SENT: Reward (Part 1 of 2 blogs)

Today, an exposition of Matt. 10:40-42; tomorrow, 5 implications for us in daily life.

Conclusions are good. They signal the end of one thing so something else can begin. Every once in a while you get a cliffhanger, but normally conclusions conclude. They wrap things up, summarize, synthesize, resolve issues, tie things together…then move on. We come now to the conclusion of Christ's Sermon on Mission. How believers are SENT by God to to carry the gospel, being Christ-centered people in a hostile world.

In Matt. 10:40-42 Jesus concludes His sermon on mission with words of assurance & encouragement. Jesus was instructing His apostles, preparing them for real life & ministry; & He gave them a realistic, non sugar-coated look at what would come at them. But He ends this sobering sermon on a high note. He tells them that those who receive them favorably give evidence that they receive Him favorably. As we conclude it’s good to see where we’ve been Beginning at Matt. 9:35 and moving through ch. 10, we’ve seen Christ’s compassion that must motivate our mission-mindedness & actions; God’s calling which is the basis of our living & giving the gospel; God’s character displays in & through us to make the gospel attractive to those who will believe; the caution He wants us to exercise; the courage we need to get out of our comfort zone & engage in courageous witness for Christ; the crucifixion to self that is necessary as we live for Christ; and now in conclusion, reward. No C word. We usually think of rewards in terms of what we deserve, what we earn for good performance or behavior. But as we will see, this is not the kind of reward Jesus is speaking of here. In context of sending His apostles to reach the lost, He teaches that Those who receive the gospel favorably are rewarded with eternal life. Our Savior is the rewarder of those who seek Him, of the one who pursues & serves Him by faith, Heb. 11:6. Let’s pick it up at v. 40.

10:40 begins He who receives you receives Me. Christ lives in His people. They go in His name as His representatives. How they are treated is how He is treated (18:5; 25:45; Luke 9:48). He who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He makes another strong assertion of His deity by saying all who receive Him receive Him who sent Him. The Son is equal to the Father. Jesus wasn't just the Sender, He was sent. Apostellō is the common Greek word for SENT. It has several usages. Jewish rabbis used it of one called & sent as an official representative of another, an ambassador. The NT uses this term of Jesus being sent by the Father. It is used of Jesus sending believers, John 17 as the Father sent Me, so I send you. The New Testament used it for disciples. Paul uses the title at the start of most of his letters as a way of asserting his God-given authority as Christ’s representative. Jesus was an apostle/sent One from the Father, the 12 were sent ones from Jesus, & the Father’s authority was conveyed through them. The response of those to whom they went was a response to the One who sent them.

10:41 in the name of a prophet … in the name of a righteous man. This expands on the principle of v. 40. To welcome Christ’s Reps equals welcoming Him. Prophet one who, if he conducted himself in a worthy manner, was to be treated exactly as the one he represented. He had the same authority and the same message as the person he represented. Receive is a key word; it means to welcome, take hold of, accept. Greek word dechomai, used 6x, 4 in v. 40, 2 in v. 41, the word lambano is used 2x in v. 41 & also translated receive, means take. Jesus focused on the positive response of receiving rather than the negative response of rejection. In the OT, a person who received or accepted a prophet & his message was basically accepting God’s will. They believed God had spoken. The will of God for those who heard the message of the apostles & those who hear the message we bring, & received it favorably was/is that they would believe and be saved. Back to 10:40 to receive the message of Christ’s sent ones is to receive Christ. A person receives us & our testimony receives Christ because we are His ambassadors. And to receive Christ is to receive God.

