teaching in Luke 14, Jesus goes even further.

Luke 14:26–33 ESV

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

What does counting the cost look like?

It looks like Anna Rouhana, our missionary in Lebanon, and her mother.

As she and Serge were preparing to leave America and move to the other side of the world, Anna was given the news that her mother had been diagnosed with aphasia, a brain disease that is breaking down her ability to communicate and to understand communication. If the Lord does not intervene, she will steadily lose more and more of her ability to comprehend language until it’s gone.

But, considering Christ as more worthy of her love and devotion than even her own mother, Anna chose to go and seek the building of God’s Kingdom in a land that has been devastated by war. She chose Christ over her own comfort and time with her mom.

And it was not only Anna who counted the cost and found Christ to be worth all.

Her own parents sent her with their blessing. Her mother who will slowly forget more and more and need more and more care, and her father who will be the primary caregiver, they have counted the cost and found Jesus to be more worthy of all devotion and love than their own daughter or even their own comfort.

So have you counted the cost?

Do you love Jesus more than your own life?

Do you love him more than you love your spouse or your children?

Do you love him more than you love your own comfort?

Is Jesus worthy of everything? Or is he only worthy of the stuff you can live without?

Because if Jesus is not worthy of everything in your life, then he says you are not worthy of him (38).

And if you seek to keep your life, your comforts, your family, whatever it is that you love!, Jesus says you will lose it. But if you give up everything for the sake of Jesus, the Messiah, He promises that you will find everything in him (39).

As we finish this second discourse of Jesus, we have been taken through some very hard teachings.

First, Jesus took his disciples who were ordinary people from wildly different backgrounds and promised that they were going to go out into all the towns and villages proclaiming his gospel message (1-15).

He would give them his authority as God to command sickness and demons to leave people to give signs to the people of the truth of their words. They were to go, carrying nothing extra with them, trusting that God would provide (1-15)

But then, Jesus told them that they were going to face terrible things because of the things they would do and the message they would deliver (16-23).

They would face beatings and public humiliation, their own families would turn against them and hand them over to be killed!

But Jesus told them not to fear those who can only destroy them physically!

The one who can destroy both their body and soul is God himself! And if they stand with Jesus, the Father stands with them! He cares for his people and is not far away when they face pain and death for the sake of his Son! He will hold us fast!

And then he teaches them the passage that we are studying, that if we confess Jesus before men, then he will confess us before the father because we will be his!

All of this is building toward these final verses

Oneness With Christ (10:40–42)

Matthew 10:40–42 ESV

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.”

If we face all these things, persecution, hatred, and death, if we consider our life as worth nothing at all, if we count the cost and find Jesus worthy of everything, if we finish the race well!, if we love Jesus more than everything else in our lives combined!

Then Jesus promises to identify us in him!

To anyone who welcomes us in, they have welcomed him in and he will treat them with the honor they deserve. To anyone who honors the people of Christ they will be honored by Christ.

Now, there’s a sermon here about the necessity of hospitality, but that is for another time. I will only say, that there is a high expectation of hospitality for the followers of Jesus.

Conclusion (11:1)

Matthew 11:1 ESV

1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Once Jesus finished these teachings, he left the disciples to follow his words, to go out into the cities teaching and bringing the great news of the Kingdom of Heaven and how the gates have been flung open to welcome in all who are found in Jesus, covered by his blood that he shed on the cross!

He has made a way for us to be made right with God! We must believe and confess him as our lord and king, turning away from our sinful desire to choose right and wrong for ourselves and dedicating ourselves to Christ and his teachings!

Now, Jesus has finished giving his teaching to his disciples, which most of us claim to be. Will we be faithful to respond? Or will we choose instead to ignore his words and cling to our comforts?

Let’s pray together.