The Meaning Matthew 10:24-39
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: How many of you like to know why you are doing something? You don’t want to be told to do something for no reason, especially if your life is on the line doing it. Well, in the Army we would get told things to do that made absolutely no sense at all. But those things were part of a whole picture that we couldn’t see at the time. Especially when we were learning how to do some of the things we needed to know how to do. We learned a part of the whole, after we knew that part down pat we would learn the next part. Once we had all the pieces down as individual pieces we got to learn the whole thing at once.
This was mostly done when I was learning combat medicine. Knowing each procedure as an individual task made it possible to tie all of the tasks together to help save the life of a wounded buddy. Knowing how to do all the pieces together brought meaning to the whole task. I wasn’t just learning things that on their own weren’t all that useful, but as a whole, they saved lives.
This is the way this week’s passage is. With the Service we found out what Jesus wanted them to do, preach, heal, cast out demons and save the lost sheep of Israel. With the Road we found out how hard the service might get. This week we find out the meaning of being a disciple. We find out what will happen when we choose to follow Christ Jesus. This stuff isn’t all chocolates and roses. You have to really want what Jesus will give to really be a disciple. So let’s find out just what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.
25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
26 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.
28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 “For I came 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 man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
Transitional Sentence: Do you see what I mean? This is hard stuff.
Jesus begins with a reminder of who they are and to whom they serve.
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.
25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
Their mission sounds rather rough. At this point Jesus is reminding them of their place as his disciples. The disciples shouldn’t expect better treatment than their teacher or master received. Their identity, and ours, is totally and completely linked to Him, and we should expect to be treated as He was treated.
He is also reminding them that the Pharisees were saying He was in league with Beelzebul and that He cast out demons by his power, not the power of God. If they said this about Him they would certainly say this about the disciples.
Just so you know Beelzebul in the Old Testament is the name given to a deity worshipped in the city of Ekron in Philistia and prayed to by Ahaziah, a king of Israel, as he lay dying from an incurable illness. However, in the NEW TESTAMENT, the name is given to the prince of devils and associated with SATAN.
Verse 26 and 27 go on to say:
26 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.
Do not fear them. To know who them is go back a few verses. Verse 23 says “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next.”
So have no fear of your persecutors. Even though fear of persecutors seems natural, it is forbidden, not just here but in 1 Pet 3:14 and Rev 2:10.
14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,
10 ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Just as they were to have no fear we too should have no fear. We know, just as they were to know, that we share our master’s fate. Knowing this can release us from fear. We are following in the footsteps of Jesus and many other disciples who have endured persecution to the end.
He goes on to say that everything that is covered will be revealed. This is additional motivation because of the realization that the future will reveal the present. Secrets, the hidden sins of the persecutors, will be revealed on judgment day. And on judgement day the Lord will judge all according to their deeds.
Jesus taught many things in secret. These things are to be shared openly in the light. We are to shout them from the housetops for all to hear! Sounds like we all need a soap box because this sounds like open air preaching.
Wikipedia definition
Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. It is an ancient method of proselytizing a religious or social message and has been used by many cultures and religious traditions, but today it is usually associated with evangelical Protestant Christianity. Supporters of this approach note that Jesus[1] and many of the Old Testament prophets often preached about God in public places.[2] It is one of the oldest approaches to evangelism.[1]
The truth of Jesus’ message will be the only thing left on the last day. Therefore, we must not fear but must openly proclaim what Jesus taught in spite of persecutors.
Verse 28 goes on to say why we shouldn’t fear the persecutors:
28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The persecutors can kill your body but that is all. They can only have what is of the here and now. Not the future - not the eternal.
But God, God call kill the soul. God has the eternal in His hands.
After telling the disciples whom not to fear they are also told who to fear. Not the ones whose powers are only temporal and physical, but the One whose power is eternal. The persecutors are only able to cause physical death, but God is able to punish eternally in hell. So, God is viewed by Jesus as a loving father but also as the eternal judge. So we must remember to draw near to God as Father, but as you do, remember also to be in awe of His authority as judge to determine your eternal destiny. The temporary peril of persecution should not be taken lightly, but it pales in comparison with the eternal punishment of God in hell.
Matthew and Mark Notes
The word Gehenna is used in a number of NT texts to designate the fiery place for punishment of sinners and is often translated “hell” or “the fires of hell.” It is usually used in connection with the final judgment and often has the suggestion that the punishment spoken of is eternal. Gehenna is derived by transliteration from the Hebrew of the Old Testament, “valley of Hinnom,” a ravine on the south side of Jerusalem. This valley was the center of idolatrous worship in which children were burned by fire as an offering to the heathen god Molech. In the time of Josiah it became a place of abomination, polluted by dead men’s bones and the filth of Jerusalem and by garbage and rubbish dumped there. A fire burned continuously in this valley. It thus became a symbol of the unending fires of hell where the lost are consumed in torment. The term geenna is not the same as hadēs, which is the place where the dead wait for the final judgment the New Living Translation renders it “the place of the dead.”
So fear God, not the persecutors.
Hey look at this, a bit of encouragement.
29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Sparrows are cheap. Two for a cent. A cent is 1/16th of a denarius and a denarius is a day’s wages. Even though they are so cheap He knows when one of them falls to the ground. The death of a cheap and seemingly worthless sparrow isn’t to small a thing for our heavenly Father to keep track of or to care about.
