Mateus 10
J. Vernon McGee · Citado em PreceptAustin
Mateus 10
McGee notes below Jesus is not giving them a carte blanche to not prepare a verbal defense. J Vernon McGee has a pithy comment - I believe these verses apply to those men who had no opportunity to prepare answers when they were arrested for doing the job Jesus sent them to do. These men sent out by the Lord made no preparation, and if we place these verses in the local situation, we will have no problem with them at all. Unfortunately, there are many folk who apply these verses to themselves and make no preparation for their sermons! When I was in seminary, a fellow student, who was a little odd in more ways than one, believed that he should preach without any preparation. A friend and I decided one night that we would go and hear him preach. Well, it was painfully obvious that he had not prepared his message. On the way back to the seminary, my friend, who had even more nerve than l had, asked him, "Did you prepare that message tonight?" (SEE Thru the Bible Vol. 34: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) Stephen Olford - Evening Reading: Matthew 10 According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New ... “Do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”—Matthew 10:19-20 Personally, I feel that in these two verses is a principle that should always operate in public speaking. By that, I mean that the inference here is not exclusively for the servant of the Lord who is delivered up. Notice also, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth” (Jer. 1:9); “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2); “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say” (Ex. 4:12). These are just a few of the many instances where the above principle obviously operates. Speak in living echoes of Your tone. Matthew 10:20 “For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. BGT Matthew 10:20 οὐ γὰρ ὑμεῖς ἐστε οἱ λαλοῦντες ἀλλὰ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τὸ λαλοῦν ἐν ὑμῖν. KJV Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. NET Matthew 10:20 For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. CSB Matthew 10:20 because you are not speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you. ESV Matthew 10:20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. NIV Matthew 10:20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. NLT Matthew 10:20 For it is not you who will be speaking-- it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. NRS Matthew 10:20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. YLT Matthew 10:20 for ye are not the speakers, but the Spirit of your Father that is speaking in you. GWN Matthew 10:20 Indeed, you're not the ones who will be speaking. The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you. NKJ Matthew 10:20 "for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. NAB Matthew 10:20 For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. MIT Matthew 10:20 In reality, it will not be you talking, but your father's spirit will be speaking by means of you. NJB Matthew 10:20 because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. but: 2Sa 23:2 Mk 12:36 Lu 11:13 21:15 Ac 2:4 4:8 6:10 7:55,56 Ac 28:25 1Pe 1:12 2Pe 1:21 your: Mt 6:32 Lu 12:30-32 For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you - Jesus continues with another for (term of explanation) explaining that they would be given words to speak by Holy Spirit. This is a prophecy not only of provision of His words but provision of the Spirit who they did not have but would receive at Pentecost. Normally the Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus or Spirit of Christ, but here of the Father (cf Mt 6:32 Lu 12:30-32), showing the involvement of the Godhead in their ministry. Spurgeon Commentary - All along, men of God are simply instruments for God. Our Lord Jesus claimed to speak, not of himself, but from the Father; and to this he conforms his faithful witnesses. They speak and yet they speak not: God is silent and yet he speaks by them. Matthew 10:21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. brother: Mt 10:34-36 24:10 Mic 7:5,6 Zec 13:3 Mk 13:12,13 Lu 12:51-53 Lu 21:16,17 children: 2Sa 16:11 17:1-4 Job 19:19 Related Passages: Matthew 24:10+ “At that time many (NOTE WELL - "MANY") will fall away (PROPHECY - skandalizo) and will betray (paradidomi) one another and hate one another. Luke 12:51-53+ “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52 for from now on five members in one household will be divided (PROPHECY), three against two and two against three. 