This week we have been
looking at an event from history where a man named Matthew gave us a front row
seat to this meeting as Jesus sent the twelve disciples on a short-term mission
trip. On this short-term mission trip, Jesus instructed the disciples to proclaim
the following message “repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. 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.
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 because of that reality, Jesus commanded
His disciples to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
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.
Jesus then basically
said to his disciples “make sure that you have your fear focused on the right
object. You better fear with an eternal perspective in mind.” Jesus then explained
that while sparrows were relatively worthless in Jesus day, 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 and still
feeling anxious, notice what Jesus says next, beginning in Matthew 10:34-39:
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.
Now imagine yourself
as one of the disciples. What would you be thinking at this point? What would
you be feeling? How would you respond to Jesus instructions? Is this what you
would expect Jesus to say? Can you relate to what the disciples must have been
feeling at this point?
Maybe you are thinking
to yourself “woo, hold on there, I thought Jesus was this nice shepherd, who
was going to pick me up, place me on His shoulders and carry me though life so
that my life would be calm and peaceful. I thought that Jesus came so that I
could have peace on earth, good will to men so that I could experience my best
life now here on earth.”
However, Jesus is
crystal clear here; Do not think that I came to bring peace; I did not come to
bring peace, but a sword. But why bring a sword? A sword is an instrument of violence that
brings violence and division. Jesus point here is that, just like a sword, Jesus
and the message of the gospel will bring division amongst even the closest of
people.
And to back His claim,
Jesus quoted from a section of a letter that was written by the Prophet Micah over
700 years earlier. In Micah 7:6, the prophet Micah described how the Jewish people
in King Ahaz’s day were rejecting God and acting with rebellion and sinfulness
even to the closest of their relatives. Jesus then applied this Old Testament
quote to His disciples by telling them “he who loves father or mother, or son
or daughter more than me is not worthy of me”.
Jesus point here is
that the disciple’s primary allegiance is to be to Him. Jesus wanted His
disciples to clearly understand that if they cared more about family or self
than Jesus, then that is what they will choose when persecution or difficult
times come. Jesus reminded the disciples of the reality that we choose to stand
by what we love the most, don’t we? The issue that Jesus was raising is the
priority of our relationships. And the timeless truth is that as followers of
Jesus, our allegiance is to be to Jesus first and foremost.
And in case the
disciples missed it, Jesus rammed His point home by stating “whoever does not
take up His cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me”, Jesus called His
disciples, and members of the kingdom of heaven throughout history to
reconstruct their identity to be a part of God’s kingdom community and mission.
Just as Jesus embraced His kingdom mission by denying self to instead embrace
the cross, Jesus was calling His disciples throughout history, to deny self to
instead to embrace the kingdom mission to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal
Himself to the lost, hurting, and broken world around us. Jesus point to His followers throughout
history is that we cannot follow Jesus unless we are prepared to walk this path
of self-denial.
Jesus reinforced His call by stating that “he
who finds his life will lose it and he who has lost his life for my sake will
find it”. Jesus point is that whoever selfishly places themselves as the center
or the focus of life will end up losing the eternal life and relationship with
God that they were created for as a result of rejecting Him here on earth. By
contrast the person who denies their selfishness so as to commit to following
Jesus and the message of the kingdom of heaven will gain the eternal
relationship with God that they were created for and that begins here on earth.
Now do you think this
is what the disciples were expecting to hear? Is this what the disciples
thought about when they heard about the kingdom of Heaven? Is this anything
like the stories that they grew up hearing when it came to the Messiah and the
kingdom of Heaven? And is this what you think of when you think of the kingdom
of Heaven? If we are honest, many of us at this point are thinking “that is not
the picture of the kingdom of heaven that I expected to hear.”
If you are in that
place, I have some encouraging news. You are not the first person to feel that
way. As a matter of fact, Matthew introduces us to another person who felt the
same way in Matthew 11:1-6. Let’s meet this person together:
“When Jesus had finished giving instructions to
His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their
cities. 2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works
of Christ, he sent word by his
disciples 3 and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or
shall we look for someone else?" 4 Jesus answered and said to
them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO
THEM. 6 "And blessed is he who does not take offense at
Me."?
