Discipleship

DISCIPLESHIP

Jesus commands his 12 disciples for service

Matthew chapter 10

 

The angels announced peace and goodwill to men at the birth of Christ. Imagine the shock when Jesus told his disciples that he brought a sword to divide. The purpose and only purpose of the gospel of Christ is not to divide, but the effect of the gospel message of Jesus in a family or society will divide the culture of the family and society because God is calling His children to be holy and set apart. 

We now have peace with God, our Creator, for ever. 

Ultimately, the Messiah will bring peace to the world because He is the King of Peace and He will reign over us in an earthly kingdom for a thousand years. 

Jesus' missionary discourse is the center of Christ’s ministry. He calls his 12 disciples and sends them to proclaim the coming of his kingdom.

He first showed His disciples who He is, He revealed Himself as the King of the Jews, prophesied by the prophets; Jesus authenticated His authority as Messiah by doing miracles that only He, the Messiah, could do: change water into wine, cure lepers, deliver a deaf and dumb evil-possessed man, raise the daughter of Jairus from the dead, etc. The disciples believed in Him and followed Him.

Jesus explained to them the characteristics of citizenship of his kingdom (sermon on the mount, Matt. 5-7).

Now Jesus officially calls them and gives them the mandate of his mission:

•        He shows them his heart of compassion for his Jewish brothers who are lost:

Matt. 9:36 When he saw the crowd, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were languid and depressed, like sheep without a shepherd.

•        Prophet Ezekiel prophesied against false shepherds and God compared Israel to his wife and promised to send the Good Shepherd; His Son who is a Davidic prophecy that is fulfilled in his Son, Jesus.

Eze. 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel! Prophesy, and tell them to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord, the Lord: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who were feeding themselves! Were the shepherds not to feed the flock?

Eze. 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, my servant David; he will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.

Eze. 34:30 And they shall know that I, the Lord, their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, saith the Lord the Lord.

Eze. 34:31 You, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men; I am your God, saith the Lord the Lord.

Jesus presented himself to these men as a king who commands his subjects. He who has all authority will now delegate part of his authority to this small group of disciples.

 

The Hebrew Meaning of the number 12 in the Bible

The number 12 is foundational in the economy of God in the Scripture. The word "twelve", recorded 189 times in King James Version, and is found mostly in 1 Chronicles (26 times) followed by Revelation (22). The word "twelfth" is found 23 times more. The number 12 symbolizes the power and authority of God, while serving as the perfect government. It can also symbolize the entirety or nation of Israel as a whole.

Jacob (Israel) had 12 sons, each representing a tribe. These sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph, and Benjamin. Ishmael, who was also born to Abraham through Hagar, also produced twelve tribes or princes.

God specified that twelve unleavened bread cakes be placed each week in the temple which symbolizes His presence. The priests were ordered to change the bread every Sabbath day (Leviticus 24).

Christ has called twelve men to bear witness to what He has done and to spread the good news of the gospel throughout the world. After being raised from the dead, Jesus told the eleven disciples (Judas had committed suicide) that God had given him ALL power and authority on earth and in heaven (God’s divine authority):

Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came to them and said, All power has been given me in heaven and on earth.

On the other hand, twelve thousand of each tribe of Israel (144,000 in total) will receive salvation during the Great Tribulation of the end times (Revelation 7). A set of 144,000 (12 x 12,000), perhaps the same as those in chapter 7, will be taken from the earth to serve and follow the Lamb of God (Revelation 14:1 - 5). The bride of Christ in Revelation 12, the church, wears a crown containing twelve stars. The New Jerusalem, which is made in heaven and brought to the earth by God himself, contains 12 doors made of pearls that are each inhabited by an angel. On each door will be one of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the foundation stones bear the names of the twelve apostles. The walls measure 144 cubits high (12 multiplied by himself - Revelation 21:9 - 17), the city itself being 12,000 square stadiums.

