These 12 Jesus Sent Out

Matthew 10; January 6, 2008

 

Is the proverbial saying, “Past performance is the best indicator of future performance,” comforting or frightening to you? If the job or activity ahead of you is one you have done well many times, it is probably comforting; if it is a job or an activity in which you have failed, it is probably frightening. On a group level, one of the ways people become leaders is through others perception of their “track record.”  We tend to accept the leadership of people who have a history of succeeding in difficult situations and reserving our judgment for a later date with those without such a history. Many times the fact that the group believes their leader will succeed and they, therefore, support him or her through the duration of the challenge is the determining factor in their leader’s success.

What we believe about our Jesus and our church leaders and, therefore, the degree and duration of our commitment to what lies ahead of us in the next few months will in a large way determine our corporate success or failure.  The Official Board and I are asking ourselves and the rest of us in First Church to do something different in 2008 and to do it in a different way. What we will be asking of ourselves and of you will become clearer over the next three months. Today, we want to examine the “past performance” and “track record” of our real leader, Jesus Christ Himself. This examination is especially important in light of the statement made about Him in Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus calls His 12 apostles, gives them the power and ability to do the job He called them to do, and then immediately begins their training. He will eventually allow Himself to be sacrificed because He believes they will succeed.

The tenth chapter of Matthew begins with Jesus calling His 12 apostles by name. Then He freely gave them everything they would need to do the job to which He called them. They weren’t supposed to do what Jesus wanted them to do in their own strength and power or with the power of their personality. They were just supposed to do what He wanted them to do with the abilities He gave them.  Notice: “He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”

Then Jesus got very specific about what he wanted them to do: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near'” (Matthew 10:5-7). Although the word “repent” is missing here, I think it is fair to say it is at least implied from other passages.  But whether it is to be implied or not, the message, “The kingdom of heaven is near” first appears in Matthew 3:1-2: “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." It appears again in Matthew 4:17: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." And it appears here for the third and last time. John links this message to the prophetic voice of the Old Testament; Jesus is the pivot point on which the Old Covenant turns to the New Covenant; and the apostles inaugurate the age of which we are a part. Matthew’s message to his audience, which now includes us, is very specific: (1) Jesus wants all believers, including us, to proclaim this same gospel message to those to whom He sends them/us or brings their/our way.

We should take heart in the fact that Jesus does not tell the apostles to carry this message to the Samaritans or Gentiles.  At this particular point in salvation history, Jesus is presenting Himself as the Messiah predicted in the Scriptures given to the Jewish nation. The apostles, Jews themselves, would not be free of their nationalistic prejudices until after the events of Acts 8 and 10, the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and the ministry of Paul. Life has proven it also takes us a significant amount of time to change our way of looking at the world. We realize Jesus will bring the events and people into our lives to help shape the way we see the world, but at least until then, we are at least responsible for sharing the gospel message with those already in our lives, with those we already know and care about.  It will also become true that, as God works in our lives, the group of people with whom we will be called to share His Word will increase.

Jesus wants us to know that, as we share His good news with anyone, we will face opposition.  Jesus told the apostles, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (10:14); “Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the councils and flog you in their synagogues” (10:17); and “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.  All men will hate you because of me” (10:21-22).  We must understand that these are not universals; not all of them will happen to everyone who witnesses in Jesus’ name every time they witness.  But the principle, however, does apply to us: “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  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!” (10:24-26). We need to understand (2) Jesus wants all believers, including us, to proclaim this same gospel message despite the opposition we will face. He does, however,  want us to be smart about what we do and with whom and when. We are commanded to be “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (10:16). This is difficult at first and we will make mistakes, but this saying means we are to be both prudent and innocent in our mission to unbelievers.  We are not to be so suspicious of people that we become vague and elusive, never meeting people or sharing our good news with anyone while at the same time we are not be so cunning that every meeting with someone becomes a strategy session on how to best fit Jesus’ life or message into the conversation. When people are receptive to the gospel message, we must share it with them.  When they are not open to gospel, there is a time to move on (see 10:14 “shake the dust off your feet” & 23 “flee to another [place]”).

Another way of saying the same thing is to say we are not to let our natural or conditioned fears keep us from sharing the good news: “Do not be afraid of them” (10:26). (3) Jesus wants all believers, including us, to proclaim this same gospel message despite our fears. Jesus specifically addresses three fears which could keep us from witnessing and tells us why we should not give into these fears. First, Jesus says, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known” (10:26).  Eventually everyone will know the truth.  It is wiser to declare it now, fully and boldly, so that people will have a chance to respond to it rather than to keep it a secret and see people meet an inglorious end. Since it is the “good news of the kingdom,” we should feel good about giving people a chance to respond. Second, if we are going to be afraid of someone, Jesus says make sure you pick the right person to fear: “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” (10:28). God may be out of our sight, but faithfully, He should never be out of our minds or our decision making processes.  People can take our lives for our faith.  That is a legitimate possibility.  However, what happens here pales in comparison to what can happen to us in eternity.  Third, Jesus reminds us of how much God loves us and how valuable we are to Him.  He wants a personal relationship with us so much that Jesus says, “even the very hairs of your head are numbered” (10:30). If God cares enough about sparrow, an insignificant bird that might be all the food the poorest of people could afford to eat, that “not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father” we should take heart because we “are worth more than many sparrows.”  If Jesus is the truth, He cannot lie.  When He says God loves us and will sovereignly protect us, we should believe Him and act accordingly. If we are faithful, the results are up to God.

 Finally, (4) Jesus wants all believers, including us, to welcome being a part of something greater than we are individually.  Jesus bluntly says,” Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (10:32-33). Jesus offers us a chance to be a part a kingdom composed of all of the great men and women of faith who have gone before us: prophets, righteous men, and even the “little ones.” Each of us shares in the same reward, that of receiving Jesus and “the one who sent me” (10:40). There can be other rewards based on what we do on earth, but Jesus promises His presence for our faithfulness in receiving Him.  Put another way, Jesus says: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (10:39). Jesus allows us to control our own destiny, but He wants us to choose the destiny He has prepared for us. This destiny includes being a part of the kingdom of heaven that has now drawn near. This destiny involves inviting others to share in this destiny with us, overcoming our fears through the relationship we have with Him, and eventually becoming a part of something much greater than we can imagine. The choice is ours to make.