53 “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Luke 21:16+ “But you will be (PROPHECY) betrayed (paradidomi) even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. THE HIGH COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS Brother will betray (paradidomi), brother to death (thanatos), and a father his child; and children will rise up against (rebel against) parents and cause them to be put to death (thanatoo) - Note the two prophecies marked by "will" and Jesus' prophecies are always fulfilled. These are startling words to the disciples (then and now) but it is necessary for us to hear and understand the cost of following Jesus and proclaiming His Gospel. Forewarned is forearmed (in the sense that we will not be shocked or surprised when we are attacked for the Name of Jesus.). Opposition will come through civil and religious avenues and also through close personal relationships. This later shows the depth of the depravity of the human heart that one would hate Jesus so much that they are willing to kill those they (under normal circumstances) love most on earth! If Jesus had predicted with these statements about murder by family members, one would never have imagined such horrible fates! How would children cause parents to be put to death? They could report them to the authorities and this is a realistic scenario in strict Muslim countries when a family member comes to Christ. There is no middle ground with Jesus! These prophecies were especially directed to the first disciples, but they apply to disciples of all ages as the thick volume of Foxe's Book of Martyrs would attest! The Gospel and loyalty to Jesus is the ultimate "line in the sand!" There is no middle ground with Jesus! If you are not for Him, you are against Him and His disciples (Lk 11:23+, Mt 12:30+). "Many think that because they are not decidedly opposing Christ, they are somehow acceptable to God. However, the significance of the Lord's statement is that there is no such thing as neutrality with reference to Christ. Either a man is wholly committed to Christ, or else he finds himself in total opposition to Him." (Believer's Study Bible) So His disciples should not be shocked that even the closest human ties are in effect "broken" by one's response to Jesus. Jesus had warned the disciples earlier about this harsh reality declaring "for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Lu 12:52-53+) This truth makes Jesus words "deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Me" take on a new meaning. This is another example of counting the cost of following Jesus. Unnatural hatreds have sprung out of religious bitterness. Spurgeon Commentary - Unnatural hatreds have sprung out of religious bitterness. The old serpent not only endeavors to poison the relationship of the creature to the Creator, but even that of child to parent, and parent to child. Brothers can become unbrotherly, and all other relations unnatural, when under the dominion of religious bigotry. In times of persecution we may not expect love to ourselves from those who love not God. It might have seemed impossible that blood relations should be willing to assist in compassing the death of each other; but history has abundantly shown that our Lord’s words were none too strong. He knew the hearts of men, and forewarned his disciples of the pitiless tempest which would beat upon in consequence of human enmity to the truth. Put...to death (2289)(thanatoo from thanatos = death) means literally to kill, to cause to be put to death, to mortify, to give up to death, to condemn to death or to deliver over to death. This verb describes what the Jews sought to do to Jesus and eventually accomplished (Mt 26:59, Mt 27:1, Mk 13:12) and what those opposed to Jesus will seek to do the same to His followers! Henry Blackaby - The experience : a devotional and journal : day by day with God Not for the Fainthearted “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. . . .“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It 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!” Matthew 10:21–22, 24–25 Following Christ is not for the faint-hearted! Some may tell you that becoming a Christian guarantees a problem-free existence, but Jesus shatters that illusion. In fact, he presents Christianity as not only difficult but downright dangerous! In Bible times, following Christ was perilous. Constant persecution separated serious disciples from would-be Christians. The threat of arrest, torture, and even death didn’t make Christianity all that inviting. People took their commitment to Christ very seriously because their lives and the lives of their family members were on the line. Yet thousands and thousands of people considered it worth the hazards to know God personally. Christ himself was hated and persecuted, so his disciples didn’t expect that they would avoid persecution themselves. Times have changed, but persecution still separates the true disciples from the wanna-bes. In some parts of the world, being a Christian is still a life-threatening venture, but for most of us it’s not as dangerous. Still, there is a cost involved in following Christ, and each of us has to decide if knowing Christ is worth the price. Is your faith costing you anything? Are you willing to stand up for Christ, even when it’s an unpopular thing to do? Will you remain faithful to Jesus, even if it causes you to lose friends? If you are truly Christ’s disciple, you will pay a price. But stand firm; the reward is worth the cost. Matthew 10:22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. will be hated: Mt 24:9 Isa 66:5,6 Lu 6:22 Joh 7:7 15:18,19 17:14 1Jn 3:13 because of My name: Mt 10:39 5:11 Joh 15:21 Ac 9:16 2Co 4:11 Rev 2:3 but: Mt 24:13 Da 12:12,13 Mk 13:13 Lu 8:15 Ro 2:7 Ga 6:9 Heb 3:14 Heb 6:11 Jas 1:12 Jude 1:20,21 Rev 2:7,10,17,26 3:21 Related Passage: Luke 21:17+ and you will be hated by all because of My name. JESUS HATERS WILL HATE JESUS LOVERS You will be hated (miseo) by all because of My Name - Notice the by all, which is not a popular teaching! It is not very encouraging. Why? Romans 1:30 explains that one trait of men who refuse the