Twelve disciples were specially chosen as anointed for a single task and responsibility.

 

Jesus chose 12 men

As soon as Jesus mentioned this number, every Jew must have understood that Jesus speaks of a messianic program:

Matt. 10:1 Then, having called his twelve disciples, he gave them the power to cast out unclean spirits, and to heal all sickness and infirmity.

Matt. 10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles. The first, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

Matt. 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew, the publican; James, son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus;

Matt. 10:4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas the Iscariot, who delivered Jesus.

Luke 6:13 When the day came, he called his disciples, and chose twelve to whom he gave the name of apostles:

•        The first time the word "apostle" is mentioned in the Bible is in Luke’s account when Jesus sent the twelve for the mission. Which is repeated by Matthew. Jesus gave his disciples the title of "apostles".

•        The Greek name "apostolos" comes from the verb "apostello" which means "to send".

•        These men became the chief agents of Jesus in fulfilling his mission, although Judas Iscariot, of course, turned out to be a hypocritical disciple. Probably Mathieu described the twelve in pairs because they are sent in pairs.

•        The mission of the disciples in Israel is described as follows:

1.  They will be sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (10:5b-15)

2.  The Response to Persecution (10:16-23)

3.  The Fearless Witness (10:34-42)

 

The scope of the mission

•        Jesus sent the 12 to the 240 towns and villages in Galilee.

Matt. 10:5 These are the twelve whom Jesus sent after giving them the following instructions: Do not go to the heathen, and do not enter the cities of the Samaritans;

Matt. 10:6 Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matt. 10:7 Go and preach, and say, The kingdom of heaven is near.

Matt. 10:8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You have received for free, give for free.

•        The apostles were to proclaim the same message as John (Matt 3:2 – preparing the way of the Lord) and Jesus (Matt 4:17, 23 – Repent for the kingdom is near).

•        They were to be itinerant preachers, as these men had been; the Kingdom of Heaven was near, that is, imminent. 

•        The powers the apostles had would impress their Jewish hearers with God’s authentication of their message. That was the purpose of the signs in the Old and New Testament.

•        They had to offer their services for free because the good news they announced was free.

 

The scope of their mission

Matt. 10:9 Take neither gold, nor silver, nor change in your belts;

Matt. 10:10 neither bag for the journey, nor two tunics, nor shoes, nor a stick; for the worker deserves his food.

Matt. 10:11 In whatever town or village you enter, inquire whether there is any man worthy of receiving you; and stay at his house until you go.

Matt. 10:12 As you enter the house, greet it.

Matt. 10:13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

Matt. 10:14 When you are not received and heard, go out of this house or town, and shake the dust off your feet.

Matt. 10:15 I tell you the truth: on the day of judgment the land of Sodom and Gomorrah will be treated less rigorously than that city.

•        They were not to take money with them to support them while they served. The phrase “do not take or” (Gr. ktesesthe) may mean “take away” or “receive”. Probably Jesus did not want them to accumulate money while they were serving or take enough money to support them. Nor were they to take an extra tunic. In other words, they had to travel light and remain free from their material possessions.

•        As a general principle, those who care for spiritual things have the right to expect a physical payment in return (Deut. 35:4; 1 Cor. 9:4-18 – the worker deserves his wages). This is the principle that Jesus wanted to teach his disciples. Philosophers and itinerant teachers generally expect to receive a pension, a room, and fees from their auditors.

•        They had to stay with worthy hosts, not necessarily in the most convenient or luxurious accommodations. A worthy person would be one who welcomes a representative of Jesus and the message of the kingdom. He or she would be the opposite of the dogs and pigs that Jesus told His disciples earlier to avoid (7:6 – do not give holy things to dogs and pigs). At that time, there were probably people in most of the Galilean villages who had been in the crowd and observed Jesus. His sympathizers would have been the most willing hosts for his disciples.

