The New Testament – Verse by Verse Bible Study – Part 10

In this Bible Study series on Internet Pastor we will be studying through the New Testament verse by verse. You can watch or listen to the study by going to the Online Church page.

Matthew 10:1-42

1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 11 Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! 16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 21 Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ’set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 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. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. 40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 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. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”
So far in our discussion of Matthew we have seen Jesus presented as the One who was foretold by the Old Testament prophets. We have seen Jesus as the One who demonstrated dominion over temptation. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talked about the way we are supposed to live as citizens of a heavenly kingdom. Now, we are seeing Jesus presented as a King with authority. The miracles that we are reading about show that Jesus has authority over sickness, nature, demons, sin and even death. Jesus has talked about the Kingdom and now He is demonstrating that the Kingdom is here.
We pick up the action in verses 1-4 of chapter 10. It is interesting that this list of laborers for the harvest follows Jesus exhortation in Matthew 9:30 to ask God for laborers.

Matthew 10:1-4

Jesus calls His twelve disciples to Him and He commissions them to go and do what He has been doing. He has been training them for this very time. This is a huge moment that ultimately impacts us. This commission is much like the one that we receive in Matthew 28:18-20.

Matthew 10:5-15

Jesus gives His disciples instructions about where to go, where not to go, what to preach, who to preach to, what to take and what not to take. The message He tells them to preach is the message He has been preaching, “The Kingdom of Heaven is near”.

Matthew 10: 16-33

I wonder how the disciples felt as they received the warnings that Jesus gave them. Here are the highlights of the pep talk:

You are being sent as sheep among wolves
You will be flogged in their synagogues
You will be arrested
All men will hate you
You will need to flee from one place to another
You will be called Beelzebub
Oh, and by the way, they might kill you

All right now, on three, JESUS!

Matthew 10:34-42

These verses are really quite shocking as you read them, particularly verse 34.

Matthew 10:34 (NIV)
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Jesus is saying that He came not to tell everybody they were OK, but to tell them they were not OK. He didn’t come to affirm anybody’s life style, He told them they would have to take up their cross daily. That if they wanted to find life they would have to lose it. This message is completely counter culture. This is not the message people want to hear, nor do most people think this is the message of Jesus. Jesus is often called a man of peace because He said things like “turn the other cheek”, “walk the extra mile”, “bless your enemies”, but you have to take those statements into the whole of what Jesus said. I am guessing that if you asked people who said verse 34, that the vast majority of people would not know it was Jesus, because culturally, Jesus is often portrayed as kind of weak or wimpy. Why do I say that? Large sections of the Church picture Jesus as an infant or as crucified. Follow with me for a minute. The image of Jesus is often of an infant (harmless) or dead (again harmless). It is the image of a God who is controllable. Baby Jesus and Crucified Jesus. Jesus is not an infant, and He is no longer on the cross. He lived life as the most courageous man who ever lived, and then defeated death and rose again. The image of Jesus we should be carrying around is the image of the One who is coming back for us.

Revelation 19:11-16 (NIV)
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Just like the disciples we are tasked with telling people about the hope that we have in Jesus. But, people will often not want to hear it. They will ridicule us, our own families will often think we have lost our minds or become fanatics, others will hate us for being perceived as an obstacle to being able to live any way they want. But, there will be those who hear and receive and that is how we fulfill the commission that is given us.

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