The Disciple & His Lord

The Sending of the Messiah’s First Missionaries

6 April 2008

TEXT: Matthew 9:36-38; 10:24-42

AIM: To show the relationship, the loyalty and the sacrifice of a disciple.

INTRODUCTION:

READ >> Matthew 9:36-38; Matt. 10:1 – “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2] Now the names of the twelve apostles…”

Matt. 10:5 – “These twelve Jesus sent forth…”

Matt. 10:16 – “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves…”

Matthew 10:24-33 Note the apostles are one again referred to as “disciples.”

The work of salvation could ONLY be accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ, AND He did it alone. BUT the witness of this salvation could ONLY be accomplished by His people, those who have trusted Him and been saved. King Jesus needed ambassadors of the message—and He still needs them. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isa. 6:8) It is not enough that we pray for labourers as in Mt. 9:36-38). We MUST also make ourselves available to serve Him.

As you read or study this chapter you will note that there is a change in the instructions at vs. 16 & 24. If you apply this entire chapter to the 12 apostles, you will have confusion for in vs. 15-23 Jesus leaps over centuries and deals with the message of the Kingdom during the Tribulation.

Before Jesus sent His ambassadors out to minister, He preached an “ordination sermon” to encourage and prepare them. In this sermon, the King had something to say to all of His servants—past, present, and future. Unless we recognize this fact, the message of this chapter will seem hopelessly confused.

This chapter gives instructions to the apostles of the past (1-15)—the apostles of the future Tribulation period (16-23)—the disciples and servants of today (24-42).

I. Instructions for Past Apostles (10:1-15)

Christ had asked the apostles to pray bout the harvest in 9:36-38; now He send them into the harvest to serve. It is a serious thing pray for the lost, because God will want to use you to help answer those prayers.

A. God uses four names in addressing His labourers in this chapter.

1. The first name Jesus mentioned in Vs. 1 “disciple.” Also found in 24, 25, 42.

a. A “disciple” is a learner, one who follows a teacher and learns his wisdom.

b. It should be obvious that a person is a disciple only as long as he is loyal to the teacher and faithful to his teachings.

1) Being a disciple was not the same as bring saved, but you no one was saved who wasn’t a disciple

2) Jesus had many disciples, some of whom were merely “hangers-on,“ and some who were truly converted.

3) John 6:66 informs us that after understanding some of the hard teachings of Jesus “many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.”

c. Can we truly call ourselves disciples—”learners”?

1) Do we take the time to learn from our Lord?

2) Do we follow after Him obeying His teachings, no matter how difficult?

2. Along with disciple we find a comparison being made with the “servant” in Vs. 24, 25

a. A servant is not only one who serves, but one who serves menially, under orders.

b. The word means, in the old use of the term, a slave, a bond-slave.

c. Have you not heard Jesus say, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me”? (Mt. 11:29). He never thought being God a thing to be grasped at, for He was God. Yet He learned obedience to the Father’s will.

1) He gladly humbled Himself and took upon Himself the form of a servant, even the form of man.

2) If He, our Lord one with the Father, could truly say, “I am meek and lowly in heart,” (Mt. 11:29) should we not also be meek and lowly?

d. Should any of us hesitate to bear this name concerning our Lord Jesus Christ? If the Lord could say, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:7) should we not gladly say the same?

3. In Vs. 10 the 12 apostles are described as “workman.”

a. We read in 2Tim 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”
A good workman knows his tools, and the chief tool with which we serve is THE Book—God’s Word.

b. A workman should shun every tool not approve—profane and vain babblings, worldly philosophies, and traditional teachings of men should not be found in our too kit. It is these kinds of words that eat away our spiritual lives as a canker.

4. Formulating his disciples, Jesus handpicked a small group of 12 men; these He called “apostles.” — His first missionaries.

a. This word comes from the Greek word apostello, which means, “to send forth with a commission.”

b. The word apostello — “sent ones” was used by the Greeks for the personal representatives of the king, ambassadors who functioned with the king’s authority. To make light of the king’s envoys was to be in danger of insubordination.

c. Their commission was clear: preach the Kingdom of heaven was at hand and go only to the Jew – Vs. 5-7.