•        The formal greeting that the disciples were to give was the normal greeting of the day: «Shalom» (peace). If his host proved unworthy and did not welcome the disciple, he had to leave this house and move elsewhere. By withdrawing personally, the disciple would draw a blessing from this house, his presence, as a representative of Jesus.

•        It was customary that when a pious Jew left the territory of the pagans, he shook his feet and clothes to remove the dust from the pagan earth, thus dissociating himself from the pollution of these lands and the judgment that awaited them. Jesus told his disciples to do the same to Jewish houses and cities; thus, it would be a symbolic way of saying that the apostles of the Messiah now considered these places pagan, polluted and susceptible to judgment; this was practiced by the apostles of the first century:

Acts 13:51 Paul and Barnabas shook against them the dust of their feet and went to Iconium.

 

The dangers of their mission

Jesus then explained the dangers the apostles would face and gave them advice on how to handle these situations.

•        Jesus looks beyond his death to the time of the great tribulation that will follow. At that time, His disciples would have the same message and power as they had when He sent them. The narrow path to the earthly kingdom must go through a period of tribulation and persecution for the disciples. They did not understand that Jesus should die and experience the resurrection before the earthly kingdom begins, even though this is what the Old Testament revealed.

•        Jesus began to prepare his apostles, and all those who would follow their example, for the persecutions they would experience as His disciples.

•        If Israel had accepted his Messiah, Jesus would still have had to die, rise from the grave, and ascend to heaven. Seven years of tribulation would have followed. Then Jesus would have returned to the earth and established His earthly kingdom. As it happened, Israel rejected Jesus, so the period of the Tribulation, His return, and the earthly kingdom are still in the future.

 

Nevertheless, the King, Jesus Christ, performed his ministry according to the Messianic calendar of the Old Testament.

1.      According to the Hebrew Scriptures, the Messiah, after His appearance, was to suffer, die and be resurrected (Daniel 9:26; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53:1-11; Psalm 16:10).

2.      After the death and resurrection of Christ, there must have been a time of trouble (Daniel 9:26-27; Jeremiah 30:4-6).

3.      The Messiah was then to return to earth to end this tribulation and judge the world (Daniel 7:9-13, 16-26; 9:27; 12:1; Isaiah 53:11-12; Zechariah 14:6-11, 20-21).

4.      Part of the tribulation that Jesus prepared his disciples for took place when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews around the world in 70 AD. Yet the destruction of Jerusalem then was not the full extent of the tribulation that the prophets foretold for Israel. This becomes clear when comparing the prophesied tribulation for the Jews with the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem.

 

Jesus Warnings of Persecution to come

Matt. 10:16 Behold, I send you like sheep among wolves. So be careful as serpents, and simple as doves.

Matt. 10:17 Beware of men; for they will deliver you to the courts and beat you with rods in their synagogues.

Matt. 10:18 For my sake you will be led before rulers and kings, to bear witness to them and to the heathen.

•        Jesus envisioned his defenceless followers in a dangerous environment.

•        The Shepherd sent His "sheep" into a pack of wolves. So, they needed to be as suspicious as snakes, which was a proverbial way of saying prudent (wise, reasonable). People sometimes think snakes are cunning because they are quiet, dangerous and because of the way they move. The mistrust of the disciples must not be cunning (sinister or dishonest), for they must also be innocent as doves. One characteristic without the other is dangerous. Innocence without caution becomes naive.

•        The disciples must be both: smart and on guard and also innocent. Doves are peaceful birds that retreat; they leave when other birds challenge or oppose rather than fight. This is how the disciples were to behave. They had to be wise in avoiding conflicts and attacks as much as possible, and when they arrived, they would have to retreat to other homes and cities.

Matt. 10:19 But when they turn you in, do not worry about how you will speak or what you will say: what you will have to say will be given to you at the same time;

Matt. 10:20 for it is not you who will speak, it is the Spirit of your Father who will speak within you.