truth about God and refuse to give Him thanks is that they are given over to their depraved nature and one of the manifestations of that nature is hatred of God! (Ro 1:30+). The term of explanation because clearly explain why unregenerate sinners hate saved sinners! So because they hate God, they hate Jesus the God-Man and they hate His disciples, God's men and women! THOUGHT - Needless to say when we are presenting the Good News of the Gospel, it is probably not wise to tell them if you believe in the Name above all names, you will be hated by all men! On the other hand as we are discipling new believers, we need to be careful NOT to avoid the truth of this teaching lest the disciple is caught unawares by a "surprise attack" from some godless individual! I was not discipled, despite asking many men in a local Bible church to disciple me after I was first born again, and learned painfully of the truth Jesus taught in this passage. And it almost destroyed my faith, except that God in His grace held me fast when I was falling fast into despair and disillusionment. The upshot is we must teach true disciples that they must count the cost (Lk 14:28KJV+ and see Luke 14:25-35+ for cost of being a disciple) but (term of contrast) it is the one who has endured (hupomeno) to the end (telos) who will be saved (sozo - great prophetic promise!) - Praise God for this divine ray of hope brought out by but, a term of contrast. Do not misinterpret this teaching. Jesus is NOT saying our endurance will merit or earn salvation. What He is saying is that the one who endures to the end will demonstrate by their endurance that he or she is a genuine disciple, a sinner who is truly born again. A parallel truth is seen in the parable of the sower/soils in Jesus' description of the fourth soil declaring "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." (Lk 8:15+). How does a soil prove it is good soil in farming? It bears fruit. How does an individual prove they are good soil in the spiritual sense? They bear fruit. And how do they bear fruit? Just like a farmer does, with perseverance (hupomone, noun related to hupomeno "endured"). And how do we persevere? One way is by continually taking in the Word, including the Old Testament (see Ro 15:4+ where perseverance = hupomone). The ultimate way we persevere is because God gives us the supernatural power to persevere (Ro 15:5+). His Spirit within us gives us the desire (to persevere) and the power (to persevere) and this is pleasing to our Father (Php 2:13NLT+). Dear brother or sister in Christ, if you are being pressed on, press on in the power of the Spirit (don't try to do it in reliance on your power!) When is the end? Could be the end of our life on earth. Prophetically it could be the end of this age when Messiah returns to right all wrongs. May the Lord prepare us to bear up under the utmost unkindness, and hold on till the day of judgment comes, or till He makes even our enemies to be at peace with us! Spurgeon Commentary - These are heavy words, but true. If we are faithful we shall of necessity make enemies. Jesus as good as says—The classes and the masses will turn against you because of the name, the doctrine, and the rule of your Master. Sometimes the monarch, and sometimes the mob will rage against you; but either from one or other, or both, shall the opposition arise. “Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake ” was the storm-signal by which successive persecutions were announced. That signal may again be displayed in the order of divine providence. Happy are they who can bear persecution, and hold on and hold out even “to the end ” of the trial—the close of life, or the termination of the dispensation. Such “shall be saved ” indeed; but those who can be overcome by opposition are lost. May the Lord prepare us to bear up under the utmost unkindness, and hold on till the day of judgment comes, or till he makes even our enemies to be at peace with us! Endured (persevered) (5278)(hupomeno from hupó = under, as in under the rule of someone + méno = to abide or remain - see study of noun hupomone) means literally to remain under but not simply with resignation, but with a vibrant hope, a hope enlivened by the Spirit and the Word. The idea of enduring then is not just to "grin and bear it" but to remain under trials in a such a way that we glorify God as we learn the lessons the trials are meant to teach us, instead of seeking ways to get out from under (cf the prefix preposition "hupo" = under) the trials and be relieved of the pressure. "True Christian perseverance is not tied to tenacity. It is rather the work of God the Holy Spirit in a believer's life. The starch in a saint's spine is shown by Scripture to be nothing less than the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Only in this way can one explain the work of Gladys Aylward, a London parlor maid. Societies scorned her missionary application. She seemed too dull to master Chinese and fulfill her vision of serving in China. Realizing this, she scoured up her own fare to China and sailed in 1930. After slogging her way across Siberia she reached her field in remote Yangcheng. When the Japanese invaded in 1940 she led 100 children on an epic journey that caught the imagination of Hollywood (Ed: Watch the movie about her life - The Inn of the Sixth Happiness or DVD). In 1947 failing health