Matthew 10:1-42
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10 take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
11 "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
17 "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!
26 "So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--
36 a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40 "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
May the Lord Bless the reading of His Holy Word. We see It. May we hear It. Receive and accept It and then live in response to It. AMEN.
Now I would like to stop the world for just one minute and ask you to think back. Think back with me to the first century. Think about those 50 years after Jesus’ death and what it must been like for Jesus’ disciples. Before the last one died their efforts had brought 500,000 men women, and children into the ranks of the church. But what they had to suffer in order to accomplish this task is seldom discussed. We like the outcome of their discipleship but we don’t want to hear the cost of discipleship. So for the record here is the cost: History tells us…
1. John died of extreme old age exiled to the island of Patmos.
2. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.
3. Peter was crucified; head downward, during the persecution of Nero.
4. Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, a Grecian Colony.
5. James, the younger, son of Alphaeus, was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, and then beaten to death with a club.
6. Bartholomew was flayed alive in Albanapolis, Armenia.
7. James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem.
8. Thomas, the doubter, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the East Indies.
9. Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis.
10. Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.
11. Simon died on a cross in Persia (what we now call Iran.).
12. Matthew was first stoned and then beheaded.
What sacrifices! And I ask you why? Why did they choose to die this way? Why desert your father and mother, your wife and child, and your home? Why put up with the constant humiliation, and hunger, and persecution, and defeat town after town after town?
I’ll tell you why, because, in the words of Apostle Paul, they were held captive by the words and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is Paul’s way of saying they were slaves to Christ.
It is quite likely we shall never be tested to the extent that the disciples were but there are some ways to gauge our commitment. Let’s look at a couple this morning:
I. Sacrifice is a Sign of Mature Faith.
If you have been a Christian for some long time, I would suggest that the sacrifices you make are the tell-tale sign of a mature commitment. Let’s look at the text. Jesus does not mince words with the 12 Apostles. He says, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” I know that it is common in church circles, particularly when the church is involved in the political arena, to say that the church is for peace. And there is some truth to that. But we do the message of Jesus a disservice when we ignore his other teachings that show the confrontational nature of Christianity.
But what kind of sword is it that Jesus brings? Lord knows we have enough swords as it is. It is surprising to find that the sword he wields is used to divide the family. Jesus finished his thought this way: “For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own house hold.” Now what is Jesus talking about? What Jesus anticipates is that within Jewish circles a commitment to him will bring division within the family. A son who follows Christ will be at odds with a father who rejects the resurrection. A mother who becomes a disciple will be at odds with a daughter who believes she can live as she desires. A son-in-law will be at odds with the in-laws because he has led their daughter away from traditional Judaism.
No greater example can be found for the divisive nature of the Gospel than the life of Paul. Paul was an outstanding colleague among his peers. A Pharisee of Pharisees he calls himself. So trusted by the religious establishment, he was given the task of going to Damascus to arrest those who had fallen in with the disciples. But on that fated trip down the Damascus road he encountered the One whom he thought was dead. He encountered the resurrected Christ. His life was suddenly turned upside down. He now found himself on the other side—one of the followers of Christ and as a result he found himself at odds with his old colleagues. Nothing could be done to salvage the relationships that were lost. He was suddenly cut off. Cut off from his career and his family. Paul was going to Damascus with a sword in his hands to persecute the Christians; he found Christ on that road and suddenly the sword was turned upon him. Yes he found peace but he also found a sword which cut him off from his past.
How mature are you in the faith? Don’t answer with the number of years you have been in the church; answer with the level of sacrifices you have made.
II. Hospitality is a Sign of Discipleship.
What of the newest Christian among us? Those who are starting out in their faith. I would advise you that showing hospitality is the first step in Christian discipleship. The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead was once asked this question: What was the earliest sign of civilization in any given culture? He expected the answer to be a clay pot or perhaps a fish hook or grinding stone. Her answer was "a healed femur." The femur, of course, is the leg bone above the knee. Mead explained that no healed femurs are found where the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, reigns. A healed femur shows that someone cared. Someone had to do that injured person's hunting and gathering until the leg healed. The evidence of compassion, she said, is the first sign of civilization. I would contend that it is also the first sign of the work of Christ in the life of a Christian.