•        Jesus encourages the disciples not to be anxious because the same Spirit who guided and empowered Jesus will speak through His disciples in the midst of their most difficult challenges.

 

Matt. 10:21 The brother shall deliver his brother to death, and the father his child; the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to die.

Matt. 10:22 Ye shall be hated by all because of my name; but he that endures unto the end shall be saved.

Matt. 10:23 When you are persecuted in one city, flee to another. I tell you in truth, you will not have finished walking through the cities of Israel that the Son of man will have come.

The Son of Man is Jesus, as depicted by Daniel in his prophetic narratives.

The disciples would find themselves opposed by everyone without distinction, including members of their own families, not just leaders. Despite such widespread and malicious persecution, the disciple must endure patiently to the end. The end refers to the end of this period of intense persecution, including the Tribulation.

 

Matt. 24:13 But he who endures to the end (Tribulation) will be saved.

The Second Coming of Jesus will bring an end to the Tribulation (v.23) at the end of time and helps us to understand that the mission of Israel must continue in parallel with the mission to the nations until the return of Jesus.

The destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D. is described as an image of the final judgment that will come upon all those who reject Christ as their Savior, when Christ will come in power and great glory at the end of the age.

The promise of salvation for the faithful does not refer to eternal salvation, for it depends only on faith in Jesus. It is deliverance from intense persecution that is in sight. Entry into the millennial earthly kingdom would constitute salvation for future disciples persecuted in the Tribulation.

During the Tribulation period yet to come, the 144,000 Jewish disciples of Jesus living in the Promised Land - and elsewhere in the world - will prepare people for Jesus' return to establish his earthly kingdom (Rev. 7:1-8; 14:1-5). The saints of the Tribulation who remain faithful and resist persecution will be saved from persecution by the return of Jesus to the earth.

Jesus promised that He would return for His disciples before they had finished preaching the messianic kingdom in all the cities of Israel. If Israel had accepted Jesus as its Messiah, this would have happened at the end of the seven years of persecution that would have followed the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Since Israel rejected its Messiah, this will happen at the end of the Tribulation, which is still future to our perspective in history (Dan. 7:13). Obviously, this did not happen after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

 

Daniel 7:13 I looked in my night visions, and behold, on the clouds of the heavens came a man like a son of man; he advanced to the old of days and was brought near unto him.

Daniel 7:14 He was given dominion, glory, and rule; and all the nations, and men of all tongues served him. His dominion is an eternal dominion that will not pass, and his reign will never be destroyed.

What was announced here was more fully demonstrated in the life of the apostles after the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) in the spread of the gospel in the church. But these words will find their fullest manifestation in the days of the Tribulation when the Gospel will be carried throughout the world before Jesus Christ returns in power and glory to establish his kingdom on earth:

Matt. 24:14 This good news of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world, to bear witness to all nations. Then will come the end.

 

Matt. 10:24 The disciple is no more than the master, nor the servant more than his lord.

Matt. 10:25 It is enough for the disciple to be treated as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call the people of his house!

Persecution should not surprise His followers. They had seen the scribes, and the Pharisees oppose Jesus and they had to expect the same treatment.

Beelzebub is Satan, the head of the house of demons. The word probably came from the Hebrew "baal zebul", meaning "Prince Baal". Baal was the chief Canaanite deity, and the Jews regarded him as the personification of all that was evil and satanic. Zebul means to sacrifice to idols, and «baal zebul» therefore means the leader of idolaters who makes sacrifices - the worst of demons, who presided, and incited idolatry. The Lord of the Temple was for them the leader of the idolatrous cult.

The house in sight is Israel. Jesus as the Messiah is the head of this house. However, his critics accused him of being the agent of Satan, therefore, the disciples could expect similar calumnies from their enemies.

Matt. 9:34 But the Pharisees said, By the prince of demons he cast out demons.

If these Pharisees have called Jesus so; then we are not excluded from these acute and unhealthy persecutions.

 

Characteristics for missionary disciples.

