Matthew 10:1-15
“Laborers Into The Harvest”
Vs. 1-4 The Call of the “Are Not’s”
5-8a What to Do, Where to Go
8b-15 How To Go
Intro
Chapter 10 starts where 9 left off. Jesus had just spoken to the disciples and asked them to pray for laborers for the harvest; now we see Jesus’s words to them in verse 5, “He sent them out.” In fact, chapter 10 deals with His commandments to them concerning going out. All too often the church thinks that it is the duty of professional ministers to go out, but in reality it is pastors, teachers, and evangelists that are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.
Can you imagine for a moment after Jesus returned to heaven, having just died on the cross for our sins, where He was greeted by one of the angels? “Lord, that was awesome what you did for the world, do they know?” “Not really,” answers Jesus. “As a matter of fact, only a few guys in Israel understand what I did.”
“Well, how is the rest of the world going to hear and understand?” asked the angel. I’m trusting these guys with the message; I’ve asked them to carry it to all the world,” said Jesus. “But what if they don’t?” asked the angel. “What if they go fishing, or get afraid, or get caught up in the affairs of this life? What happens if they just don’t do it; what’s your plan then?” And Jesus replied, “I have no other plan!” This is just a story, but it illustrates a truth: there is no other plan to reach the world than the one that we see beginning to unfold here.
Vs. 1-4 The Call of the “Are Not’s”
Vs.1 You will remember that Jesus had just instructed these guys to pray for compassion, to pray to the Lord of the Harvest for workers. In Luke chapter 6:12, Jesus had spent all night in prayer from the many who were following Him. There were a great many who were “learners” of Him, yet He chose 12 that he would send out, “apostles.” Let’s take a look at four things that prepared them for ministry:
1.) Prayer: I’m not sure that these guys understood that they were sent out on the basis of their own petition. So many times when we pray for some need, the Lord begins to speak to our own hearts. What Calvary Chapel really needs is _______. And you start praying; the more you pray, the clearer the vision becomes; pretty soon the Holy Spirit is making it plain that He is calling you. The truth is prayer does not change God; it changes us; prayer prepares us to be sent. John Corson put it this way: “Faith changes things, prayer changes me.”
2.) Called them to Him: Before we are ever sent, we are called to a closer walk with Jesus. Now what is important to understand is that He does not call us closer to Himself based upon some outward or inward qualifications. 1 Cor. 1:26-29 “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” So the call that God has placed upon our lives is based upon us being these four things: foolish, weak, base, and not. Why? So no flesh should glory in His presence.
3.) He gave them power. I just love the fact that God never calls us to do something that He will not empower us to do. Those whom God calls He equips. You will notice as well here that Jesus empowered them in the same way that He himself had been ministering to the people: power over unclean spirits, to heal sickness, disease, to preach, verse 7. Simply put, these guys were kind of the front men for Jesus; thus, they needed to be seen as doing the same things that He was doing.
Not that long ago, I was reminded of the principle of electric current. I had a switch to put our garbage disposal out, so I got a new switch to put it in. I thought I had turned off the power to the switch, but I was wrong, so as I put together the wires, the electrical current went right through me. You see, electrical energy or current cannot go in where it cannot go out. Boy, did it go out? So with the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, He will not fully come upon a person who will not allow Him to go through to others! Folks, we are to just be conduits; we are to pray, “Lord, bless through me!” instead of “Lord bless me!”
4.) Verse 5 He sent them out: They did not just take all this preparation and put it to work; they were sent out, but what follows are instructions. There was some classroom time as well. I find that he is as interested in me as he is in using me. I’ve coached basketball teams, and I’ve experienced the joy of seeing all the training pay off. These guys were going to see the Lord’s principles put into action through them, but what was even more cool was that they were going to draw closer to the Lord than ever before; they were not even going to be around Him.
Vs.2-4 Here we are given the names of the 12. Now these names appear in other places, usually in the same order: Peter first, Judas last, but what do we really know of these guys? Out of the 12, we know 5 of their occupations: 4 were fishermen, and one was a tax collector. As for the rest, we are not told. All except for Judas were from the wrong side of the country; (Galilee) Judas was most likely from the area of Judah. We know from Mark’s account that Jesus sent out in two’s; that is why Matthew lists them as he does.
1.) Simon (Peter) Andrew: Shifting sand to rock Andrew, the younger brother of Peter. Perhaps you can relate to old Peter, flaky, yet the Lord saw him as he was going to be, a rock. Or maybe you can relate to Andrew, who was always in his brother’s shadow.
2.) James John, the sons of thunder. These guys had bad tempers; you will see that later on, when one of the cities won’t respond to the gospel, they want to call down fire to destroy it. Yet after hanging around Jesus, John is known as the apostle of love.
3.) Philip Bartholomew: Philip was from the same city as Andrew and Peter. He seems to have been a friend of Nathanael (Bartholomew) as he brought him to Jesus. In fact, he was always bringing someone to Jesus, yet he also asked Jesus to show them the Father. Bartholomew or Nathanael was the prejudiced skeptic who asked Philip if any good thing could come out of Nazareth.
4.) Thomas Matthew: The doubter, the Roman sympathizer, rip-off artist.
5.) James, the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus: James the Less, called James the Less or “the little,” either because he was younger than James the son of Zebedee or on account of his short stature. Lebbaeus name means “courageous,” yet not much is known of either one of these guys; perhaps you feel like these guys are a little on the shy side; no one notices you, but the Lord does!
6.) Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot: Luke tells us that Simon was a zealot. He was with a paramilitary unit that was trying to overthrow the Roman government. This guy loved freedom more than life. Now, can you imagine Matthew hanging around Simon? Talk about opposites. If it were not for a changed heart, Simon would have put a knife in Matthew.
Well there they are the Lord’s picks to reach the world with the gospel. Look at the quality of these men. Out of all the people living around, was this the best that could be found? No way! Jesus did not go to the university to see who had scored the highest grades; no, He chose ordinary people with the same worries and problems as the rest of us. Doesn’t that give you hope? Folks, we have no excuse not to reach the world because if Jesus can do that through a bunch of losers like these guys, then He can do so through we losers!
5-8a What to Do, Where to Go
Vs. 5-6 Here they were told where they were to go. Just as Paul said in Romans 1:6, they were to go to the Jew first. The Jews were the most likely to comprehend the gospel. Later on, when He commissions them in chapter 28, He will send them into all the world. Why offend Israel by extending the ministry to the Gentiles? These words, “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” only appear in Matthew. I also see some practical application in this; they started out small, learning the ropes, if you will. We all too often want to start out big; we are way over our heads; hey, just start reaching out where you are at. The Jews were the best prepared by the word of God, so the Lord sends them there first.
Vs. 7-8A Here they were told what they were to do: preach healing. The word preach is Kerusso. Some of you folks will remember that opera singer Enrico Caruso who could shatter a glass from 15 feet away with just his voice. These guys were to “sing out” the fact that the kingdom of God was at hand. It was at hand because the King was at hand. All too often I don’t sing out with clarity the scriptures; I mean, too much of me is in the way. Hey, we need to sing out Jesus to the world; we don’t have to dress Him up. They were to do all of this in the power the Lord had given them.
8b-15 How To Go
Vs 8b-10 Here we are given how they were to do ministry, freely, in complete trust in the Lord to provide. Where God was guiding, God was going to provide. It would be through the hospitality of others, yet without them asking. Folks, that is why we don’t take an offering here; we trust God to lay it upon the hearts of those that come here to give as the Lord has given to them.
Their needs were never to be given as payment for their services. Can you see these guys in the light of many in the church today? “Well, let me see, that was one eye that was restored; your daughter was healed from the flu; your mother, who was paralyzed, can now walk; that will be $10,000.” “But now don’t forget we will put you on our mailing list, pray for you regularly, and even put your name on one of the bricks for our new building.”
Vs. 11-15 Here they are told how they were to bear their testimony. They were to go only to those who wanted to hear the truth. To shake off the dust was an act of judgment upon ears that would not hear. There you have it—the first part of being sent out. The great question ought to be, Are you willing to go? It is my prayer that just like the 144,000, we will be those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes!
Matthew 10:16-42
“Behold, I Send You Out.”
Vs. 16-20 Tough-minded Tender-hearted
21-25 Hated By The World, Loved By God
26-33 Not Afraid To Speak Of His Love
34-42 Unattached to Yourself Attached to Jesus
Intro
Last time we looked at this section, we saw Jesus specific words to the 12 disciples; His words were quite specific, you will remember. He told them to only go to Israel, not to the gentiles. As we come to this section, His words are much broader; verses 16–18 allude to the fact that they were to witness before the gentiles. We need to keep in mind that this section deals with those who are already His followers; thus, this section concerns itself with the description of ministry. As an overview, it can be summed up that to effectively reach the world, we need to see how loved by God we are. This will cause us not to be in love with ourselves.
Vs. 16-20 Tough-minded Tender-hearted
Vs. 16: Here we see the general instruction our Lord gives His disciples. In this verse, He uses four animals to illustrate both the environment as well as the attitude of the believer.
A.) “Sheep in the midst of wolves”: Now most often we see that wolves are amongst sheep, not the other way around. I’m not so sure that I would send sheep out to catch wolves unless they are bait. Sheep are defenseless animals; they have no way of protecting themselves, thus they are completely dependent upon the shepherd. This reminds us that we too are to show that the “excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” Now that is the environment in which we find ourselves, but what about the attitude of the sheep? Jesus again uses two animals to show what the mental emotional makeup is to be.
1.) “Wise as serpents”: Clearly, what is being praised about the serpent is its wisdom. Now the word “wise” here means thoughtful, or discreet, implies a cautious character; showing practical skill intelligence. Snakes do not have arms or legs in which to move around; they move around in stealth. They hide in all sorts of places. When I was a young boy, we collected snakes. Most of them were put in outside cages, but we had this rare boa constrictor that had a cage in my older brother’s room.
Well, this 6’ snake escaped its cage. We looked for that snake for a week in the house but could not find it until one day, as I was doing my chores of dumping the garbage, I picked up my brother’s garbage and could barely lift it; that’s where the snake was hiding out.
Snakes to survive have to be tough-minded. We sheep need to be tough-minded in this world as to its ways; we need to move around this world very discreetly lest we get caught up in the ways of the world. If you are sheep in the midst of wolves, then you had better learn how to move around without calling attention to yourself. We ought to be calling attention to our Lord, not us!
2.) “Harmless as doves”: The word “harmless” means unmixed, innocent, or simple. Doves have that quality to be tame and easy to approach. Simply put, we are to be tenderhearted. What great qualities we have here—tough-minded on the things of the world but tenderhearted towards the people of the world. Folks, we need to be sheep that are transformed like this in our attitudes so that we can reach the world.
Vs. 17-18 Here we are told of the twofold way in which the world will attack them.
A.) Vs. 17 Council synagogues: The first place that they were to find opposition was in the religious arena. Organized religion has always been in opposition to the truth of grace. You can look throughout history to find organized religions persecuting true believers. It is interesting that we see the persecution from religion would be both private (councils) as well as public (synagogues).
So Jesus is telling them this so that they won’t be surprised when organized religion comes at us for standing on the principals of truth. Now remember here that Jesus is speaking of being persecuted for His sake, not for being obnoxious. I was talking to a couple one time that told me that they were under persecution from a grown son.
When I asked why they told me they were living together, the grown son was calling them hypocrites. I informed them that this was not persecution; it was conviction!
B.) Vs. 18 Here the opposition will come from the government. Clearly this will happen during the tribulation period, but even today we see a heavy handiness against true believers by the government.
Now with that said, look at what Jesus has to say about all this:
1.) Vs.18b First, Jesus says that this opposition was really an opportunity. For it was meant as a testimony to them. Is God not great? He turns our opposition into opportunities to speak of His love.
2.) Vs. 19 Second Jesus never gives you an opportunity if He does not give you the words to say. Now this is not a good reason to not study the word, but rather a reason to “hide His word in your heart.” There are a great many times that I’ve talked to someone that I’m sharing with and was not prepared, yet His words are there as He gives them to me. This is Jesus’ promise that He will bring back to remembrance the word that He has planted in your hearts.
3.) Vs. 20 Not only will He give you the words to speak, but it will be by His power. It is God that defends us, not us who defend God. So here we see the promise of the anointing of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.
21-25 Hated By The World, Loved By God
Vs. 21 Here again we see the extent of persecution will even go over to that of families. Truly, the gospel has divided many families. My brother and I were talking about this just the other day with certain family members. The moment we start talking about our relationship with Jesus, they get quite angry. Some persecution would even lead to death. During the reign of 10 Roman Emperors, 175 million Christians were killed.
Matthew quotes Micah here to prove his point. Isn’t it interesting that the three forms of institutions God established in the world to promote truth—”religion, human overnment, and the home—will instead of promoting it, oppose it!
Vs. 22 So often times our commitment to Christ will bring about hatred. The story is told of a golf match of a very famous pro in a four-some with Gerald Ford, Jack Nicholas, and Billy Graham. As the pro returned from the match, he was cursing and walked off in an awful fuss. When one of the onlookers approached him to ask what happened, he replied, “I don’t need Billy Graham pushing his religion around me.
After about an hour later, the same person, anxious to find out what had taken place, approached the pro again, asking what it was that Billy Graham had said. The pro turned around and said, “Why, he did mention religion one time; I just had a bad round of golf!” You see, it was not what Billy Graham said but rather how he lives that caused this man to get so angry. As we stand for truth in how we live our lives, people will get mad.
Vs. 23 Here we see how far the world will go to persecute believers from city to city. Yet with that, they are told to endure to the end. As I consider the early church and what they had to endure for their faith, it makes me wonder about the church today. I have no doubt that if we had to endure such persecution, the church in America would be much smaller, but it would be a lot healthier!
Now this statement has caused many to wonder at its meaning. Did He mean that He would come back before the disciples would have a chance to evangelize the cities of Israel? If that is the case, he was wrong. Could He be speaking of His judgment on Jerusalem that fell upon the city in A.D. 70? Perhaps He is speaking of the transfiguration that happened before they reached every city. Or maybe it refers to Pentecost? Now I also see here that perhaps He is speaking of the fact that Israel will not know Him until after the rapture of the church—clearly something that is backed by Revelations!
In the context, it appears to me that the simplest interpretation might be the best, namely that the evangelism of Israel will not be complete before the end of the present age.
Vs. 24-25 We ought not to expect to be treated any better than Jesus was. Beelzebub was a Philistine god who was worshiped by the people in the region known as the Gaza Strip. The place is infested with flies, so they made this god called the Lord of the Flies. So Jesus is saying that if they call me demon possessed, then they will call you the same. Folks, we don’t outrank our master. We ought to count it a privilege to be called the same as our Lord!
26-33 Not Afraid To Speak Of His Love
Vs. 26-28 Three times in these words, Jesus tells them not to be afraid but rather be bold. Folks, God has not called any of us to be part of the “secret service.” We ought not to fear confessing Him before men. Why?
A.) Vs. 26-27 Because God will one day reveal the secrets of men’s hearts. He will expose all the lies the world offers. So we need not worry about pleasing men, only speaking the truth in love. All too many of us are more concerned about what people say than what God has to say about us!
B.) Vs. 28 We can be bold because the world can only do one thing to us: kill us. Now hold on, you say that is a pretty big deal. No, not really, for to die is to be at home with the Lord, so all the world can do to me is send me home to a place where He will wipe away every tear from my eyes, where I will enjoy the presence of His love for all eternity. Folks, there is only one person in whom we should fear, and that is the Lord. By fear, I mean reverence, for if I fear Him, He cancels out all my other fears! Hell is the Greek word Gehenna, which is the place of eternal destruction after death. Now notice what follows. This is God proclaiming His love and protection for us.
C.) Vs. 29-31 We are of great value to the Lord. We are told in Luke’s gospel that two sparrows were sold for a farthing, which was 1/16 of a day’s wage; in fact, they offered a bargain where you could purchase 5 for 1/8 of a day’s wage. Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from the Father seeing it happen. So every detail of those little birds’ lives is in His loving hand.
Next, he tells them that every hair on their head is numbered—not just counted but numbered individually. I heard a story of a man who had wronged a good many people, so he went to a wise man in the area and asked what he could do to right the wrongs he had committed. The wise man said, “Go place a feather on every door that you have wronged, then come back to see me.”
Well, the guy did so, and it took a great amount of time. When he came back, he asked what he needed to do next. “Go back and remove all the feathers,” he was told. Impossible for the winds have scattered them all over the area. Is it not great to know that God has scattered all our sins away? What great value we have before the Lord, so with that we can be bold in speaking of Him!
D.) Vs. 32-33 God honors those who honor Him. The word confess here means more than just to make a statement; it means to make a statement with your life. Jesus is not saying that we will not go to heaven; here He is speaking of receiving the benefits of that relationship. Folks, there are two judgment seats, one for salvation and the other for rewards. Personally, I want to be faithful to the One who has been so faithful to me. We need not fear people if we fear the Lord. Jesus calls us publicly; we ought to be able to proclaim Him publicly. If you or I were on trial for being Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict us?
V.) 34-42 Unattached to Yourself Attached to Jesus
Vs. 34-39 Here we see the secret to witnessing for the Lord: death to self. Jesus must come before our love for our own household. Anything else would be idolatry.
Notice here that Jesus speaks of the cross. Folks, the cross is not some personal trial you are going through; the cross is an instrument of death. The person took up the cross only for one reason: to die. There were no appeals, no compromise, no looking back, only looking forward to the new life! So Jesus is saying that you only gain life by losing this old life! So let me ask, are you bearing the cross of death to your life in Him? Losers are the ones who protect their own self-interest; winners are the ones who live for Jesus’ interests. Today, we often say when we are stressed out, “Man, I’m losing it.” We ought to say then good right on. I hope you lose it completely!
Vs. 40-42 Here we see that we are to be a blessing to others. When people receive us, then they are receiving the Lord through us. If they receive us as a spokesman for the Lord, that will give them a reward. If they receive us as a righteous man, that will give them a reward; even if they just help us on our way, that will bring them something. Folks, you all share in God’s work when you support it; it is that simple.