forced her back to England where she crusaded for missions until her death in 1970. That was tenacity, not just British grit. It is God's persevering grace. (Borrow New Testament Words in Today's Language - interesting resource) End (outcome) (5056) telos can refer to (1) an action achievement, carrying out, fulfillment (Lk 22.37); (2) a closing act, the end, termination, cessation (2Co 3.13; 1Pe 4.7), opposite avche (beginning) or (3) as a goal toward which movement is being directed outcome, end (result), purpose (1Ti 1.5). Matthew 10:23 “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. whenever: Mt 2:13 4:12 12:14,15 Lu 4:29-31 Joh 7:1 10:39-42 11:53,54 Ac 8:1 9:24,25 13:50,51 14:6,7,19,20 17:10,14 20:1 Until: Mt 16:28 24:27,30,48 25:13 26:64 Mk 13:26 Lu 18:8 21:27 PERSECUTION PERSISTS UP TO PAROUSIA But (term of contrast) whenever they persecute (dioko) you in one city - Not if but when! Persecution is promised to followers of Jesus. Persecute is present tense speaking of habitual action. THOUGHT - So certain is persecution, that if one says that they have never been persecuted by the Name of Jesus, then either they are not genuine believers in Jesus or they absolutely never tell anyone about their belief. While the latter is possible, it seems unlikely, but a genuine believer who has the Holy Spirit will to some degree live a holy (not perfection but direction) life that usually contrast significantly with the lifestyle of a lost person. And so they will give evidence of the fact that they are genuine believers and will likely experience persecution. Have you ever been persecuted for being a follower of Jesus? Persecute (1377)(dioko from dío = pursue, prosecute, persecute) means literally to pursue as one does a fleeing enemy. It means to chase, harass, vex and pressure and was used for chasing down criminals. In this context it means to go after with the desire to harm. It gives us the picture of hounds on the hunt, pursuing after the fox and implies a continuing chase. Flee (pheugo) to the next - Flee is a command in present imperative calling for one to continually flee (see need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey). For (term of explanation) truly (amen) I say to you, you will not finish (teleo) going through the cities of Israel - This is a passage that has divided commentators. Phil Newton writes that "Interpreters debate whether Christ meant (1) the immediate setting of carrying the gospel into Galilee prior to the Ascension, or (2) Christ delivering judgment upon reprobate Israel at the time of Jerusalem's fall in A.D. 70, or (3) Christ sending the Holy Spirit to comfort them, or (4) the return of Christ to judge the world. Strong cases can be built for both the second and fourth of these, Christ judging Israel toward the end of the Apostolic era as they had gone through the cities of Israel and Christ coming in global judgment. Perhaps the duplicity is intended, maybe even employing all of these to some degree in prophetic language (cf. John Broadus, Selected Works, III, 228). Whichever it might be, the purpose is to encourage Christ's followers to stay at the work of spreading the gospel until Christ comes." Until (See until) is an expression of time and means something will continue to happen up to a point and then it will not happen. In this case when Jesus returns one thing this "until" means is that persecution of disciples will end. The Son of Man comes - This is the glorious Second Coming when Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16+), defeats all enemies of God and sets up His Messianic Kingdom. Believer's Study Bible - Some have incorrectly interpreted this verse to mean that Jesus was convinced that the mission of the Twelve would create a great repentance among Israel. Consequently, the kingdom of God in the form of its final, glorious manifestation would come, bringing the end of this age and ushering in the age to come. This would in fact happen before they had completed their mission. This verse, however, looks beyond the mission of the Twelve to a future mission to the world which will last until the coming in glory of the Son of Man, and will include Israel despite her blindness. It is to the last degree foolish to attempt to force religion upon men: it advances by gentleness, and not by violence. Spurgeon Commentary - They were to keep to their work, and preach in all the cities of Israel; but they might flee from danger in one city, and move to another. They were not to stop in a town, and contend with the magistrates, and create confusion and disorder, but quickly to move off when they were cruelly opposed. It is to the last degree foolish to attempt to force religion upon men: it advances by gentleness, and not by violence. If a town is up in arms against the preacher, let him go where he will be less opposed. There would always remain cities which needed the light. They would not be forced to cease their labors, because certain towns closed their gates against them. Much waste land needed reclaiming, let them hasten to fresh fields, and raise harvests there. While they were to change their place they were to keep to their plan. Their mission to Israel was to be a quick; work altogether, for the Lord would soon visit the land in judgment; and they would hardly have time to traverse the whole country before Israel’s day of mercy as a nation, dwelling