These characteristics must guide all disciples in the fulfilment of Jesus' mission in the world. Even if the disciples of Jesus would encounter hostile opposition, they should fear God more than their antagonists.

Matt. 10:26 Fear not them, then; for there is nothing hidden that is not to be discovered, nor any secret that is not to be known.

Matt. 10:27 What I say to you in the darkness, say it in broad daylight; and what is said in your ear, preach it from the rooftops.

Matt. 10:28 Fear not those who kill the body and cannot kill the soul; fear rather those who can kill the soul and body in Gehenna.

•        Good news also helps to overcome fear. The disciple must remember that the worst that a human adversary can do is not comparable to the worst that God can do.

•        Jesus did not imply that true believers could go to hell if they did not remain faithful to God.

•        His point was that God has power over the disciple after his death while human adversaries can do nothing beyond killing the disciple’s body.

•        The believer must remember that one day he or she will stand before God to account for his or her service.

•        Destroying here does not mean destroying, but ruining. Note that the body can die, but the soul cannot.

 

Matt. 10:29 Don’t you sell two sparrows for a penny? But there’s not one that falls to the ground without your Father’s will.

Matt. 10:30 And even your head hair is all counted.

Matt. 10:31 So fear not; you are worth more than many sparrows.

•        The same God who will not allow a sparrow to fall to the ground will certainly take care of his faithful servants. The Jews were very familiar with the sparrow illustration because the poor in Israel ate a lot of sparrows and they cost only one-sixtieth of the daily wage of a labourer (Gr. assarion, a small silver coin).

•        Our Heavenly Father loves us more than our mother can love us. Our mother cannot count our hair, but God knows how many.

•        Often people think that God only cares about the great things in life and does not care about the details. Jesus corrected this false notion. God’s concern for details should give us confidence that He controls the great affairs of life.

•        The main purpose of stories in the Bible is to teach that the Lord watches over the ways of the saints with such diligence that they do not even stumble upon a stone:

Psalm 91:12 They will carry you on their hands, lest your foot strike against a stone.

•        If we consider that God is like a superhuman being is running the risk of thinking of Him simply as the commander-in-chief who cannot spare the time to deal with the details of the lives of his subordinates. But we must understand that we have a God who is beyond the human personality and so far from the human context in which we alone are able to appreciate these «values» and yet our God can hold, so to speak, both big and small in His mind at the same time. He is our God, He is the true and satisfying conception of God revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Matt. 10:32 Therefore, whoever confesses to me before men, I will also confess to my Father in heaven;

Matt. 10:33 But whoever denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven.

•        Jesus' followers must publicly acknowledge this. The basic requirements of being a disciple of Christ cannot be fulfilled in private:

Matt. 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its flavour, with what will it be returned? It serves only to be thrown out and trampled on by men.

Matt. 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city on a mountain cannot be hidden.

Matt. 5:15 And you do not light a lamp to put it under the bushel, but put it on the candlestick, and it illuminates all who are in the house.

Matt. 5:16 Let your light thus shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.

•        Again, the terms believer and disciple are not synonymous.

•        In this context, confessing Jesus means faithfully recognizing Him despite the pressure to do otherwise. Jesus will recognize the faithful disciples as such before his Father. He will not give this reward to unfaithful disciples who yield to the pressure to deny Him. Clearly, Jesus believed that it is possible for believers to be unfaithful; it is possible to deny Jesus with our words, silence, or actions.

•        Notice that the blessing of the praise of Jesus will go to any disciple who publicly confesses Him. Jesus will probably look at the whole course of the disciple’s life when He makes this statement. An act of infidelity does not disqualify a disciple from the recommendation of Jesus (e.g. the denial of Simon Peter in the court of the high priest).

 

What an amazing prospect to hear Jesus call my name and confess to me as his before his Father, before the armies of angels and men! It will be an extraordinary scene and the persecution by men cannot make me forget this perspective? Yes?

