As the sun rose in the early morning sky a young man
rose from a restless night sleep. A restless night sleep that flowed from
anticipation. You see, the young man had been approached by a new teacher who
had invited him to leave his career as a fisherman behind to instead follow Him
as a disciple. This new teacher explained that instead of catching fish, he
would become a fisher of men. Instead of spending his time and energy in the
back waters of the Sea of Galilee, he was going to be this teacher’s apprentice
who would help proclaim His message. A message that proclaimed that the kingdom
of Heaven was at hand.
As a young Jewish man, he had grown up hearing stories
about this kingdom. As a young Jewish man, he grew up hearing stories about a
day in the future when God would send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah, who
would come to bring the Jewish people back to God and back to prominence in the
world. And now this new teacher had arrived proclaiming that the time had
arrived for the Messiah to arrive. He had watched this teacher do the miraculous;
he had watched this teacher teach like no other teacher he had ever heard.
And with each and every day, the anticipation built
that this could be the time. This could be the time for the Messiah arrived to
kick out the ruthless ruling Roman empire and usher in the kingdom of Heaven
and bring the Jewish people back to their rightful place in the world. The
anticipation built because it was becoming clearer to him that His teacher
could actually be that Messiah.
The anticipation built because last night, after
dinner, this new teacher explained to him and the fellow disciples that
tomorrow they would be heading out to proclaim the message that he had heard
Him proclaim. His teacher explained that tomorrow, he would head out throughout
the Jewish nation to proclaim the message “the kingdom of Heaven is at
hand”. His teacher told him that he would
receive instructions and be sent out to tell others about this new teacher and
His message about the kingdom.
So, of course he could not sleep. I mean how could he
even think to sleep. He grew up his whole life hearing messages about the
Messiah and the kingdom of Heaven and now he was going be one of the ones who
would help proclaim the message that the Messiah was coming to kick out the
Romans and usher in that kingdom. There would be no sleep that night. As soon
as that first light appeared over the horizon, he was up, packed, and ready to
go. He was the first to show up to meet with his teacher and receive his
instructions.
And then his teacher, Jesus appeared to begin the
meeting. And he could not wait for the meeting; he could not wait for the
instructions. So he leaned in and began to listen. He began to listen to his teacher
Jesus as He began to give instructions that would forever change his life. He leaned in as Jesus gave instructions that
would forever change his perceptions about the kingdom of Heaven.
Instructions that another one of the disciples, a
former tax collector named Matthew would record for us to read today.
Instructions that still apply to us today. Instructions that have to
potential to radically change how we view Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven. And
it is in these instructions that we will discover a timeless truth about the
kingdom of Heaven. So let’s look in at this meeting and discover those
instructions together, beginning in Matthew 10:5-15:
These twelve
Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel. "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of
heaven is at hand.' "Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely
you received, freely give. "Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for
your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or
sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. "And
whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at
his house until you leave that city.
"As you enter the house, give it your greeting. "If the house is
worthy, give it your blessing of peace.
But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing
of peace. "Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as
you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.
"Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for
that city.
Matthew begins to give us a front row seat to this
meeting as Jesus sent the twelve disciples on a short-term mission trip. And on
this short-term mission trip, Jesus instructed the disciples to proclaim the
following message “repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Sound familiar. Jesus
not only invited the twelve disciples to become a part of the kingdom of
heaven, Jesus invited the twelve disciples to be a part of the kingdom mission
that He was given to invite others to be a part of the kingdom of heaven.
And as part of His instructions to the twelve
disciples, Jesus explained that the message was to be proclaimed only to the
lost sheep of Israel. In other words, Jesus instructed the disciples to
proclaim His message about the kingdom only to the Jewish people. Now a natural
question that could arise at this point is “Why would Jesus tell the disciples
to go to Jewish people first? If that question is running through your mind,
you are asking a great question.
You see, Jesus sent the disciples to the Jewish people
first because in God’s plan of rescue and repair that would bring the
opportunity for all humanity back into relationship with Him, it was through
the Jewish people that the Messiah would come to bring the
opportunity for salvation to all men, so the message of the kingdom of
Heaven would need to begin with the Jewish people. Jesus gave the disciples a kingdom mission to
call the Jewish people to recognize and feel remorse for how they we reliving
their lives so that they would have a change of heart and attitude that would
change the trajectory of their lives that was moving away from God back toward
God.