B. No one bears so great a title as “apostle” today that was accorded the Twelve.

1. A man had to meet certain qualifications to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.

a. He must have seen the risen Christ (1 Cor. 9:1) and fellowshipped with Him from His baptism to His resurrection (Acts 1:21-22).

b. He had to be chosen by the Lord (Eph. 4:11).

c. The apostles laid the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20) and then passed from the scene.

d. While all believers are sent forth to represent the King (John 20:21; 17:18), no believer today can honestly claim to be an apostle for none of us has seen the risen Christ (1 Peter 1:8).

2. These apostles were given special power and authority from Christ to perform miracles—“signs and wonders and mighty deeds” (2 Cor. 12:12). God always equips those whom He calls into His service.

a. These miracles were the “signs of an apostle” —a part of their “official credentials” (Acts 2:43; 5:12; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:1-4).

b. They healed the sick of all kinds of diseases, cleansed the lepers, cast out demons, and even raised the dead.

c. These 4 ministries paralleled the miracles that Jesus performed in Matt. 8 & 9. In a definite way, the apostles represented the King and extended His work.

3. Christ’s commission to these 12 men is NOT our commission today.

a. Jesus sent them only to the people of Israel. “To the Jew first” (Rom 1:16; 2:10) is the historic pattern, for “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).

b. These 12 ambassadors announced the coming of the kingdom just as John the Baptist had done (Matt. 3:2) and Jesus Himself (Matt. 4:17).

c. Sad to say, the nation rejected both Christ and His ambassadors, and the kingdom was taken from them (Matt. 21:43).

4. The apostles depended on the hospitality of others as they ministered from town to town. Mark 6:7 tells us that Jesus had sent the men out in pairs, which explains why their names are listed in pairs in verses 2-4.

C. The commission of the 12 apostles in this chapter is NOT for the church, missionaries or for us today.

1. While we may learn from the spiritual principles found in this portion of Scripture, we should not apply these instructions to our lives.

a. We do not have these miraculous powers since they were given only during that period when God was offering the Kingdom to the nation to Israel.

b. Today’s missionaries are NOT to follow the instruction of 10:9-10. Paul appreciated the support of the churches, as do missionaries do today.

2. Though no one bears the credentials of the 12 apostles today, nonetheless we hold a special commission of God, and are ordained as His messengers, whether we bear the name “apostle” or not.

3. The Lord’s commission to us is to announce the Gospel of grace to “all the world” (Matt. 28:19-20), not just the nation of Israel.

4. We preach the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). Our message is “Christ died for our sins” and not “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

5. The King has come; He has already suffered, died, and risen from the dead.
Now He offers His salvation to all who will believe.

II. Instructions for Future Disciples (10:16-23)

A. It is not unusual for the Bible to “leap” from one period to another without warning. The “atmosphere” of this section is different from that found in the previous portion of Scripture.

1. Here Jesus looks down through history and sees the Jews who will be His witnesses during the Tribulation period.

a. Here the Lord spoke of persecution, but we have no record that the 12 apostles suffered during their tour.

b. Vs. 5 forbids going to the Gentiles, while in Vs. 18 Jesus also spoke of a ministry to the Gentiles.

c. The Holy Spirit had not been given, yet Jesus talked about the Spirit speaking in them – Vs. 20.

d. Vs. 22 seems to indicate a worldwide persecution, yet the apostles were ministering only in their own land. NOTE: This verse has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SALVATION OF ONE’S SOUL. It is talking about the faithful endurance of the Lord’s ambassadors during the time of persecution in the Tribulation. This will end with the return of the Lord in Vs. 23.

e. The return of the Lord Vs. 23 certainly moves these events into the future.
It is difficult to escape the conclusion that these instructions apply to witnesses at some future time.

B. BUT what time in the future?

1. To some degree, some of these events took place in the Book of Acts; yet Jesus Christ did not return at that time. And remember, the ministry in Acts was not limited to “the cities of Israel” (vs. 23).

2. It seems that the period described in this section closely parallels the time of tribulation that Jesus described in His “Olivet Discourse” in Matt. 24-25.

3. In fact, the statement in Vs. 22 is almost identical to Mark 13:13; Matt. 24:13 making it definitely a part of our Lord’s prophetic discourse.

