Household of Jesus
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Introduction
Introduction
This is the word of the Lord,
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.
The tenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel account covers the subject of Christian missions, as Jesus prepares and sends out His twelve apostles to the cities of Israel. And we’ve been learning several things from this chapter these past few weeks, and I’d like to recap it for you in 7 points.
He qualifies the called
He sends them out
He instructs and prepares them
He commands them to preach the Gospel
He commands them to manifest the Gospel in their service
He commands them not to depend on money as the means or the end
He prepares them for persecution
The hostility that the twelve were going to face was the inevitable result of the resistance and attack by the people living in darkness who hate the light. Remember now, that to the world of darkness, we are a threat because not only are we sent out but we are sent out with authority to proclaim and perform the power of the Gospel. We are salt and light, we effect change by our lives.
The kinds of persecution
This persecution was not going to come from the outside pagan world but also from within synagogues and within families. From slander, to flogging, to criminalising, to imprisoning, and even unto death.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
The promise of the Son of Man coming
Now, it is in this context that we saw last week that Jesus promises His coming in judgment over the persecutors before they have gone through all the towns of Israel.
23 “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.
Because of this verse, we did an introduction to the study of last things (of the end of the world - eschatology) and how our understanding of the last things affects our life today.
And as I put before you the reality of alternate theological position on eschatology apart from “the world is about to end any time” theology, do you see how this has an impact on Christian missions. The optimistic and the pessimistic view.
Thy Kingdom Come
But here, I want you to see the specific context of Jesus’ words - why I am persuaded that the Son of Man coming refers to Christ’s coming in judgment over the Jews in AD70.
Here is what Jesus is telling the apostles. I have given you authority. Now, go and proclaim ‘the Kingdom of God is at hand’ and perform miracles and service in the power of that kingdom. But the world is going to reject and persecute you. As this hostility mounts and they even put some of you to death, and others to flight, I tell you this before you have run accross all the towns of Israel, I will come. I will come against their hostility and crush their pride.
You see, growing up, I was always taught that Jesus came to inaugurate His Father’s kingdom, that in saving us we are all kingdom citizens in an already, yet not kind of state. That this kingdom would be realised only when Jesus comes in His second coming. And you may be convinced of the same in your own study of scripture.
But here is the possibility I’m persuaded to see in this text that captivates me.
[Explain] - It appears to me that the kingdom is more realised than we think. Who is the ruler of this world?
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
Does the entrance of the kingdom sound to you as a convulsive end to a broken world when Jesus returns in final judgment? Or does it sound to you like the foundation of this establishment has already been laid, and that we are to build it up in Christ?
If we consider this eschatological hope as the first hope of this passage, the next hope we find is in v24.
Exegesis
Exegesis
v24 - maligned like the Master
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!
When we are persecuted, we have hope because we know which household we belong to.
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The persecution faced by the preachers of this kingdom is proof that they are blessed. The kingdom of heaven is theirs. Beloved, this kingdom of heaven, this kingdom of God that belongs to our Father in heaven is ours today.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master.
What grace is this, that we sinners should not only be saved by the merciless death of the perfect Son of God, but that we should now be fashioned into the likeness of this spleandorous King?
If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
The pharisees called Jesus, satan! They looked at perfect righteousness, and called it filthy sin. They beheld glory, and called it horrendous. The absolute loveliness, ugly. They saw life and called it death.
How much more with they do unto us of his household? The greek doesn’t use the word malign. The translators of your bible puts it there to help clarify the text. So a plain reading would read, If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they the members of his household!
Then, Jesus concludes.
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.
Thrice in this concluding section, Jesus says “Fear not”. Given all the persecution that the church is supposed to face, Jesus says therefore do not fear. The Big picture is supposed to take away fear.
Do not fear them, they will not win. For nothing will be concealed or hidden no matter how hard the world tries. Do you think the world is ever going to succeed in silencing the Christian voice? Never. For all authority in heaven and on earth belong to [and the church said] Jesus.
What we hear from the Lord, and what we are taught by God, go out and speak out in the open and 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.
Appropriate fear squashes inappropriate fears. Fear of the Lord is the defeat of the fear of man.
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.