Matthew Chapter 10 Continued
Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
“Fear him”:
God is the one who destroys in hell (Luke 12:5).
Persecutors can only harm the body.
Our fear of man is unfounded simply because he can do just so much to you. Our fear should be of God, who could send you to a burning hell.
One of the biggest fears in our society today is fear of our own government, and particularly the IRS; probably because most people do not understand the tax laws.
Ninety percent of the time, the things we fear never happen.
Besides, fear is the opposite of faith, and it is displeasing to God.
Fear of God could be classified as respect, and that is very smart.
Matthew
“Without your Father”:
Not merely “without His knowledge”, Jesus was teaching that God providentially controls the timing and circumstance of such insignificant events as the death of a sparrow.
Even the number of hairs on our heads is controlled by His sovereign will (verse 30).
In other words, divine providence governs even the smallest details and also even the most mundane matters.
These are very powerful affirmations of the sovereignty of God.
We think very poorly of ourselves generally.
God sees our potential.
God is concerned about even the little things in our lives as well as the big problems.
If He would go so far as to number even the hairs on our heads, He loved us very much.
Man's worth to God is much greater than the worth of all the other things God created.
Mankind was made in the image of God.
Everything else was made for the use of man on the earth.
Verses
“Confess me” means “Acknowledge that you belong to Me.”
In reality, secret discipleship is a practical impossibility.
Jesus constantly called for an open confession of Himself by His followers.
That our confession is to be “before men” clearly indicates that a public confession of true Christian faith is a virtual necessity.
The warning “whosoever shall deny me” is a comprehensive historical aorist tense, referring not to one moment of denial (such as Peter’s), but to an entire lifelong resistance to Christ.
Therefore a single act of denial does not make one unworthy of being a disciple, but a refusal to confess Christ at all eliminates one from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 10:32 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”
“Confess me”:
The person who acknowledges Christ as Lord in life or in death, if necessary, is the one whom the Lord will acknowledge before God as His own. (2 Tim.
Matthew 10:33 “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
In Romans 10:9:10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
These Scriptures tell it all.
We must open our mouths and tell everyone about Jesus.
If we really love Him, we will.
He loved us enough to die for us.
We should love Him enough to live for Him.
We can go to heaven or hell, through the confession of our mouths.
Matthew 10:34 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
“Not … peace, but a sword”:
Though the ultimate end of the gospel is peace with God (John 14:17; Rom. 8:6), the immediate result of the gospel is frequently conflict.
Conversion to Christ can result in strained family relationships (verses
Following Christ presupposes a willingness to endure such hardships (verses
Though He is called “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6), Christ will have no one deluded into thinking that He calls believers to a life devoid of all conflict.
Verses
Matthew 10:35 "For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."
Never before in history has there been a time when parents and children were at more odds.
Years ago parents were treated with respect by their children, now most young people feel that their parents are out of tune with the way things really are.
Matthew 10:36 "And a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household."
The strange thing about getting saved, usually it happens one family member at a time.
Usually the one who gets saved has a lot of opposition from the family members.
Even more than that, those that are baptized in the Holy Spirit have even more opposition from family members.
Matthew 10:37 "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
You see, we cannot side in with our family against God.
It is really not important to be in total agreement with family, but it is very important to be in total agreement with God.
A few months ago, I heard of an ordained minister who had diligently tried to get his children in the church and living for God.
With all the effort he had put out, they stayed in the world.
This minister then mailed his ordination papers back to the church headquarters and then he stopped preaching.
He joined his family and gave up the church.
This is the very thing that the Scripture is saying not to do.
Verses
“Taketh not his cross:”
This is the first mention of the cross in the New Testament.
It was the custom for the condemned man to carry his cross on the way to his execution. There is plenty of evidence that our Lord anticipated the mode of His death.
“Findeth his life” means to wrongfully gain something out of life for oneself. Here the word means the natural life as opposed to the spiritual life.
That is, to pursue one’s natural
Matthew 10:38 "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."
Here is Jesus’ first mention of the word “cross” to His disciples.
To them it would have evoked a picture of a violent, degrading death.
He was demanding total commitment from them, even unto physical death, and making this call to full surrender a part of the message they were to proclaim to others.
This same call to
For those who come to Christ with
Each of us has a cross to bear.
It must be the cross of Jesus, and not a cross of our making.
The stronger you are in the Lord, the heavier the cross is.
If we are not willing to bear the cross of Jesus, then truly, we are not worthy. He died for us on the cross: we just carry it.
Matthew 10:39 "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."
If we are living for this life but not preparing for eternity, then we really have no future at all worth having.
If you are storing up treasures in heaven and forgetting about ourselves here, we will have an eternity of joy in heaven.
Matthew 10:40 "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."
He that receiveth you receiveth me”:
Christ lives in His people.
They also come in His name as His ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20).
Therefore, how they are treated is how He is treated (18:5; 25:45; Luke 9:48). There is just one message; Salvation through Jesus Christ.
If you are ministering that message, those who receive it, receive Jesus.
Verses
“In the name of a prophet” (i.e., “as a prophet”):
The meaning of this statement is that those who are not prophets themselves may share in the labor and reward of the prophets by willingly supporting their ministry.
“One of these little ones” is a reference to the fact that even the smallest service done to the most insignificant of Christ’s servants shall be rewarded by the Lord Himself.
Matthew 10:41 "He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward."
“In the name of a prophet … In the name of a righteous man”: This expands on the principle of (verse 40).
To welcome Christ’s emissaries is tantamount to welcoming Him (25:40).
If you receive the prophet, you are actually receiving the message he, or she, brings. If they are true prophets, they are elevating the name of Jesus.
Salvation is the same for listener, as it is for the prophet.
Matthew 10:42 "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold [water] only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."
The Bible says, if you have done it for the least of these, you have done unto to me (Jesus). The “little ones” are believers.
Matthew Chapter 10 Continued Questions
1.If we are not to fear, one who can kill the body, who should we fear?
2.What percent of things we fear never happen?
3.What was the price of two sparrows?
4.What has God numbered on us?
5.Who will Jesus confess before the Father?
6.What does Romans 10:9 say?
7.With the heart man believeth to what?
8.If Jesus did not bring peace, what did He bring?
9.Who will a man be against?
10.Who will a daughter be against?
11.Who are man's foes?
12.If you love son or daughter more than God, what is your state?
13.Was the minister right in siding with his family?
14.What must we take up daily?
15.What is the difference in Jesus' cross and one of our own making?
16.If we lose our lives for Jesus, what will happen?
17.When people receive the message we bring, what do they receive?
18.If you receive a prophet, what will you get?
19.If you give a cup of water to a child in the name of a disciple, what will you get?