in her own land, would come to a close. The persecution which they felt in one city should quicken their pace in going to another, and so promote the rapid visitation of the whole country. They were not to delay over a hopeless town, for they had no time to spare. In some such diligent manner ought we to evangelize the world, believing that we have not an hour in which to loiter; for the Son of man may come on a sudden. If his Advent were very speedily to happen, it would come before all tribes and peoples had heard his gospel; and this must not be. Many should run to and fro and spread the knowledge of his cross. If we do not do this willingly, it may be we shall be driven to it. Persecution has often been a spur to the church. Let us be diligent in our holy calling, and preach the gospel while we can do so in peace, for perilous times may be upon us, or the Lord himself may appear before we think. Walter Kaiser - 10:23 Unfulfilled Expectation? - see page 339 Hard Sayings This saying, found in Matthew’s Gospel only, comes at the end of Jesus’ commission to the twelve apostles when he sent them out two by two. It was brought to public attention early in the twentieth century when the great Albert Schweitzer made it the foundation of his interpretation of the ministry of Jesus. Jesus, he believed, expected the kingdom of God to dawn with power and glory at harvest time that year, before the Twelve had completed their mission. “He tells them in plain words … that He does not expect to see them back in the present age.” (Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus 1910), p. 357) Jesus would be supernaturally revealed as the Son of Man, in a manner involving his own transformation, as well as the transformation of his followers, into a state of being suited to the conditions of the resurrection age. But the new age did not come in; the Twelve returned from their mission. Jesus then tried to force its arrival. He “lays hold of the wheel of the world to set it moving on that last revolution which is to bring all ordinary history to a close. It refuses to turn, and He throws Himself upon it. Then it does turn; and crushes Him.” Yet in the hour of his failure he released a liberating power in the world which is beyond description. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount and related passages in the Gospels was understood by Schweitzer to be an “interim ethic” to guide the lives of Jesus’ disciples in the short interval before the manifestation of the Son of Man in power and glory. When, on Schweitzer’s reading of the evidence, the hope of that manifestation was disappointed, what happened to the interim ethic? Logically, it should have been forgotten when its basis was removed. Actually, the interim ethic survived in its own right, as is magnificently evident from Schweitzer’s own career. It was the driving force behind his life of service to others in West Africa. What, on his understanding, was but the prologue to the expected drama “has become the whole drama … the ministry of Jesus is not a prelude to the Kingdom of God: it is the Kingdom of God.” (T. W. Manson, Studies in the Gospels and Epistles ) The commission to the Twelve, as given in Matthew 10:5–23, has two parts, each with its own perspective. The first part (Mt 10:5–18) deals with the immediate situation, within the context of Jesus’ own Galilean ministry. The second part (Mt 10:19–23) envisages a later period, when the apostles will be engaged in a wider ministry—the kind of ministry in which they were in fact engaged in the period following the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit. Think of the warning “Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles” (Mt 10:17–18). This reference to the Gentiles presents a contrast with the reference to them in Matthew 10:5, where they are excluded from the scope of the earlier preaching tour. The warning just quoted has a close parallel in Mark 13:9–10, where the situation is that leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. And in both places the warning is followed by an assurance that, when the disciples are put on trial and required to bear witness to their faith, the Holy Spirit will put the right words into their mouths. It is this second part of the commission in Matthew 10 that is rounded off with the hard saying “You will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” What, then, does the saying mean in this context? It means, simply, that the evangelization of Israel will not be completed before the end of the present age, which comes with the advent of the Son of Man. The parallel passage in Mark has a similar statement, which, however, takes more explicit account of Gentile as well as Jewish evangelization: before the end time, “the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mk 13:10). (This statement is reproduced in slightly amplified form in Mt 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”) Paul, from his own perspective, expresses much the same hope when he foresees the salvation of “all Israel,” the sequel to the ingathering of the full sum of Gentile believers, being consummated at the time when “the deliverer will come from Zion” (Rom 11:25–27). The wording of Matthew 10:23 is earlier in its reference than that of the other passages just mentioned: here witness-bearing to the Gentiles receives a brief