Believers will be ill-treated! - Matthew 10:16-25
Believers will be ill-treated! - Matthew 10:16-25
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 3, 2019
In today’s politically correct climate individuals can feel threatened by anything, everything, and anyone. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, then you have a personal right to whine about it and make a spectacle of yourself concerning your hurt feelings. It makes one wonder what these same wilting Willies would do if they were truly persecuted.
Jesus knew that his message was not and would not be popular with the established religious leadership. And in fact they would do anything to silence it and its messengers including lying, threatening, and imprisoning those who dared share it. Evil does not like to be exposed and the world was enshrouded in evil. I believe this is why there are those who are emboldened in our day and age to not just disagree with the gospel message but to personally persecute in any way possible anyone who dares to try and share it. Jesus knew believers would be persecuted; let’s discover what he taught about it…
READ: Matthew 10:16-25
Last week we learned that believers are not to waste their time with those who are not interested or who disdain the gospel. Yet we are to share the good news in a sin-stained world. Jesus knew that believers will be ill-treated and that…
I. Believers must be spiritually shrewd! (Vv. 16-20)
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 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. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
1. Never forget that once you come to Christ you are now a stranger in a strange land. You are now in enemy territory. You are to be “on your guard against men” who do not believe. The disciples needed to understand that Jesus was “sending [them] out like sheep among wolves”! Christians live and breathe in a world that hates Jesus! Just as Israel had become enemy territory to the disciples, our world, our families, our neighbors, co-workers, and fellow students who do not believe are now part of a pack of spiritual wolves waiting to tear us apart given the chance! And if we are weak in our faith, the worldly pack will go after us first! Do not doubt me in this. Jesus therefore tells them to “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves”. The same advice applies to us! Do not be spiritually naïve because a spiritually dark world wants each one of us back into the fold. Why, because these same people we once thought of as friends, family, or good people “will hand [us] over to the local councils and flog [us] in their synagogues”, churches, communities, colleges, schools, workplaces, and family gatherings. Do not be shocked or surprised when those whom we once thought of as friends or family now hate us because of our faith. Jesus bluntly tells his followers that “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.” And guess what? They were! We live in a day and age whereby many believers are more afraid of not being accepted by their unbelieving concentric circle of acquaintances than being true to the Lord! However there is great news for the disciples and for us because “when they arrest [disdain, dismiss, or distrust] you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” If we have Jesus we have the Spirit of God within us! Believers must be spiritually shrewd!
EXAMPLE: The whispering and allure of the world can cloud the weak-willed believer who is not walking with the Lord the way they should. I’ve seen many a young person getting caught up in ungodly relationships only to try and justify them. There is a reason the Scriptures remind us that the friends we keep or the relationship we make can rot our relationship with God. Paul quoted the writer Menander when he reminded the Corinthian Church that “bad company corrupts good character”. Even those we love can lead us astray when it comes to our faith and this is why Jesus related that believers must be spiritually shrewd!
Family and friends, co-workers and community members will rebel against the spiritual truth if they do not know Jesus themselves. When those around us disdain us for our faith we should not be surprised. Believers will be ill-treated and…
II. Believers must understand whose family they belong to! (Vv. 21-25)
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. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 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!
1. Jesus does not soft-sell to his followers what awaits their future. Far too often in churches today we have preachers telling their listeners all about the love of Jesus and how he can make life better but few relate that with belief comes a personal sacrifice. The sacrifice is being able to say “no” to the rest of the world and its deluded promises. Jesus bluntly tells them that “Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.” Faith is more than getting it all, it is also about personal spiritual and physical sacrifice. Remember, “Freely you have received, freely give” (v. 8). When we come to Jesus we are immediately thrust into a spiritual battle whether we like it or not. Jesus graphically relates that “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Now he was not relating that our salvation is contingent upon our standing firm because Jesus knew better and he knows human nature. Rather he is speaking to Jewish men who would face severe persecution and consequences because of their faith in him. Later Jesus will tell them, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28 NIV)” They are to fear God just as we are! Yet in our day and age we would rather have the smiles and phony acceptance of ungodly friends or coworkers, family members or neighbors, than stand firm in Christ! Our final destiny and reward is not here but in a much better place and existence. Jesus knew his disciples faced some very tough days ahead after his crucifixion. “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Some believe he was speaking of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem itself, the dispersion of the Israelite nation, and referencing the future church and its witness to the entire world until he returns. Whatever the case like his disciples we must realize that “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” and in fact “If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub” like Jesus just was, “how much more the members of his household!” Believers must understand whose family they belong to!
EXAMPLE: To be honest there are fellow believers I am a lot closer to than some of my own family members. The reason is obvious because fellow believers share my faith which is far more intimate than what some of my relatives believe. Jesus experienced this when his own family thought he had gone off the deep end and wanted him to either come home or declare his messiahship publically (Mark 3:21 & John 7:3-4). Yet later Jesus reminds them that his real “brothers and sisters” are those who hear the good news and respond to it by following him wholeheartedly (Matthew 10:37). Believers must understand whose family they belong to!
