Matthew Chapter 10 – Workers of God, Take Note!
In Matt 10, Jesus sends His 12 disciples out to do the work of preaching the gospel, but not before He gives them many important pieces of encouragement and advice. Let us reflect on some of the following points today.
Do we let fear interfere with God’s work?
It is natural to fear when working for God, especially in preaching. We may be rejected, ridiculed, or even persecuted. Jesus Himself knows this, which is why He gives His disciples much encouragement before sending them.
The next time we want to do something for God, let us remember what Jesus tells us in this chapter:
– rejection is normal, even expected (v13)
– God gives us the words to speak when we need it (v19-20)
– God will not let us end up in an entirely hopeless situations (v23) – even in the face of persecution, we will always have at least one more place to escape to.
– God watches over us, and we are precious in His sight (v29-31)
Are we ready to make sacrifices for God?
Jesus says, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt 10:37)
Does this shock us? Would we honestly be prepared to give up our family members for Christ right now? We will never be able to give up big things, if we cannot even sacrifice small things. Setting aside some time for God each day, prioritizing God and church over pursuing our other wants – such sacrifices can prepare us, so that one day when we are presented with a harder decision, we will be able to tell God, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will”, and not turn away sadly, like the rich young ruler.
Are we keeping up with our own spiritual nurture?
In this chapter, we see that Judas was one of the 12 sent out. He, like the others, spent 3 years of his time following Jesus, witnessing and performing miracles, and preaching the kingdom of God. Despite all this, he did not guard his heart, but gave in to his greed, even stealing from the money box (John 12:6) and ultimately betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
A dangerous misconception that is easy to make is that “I am doing church work regularly, thus my faith is in good shape!” We mistakenly take church attendance and performing duties as an indicator for our closeness with God. But there is no substitute for reading the word of God, prayer and meditating on God’s word. Judas was physically close to the Lord – even sharing bread. But his heart was far from God, and he hardened his heart to ignore several warnings from Jesus that he would betray Him.
Jesus similarly warns us today in Matt 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Note here that the will of the Father is not in prophesying or casting out demons, but in living out God’s laws in our own lives. Let us learn from Paul’s attitude in 1 Cor 9:27
“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
