Matthew 10:16-42
Jesus sent His disciples "yesterday", and today He's warning them of persecution. He compared the people in the crowd to "sheep with no shepherd", now Jesus is saying as their shepherd, He realizes He's sending them out among wolves. Jesus teaches them that they will need to show wisdom and to be without blame. People will be looking for any little perceived wrong to sue, to undermine, to sabotage the disciples' testimonies. Jesus bolsters their confidence by promising them the words to say when they are asked to speak in defense of following Jesus. Those words will come directly from the Holy Spirit when needed. This decision to follow Jesus will have consequences, families could even be torn apart by it. It's Jesus they hate, but the disciples need to be in it for the long haul. The disciples are not expected to just stay in a town and "take one for the team", Jesus gives them permission to run! Jesus is not saying YOU will be persecuted, He's saying He will be persecuted as well, because He doesn't consider Himself above them in this. Whoever is willing to follow Jesus must pick up the seemingly bad along with the overwhelming good of the mission of Jesus.
These verses seem like Jesus trying to scare His disciples away! But He's giving them the hard truth of a life following Him. Jesus' coming Kingdom will be divisive in that not everyone will be open to it. They won't see the truth of it, and will despise those who do. Jesus even references that He knows some have called Him a Devil (Matthew 9:34), so how much more will those feel about His followers? Jesus acknowledges their fear, and assures them there's a Power available to them that they don't understand yet. Jesus will be teaching them exactly what to say. Life with Jesus is a life well lived, life without Jesus is lost.
We've said a lot of the disciples and what Jesus was warning THEM to expect. But to read it for myself and to take these warnings to heart for my own life changes me. We all are thinking the same thing "I can see our world heading a direction where this seems plausible!" (We would more rightly say "Our part of the world"...our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world have suffered persecution longer and harder.) So what do we do? Do we cower in fear? Or do we take up our cross, taking the little bit of "bad" with the overwhelming good of the mission of Jesus? Jesus ends the lesson with a promise that there is a reward when His people are accepted and loved and cared for. Who else is there in Heaven or on Earth that we can trust with our lives? None but Him.
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