Conclusion:
Believers must be spiritually shrewd! Believers must understand whose family they belong to!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2019 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 3, 2019
In today’s politically correct climate individuals can feel threatened by anything, everything, and anyone. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, then you have a personal right to whine about it and make a spectacle of yourself concerning your hurt feelings. It makes one wonder what these same wilting Willies would do if they were truly persecuted.
Jesus knew that his message was not and would not be popular with the established religious leadership. And in fact they would do anything to silence it and its messengers including lying, threatening, and imprisoning those who dared share it. Evil does not like to be exposed and the world was enshrouded in evil. I believe this is why there are those who are emboldened in our day and age to not just disagree with the gospel message but to personally persecute in any way possible anyone who dares to try and share it. Jesus knew believers would be persecuted; let’s discover what he taught about it…
READ: Matthew 10:16-25
Last week we learned that believers are not to waste their time with those who are not interested or who disdain the gospel. Yet we are to share the good news in a sin-stained world. Jesus knew that believers will be ill-treated and that…
I. Believers must be spiritually shrewd! (Vv. 16-20)
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 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. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
1. Never forget that once you come to Christ you are now a stranger in a strange land. You are now in enemy territory. You are to be “on your guard against men” who do not believe. The disciples needed to understand that Jesus was “sending [them] out like sheep among wolves”! Christians live and breathe in a world that hates Jesus! Just as Israel had become enemy territory to the disciples, our world, our families, our neighbors, co-workers, and fellow students who do not believe are now part of a pack of spiritual wolves waiting to tear us apart given the chance! And if we are weak in our faith, the worldly pack will go after us first! Do not doubt me in this. Jesus therefore tells them to “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves”. The same advice applies to us! Do not be spiritually naïve because a spiritually dark world wants each one of us back into the fold. Why, because these same people we once thought of as friends, family, or good people “will hand [us] over to the local councils and flog [us] in their synagogues”, churches, communities, colleges, schools, workplaces, and family gatherings. Do not be shocked or surprised when those whom we once thought of as friends or family now hate us because of our faith. Jesus bluntly tells his followers that “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.” And guess what? They were! We live in a day and age whereby many believers are more afraid of not being accepted by their unbelieving concentric circle of acquaintances than being true to the Lord! However there is great news for the disciples and for us because “when they arrest [disdain, dismiss, or distrust] you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” If we have Jesus we have the Spirit of God within us! Believers must be spiritually shrewd!
EXAMPLE: The whispering and allure of the world can cloud the weak-willed believer who is not walking with the Lord the way they should. I’ve seen many a young person getting caught up in ungodly relationships only to try and justify them. There is a reason the Scriptures remind us that the friends we keep or the relationship we make can rot our relationship with God. Paul quoted the writer Menander when he reminded the Corinthian Church that “bad company corrupts good character”. Even those we love can lead us astray when it comes to our faith and this is why Jesus related that believers must be spiritually shrewd!
Family and friends, co-workers and community members will rebel against the spiritual truth if they do not know Jesus themselves. When those around us disdain us for our faith we should not be surprised. Believers will be ill-treated and…
II. Believers must understand whose family they belong to! (Vv. 21-25)
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. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 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!
1. Jesus does not soft-sell to his followers what awaits their future. Far too often in churches today we have preachers telling their listeners all about the love of Jesus and how he can make life better but few relate that with belief comes a personal sacrifice. The sacrifice is being able to say “no” to the rest of the world and its deluded promises. Jesus bluntly tells them that “Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.” Faith is more than getting it all, it is also about personal spiritual and physical sacrifice. Remember, “Freely you have received, freely give” (v. 8). When we come to Jesus we are immediately thrust into a spiritual battle whether we like it or not. Jesus graphically relates that “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Now he was not relating that our salvation is contingent upon our standing firm because Jesus knew better and he knows human nature. Rather he is speaking to Jewish men who would face severe persecution and consequences because of their faith in him. Later Jesus will tell them, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28 NIV)” They are to fear God just as we are! Yet in our day and age we would rather have the smiles and phony acceptance of ungodly friends or coworkers, family members or neighbors, than stand firm in Christ! Our final destiny and reward is not here but in a much better place and existence. Jesus knew his disciples faced some very tough days ahead after his crucifixion. “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Some believe he was speaking of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem itself, the dispersion of the Israelite nation, and referencing the future church and its witness to the entire world until he returns. Whatever the case like his disciples we must realize that “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” and in fact “If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub” like Jesus just was, “how much more the members of his household!” Believers must understand whose family they belong to!
EXAMPLE: To be honest there are fellow believers I am a lot closer to than some of my own family members. The reason is obvious because fellow believers share my faith which is far more intimate than what some of my relatives believe. Jesus experienced this when his own family thought he had gone off the deep end and wanted him to either come home or declare his messiahship publically (Mark 3:21 & John 7:3-4). Yet later Jesus reminds them that his real “brothers and sisters” are those who hear the good news and respond to it by following him wholeheartedly (Matthew 10:37). Believers must understand whose family they belong to!
Conclusion:
Believers must be spiritually shrewd! Believers must understand whose family they belong to!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2019 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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