Matthew 10:21-23 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
In today’s focus, Jesus prepares his disciples with the understanding they will face hostile environments and fierce adversaries as they carry the Good News to the communities of Israel. He also prophesies that through the coming decades, followers of Jesus will never be completely accepted in this world. A spirit of hatred will always be present wherever the gospel is propagated. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Saying everyone will hate those who bring the Good News is a strong accusation against people, but generally the world does not want to hear of a God who will govern their behavior, especially their self-will, often expressed in licentiousness and selfishness. Freedom is their mantra, above anything that God might demand of them. After The Beatitudes sermon, Jesus said, Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. (Luke 6:46-48) Jesus is very direct, at times harsh, in his teaching about following God’s will and not self-will, by saying the following, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Luke 7:21-23) Jesus’ teachings should be preeminent in people’s lives, directing them to live in peace, spiritually powerful, but physically and emotionally harmless as a dove. A dove, of course, is emblematic of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Where the Holy Spirit is present in people’s lives, the beatitudes become very important to them; their wills are laid down at the feet of Jesus. Of course, the Holy Spirit’s attributes run counter to man’s selfishness, his fleshly pursuits, and desires. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Since the fall, people tend to orient their lives according to their own desires. But Jesus said, do not call me Lord, unless you obey me. Do not say you are a Christian, my follower, if you fail to heed my words. This unwillingness to follow authority, especially God’s, causes an environment of dissemblance, contrariness, and rebellion. This is the reason Jesus clearly told the disciples that people would hate them because they were his followers. Of course, teaching about Jesus and the necessity of accepting him as Lord, implies the existence of God and the necessity to worship him. The good news uplifts the salvation plan of eternal life through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, but also demands allegiance to a creator God, who controls the destiny of mankind. This idea of beliefs and actions controlling ones destiny is contrary to people’s ideas of self-will and freedom. Consequently, as the Good News spreads, hatred arises, Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. In their hatred and anger, people reject Christians as their fleshly desires and sinful nature attack God’s truth.
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6) Jesus’ instructions made the disciples cognizant that they were venturing into the territories of the wolves as they moved from community to community. They knew their message would be challenged in every town, for they were expressing a view contrary to the people’s lifestyles. John the Baptist recognized and emphasized the need for the people to repent of their sins and turn to God. The people were living lives under laws and regulations, but not in the purity of heart that God demands, a purity of love and grace. The Jewish leaders demanded the people pay homage to them, but not necessarily to God. John the Baptist knew the religious activity of the people had little relevance to their daily lives. They were following religious leaders who were corrupt, leading them into hypocrisy, eventually manifested in their willingness to kill a righteous man: Jesus. Even in the holy temple in Jerusalem, there was an environment of commerce going on, making money off others who had come to pay obeisance to God. Jesus expressed his anger towards all of this corruption by turning over the money changers’ tables. The Jews of Israel needed a Savior, someone who could come and bring peace to their world of turmoil and Roman dominance. Jesus came to bring peace, but first He would be resisted by those who wanted to live their lives free from an intimate God who would demand something from them. They would kill Jesus, but the Son of Man in his perfection would be revealed in his power by his death and resurrection. Jesus told the disciples that they would not even finish their mission of delivering the Good News to all the communities before the Son of Man would be revealed: Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. Jesus came out of the grave with power and authority over sin. He brought with him the governing Holy Spirit who would occupy, comfort, and guide believers until their demise in the flesh. No longer would men be without a compass in their lives; the Spirit would orient their lives toward God in an intimate way. He would be the words inside their souls, directing them in a perfect way, expressing God’s nature through them by displaying the attributes of the Holy Spirit. Jesus brought peace to all who live in the Spirit. He broke down every barrier between the Jews of the law and the unbelieving Gentiles. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace. Ephesians 2:14-15) He took the contrary nature of self to a oneness in God, obeying God in attitude and nature.
Even though Jesus has brought peace to the world through his saving grace, there will always be opposition to this message, for people do not want a God of creation in their lives. When Jesus looked over a large crowd of people, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. (Mark 6:34) He wanted them to hear his words: this was his will. Yet Jesus knew that even his disciples would flee from him when opposition threatened their lives. Jesus was a healer, a man of goodwill towards the poor and disabled, one who loved others, but the world revealed its true nature by putting him to death. He left this world alone without his disciples by his side. Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:31-33) The adversaries to the gospel will always be with us in great numbers. They do not want God in their existence unless they can control this God in the way they desire. They do not want a Jesus who says, Don’t call me Lord if you are unwilling to obey me. The heart has to be changed for a person to alter the direction of his or her life. If the heart is not changed, all the outward religiosity is just for show, kind of a salve to ease the conscience. But God knows the heart. He is unwilling merely to judge the outward appearance and activities. He will judge the content of the heart, and his judgment is just and right. Man chaffs under this idea of a God who knows the heart and will judge the thoughts and intentions of his innermost being. But faith comes from hearing and obeying the words of the Lord. In Jesus’ story about Lazarus the beggar, He tells about the rich man begging Abraham to send Lazarus back to his living brothers, to tell them what hell is like. Abraham says to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (Luke 16:31) Jesus has been raised from the dead. He has provided life for all those who put their trust in that fact, but first people must believe in the words given by Moses, the prophets, and the disciples. If they do not believe in those words, even if someone is raised from the dead, they will not believe. Salvation faith is trusting in the words of Jesus Christ and putting them into practice. Breakfast companions, life eternal will be the inheritance. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27) Go in peace, in spite of opposition, sharing the gospel message that JESUS SAVES!
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