Matthew 10
v.8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
they were not to sell their favors of healing, preaching, etc. They were not to make a money-making business of it, to bargain specifically to heal for so much, and to cast out devils for so much. This, however, neither then nor afterward precluded them from receiving a competent support.
Although Jesus had all the authority to expect his disciples to obey his command, he offers a reason. You have freely received my ministry so do not offer yours for any charge. I used to give this advice to those in college who had a hard time accepting someone paying for their meal or hangout. If they do not freely receive this gift, they will have no reason outside of sheer obedience to freely give in the future.
v.16
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
v.23
When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
The best interpretation, however, sees the “coming of the Son of Man” as his coming on judgement against the Jews, culminating in the sack of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. The coming of the Son of Man refers to the same event as the coming of the kingdom, even though the two expressions are conceptually complementary. Thus the coming of the Son of Man brings in the consummated kingdom. But the kingdom, as we have seen, comes in stages. In one sense Jesus was born a king (2:2); in another he has all authority as a result of his passion and resurrection (28:18); and in yet another his kingdom awaits the end. Mingled with this theme of the coming of the kingdom are Jesus’ repeated warnings to the Jews concerning the disaster they are courting by failing to recognize and receive him. His warnings are unique because he himself is the judge and because the messianic reign is now dawning in both blessing and wrath.
Against this background the coming of the Son of Man in v.23 marks that stage in the coming of the kingdom in which the judgement repeatedly foretold falls on the Jews. With it the temple cultus disappears, and the new wine necessarily takes to new wineskins. The age of the kingdom comes into its own, precisely because so many of the structured foreshadowing of the OT, bound up with the cultus and nation, disappear.
v.24-25
“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It 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!
Here Jesus forbids the disciples from being surprised when they suffer persecution. If they follow him, they should expect no less. The statement reveals something of Jesus’ perception of the nature of his own ministry and of the way the “gospel of the kingdom” will advance in the world.
v.26
“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
Do not fear, JJ. The concealed truths of the gospel shall be made known to sinners.
In a sense the apostles were to have more of a public ministry than Jesus himself. He told them things in private, some of which they did not even understand till after the Resurrection. But they were to teach them fully and publicly.
v.28
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.
v.29
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
v.30
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
v.31
So don’t be afraid: you are worth more than many sparrows.
Some say that God cares about the big things but not about little details. But Jesus says that God’s sovereignty over the tiniest detail should give us confidence that he also superintends the larger matters.
v.32-33
Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
A necessary criterion or being a disciple of Jesus is to acknowledge him publicly (cf. Ro 1:16; 10:9). This will vary in boldness, fluency, wisdom, sensitivity, and frequency from believer to believer, but consistently to “disown” Christ results in being disowned by Christ.
v.34
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Since many Jews in Jesus’ day thought the coming of Messiah would bring them political peace and material prosperity, so today many in the church think that Jesus’ presence will bring them a kind of tranquility. But Jesus insists that his mission entails strife and division. Prince of Peace though he is, the world will so violently reject him and his reign that men and women will divide over them. Before the consummation of the kingdom, even the peace Jesus bequeaths his disciples will have its setting in the midst of a hostile world.
v.37-38
“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
A man must love his wife, family, friends, and even his enemies (cf. 5:44), but he must love Jesus supremely. Moreover, Jesus demands death to self. “Taking one’s cross” does not mean putting up with some awkward or tragic situation in one’s life but painfully dying to self. In that sense every disciple of Jesus bears the same cross. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the emotional impact of these sayings must have been greatly heightened; but even before those events, the reference to crucifixion would vividly call to mind the shame and pain of such a sacrifice.
v.39
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
The appeal is not to gloom but to discipleship. There is a strong paradox here. Those who “lose” their “life,” whether in actual martyrdom or disciplined self-denial, will “find” it in the age to come. Those who “find” it now by living for themselves and refusing to submit to the demands of Christian discipleship will “lose” it in the age to come (cf. 16:25).
v.42
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
We cannot lose our rewards, but we can forfeit opportunities to earn them.