10:42 whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones. Beautiful picture. The reference is to their lowliness in spirit, their littleness in the eyes of an undiscerning world. Believers. Not stature but status. Little ones was a term of affection that Jesus used toward his disciples, especially when they followed him with the innocence and faith of a child (18:1–6; 19:13–15). He used the same wording in 25:31–46; saying that those He sent represented Him & any response to them was equivalent to a response to Him in person. 25:40 to the extent you did it unto the least of these My brothers you did it unto Me. A cup of cold water, the smallest service, a gift even the poorest person could give. In the name of a disciple or, as in Mark 9:41, because you are Christ’s: from love to Me, & to him from his connection with Me. He will not lose his reward. Here is the word reward again, for the 3x. The key to understanding this passage is what the reward is & why it is given. Jesus seems to assume His disciples understood the concept of reward in His kingdom. Reward is usually something offered in return for some service or benefit received. In the Bible, a reward can refer to something given for either a good or bad act. The psalms speak of a reward for the righteous Ps. 58:11 and of the reward of the wicked Ps. 91:8. When the Son of Man returns in glory, He will reward each according to his works Matt. 16:27. 1 Cor. 3:8-15 speaks of varying rewards for believers. Here it is used in the sense of an outcome, the result of belief. It means they believe & are saved. It ties back to 5:12 great is your reward in heaven. This is the salvation Christ purchased & gives to His chosen ones. We tend to think of reward in terms of what believers earn, like 1 Cor. 3:8-15...but the idea behind reward in Matt. 10 is of receiving by faith not works and the reward being of grace, undeserved and unearned.

The idea of God’s reward being given to His people is stated as early as God’s covenant with Abraham Gen. 15:1 do not fear Abram, I am a shield to you, you reward shall be very great. But even there it is clear in context that the reward is not deserved from God, but is an expression of God’s grace toward the human covenant partner whom God has chosen. The reward is not a payment for but a motivation to faithfulness. The reward of Matt. 10 is God’s gift of eternal salvation Matt. 25:34; Rev. 11:18. The reward is given not in response to our works but our response to Christ's finished work. Rom. 2:6; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 22:12. God's rewards are always gifts of grace to undeserving sinners who can only respond well to Him due to His giving them the ability and desire to respond well. What do we have that we have not received from God as a gift?

C.S. Lewis wrote a paper in 1962 entitled "They Asked for a Paper", where he distinguished between various kinds of rewards. He said a person may marry only for money, so is rewarded by money, but is rightly judged dishonest & selfish because the reward is not linked with love. On the other hand, marriage is the proper reward of an honest & true lover, and it is not selfish desiring it because love and marriage are naturally linked. The proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, like a trophy, but are the activity itself in its fullest experience. The rewards of the New Testament belong largely to this category. So if we speak of merit or earning rewards in the context of this passgae we misunderstand Jesus in 10:41-42. Jesus is saying essentially the same thing in 3 ways...that those who receive his followers, because they accept what those individuals stand for, will in turn be received by God. Because he is is literally in the name of and refers to recognizing the prophet, righteous person, or “little one” for who he is as God’s representative who carries the life-giving gospel. The person receiving the disciple is becoming a believer. Receiving or not losing a reward here in Matt. 10:40-42 means receiving eternal life, not some specific status on earth or in heaven such as the rewards God promises to believers for their faithfulness to Him as seen in 1 Cor. 3:8-15.

Next up, five implications for daily living. Check out the blog tomorrow for that.

Get Close Enough to Matter...and Get Along

If we want to share the gospel with unbelievers we will need to get to know them and then tell them the accurate truth of the message. One hurdle in the way of evangelism is personality conflict. Another is worldview disagreements. All I can say is, don't allow your dislike for another person or your disagreement with their views to keep you from attempting to reach them for Christ.

You may have some cleaning up to do before re-engaging someone with the gospel. Humble yourself and make amends. Then trust God to give you the courage to love them enough to courageously dive deeply into the gospel and tell the whole story, even risking rejection and embarrassment.

"For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed -- God is witness -- nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority." (1 Thess. 2:1-6)

Words are Necessary when Preaching the Gospel

Preach the gospel always, it is necessary to use words. Accurate ones. People can't know what you don't tell them. You may show them a wonderful example, but people aren't mind readers. In contrast to the oft-quoted and most likely misquoted or misattributed St. Francis of Assisi line, “preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words”, I present the idea "preach the gospel always, it is necessary to use words." Of course our lives must ring true and not pull the rug out from under our words, but if we don't use words we leave it up to them to fill in the blanks. Mere words may be cheap, but all are significant. God's Word is a priceless treasure. And the Holy Spirit said, through the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:2, "preach the Word", the inerrant, infallible, perfect Word of God, in which the gospel is found, that God which is "the power of God unto salvation for all who believe" (Rom. 1:16). The Word which does it's work in those who believe (1 Thess. 2:13).