4. If, then, these instructions apply to that future time of tribulation, we can easily understand why Jesus said so much about hatred and persecution.

C. The tribulation period will be a time of OPPOSITION to God and His people.

1. God’s servants will be like sheep in the midst of wolves. They will need to be “tough-minded but tender-hearted.”

2. This opposition will come from organized religion, government, and even the family – Matt. 10:17-18; 21.

3. While believers in scattered parts of the world are experiencing some of this persecution today, the indication is that this opposition will be worldwide.

4. “Religion” has always persecuted true believers. Even the Apostle Paul, a devout Jew, persecuted the church when he was the unconverted Saul of Tarsus.

a. Church history reveals that “organized religion” that has no Gospel has opposed men and women who have dared to witness boldly for Christ.

b. In the last days, government and religion will work together to control the world.

1) Rev. 13 describes a time during the tribulation period when the world ruler —the Antichrist will force the world to worship him and his image.

2) He will control world religion, economics, and government; and he will use all three to persecute those who stand true to Christ.

5. There will also be a decay of family love and loyalty. 2 Tim. 3:3 reveals that one of the marks of the end times is it will be people “Without natural affection.”

a. Jesus quoted Micah 7:6 to prove this point in Matt. 10:21.

b. The three institutions, which God established in this world, are the home, human government, and the church. In the last days, all three of these institutions will oppose the truth instead of promoting it.

D. But the tribulation period will also be a time of OPPORTUNITY.

1. The believers will be able to witness to governors and kings (v. 18). Their enemies will try to trip them up, but the Spirit of God will teach the witnesses what to say.

2. Believers today must not use Matt. 10:19-20 as an excuse not to study the Word in preparation for witnessing, teaching, or preaching. These verses describe an emergency situation; they are not God’s regular pattern for ministry today.

E. The tribulation will be a time of opposition and opportunity; but it will also be a time of OBLIGATION.

1. The ambassadors of the King must “endure to the end” and faithfully perform their ministry, even if it costs them their lives.

a. In spite of scourging, rejection by their families, persecution from city to city, and trials before leaders, the servants must remain true to their Lord.

b. Their witness will be used by God to win others. Rev. 7:1-8 indicates that 144,000 Jewish witnesses will carry God’s Word throughout the world during the tribulation; and as a result, great multitudes will come to Christ (Rev. 7:9ff).

Missionary Francis Cosgrave with Broken leg in Philippines

Dear pastor Zemeski, on Wednesday 2 April 2008 I was on my Mountain bike on my way home, when I had a head on collision with a motor bike. In the middle of the street I laid on my back in for 45 min. waiting for the ambulance come, knowing my leg was broken.

They X Ray of my body showed I had broken both my Tibia & Fibula – the two bones in the lower leg. On Thursday they operated inserting a metal plate, which was over a foot long reattaching my Tibia bone together again. They said the smaller Fibula bone would rejoin together on its own in time – Amen!

My wife, Nida & I had such a blessing the next night as we went to the Bajau Bible Study. Nida did not want me to go, because I had just came out of hospital that day and was finding it hard on the crunches. But I was determined to go. I said, “Nida we have got to go, this will be a lesson to the Bajau on the importance of being faithful to the church.” Many Bajau do not even bother to walk a few steps to church for some flimsy excuse. Only last Sunday, Pastor Ellmore were on visitation in the village before services to let people know church was about to start. As I declared to them "Simba, Simba" (which means church), they would usually respond “Yes pastor, yes pastor, we are coming to Simba.” But this time many of the unfaithful members would not even acknowledge me, but rather turned their backs on me.

Our going proved to be such a blessing. We had no car, so I hobbled down the lane way of our street, then hopped into a “tricycle” (which is a mother bike with side car) that took us up to the market place and then we changed to a taxi. When we arrived at the Bajau village a crowed started to gather around the taxi as they saw I was lying in the back seat. From there we walked to the Simba area (church) The Bajau were clearly taken back. As we began the service some who normally don't come, came along and with glassy watery eyes kept staring at me. The Lord really used this situation as a lesson of loyalty and faithfulness to the Lord and his blessings to the church—praise the Lord for an answer to prayer.