And to verify that their message was in fact from God,
Jesus gave the disciples the power and authority to heal the sick, raise the
dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons. Now all of these actions were
miraculous actions could only happen by the supernatural action of God and would
thus serve to verify the message of the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus also instructed these twelve men to
rely on the hospitality of the hearers of the message to provide for their
needs so that God would receive the glory and so that the disciples trust would
be in God’s activity though them.
Jesus then explained to the disciples that there would
be differing responses to their mission and their message. While some would
receive and welcome their message, others would refuse and reject their
message. And for those who rejected their message, Jesus explained that it
would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, which were two cities that God
destroyed in the Old Testament by reigning fire from Heaven down upon them,
than for those who reject the message of the kingdom of Heaven delivered by His
disciples. But why would He say that?
Jesus point was that it would be more tolerable for
those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah that it would be for those who rejected
the message of the kingdom that was being proclaimed by the disciples because,
while those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah were equally liable for judgment
due to their selfishness and rebellion against God, they never heard the
message of the kingdom of Heaven as clearly as the Jewish people were hearing
it from the disciples. And to reject the message of the kingdom after hearing
the message and witnessing the signs so clearly would result a greater degree
of condemnation.
However, after giving the disciples these initial
instructions, Matthew tells us that Jesus changed the tone of His instructions
in a striking way. A way that Matthew records for us beginning in verse 16-25:
Behold,
I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and
innocent as doves. 17 "But beware of men, for they will hand
you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 18 and
you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony
to them and to the Gentiles. 19 "But when they hand you over,
do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that
hour what you are to say. 20 "For it is not you who speak, but
it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 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. 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. 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!
Jesus explained to His disciples that He was sending
them out as sheep in the midst of wolves. In other words just as a wolves
attack and try to kill sheep, who are helpless and notoriously stupid when
attacked, the disciples would be attacked by those who were opposed to Jesus
and the kingdom mission that they had been given by Jesus.
And because of that reality, Jesus commanded His disciples
to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. In the Jewish culture of the 1st
century, serpents were a symbol of cleverness in the culture, while doves were
a symbol of purity.
Jesus was painting a word picture that called the
disciples to be wise in avoiding danger but harmless in not forcibly opposing
their enemy. The disciples were to have the cunning of snakes without the venom
to harm their opponents. The disciples were to be cunning when it came to their
own survival and the approval of their message.
Jesus then revealed to His disciples that they would
experience a harsh response and harsh opposition from some when they heard the
message of the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus explained that they would not only be
exposed to the possibility of physical punishment; He also explained that they would
be criticized and slandered by those who heard the message of the kingdom.
Now, I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves
as one of the disciples. I want to take a minute and place ourselves in their
shoes. Would your excitement about this mission trip increasing or decreasing
as this conversation continues? If you were apprehensive at this point, just
look at what Jesus says next, beginning in verse 26-33:
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.
Now that’s encouraging. Thanks for the pep talk Jesus.
How about “don’t worry guys. Everything is going to be fine. It’s going to be
smooth sailing”. Instead, Jesus told His disciples "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. In other words, Jesus basically says “make
sure that you have your fear focused on the right object. You better fear with
an eternal perspective in mind.”
Jesus then painted another word picture for His
disciples, this time of sparrows. In the culture of the day, sparrows were
considered small and could be purchased with the smallest Roman coin. Yet while
sparrows were relatively worthless in Jesus day, Jesus explained that God knew
and controlled the direction of their lives. Jesus then explained to the
disciples that they were worth far more than sparrows, and that God cared and
was in control of every aspect of their lives.
Jesus wanted to let His disciples know that while they
would face danger and even the possibility of death as they proclaimed the
message of the kingdom, that nothing would happen that would take Him by
surprise or frustrate His purposes and plans. And because of that reality,
Jesus explained that everyone who pledged their allegiance to Jesus as Messiah,
Jesus would acknowledge as part of the kingdom of Heaven before God the Father.
And everyone who rejected Jesus as Messiah, would be rejected by Jesus before
God the Father.
Now if you were a disciple, would Jesus words here
ease your anxiety? If you were a disciple, wouldn’t you still be feeling
anxious? Friday, we will see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the
kingdom of heaven in what He says next…
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