mention, but all the emphasis lies on the mission to the Jews. This mission, as we know from Galatians 2:6–9, was taken seriously by the leaders of the Jerusalem church in the early apostolic age, and they carried it out with some sense of urgency. For anything they knew to the contrary, the Son of Man might come within their own generation. We must not allow our understanding of their perspective to be influenced by our own very different perspective. We know that their mission, in the form in which they pursued it, was brought to an end by the Judean rebellion against Rome in A.D. 66, but it would be unwise to say that that, with the fall of Jerusalem four years later, was the coming of the Son of Man of which Jesus spoke. Matthew 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 2Sa 11:11 Lu 6:40 Joh 13:16, 15:20 Heb 12:2-4 Related Passages: Luke 6:40+ “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. John 13:16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. Hebrews 12:2-4+ fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; PRINCIPLE PREPARING DISCIPLES FOR PERSECUTION A disciple (mathetes) is not above his teacher (didaskalos), nor a slave (doulos) above his master (kurios) - Christ is our Teacher and our Master, our Lord. Disciples do not "Make Jesus Lord" as we sometimes hear people say! He is Lord! We receive Him by grace through faith as Lord! The issue is not to make Him Lord, but to bow to Him as Lord of our lives, daily submitting our will to His good and acceptable and perfect will (Ro 12:2b+). THOUGHT - The point is that the disciples were not to be surprised by persecutions. That same principle applies today. If you are a disciple and living in this crooked and perverse generation as a light, then you can be assured you will be maligned, castigated, persecuted, etc. If you have never been treated that way then it begs two questions - are you a true disciple or are you a true disciple who has put his/her light under a basket?
Mateus 10
Vernon McGee - Having spoken about the local situation, the Lord now gives these men certain great principles by which they are to go as His witnesses. These principles are good for time and eternity, and they certainly are good for our day. The child of God should be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. It is dangerous to be one and not the other. I have met some who are wise as serpents -- they are clever -- but they are not helpless as doves. To use a common expression, they will take you. I know others who are quite gullible; they are harmless as doves, but they are not wise as serpents. A serpent is dangerous, and a dove is in danger, so that we need to combine both qualities. So - A term of conclusion based on the previous truth that wolves are out there looking to devour Christian sheep! Be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves - Shrewd means astute and penetrating. Jesus commands this to be the disciple's continual mindset, for be is in the present imperative, which necessitates continuing dependence on the Holy Spirit in order to obey this command! As doves means to be innocent, gentle, avoiding violent means to retaliate when persecuted. One is reminded of Paul's charge in Col 4:5+ to "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most (redeeming) of the opportunity (kairos)." Jesus is our example, for in the Garden when they came to arrest Him, Peter cut off an ear and Jesus healed the ear and said no more of that (Lk 22:50-51+).
Mateus 10
McGee - I have never been scourged in a synagogue, but I have been verbally scourged in some of our good churches. William
Mateus 10
Vernon McGee - Our Lord's public rebuke of the religious leaders would, of course, bring their wrath down upon His head. And His disciples could expect the same kind of treatment from them. The Lord Jesus gives them these words of comfort and assurance of God's care for them. Since He sees the fall of a sparrow, He is fully aware of the needs of those who are teaching and preaching His Word. On the Wing So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:31 Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 10:27-31 In his book On the Wing, Alan Tennant chronicles his efforts to track the migration of the peregrine falcon. Valued for their beauty, swiftness, and power, these amazing birds of prey were favorite hunting companions of emperors and nobility. Sadly, the wide use of the pesticide DDT in the 1950s interfered with their reproductive cycle and placed them on the endangered species list. Interested in the recovery of this species, Tennant attached transmitters to a select number of falcons to track their migration patterns. But when he and his pilot flew their Cessna behind the birds, they repeatedly lost signal from the transmitters. Despite their advanced technology, they were not always able to track the birds they wanted to help. It’s good to know that the God who cares for us never loses track of us. In fact, Jesus said that not even one sparrow “will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. . . . So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31). Father, I’m putting my longings and burdens on You at the end of this year because I know You care for me and can work powerfully. Thank You that I and my loved ones are in Your care. If God cares for birds, will He not care for His children? Rob