2. No doubt these words in Matthew 10 will become very precious and meaningful to witnesses during that time.

a. We, today, can learn from these words, even though their primary interpretation and application are for God’s servants at a future time.

b. No matter how difficult our circumstances may be, we can turn opposition into opportunities for witness. We can trust the Spirit of God to help us remember what the Lord has taught us (John 14:26).

c. Instead of fleeing and looking for an easier place, we can “endure to the end,” knowing that God will help us and see us through.

III. Instructions for Present Disciples – 10:24-33.

While the truths in this section would apply to God’s servants during any period of Bible history, they seem to have a special significance for the church today.

The emphasis is, “Fear not!” – Vs. 26, 28, 31. The particular fear Christ discussed is explained in Vs. 32-33—the fear of confessing Christ openly before men. God has no “secret service.” The public confession of faith in Christ is one evidence of true salvation (Rom. 10:9-10). Several reasons show why we MUST NOT be afraid to openly confess Christ.

Let’s examine these reasons that are found in this portion Matthew 10.

A. Suffering is to be expected – 10:24-25.

1. Men persecuted Jesus Christ when He was ministering on earth, so why should we expect anything different? We are His disciples, and the disciple does not “out-rank” the Master.

2. They said that Jesus was in league with Satan (Beelzebub: lord of the dung; lord of the house); so they will say the same thing about His followers. However, we should count it a privilege to suffer for Him and with Him (Acts 5:41; Phil. 3:10).

B. We must not be afraid because God will bring everything to light – 10:26-27.

1. The enemies of Christ use secret and deceptive means to oppose the Gospel.
But true believers are open and courageous in their lives and witness.

2. We have nothing to hide. “In secret have I said nothing,” said Jesus (John 18:20).

a. False witnesses lied about Jesus during His trial, but God saw to it that the truth came out.

b. We have nothing to fear because the Lord will one day reveal the secrets of men’s hearts (Rom. 2:16) and expose them and judge them.

3. Our task is not to please men, but to proclaim God’s message. The present judgment of men does not frighten us, because we are living in the light of the future judgment of God.

C. We must not be afraid because we fear God alone – 10:28.

1. All that men can do is kill the body; and, if they do, the believer’s soul goes home to be with the Lord. But God is able to destroy both body and soul in hell!

2. The believer is promised He “shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Praise God, there is “no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

3. The person who fears God alone need never fear any man or group of men.
The fear of God is the fear that cancels fear.

D. We must not be afraid because God cares for His, own – 10:29-31.

1. It did not cost much to purchase sparrows in the market.

a. If we compare these verses with Luke 12:6, we discover that sparrows were so cheap that if you bought four the dealer threw in an extra one!

b. Yet the Father knows when a sparrow falls to the ground.

c. Since God cares for sparrows in such a marvellous way, will He not also care for His own who are serving Him? He certainly will!

d. To God, we are of greater value than many sparrows. Yes, the song is true, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He cares for me.”

e. The sparrow may be the most insignificant of birds, and the most despised by man; yet God says that not one of these little things falls without His seeing, and knowing, and caring.

2. What, then, about saints? They are most precious unto Him because for them He sold all He had, to purchase them.

a. To our Lord, we are His jewels, His pearls of great price.

b. We are His own workmanship, created in His own image, and recreated in new birth into His likeness. Sure God cares for the sparrow, but are we not of much more value than they?

3. God is concerned about all of the details of our lives.

a. Even the hairs of our head are numbered—not “counted” in a total, but numbered individually!

b. God sees the sparrow fall to the ground, and God sees when a hair falls from the head of one of His loved ones.

c. When He protects His own, He protects them down to the individual hairs (Luke 21:18). There is no need for us to fear when God is exercising such wonderful care over us.

E. We must not be afraid because Christ honours those who confess Him
– 10:32-33.

1. These words are indissolubly linked with our present SUFFERINGS for His sake, and with the Father’s watchful eye. He had been saying something like this:

a. If they called Me Beelzebub, they will so call you.

b. Fear them not, for I know it all, and I am watching from above.

c. I observe you, care for you to the extent that I have numbered the hairs of your head.

d. Now, in the light of His call to us to suffer for His sake, He says, “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, Him will I confess also before My Father which is in Heaven.”

e. In other words, God is saying, “There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid that shall not be known” (vs. 26).

