From Matthew 10:26-33 – An Apostolic Primer Part 3

From vs 5 of this chapter through the end, Jesus is giving a set of instructions to His Apostles as He sends them out on their first mission. He gives them a charge to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons. He impresses upon them the weight of their message, and they are to leave no one with the idea that this Gospel can be safely dismissed. Then He gives them basic instructions on how to conduct themselves, and a series of warnings, for serving Christ, is not for the faint of heart. There are dangers and opposition to be faced. Jesus will not have them venture into this battle ground assuming it will be all joy and victory. They are marching to war.

Note then in this section something of grave importance, and of vital application to the Church today. When all around us are ministries and books and seminars that say they are imparting new and necessary secrets of the Kingdom and of the Christian life – beware, they lie.

Those who seek position and power in the Church, often go about it with a form of Gnosticism which must be rejected out of hand. The Gospel is open and plain. What was told to them by Jesus out of the public eye, was to be proclaimed openly, and I might add, not peddled like some secret commodity. The message of the Kingdom is not in secret code or given only to some pretended spiritual elite. “Proclaim it on the housetops” is Jesus command. Not, package it and market it to the few who can afford it.

Note too how they were to not give their opposition more credit than they deserve. Yes, there are opposers. Yes, they will employ tactics to silence or obscure the Gospel. But they will not win. We are to fear only our Christ and King in service, and not the fierce faces of defeated enemies. The most they can do is kill us. Christ has already overcome death and the grave.

And note that He does not call them to face these opponents as though their arrows will not pierce and wound woefully. He does not treat the pains of spiritual opposition as if they are not truly painful. But what He does do is help them put their coming suffering into context. These opposers can do nothing to harm the soul. And in comparison and due time, the earthly woes will seem like nothing. He numbers even the hairs on the heads of His saints. Nothing concerning us gets by Him. And in the final judgment, these who deny Christ His rightful place will be denied by Him. And those rejected by the World because of Christ, will be shown to be His cosmic treasures in the final day.

All in all – Jesus gives all who serve Him great reasons to face any and all things we might suffer for His name – reason to remain steadfast, courageous and bold. For He loves us to the highest degree.

The world may lie about us, misrepresent us, obscure our message – but vindication day will come. Do not faint.

And when it comes to communicating the truths of the Kingdom, hide nothing. We do not trade in secret knowledge. We are not trying to build a secret society or club – we are introducing the Kingdom of God, and it is a universally public thing.

Do you want to know what it is have real value as a human being? To stand before the throne of God on the final day, and have Jesus stand beside you and say to the Father “This one is MINE!”