Matthew tells us that John
the baptizer, who we met last week, after being arrested for proclaiming the
message of the kingdom of heaven, sent some of his disciples to basically ask
Jesus “Are you the Messiah, the promised one from God, or did I make a
mistake”? Now why would John ask that question? Why would John doubt Jesus
after he had leveraged his entire life into the kingdom of heaven?
John doubted because
this was not how the story was supposed to go. John doubted because he had been
born and raised believing that the Messiah and the kingdom of heaven would
bring in peace and prosperity for those who were in the kingdom. But John
wasn’t experiencing peace, was he?
And maybe your life as
a follower of Jesus is not going how you thought the story was supposed to go.
You became a follower of Jesus believing that things would automatically get
better in your life; your relationships would get better, your finances would
get better; life would be flying pink elephants and rainbow-puking unicorns. But
that is not the case for you.
Notice Jesus answer to
John. Jesus does not simply come out and say, “John, don’t worry, I am the
Messiah and your life will get better soon”. Instead, Jesus pointed John back
to a section of a letter written 600 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah
35:5 and Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah predicted and proclaimed the events surrounding
the arrival of the Messiah. The same events that John the baptizer saw and
participated in his life and ministry.
Jesus pointed John
back to the promises of God that are recorded for us in the letters that make
up the Bible. And if John the baptizer, the man who leapt in the womb at the
arrival of Jesus, the man who heard the voice of God and saw the Holy Spirit
descend upon Jesus at His baptism can question and doubt, it is understandable
that there will be times when we experience times of questions and doubt.
And Jesus provides us
a timeless response to time of doubt. When we doubt, we are to place our
questions and our doubts under the authority and the truth of what God has said
about who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised to do. Jesus then
turned to the crowds and began to tell them about John the baptizer in Matthew
11:7-15:
“As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What
did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8
"But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces! 9
"But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who
is more than a prophet. 10 "This is the one about whom it is written,
'BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE
YOU.' 11 "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there
has not arisen anyone greater
than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is
greater than he. 12 "From the days of John the Baptist until
now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. 13
"For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14
"And if you are willing to accept it,
John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 "He who has ears to
hear, let him hear.”?
Jesus quoted a section
of a letter written by the prophet Malachi some 400 years earlier to explain to
the crowds listening that John the baptizer was the fulfillment of God’s
promise to send one who would prepare the way for the Messiah, who would usher
in the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus then stated that while there was no greater
human being that ever lived than John the baptizer, whoever is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Jesus point here is
that while John the Baptist pointed people to the coming of the kingdom of
heaven, those who are least in the kingdom are greater because they point to
the reality that the kingdom of heaven
had arrived through the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus then made an
amazing and timeless statement; “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and
violent men take it be force”. But what does that mean?
You see, it is in this
statement that that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to the kingdom
of heaven. And that timeless truth is this: The kingdom of
heaven is either enthusiastically embraced or violently opposed. Just as
it was for the crowds that came to listen to John the Baptizer; just as it was
for the crowds that came to listen to Jesus; just as it was for the disciples;
just as it has been throughout history, the kingdom of Heaven is either
enthusiastically embraced or violently opposed.
You see, no one walked
away from hearing John the baptizer’s message saying “whatever”. No one walked
away from Jesus saying whatever. No one walks away from a conversation about
Jesus and the kingdom of heaven saying “whatever”. The message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven
is either enthusiastically embraced, or it is violently opposed.
Some people hear the
message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven and respond by enthusiastically
embracing Jesus. Some people hear the message of Jesus and the kingdom of
heaven and respond by violently opposing Jesus. And some people hear the
message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven and respond by enthusiastically
embracing Jesus after they violently opposed Him.
And because of that
reality, here is a question to consider: how are you responding to the message
of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven? Are you enthusiastically embracing the
message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven? Or are you violently opposed to the
message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven?
Because the timeless
reality is that the kingdom of Heaven is either enthusiastically embraced or
violently opposed…
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