•        Again, Jesus taught that believers will never lose their salvation. This is a consistent revelation from the rest of the New Testament teaching.

John 10:28 I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall take them from my hand.

John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one can take them from my Father’s hand.

Rom. 8: 33 Who will accuse the elect of God? God justifies!

Rom. 8: 34 Who will condemn them? Christ is dead; moreover, he is risen, he is at the right hand of God, and he intercedes for us!

Rom. 8: 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Rom. 8:36 as it is written: It is because of you that we are put to death all day, that we are looked upon as sheep destined for slaughter.

Rom. 8: 37 But in all these things we are more than conquerors by the one who loved us.

Rom. 8: 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither present nor future,

Rom. 8: 39 neither power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God manifested in Jesus Christ our Lord.

•         In the mission discourse, Jesus was talking about rewards, not salvation.

 

Matt. 10:34 Do not believe that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but the sword.

Matt. 10:35 For I have come to divide between man and his father, between daughter and mother, between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.

Matt. 10:36 and the man will have as enemies the people of his house.

Matt. 10:37 He who loves his father or mother more than I is not worthy of me, and he who loves his son or daughter more than I is not worthy of me;

Matt. 10:38 He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Matt. 10:39 Whoever keeps his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

•        Jesus meant that his immediate purpose would generate conflict, even if the Messiah would ultimately bring peace (Isaiah 11). People would divide on whether Jesus was the Messiah or not.

•        The main purpose of the first coming of the Messiah was not to create conflict but to certify His Christological. These conditions will prevail before the second coming of Jesus.

•        Jesus taught that people should love each other, but they should love him more. This is a remarkable statement that shows the great importance that Jesus gave to the supreme allegiance of his disciples to himself. In Judaism, no human relationship was more important than that with the family.

 

•        Taking your cross does not mean tolerating an unpleasant situation in your life for the sake of Jesus. This means dying to oneself, that is, putting Jesus first. In this sense, each disciple carries the same cross. Jesus' reference to the crucifixion, his first mention in Matthew, would have helped his disciples realize that their call would involve pain and shame.

•        Those who find or preserve their lives now will lose them later. Conversely, the disciple who loses his life by martyrdom or by renunciation of himself now, will find it or keep it in the next stage of his existence. This is true in a double sense: the person who lives for the present loses the real purpose of life. And he or she also loses the reward for the faithful life.

•        The Christian may have to sacrifice his personal ambitions, the ease and comfort he could have enjoyed, the career he could have achieved; he may have to set aside his dreams, to realize that the brilliant things he has seen are not for him. He will certainly have to sacrifice his will, for no Christian can ever do what he wants again; he must do what Christ wants.

•        There is an absolutism in the call to follow Jesus and the Kingdom that may seem unattractive, if not unbearable. But it’s only half the story because the rewards are beyond calculation.

•        The whole section of Jesus' discourse (v 26-39) contrasts the present with the future.

•        For the 12 apostles, their current ministry, their self-denial, and the resulting persecution involved publicly identifying themselves as followers of Jesus. Their ministry was to call on the Jews to repent because the messianic kingdom was near and the king had arrived.

•        In both groups, first-century disciples, and modern disciples, those who are faithful to their calling will receive God’s praise when they stand before Him. The Old Testament saints will stand before God when He judges Israel at the second coming of Jesus (Dan. 12:1-2). Modern Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). Those who are unfaithful will not receive some of the praise, joy, and reward that would have been theirs had they remained faithful.

Dan. 12:1 At that time Michael the great chief, the defender of the children of your people, will rise up; and it will be a time of distress, such as there has not been a time like it since the nations existed until that time. At that time, those of your people who will be found inscribed in the book will be saved.

Dan. 12:2 Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some for eternal life, and others for reproach, for eternal shame.

Rom. 14:10 But why do you judge your brother? or why do you despise your brother? since we will all appear before the tribunal of God.