SENT: Crucifixion

In Matt. 10:34-39 we see some of the toughest & hard to understand words in Christ's sermon on mission.

A sword, not peace (vv. 34-37)
In v. 34 Jesus in essence says "Do not think inaccurately about what I came to do and what the result will be. Do not mistake or misunderstand why I came." He says Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth, I did not come to bring peace but a sword. This is an often misunderstood verse. What does it mean? Think... means practice, consider, consider, supppose. Peace...is the a bsence of strife and presence of blessing. Bring is literally the word...throw, cast or send. By this word the expectancy of the disciples is dramatically pictured, as if they were eagerly looking up for peace as something to be flung down to earth from heaven. But Jesus says there will be a sudden hurling of a sword where peace is expected. There are three primary words for sword in the New Testament, here it is a short sword, a dagger. The kind used for hand to hand combat.

It makes sense that they would have thought that peace would permeate life for disciples of Jesus. He was promised as the Prince of peace. Isaiah foretold that there would be no end to the increase of His government, or of peace. The Holy Spirit spoke In Luke 1:78-79 through Zacharias to say that John the Baptist was a forerunner of the Sunrise from on high, who would guide our feet in the way of peace. The angels sang at Christ's birth Luke 2:14 glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased. Even before His crucifixion Jeaus said John 14:27 peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, let not your heart be troubled or fearful. He said John 6:33 these things I have spoken that you might have peace. So why a sword instead of peace? Jesus is talking about His disciples relation to the world, the kind of reception they could expect to receive. He would give peace to those He saves, but the world would not. Christ’s servants are to remember the nature of His mission. In stark terms, He describes His mission as bringing a ‘sword’ to the earth (v. 34). It will be a sword of division, in which the closest blood ties might be severed in the interest of spiritual ties of loyalty to Jesus Christ.

In verses 35-36 Jesus says that the members of a household who do not believe, while loving each other, friendly, caring, family, would be enemies for the sake of the gospel. Set...means to cause a separation, alienate. Enemies...signifies utmost hatred, hostile in mind.

Verse 37 is a clear declaration of Christ's deity, because no one, not even parents, deserves higher honor than Jesus.

In light of Christ’s words, how do you relate to friends and family who are unbelievers?
You do what Christians are called to do…you love them, treat them honorably, kindly, pray for them, do everything you can to live and share the gospel with them. REMEMBER: 1. Jesus brings the sword not us. It is metaphorical, not actual. We are at peace with a holy God therefore at peace being alienated from sinners. 2. We are called to live in peace with all. Blessed are peacemakers, love your enemies. Love Jesus more than any other person or thing [family, possessions, sin], therefore willing to be hated. 3. Let your speech be gracious. Col. 4:5-6/Eph. 4:29. Our true peace is with God, not those who are still His enemies. We are to love, be kind, reach out...but we can have no true peace unless they are at peace with God. What harmony has Christ and Satan?

A cross, not comfort (vv. 38-39)
Verse 38 is probably one of the most misused and misunderstood verses in the Bible. To fully understand the power of Jesus’ words “take up your cross” we need to know what it isn’t. Your cross is not...

1. Some tough thing or person in your life. The cross is not just bearing the difficulties and pains of life. Our cross is not an angry husband or nagging wife; it is not that wayward child or that arthritic hip. We all have problems. Those who are saved and unsaved. That is a part of life. No matter how tough life gets, the things that happen can never be crosses. A mean person, a difficult relationship, financial hardship, these may test your faith but they are not crosses. Your cross isn’t your difficulties, your health or the bad situations you face in life.

