"Sent Out - Part 2"_Matthew 10b_Jun 30 2024

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 every disease and affliction

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

That they might suffer

So, they are sent out

Here is the 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 & villages into two categories: worthy or not worthy

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

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

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

And indeed - all of them went through tremendous persecution

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

Starting in verse 16 of Chapter 10:

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

And dragged before governors & kings to bear witness for his sake

But the Holy Spirit will speak through them

Family members will fight against each other

And the disciples will be hated for Jesus' sake

Matthew 10:26-42

So let’s get into this

We’re starting in the middle of Chapter 10

We’re going to look at verses 26-42

There are three main sections in this 2nd half of the chapter

Outline:

Have No Fear Not Peace, but a Sword Rewards

Scripture Reading

Here is the first part of that outline, starting verse 26

Matthew 10:26–33 ESV

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

(Pray…)

Main Message

Jesus continues his instructions to his disciples

In this section, he starts off with, “So have no fear of them.”

Who is he talking about when he says “them?”

We have to go back to verse 17 where he says:

“Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues”

The New Living Translation says, “But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you.”

Beware of these men

Some translations: “Be on your guard”

In other words -

Watch out for certain men, who are your enemies

Jesus didn’t say, “Fear these men”

He says the opposite

Verse 26: “have no fear of them”

Verse 28: “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul”

Twice, he says to not fear men

Look at verses 26-27

Matthew 10:26–27 ESV

In other words, don’t be afraid and be bold

Proclaim the good news

Proclaim my Gospel

We are still under this admonition - we are to preach the Good News of Jesus with boldness

But what happens when we do this?

We might suffer persecution

Ridicule

Rejection

Now, none of that may happen to anyone in this place [audience in senior living facility]

For the most part, you are safe from the world

But I can tell you, the world outside hates Jesus

And hates anyone who talks about him boldly

The world says:

That may be fine for you - but don’t preach that to me

Jesus tells us to not fear two times

Look at what he said in verse 28:

Matthew 10:28 ESV

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.

This is Christ’s thesis here:

We are to refrain from fearing anyone who has no jurisdiction over our souls

This is what it comes down to:

That men, mankind, - have no control and have no jurisdiction over your soul

This is why Jesus said, “So have no fear of them”

In the final analysis, no one in the world can destroy your faith in God

No one can force you to lose your faith

The faith that you have in Jesus is between you and the Lord

Now, we are to share our faith with others

But no one can touch your faith - it’s between you and the Lord

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Look again at verse 28 in Matt [previous slide]

Matthew 10:28 ESV

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.

Yes, man can destroy the body - but can do nothing to the soul

There is no reason to fear man

But in a worshipful way, and in a way that shows our adoration -

We fear the Lord

Notice, it says that God is able to destroy our soul and our body in hell

This is why we fear the Lord - it’s a healthy adoration and respect for the Lord

Fear of the Lord means you acknowledge his infinite holiness

It means you take your proper stance as a sinner before a holy God

What’s not proper is to ignore God or turn away from him

We are to call-out to him and trust him

To fear the Lord means you understand that he is the only one who can make eternal judgments

Having a fear of the Lord is good - it shapes the way in which we approach him

It means we love him in a respectful way

I love my wife

I love her more than anyone on Earth

But I don’t worship her because she can’t destroy my soul

I don’t fear my wife like I fear the Lord

I’ll admit - I do sort of fear her if I forget our anniversary, or her birthday

Aside from that - I only fear the Lord

Look what Jesus said, starting in verse 29

Matthew 10:29–31 ESV

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Historians tell us that sparrows were just about the cheapest commodity you could buy at the market back then

It was food for the poor - cooked over fire with seasoning -

You could have a cheap meal

In ancient Rome, the cost of sparrows varied

But historians estimate the cost of two of them would be roughly 1/16 of a denarius

But as cheap and as insignificant as they were, God cared for them

And Jesus is clear: You are worth much more than many sparrows

This God - who has the power to destroy your soul and body in hell

This God - who expects us to fear him and worship him

This God...loves you more than you can imagine

Even the hairs on your head are numbered

This is Jesus, explaining to the disciples- and explaining to us:

That you can’t even imagine how much God loves you

He knows everything about you - every detail

And he still loves you and cares for you

While you were still sinners, Christ died for you

That’s the Good News of Jesus Christ!

And that’s what we proclaim, boldly

I want to close with the last statement Jesus gives to his disciples

Matthew 10:42 ESV

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.”

Let me break this one down - this is what I think the message is for us:

Love one another

Serve one another

Jesus was specifically talking about his twelve disciples when he says, “little ones”

But I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch for us to take it to heart to mean:

Love others and serve others who also love and serve the Lord

He wants them, and he wants us to:

Go tell others about Jesus

Live our lives for him, without fear of others

And to show love to others

Jesus uses the example of a cup of water to illustrate a point

By mentioning a cup of water, he’s implying that even the simplest way to serve is pleasing to the Lord

Notice, Jesus said, “whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water...”

Even just a cup of cold water

God expects us to serve him through serving others

But he doesn’t expect us to demonstrate some big act to appease him

He doesn’t expect us to show off in a big, grand way

We can serve God by giving even a cup of cold water

A cup of cold water would have been a powerful way to show love to one of Jesus’ disciples -

Who had been travelling all day in the hot wilderness

This doesn’t mean that God wants everyone to literally give a cup of cold water

Jesus gives this illustration to show - even the simplest act of love is seen by God

Here’s my point -

Whether it’s simply praying for others, or offering a cup of cold water to others,

God wants us to serve him by serving others

Even in the most simplest way

Closing

I’m convinced God cares for animals - even the lowly sparrow

He cares for the sparrow even to the point of when it falls to the ground

A sparrow falling on the ground is not good

It’s basically dead

And if you look closely at that verse -

it tells us that even when a sparrow dies and falls to the ground, it’s not outside the sovereignty of the Lord

We think: a sparrow dying is trivial - but not to God

And yet, how much does he care for you?

God loves you - and knows everything about you

Let me re-state that:

God loves you - even though he knows everything about you

He first loved you way back when you were his enemy

This is the awesome message of the Gospel

That God sent his Son to be like us -

A perfect one of us

To die for us

He took our sins and nailed them to the cross

We died with Christ - and were raised to new life with Christ

We did nothing to earn his love

He did it all

And he calls us to serve him and trust in him

Communion

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

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