1) He is telling us that He is keeping tab on our service and our faithfulness to Him and His Word.

2) He is watching our confession of His Name.

2. What does all this mean to us?
It means this: if we confess Him, He will confess us.

a. It means if we confess Him before men, He will confess us before the Father; if we confess Him here, on earth, He will confess us there, in Heaven.

b. In other words, it means, “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me” (Rev 22:12).

1) God is not and cannot be unforgetful of our work and labour of love, which we have showed in His Name.

2) If He could be unmindful, He would be unrighteous toward us.

a) There is no way that will happen!

b) He is watching, and watching sympathetically and appreciatively, and He will, with great joy, confess us before the Father and the holy angels.

3. To confess the Lord Jesus means much more than to make a statement with the lips. It also means to back up that statement with the life. It is one thing to say “Jesus Christ is Lord” and quite another thing to surrender to Him and obey His will. The walk and the talk must go together.

4. Denial of Christ on earth will be repaid with denial before the Father in heaven.

a. If one side is true, the other side is necessarily true.

1) The 33^rd verse tells us that God not only knows the witnessing of the faithful, but He knows the denials of the unfaithful, and of those who fear.

2) Talk of sorrow in Heaven? —What could be a greater sorrow than to hear Christ’s denial of us up there in the Glory?

b. It is ONLY those who suffer for Jesus who will reign with Him; those who deny Him, He will deny.

c. To deny Christ in this sense means to refuse to recognise His claims over one’s life.

1) Those whose lives say in effect, “I never knew You” will hear Him say at the last, “I never knew you.”

2) The Lord is not referring to temporary denial of Him under pressure as in Peter’s case before the crucifixion, but to that kind of denial that I habitual and final.

5. When Christ confesses us before the Father, He is securing for us the benefits of His sacrificial work on the cross. When He denies us before the Father, He is unable to share these graces with us. The fault is ours, not His.

IV. What is the guts of A TRUE CONFESSION? – Matt. 10:34-37.

A. We need to realise if we confess Christ we cannot escape conflict – 10:34-39.

1. Some speak as though this was the hour of peace on earth, and of good will among men. Not so—is not the time of the Prince of peace – Vs. 34.

2. Once we have identified with Jesus Christ and confessed Him, we are part of a war. We did not start the war; God declared war on Satan back in Gen. 3:15.

3. On the night our Lord was born, the angels declared “on earth peace” (Luke 2:14). But Jesus seemed to deny this truth in Matt. 10:34.

a. Had Israel accepted Him, He would have given them peace.
But the people refused Him, and the result was “a sword.”

b. There is a peace to those who know and obey the Lord. Jesus said to the disciples, “Peace I give unto you” (Jn. 14:27). There is a peace of men of good will. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God” (Rom. 5:1).

c. Jesus has made peace through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20) so that men can be reconciled to God and to each other.

4. However, generally speaking, this is an age of war and rumours of war.

a. It is an age of conflict between the true and the untrue, between Christ and Belial, between the right and the wrong.

b. Instead of peace among men, Christ brings separation into the homes of the saved.

B. The ONLY way a believer can escape conflict is to deny Christ and compromise his witness—this would be sin. BUT THEN the believer would be at war with God AND with himself.

1. We will be misunderstood and persecuted even by those who are the closest to us; yet we must not allow this to affect our witness.

2. It is important that if we suffer, we suffer for Jesus’ sake, and for righteousness’ sake, and NOT because we ourselves are difficult to live with.

3. There is a difference between the “offence of the cross” (Gal. 5:11) and offensive Christians.

C. This is an age of contrasts and variances, one against another.

1. That variance enters into the very home itself – Vs. 35

2. What is the depth of all this? It suggests that there is an unavoidable chasm between the life of the saved and the unsaved.

a. Even family ties cannot span this chasm.

b. In many homes the one is living for this life, and the other for the life to come; the one has Satan for his master, and the other has Christ, his Master; the one sets his affection on the things beneath, and the other on the things above.

3. Vs. 36 – “A man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

a. The greatest obstacle to spiritual life often lies in the home.

b. The strongest foes to Christian service are often in the home.