He also knows how many hairs are on your head. That is intimate knowledge of a seemingly worthless fact about a person. I don’t know how many hairs I have on my head. Unfortunately there are a lot less than there used to be. But He knows. He cares that much.
If He takes care of sparrows and knows you intimately enough to know how many hairs are on your head then He will take care of you. You are more important than a sparrow. The point is that He knows what is going on in your life. He will know when something bad is happening and He will watch over you through all of it. Nothing will happen to you unless the Lord ordains it and allows it to happen. The sparrow won’t even fall without His permission - nor will you. Trust in Him.
And then Jesus springs some really harsh news.
32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
Persecutors will demand that disciples join them in denying Jesus. There will always be this temptation, deny Jesus and the Kingdom in order to avoid the persecution. Confessing Jesus before persecutors was specifically pointed out as an instance of the endurance called for in verse 22. These verses put the matter of facing up to persecutors as necessary, with the confession of verse 32 contrasting with the denial of verse 33. Denial is rejecting or disowning Jesus. If a person confesses Jesus before persecutors, Jesus will confess that person before the Father on judgment day. But if a person joins the persecutors in denying Jesus, that person will be denied by Jesus. This points to judgment day in which a person’s public recognition or denial of Jesus in this life anticipates Jesus’ recognition or denial of that person at the judgment before God. Loyalty to Jesus may result in persecution in this life, but it results in the loyalty of Jesus on judgment day.
Perhaps those who deny Jesus before their persecutors will be like those who believe they should gain entry because they did many good things in Jesus’ name.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Enduring to the end is God’s will.
And here is the really rough part of this message.
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 “For I came 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 man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
These verses concern the relationship of Jesus’ Kingdom to peace. The presence of the Kingdom of God does not mean the absence of hostility. Jesus doesn’t want anyone to have idealistic thoughts about the immediate results of peace because the Kingdom of God is at hand. His ministry would not bring peace to the world. Peace on earth cannot be attained apart from Jesus’ work of reconciling people to God. Once reconciled to God, we have the ability to be reconciled to each other and then we can work for peace. But for those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus as the only way to find peace, then the message of the Kingdom is another reason in the world for division and alienation, even from one’s own family members.
The division of families was mentioned earlier in verse 21, and this verse is a quote of Micah 7:6 from the Old Testament. When there is no peace there is a sword which is a symbol of conflict and warfare. The message of the Kingdom of God is repentance and it is confrontational. Conflicting responses to this message fracture human relationships, communities and even nations. The point: family loyalties must not supersede loyalty to Christ.
37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Talk about my experience with accepting Jesus with my parents & family. ...That’s this country:
What would it be like in a different context. Reference last weeks story - Uncle killing his niece.…
So, the potential for family strife due to opposite responses to the Good news, disciples are warned not to misplace their loyalties. To love one’s parents or children more than Jesus is to be unworthy of Him.
And then Jesus ends with what could be the hardest of all:
38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
So taking up the cross alludes to the Roman custom of the condemned man carrying his cross to his own crucifixion. Can you imagine? You get to carry your own instrument of death. It’s not bad enough that the condemned were usually beaten and stripped to humiliate and shame the condemned before being hung on the cross in full view of whoever is walking by as a reminder of what happens to criminals.
So being willing to take up a cross to follow Jesus you need to be willing to come to the end of yourself and sacrifice your life and relationships to your family for the sake of Jesus to really begin to live… Because:
The cross is sacrifice - Christ Jesus sacrificed His life and died on the cross to redeem whoever would believe in Him.
The cross is forgiveness - Christ Jesus died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice that our sins may be forgiven.
The cross is surrender - you surrendering all that you are and have to the Lord Jesus.
You must be willing to let everything go for the greater joy of knowing Jesus. The crazy thing here is that keeping your earthy life actually leads to death, eternal death. Which means if the prospect of martyrdom or alienation from family leads you to renounce Jesus then your eternal life will be forfeit while saving this earthly life. But if you lose this earthly life for the sake of Jesus then you will gain eternal life.
The question is: Have any of us really done that? Did you give up family for Jesus…
Exit:
In this passage there are three reasons why disciples of Jesus should not fear the prospect of persecution.
First, we are servants of our Lord, Jesus. We are not above him, but we are to be like him. As his servants, we will share in His treatment by the persecutors.
Second, since we will share in Jesus’ treatment, we need not fear because we will also share in Jesus’ victory. The hidden things will be revealed.
Third, we should not fear persecutors but the One to whom both we and the persecutors will answer on to on judgment day. Any ordeal inflicted by persecutors will only be temporary, but the persecutors will suffer eternal punishment. Disciples who acknowledge Jesus will be acknowledged by Him before the Father, but persecutors who deny Jesus will be denied by Him before the Father. So we can deal with fear by recalling our shared identity with Jesus. We can focus on His return and maintain our awe of God.
The matter of eternal punishment is a fearful doctrine. But it is the motivation given by Jesus for endurance in our discipleship during days of persecution. If there were no hell to avoid, there would be one less reason to be faithful to Jesus, and there would be one more reason to deny him.
But avoiding hell should not be the reason to endure persecution. Eternal life with God in glory is a far greater reason to endure to the end.
Pray:
