Matthew 10:27-42: “Jesus’ Hardest Sayings On Discipleship”
by
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In this next section of the gospel of Matthew, we see
that Jesus gives His hardest teachings concerning what true discipleship
means. For instance, He teaches that for
anyone who would follow Him, true discipleship means:
1.1.1. Speaking in
the light the truth He speaks to us in darkness, and proclaiming upon the
rooftop what He teaches us in secret
1.1.2. Not fearing
those who can kill the body, but instead doing all that we do in a reverential
fear of Him who is able to cast body and soul into hell
1.1.3. Confessing
Him before men, which in turn causes Him to confess Him before His father in heaven
(instead of denying that He knows us)
1.1.4. Not allowing
the love even for a father, mother, son, or daughter come before our love for
Him
1.1.5. Taking up
our cross and following Him
1.2.
In the midst of this very hard teaching concerning the
meaning of true discipleship, Jesus gives us the tremendous encouragement that
the Father knows every hair on our heads and thus we should know that we can
trust Him to do what is best for us in our life in all circumstances
2.
VS 10:27 - “27 “What I tell you in
the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear,
proclaim upon the housetops”” - Jesus tells
His disciples that the things that He tells them they are to proclaim in the
most public way
2.1.
It is really such a wonderful privilege that we share in as Christians in
that the Lord does speak to us about His truth in those quiet and peaceful
moments in our life, and especially when we open up His word in our daily quiet
times and meditate upon it speaking with Him in prayer
2.1.1. His truth burns within our
hearts
2.2.
Truth that the Lord shares with us is not meant just to be appreciated by
us perhaps the way we appreciate a fine meal over an average or sub-par one,
but rather we Christians have a responsibility and stewardship with the truth
that we have received
2.2.1. The truth that God speaks to
us is not just for us, but we should be willing as the Holy Spirit leads us, to
share all that He speaks to us to everyone we can
2.2.2. In Luke 12:48b, Jesus said
the following which emphasizes the fact that God holds us accountable for the
light He has given us, “And from
everyone who has been given much shall much be required”
2.2.3. When we were young it was pressure from our peers that
we had to combat if we were truly to stand for the truth, however as we have
gotten older it is still ‘the fear of man’ with which we must contend if we are
to follow Jesus
2.2.3.1.The scripture teaches us
that “the fear of man brings a snare”, Prov. 29:25
2.2.3.2.We Christians often hold
back from standing for the truth because of what we fear may happen to us if we
do so
2.2.3.2.1.We could lose our job,
career, marriage, children, etc.
2.2.3.3.Jesus wants us to use wisdom
and common sense but also to stand for the truth and leave the consequences of
doing so to God
2.2.3.4.God wants us to take a stand
for what is written in His Word, to hold to it, and follow the light of His
Word where it leads us
2.2.3.4.1.All of the great men of God
and prophets in history-past have lived their lives in this way
2.2.4. The church must beled and
structured in such a way that it stands for and responds to the truth of God’s
Word, however it may cut, for if the church doesn’t stand for the truth, who
will?
2.2.4.1.Though the church must be
sensitive to the needs of people, tactful, and gentle in its dealings, for this
is what love does, it must also never do these things so that it compromises
the truth in doing so
2.2.5. What are you doing with what
you know? Are you a good steward with
the truth that the Lord has given you in your life?
3.
VS 10:28 - “28 “And 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”” - Jesus teaches His disciples that they are not
to fear man but rather God
3.1.
To understand this verse, we should first understand that Jesus through
His teachings was constantly trying to get people to realize the importance of
the eternal things over the temporal earthly things
3.1.1. The things of this world are
going to pass away, and we cannot take anything from this life with us when we
die
3.1.2. There will be an eternal
life that every single person will live, and they will either spend eternity in
heaven with the Lord or they will spend it in the torments of hell
3.1.3. Jesus tried to show how
foolish it is to be short-sided and to live for the things of this life, a life
which is so short and whose goods and thrills can satisfy for such a short
season, when you will spend an eternity reaping the fruit of the choices made
in your life
3.1.4. In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus told
His disciples a story about a foolish man who sought to build bigger barns to
store all of his crops but did not lay up treasure in heaven, “16 And He
told them a parable, saying, “The land of a certain rich man was very
productive. 17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do,
since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 “And he said, ‘This is what I will
do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all
my grain and my goods. 19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many
goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be
merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is
required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 “So is the
man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God””
3.1.4.1.How are you laying up
treasures for heaven in your life?
3.1.4.2.What treasures will you have
for all eternity?
3.1.5. In Mark 8:36a, Jesus said
that even if a person gained every treasure and every pleasure that this world
has to offer but was not laying up treasure in heaven, he would end up being a
fool and a total loser, “For what does
it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”
3.2.
We see here
in these verses the fact that man has an eternal soul, and that this soul will
live on when this body passes away, and this soul shall have an eternal
destination and existence (of life) as well
3.3.
We Christians
should not worry about dying or being killed because of our faith in Christ
because if we die will just go straight into the arms of Jesus and spend
eternity in paradise with Him, and for the icing on the cake, if we died as a
martyr for Him we will gain a martry’s crown and reward
3.4.
Even though we Christians are ‘justified’ (made just as if we had never sinned)
as a result of receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior, and thus we do not have
to fear judgment for Christ took our judgment upon Himself, none-the-less we
still do need to have a healthy ‘fear’ of the Lord
3.5.
The ‘fear’ that a Christian should have for the Lord is really just a
‘reverence’ and ‘utmost respect’ for the Lord because of all that He is as well
as all of the wonderful things that He has done and does for us, His children
3.5.1. As a result we must desire
to not do anything in our lives with which He is not pleased, or anything which
will bring disrepute upon His Name
3.6.
We Christians must then not live in fear and trembling worrying about
what men may do to us, but rather we must respect and revere the Lord so much
that we want to please, obey, and glorify Him with every area of our life
3.7.
Non-Christians, however, should fear and tremble the impending judgment
that will occur from the Lord on the final day of judgment for the world, called
the “Great White Throne Judgment”, where He will cast the body and soul of
every non-believer into the lake of fire that burns for eternity (Rev.
20:11-15)
4.
VS 10:28-31 - “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
“Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows”” - Jesus teaches His disciples that they are of
great value to God
4.1.
The comparison used by Jesus here is that of a child of God to a
‘sparrow’
4.1.1. The price of sparrows really
has not gone up over time, for they have never really been greatly valued as
they are not used as a source really for anything that is useful
4.1.2. In Jesus’ day a person could
buy sparrows dirt cheap, two sparrows could be purchased for a single cent of
money
4.1.3. Jesus teaches here that God
watches over the sparrows
4.1.4. Not one sparrow falls out of
the sky and hits the ground ‘apart from the Father’
4.1.4.1.In using the phrase ‘apart
from the Father’, Jesus is teaching something more than the fact that the Lord
knows about the injury to or death of a sparrow. Rather, He watches over them, protects them,
and provides for them
4.1.5. Jesus teaches here what
should be obvious, we who are the only creatures created in God’s image, and
who have now been redeemed and adopted as sons and daughters into God’s family
are of much greater value to God than many sparrows
4.1.5.1.It has been very interesting
to me how since the 60’s there have been people who have tried to elevate
animals to the status of people or sometimes even greater in their importance,
however this has never been the mindset of God
4.2.
Jesus teaches here that God is concerned for His children to the degree
that the very hairs on their heads are numbered
4.2.1. Even a human parent does not
have this great of a love for his child, only God cares so greatly for His
children
4.3.
If you want to know how much you are worth to God, I
can tell you. You are worth so much that
He bought you with the price of the blood of His only and unique Son. That is how much you are worth. You are priceless to God…
5.
It is important for us to realize the context for
this verse, for in the midst of giving His discples some of His hardest teachings
concerning ‘true discipleship’ and taking a stand for Christ and the truth,
Jesus teaches that we need not fear the consequences of doing so because our
very hairs on your head are numbered since our heavenly Father cares so much
for us, and He will watch out for us and do what is best for us in every
circumstance
6.
VS 10:32-33 - “32 “Everyone therefore
who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who
is in heaven. 33 “But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him
before My Father who is in heaven”” -
Jesus teaches here that if we will own Him in this life He will own us
in the next
6.1.
We are all called to confess Jesus Christ, confess that we know Him,
confess to others of who He is and how that they might be able to be saved
6.2.
We can deny Him by
6.2.1. Not saying anything at all
to anyone about our being a Christian
6.2.2. Not telling others the good
news of the gospel of salvation
6.3.
The promise:
6.3.1. If we confess Him before
men, He will confess us before His Father in heaven
6.4.
The warning:
6.4.1. If we deny him, He will
likewise deny us before His Father in heaven
6.5.
In Mark 8:38, Jesus said these same things in a little different way, “38
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the
glory of His Father with the holy angels.””
6.6.
I love Paul’s words in the book of Romans when he writes, “I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ”, Rom. 1:16
6.6.1. Are you ashamed of
Jesus? Ashamed to tell people that you
belong to and follow Jesus Christ?
7.
VS 10:34-36 - “34 “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”” -
Jesus teaches His disciples here that He did not come to bring peace on
earth, but a sword
7.1.
The gospel message divides people, and it always has done so, it
separates those who are under God’s punishment from those who are His children
7.2.
As I have mentioned before, in this world you as a Christian can talk
about so many topics, some even which are heated topics, however when you bring
up the Name of Jesus or salvation through Him, it is the one topic that will
turn every conversation into either an evangelistic opportunity (for those open
to hear the good news), great fellowship (between Christians), or a difficult
experience (usually open hostility or heated argument)
7.2.1. The entire world is being
divided up along lines, the gospel of Christ does that, for you are either for
Him or you are against Him
7.3.
This brings up the question, however, for didn’t the angel Gabriel
announce to shepherds at Christ’s birth ‘peace on earth among men of good
will?’
7.3.1. Yes, absolutely He did. However, the peace He is talking about is
only experienced among men of good will, which means men and women who have
likewise given their lives to Christ and received Him as their Lord and Savior
7.3.2. As I have mentioned
previously there will be in this world persecution that occurs within a
person’s own family
7.3.2.1.History has revealed over
and over the truth in this promise of Jesus’ here that Christian people have been
turned over to authorities for persecution, torture, and martyrdom by the
members of their own family
7.3.2.2.In some cultures today,
families will actually have a funeral and count as dead a family member who has
turned to Christ for salvation
8.
VS 10:37 - “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”” -
Jesus teaches that we must love Him above even our family members
8.1.
Jesus says here that we are not ‘worthy’ of Him if we love our father,
mother, or son more than Him
8.2.
Jesus must be our greatest love, our one passion, and our very lives if
we are to be His people
8.2.1. In 2 Cor. 5:14-16, Paul
wrote about how our love for Christ because of all that He has in love done for
us controls or constrains us and causes us to be willing to live our life for
Him and be willing to do anything that He wants us to do, “14 For the love
of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore
all died; 15 and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for
themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 16 Therefore
from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have
known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer”.
8.2.2. Seeing how awesome and great
He is and how small and insignificant that we are it is only right and our due
that we have this kind of great love for the Lord
8.2.3. A question then to as ask
ourselves is whether or not we are allowing any other person or thing come
inbetween us and the Lord and what He wants us to do in our life on any given
day?
8.2.4. Are you willing to go
against parents or children if to do so would be to disobey the Lord and not do
anything He has shown you to do?
9.
VS 10:38-39 - “38 “And he who does not
take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of
9.1.
This saying by Jesus immediately brought
to His disciples minds the visual image of death by crucifixion
9.1.1. At the point in time when
Jesus taught this, crucifixion was a horribly cruel and painful form of
punishment used by
9.1.2. By saying this Jesus’
disciples knew that Jesus meant that a disciple of His must die to himself and
serve and follow Christ with all of his life and that He must even be willing
to die for Jesus if he should be called upon to do so
9.2.
Jesus does not say here that a disciple of His must be willing to have
someone nail him upon a cross, rather that a disciple of Jesus must be will to
take up his own cross and carry to the place of crucifixion
9.2.1. We must of our own free will
offer up our lives to Christ as a holy sacrifice unto Him if we desire to be
called one of His people
9.3.
Jesus says that we are worthy of knowing Him and having Him as our Lord
if we are not also willing to die to ourselves and let Him live His life fully
through us
9.3.1. In Phil 1:21a, Paul wrote,
“21 For to me, to live is Christ”, and each of us as Christ’s people must have
this same attitude toward our own lives
9.4.
Jesus teaches here that if we live our lives for ourselves and the things
that we desire to do we have found our lives, and the result of this kind of
living is that when we die we will lose our life, for we shall spend eternity
in hell
9.5.
However, if we lose our life by giving it completely to Christ to do with
us whatever He wants to do, then we shall find it to life eternal spent with
Christ in heaven for eternity
10.
VS 10:40 - “40 “He who receives you receives
Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me”” - Jesus teaches that those who receive us His
disciples also receive Him
10.1. Jesus is teaching here that
we are His ambassadors, and as such we go in His Name and authority, and thus
those whom we reach He reaches for He is leading us and moving within our lives
10.2. Jesus also teaches that
anyone who receives Him also receives God the Father
10.2.1.Some say that the Bible
never mentions the Trinity, and though the word ‘Trinity’ is never found in the
Bible, there are many verses such as this verse which provides a glimpse of the
Trinity to the one whose mind is open to the truth
10.2.2.Jesus provides the only way
to get to the Father, and thus if we come to know Him we come to know the
Father also, for He and the Father are one in divine essence
11.
VS 10:41 - “41 “He who receives a
prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who
receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a
righteous man’s reward”” - Jesus teaches
that the one who receives a prophet will also receive a prophet’s reward
11.1. We cannot all be prophets,
however we have this promise from God’s Word that though we ourselves are not a
prophet, that by receiving a prophet into our homes and/or assisting them in
their ministry we shall share in the eternal rewards that will be given to
those who are called by God to be prophets
11.2. To receive a righteous man
in the name of a righteous man would mean to take the recommendation of a godly
man concerning another man and his ministry, and thus to be again willing to
receive this recommended brother or sister into our homes and/or assist them in
their ministry
11.3. Those who are in the
ministry, especially those who are called to begin ground up ministries, need
much help along their way if they are going to be able to fulfill the calling
that God has placed upon their lives, and thus with the great rewards promised
those who are willing to help such ones, we all would be wise to help such men
12.
VS 10:42 - “42 “And whoever in the
name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water
to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward”” - Jesus teaches that even the smallest service
of giving a cup of cold water to someone who is thirsty shall be rewarded
12.1. The economy of God for His
servants is truly remarkable:
12.1.1.God forgets not one of our
labors for Him, and it is a truth that even the smallest labor for Him shall
justify a reward one day when we get to heaven
12.1.2.All of us as Christ’s
disciples will be rewarded not based upon how greatly we are gifted for
ministry, but rather upon how much we were willing to use the gifts and
abilities we have for others and in ministry
12.1.3.
All of us who are God’s children would be content with far less than this
from the Lord, but because He is such a wonderful and loving Father He delights
in giving lavishly to His children