Jesus understood the importance of civility. Hospitality has fallen on some hard times these days but it shouldn’t be that way in the church. Jesus pointed out that even the smallest act of kindness shall be rewarded.
It is staggering to think of the personal wealth of someone like Bill Gates. He is worth over 50 billion dollars. A couple of years ago he earmarked 1 billion dollars over a 20 year period to endow a charitable trust for education and health. None of us will come close to making a contribution of that magnitude. Jesus recognized that there are various levels of kind acts. “Those who help a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet reward” Jesus said. He added, “Those who receive a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.” But then he says, “And if anyone gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones (he was talking about those who help his disciples), I tell you the truth,” he concluded, “he will certainly not lose his reward.
A small gesture to be sure—a cup of cold water—but none the less important because, and here is the significance: The act indicates that the person is open to the message of the disciple. He who receives you receives me, Jesus said. In a small act of kindness is the large act of receiving the Gospel of Christ.
I like the legend about the famous monastery which had fallen on very hard times. Its many buildings were once filled with young monks, and chapel resounded with the singing of the choir. But now it was deserted. People no longer came there to be nourished by prayer. Only a handful of old monks remained.
On the edge of the monastery woods, an old rabbi had built a tiny hut. He came there from time to time to fast and pray. No one ever spoke with him, but whenever he appeared, the word would be passed from monk to monk: "The rabbi walks in the woods.”
One day the abbot decided to visit the rabbi and bear his heart to him. As he approached the hut, the abbot saw the rabbi standing in the doorway, his arms outstretched in welcome. It was as though he had been waiting there for some time. The two embraced.
As he entered the hut, he saw in the middle of the room a wooden table with the Scriptures open. They sat there for a moment, in the presence of the Book. Then the rabbi began to cry. The abbot could not contain himself. He covered his face with his hands and broke down.
After the tears and all was quiet again, the rabbi lifted his head. "You and your brothers are serving God with heavy hearts," he said. "You have come to ask a teaching of me. I will give you a teaching, but you can only repeat it once. After that, no one must ever say it aloud again."
The rabbi looked straight at the abbot and said, "The Messiah is among you." The Abbot stood in stunned silence. Then the rabbi said, "Now you must go." The abbot left without ever looking back.
The next morning, the abbot called his monks together in the chapter room. He told them that he had received a teaching from the rabbi who walks in the woods, and that this teaching was never again to be spoken aloud. Then he looked at each of his brothers and said, "The rabbi said that one of us is the Messiah."
The monks were startled and thought to themselves: "What could it mean? Is brother John the Messiah? No, he's too old and crotchety. Is brother Thomas? No, he's too stubborn and set in his ways. Am I the Messiah? What could this possibly mean?" They were all deeply puzzled by the rabbi's teaching. But no one ever mentioned it again.
As time went by, though, something began to happen at the monastery. The monks began to treat one another with a reverence. They were gentle with one another. They lived with one another as brothers once again. Visitors found themselves deeply moved by the genuine caring and sharing that went on among them. Before long, people were again coming from great distances to be nourished by the prayer life of these monks. And young men were asking, once again, to become part of the community.
Jesus said, He who receives you receives me. Hospitality…because in one another we see face of Christ. It is the first step in Christian Discipleship.
III. A Cup of Water is a Sign that Christ is Welcome.
I cannot begin to tell you the reward that is waiting for everyone of us who believe. Not even the smallest kindness will be missed by a Father who is ever watching.
And while it is true that as a disciples of Christ we must live a life of peace; we must be ever vigilant that that peace can also be a dagger. Commitment to Christ can separate us form those we love. Jesus brings peace but it’s peace between God and man. There is no guarantee that that peace will exist between us, not even between members of the same household. The mature disciple will make note of this.
But never underestimate the power of a cold cup of water. Hospitality toward one another is a sign that Christ is welcome. And where Christ is welcome all things are possible. Even the swords that divide us can be sheathed by hospitality. Work towards peace but be prepared for conflict and keep a cold cup of water waiting by the door. And all God’s people say,Amen. Altar Call
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