2. A substitute for the cross of Christ. your cross isn't a self righteous version of the only sacrifice for sinners.

3. Something that gains you better standing or favor with God.

What it means to take up your cross.
1. Dying to yourself. The cross is not just a place of suffering, it is a place of death! When Jesus spoke of the cross everyone in his audience knew what he was referring to. When Jesus says that we are to take up our cross, He is saying that we are to live as dead men, alive to God's will, dead to ours. We were dead in sin, now we are alive to God in Christ.
2. Giving yourself without reservation to Christ's lordship. In verse 37 Jesus is calling us to give Him ultimate supremacy, The 12 would have instantly known this meant giving themselves wholeheartedly to Christ's lordship. The people of Jesus’ day were concrete thinkers. When He spoke of the cross they knew exactly what he was speaking of as they had watched many a poor soul marched to their death by Roman soldiers carrying their crosses. When a criminal was forced to carry his own cross to the place of execution, he was admitting that the Roman Empire had the right over his life to carry out the death sentence. As we engage in following Jesus it is our privilege to admit, acknowledge that He has sovereign right over our lives, He is the owner, He is our Captian, our Lord, our Master, therefore we submit ourselves to Him.
3. Willing to give up everything for Jesus.
Jesus says in verse 39 "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it." No earthly sacrifice can compare to what we gain in Christ. A cross is a willing sacrifice of everything you have for the sake of Christ. Your ambitions. Your opinions. Your judgments. Your successes. Your failures. Your pet sins. Everything is for Christ's sake...because of Jesus and for Jesus. Milton Vincent’s book A Gospel Primer for Christians has been & continues to be very helpful and challenging to me…he says, "when my flesh yearns for some prohibited thing, I must die. When called to do something I don’t want to do, I must die. When I wish to be selfish and serve no one, I must die. When shattered by hardships I despise, I must die. When wanting to cling to wrongs done against me, I must die. When enticed by allurements of the world, I must die. When wanting to keep besetting sins a secret, I must die. When dreams that are good are shoved aside, I must die." Rom. 6:5 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Paul said I die daily.

We die to self, give ourselves without reservation to Christ’s lordship, willing to give up everything for Jesus …so that we might follow Christ wherever He leads.

Crucifixion hurts. In the 1st century crucifixion was one of the most feared forms of execution. It was used effectively by Romans, as a strong deterrent not to rebel. Jesus came to earth to die on a cross, for our sins. He used the image with profound significance as an example of discipleship with His followers. Jesus’ path of suffering & death on the cross is the ultimate example of obedience to the Father’s will. Jesus prayed before He was crucified Not My will but Yours be done. We must die to our will and take up God’s will. And we ought to be compassionate towards those who are still in the state we were before Christ saved us…those who do not believe are held captive by Satan to do his will, not God's.

Phil. 2:8 being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, death on a cross. We who follow Jesus are the living dead…We live crucified…but we must know that it leads to life. The gospel teaches us that dying is not the end but the beginning. There is a new quality and character to our lives, a new way of life in Christ because we have been born again, regenerated. Phil. 3:8-10. I count all things loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Rom. 6:11…even so consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Soli Deo Gloria

A Fitting Conclusion

Jesus concludes His sermon on mission in Matthew 10:40-42 with words of assurance and encouragement. As Jesus instructed His apostles on what to expect as they went with the gospel to a hostile world, He gave them the positive and negative things to expect. He gave them a realistic, non sugar-coated look at what would come at them. He was preparing them for real life and ministry. Now He gives a fitting conclusion to a sobering sermon. He tells them that those who receive them favorably give evidence that they receive Him favorably. He makes another strong assertion of His deity but saying also that all who receive Him receive Him who sent Him. The Son assumes equality with the Father. And He is the rewarder of those who seek Him. Our Sovereign Savior is the faithful rewarder of the one who pursues and serves Him by faith.

Debunking Pastoral Myths

I golfed yesterday, for the first time in over four years. You read it right. Four years. I have my reasons. I don't like paying to play golf and when I do get invited there usually isn't a return invite the next time around. People like to play golf with those who have some skill at it. Yesterday I got to represent a ministry I am a part of at a tournament for a local Christian University and golf with three good friends. That was the best part, the good fellowship with three brothers in Christ.

More than a few times I have had someone come up to me at church and say, jokingly, something like this: "you pastors only work one day a week. You golf the other days." My best comeback is that I don't remember the last time I played and if I could it wouldn't be a good memory since I am so bad a golfer. So Today, I am glad to be able to debunk that pastoral myth and set the record straight.

Of course, I have gone fishing a few more times in the past four years than I have golfed. Now there's a sport I can get into. If I could, I'd do that as often as some people think I golf.

Life Altering Truth

We come to God through Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, as revealed in God's Word alone, for God's glory alone.
This is life altering truth.