1 Cor. 3:10 According to the grace of God given to me, I laid the foundation as a wise architect, and another builds upon it. But let everyone beware of how they build on it.

1 Cor. 3:11 For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, namely Jesus Christ.

1 Cor. 3:12 Now, if one builds upon this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and thatch, the work of each shall be manifested;

1 Cor. 3:13 for the day will make it known, because it will be revealed in the fire, and the fire will experience what is the work of each one.

1 Cor. 3:14 If the work built by one on the foundation remains, he will receive a reward.

1 Cor. 3:15 If one’s work is consumed, he will lose his reward; for him he will be saved, but as through fire.

2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the court of Christ, that each may receive according to the good or evil he has done, being in his body.

 

The reward for hospitality to the Disciples

Matt. 10:40 He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.

Matt. 10:41 He that receives a prophet as a prophet shall receive a reward as a prophet, and he that receives a righteous as a righteous shall receive a reward as a righteous.

Matt. 10:42 And whosoever shall give only a glass of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is my disciple, I tell you in truth, he shall not lose his reward.

•        These verses bring Jesus' teaching to a positive and encouraging conclusion. Jesus had given them severe warnings. Now, He gives them great encouragement.

•        By receiving His disciples, those to whom the disciples would go would show that they welcome Jesus because when they receive the disciples, they have received Jesus, they also receive God. A prophet is one who speaks for another and the disciples served as prophets when they proclaimed the message of Jesus. Jesus himself was a prophet because He spoke of God. Those who receive the disciple would receive the reward of a prophet of God. No matter how perceptive the host was about Jesus' identity, his warm welcome from Jesus' disciple would earn him a reward.

•        We must bear in mind that the theme of this last section of Matthew 10 is discipleship and not salvation. We become children of God by faith in Christ; we are disciples as we faithfully follow Him and obey His will. Filiation does not change, but discipleship changes when we walk with Christ. Today there is a great need for faithful disciples, believers who will learn from Christ and live for Him.

 

Application of Jesus' Discourse on Mission

The crucifixion is a shocking metaphor for the disciple. A disciple must deny himself, die at his own will, “take up his cross” means accepting and adopting the will of God, whatever the cost, and following Christ.

The mission speech in Matthew 10 is an instruction for the followers of Jesus for their ministry to call people to prepare for the messianic kingdom. Jesus gave the twelve apostles clear directions as to where they were to go and to whom they were to serve. However, he expanded His instruction, in view of the growing opposition and anticipated rejection, by giving counsel to the disciples who would succeed the Twelve. Their ministry was essentially the same as that of the apostles, but not limited to the cities of Galilee.

The scope of this discourse is the whole of the inter-advent age, the time between the two coming of Christ on earth, including the time of his earthly ministry, the age of the Church and the period of the Tribulation. Both discourses (Beatitudes and Mission) prepare Jesus' disciples during this period for service before his kingdom on earth begins.

Jesus did not reveal that Israel’s rejection of Him would result in a long gap between His first and second coming. This gap has nothing to do with education and its meaning. Today’s Christian disciples must do essentially what the twelve were to do, but to a different audience and region.

Matt. 28:19 Go, make all the nations disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Matt. 28:20 and teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you every day until the end of the world.

Jesus explained these changes after His firm rejection by the Jews, after His resurrection.

While some of what Jesus told the Twelve to do applied only to them, many of the things He told them in both discourses also apply to modern disciples. These lessons include: preaching the gospel, helping people, living a simple life, moving forward if you are rejected, remaining faithful to God, and remembering your reward.

These words, "Do not worry" and "Fear not," are the soul and marrow of all that has been said as a prelude to the first missionary undertaking, and we may add, to what may follow. For here Jesus speaks to all ages and times, telling the Church in what spirit all her missionary endeavours are to be undertaken and pursued, so that they may have His blessing.

 

13 January 2024

Abigail Melanie Mooneegan