Dr. Luke records the next step in Jesus’ revolution simply and briefly. He says that Jesus called the 12 apostles together, gave them the power and authority to cast out demons and to heal, and then sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them to take nothing but a walking stick, to stay in the homes that welcomed them, and to abandon to their fate villages that refused to welcome them. Mark’s account of the same instructions is equally brief. Matthew however, is much more extensive. His account of the conversation with Jesus is more comprehensive, and is peppered with phrases that are part of our cultural language today. His instructions are also more detailed. “Don’t go to the gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received.” Then came some of the most pungent lines:
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“I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.”
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“A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.”
With that last line it becomes clear that Jesus was not talking about the simple preaching/healing mission he was sending them on, but about a future time that would include hard decisions about the faith and persecutions from nations.
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“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”
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“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in Heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”
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“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.”
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“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”
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“Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me.”
Wow! That’s pretty hardcore. Let me sum up in brief form. Fundamentally, Jesus is the most important issue in life. When we look at the core of our life and all the things that surround it, calling out for our attention and energy, we see very important stuff…our work and vocation, our family, our health, preparing for a secure future, vacations, friendships, and pleasures. And somewhere in the mix is our faith, right there along-side all the others. In this passage recorded by Matthew we find Jesus saying that his place is not right along-side the other priorities in our lives; his place is at the very center, with all else revolving around him. It is only then that all other matters find their appropriate place and importance, only then.
How about those words telling us that we are not to love father, mother, son, and daughter more than him? That we’re to take up our cross and follow only him? That we’re not to cling to our life, but are to give up our lives up for him? Think for a moment. He’s not telling us that we’re not to love our family, but we’re not to love them more than him. He's not saying that we’re not to have a life, but that we’re supposed to live for him.
What we find is that when we make him our chief love, all our other loves fall into their rightful place, and we have even more love to share. When we take up our cross to follow him, that cross, whatever it may be, becomes more easily borne, because he is our partner in life, and he shoulders that burden with us. When we live for him, our life, our love, our peace, our everything good, is made greater.
It seems to be a matter of perspective. Our eyes are fixed on this world and the things it values. Jesus’ gaze is broader and greater; his perspective is eternal. Discipline now…learning to value him above all things now…opens our hearts and spirits to the heaven to come, preparing us now for our forever life with him.
So the lesson of this passage is simple: Fear nothing in this world. God is on your side. Jesus is his voice. Follow him in all things, and all will be well.
Prayer: “Father, turn my eyes from worthless things. Help me to fix my heart on your eternity and to follow Jesus to that happy destination. Grant me growth in this world, so that I might be prepared for the next. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”