Matthew 10:1-15

The short version of what we talked about last week, was us seeing and recognizing Jesus’ outlook on other people. As Jesus stopped at the end of Matthew 9 and looked across the masses, looked across all of the people that He could see, and saw many people that didn’t even know Him, and yet He still had compassion for them. We saw His heart for others as He taught, He preached, but also actually helped and healed and cared for other people. And then we looked at the fact that Jesus told us, that His people would need to fast when He was gone and based on what we looked at in Isaiah 58, I believe that He made that point, because He wants His people to carry on in His purposes, to teach others, to preach His Gospel message, but also to actually care for and help the people around us. Isaiah 58 showed us that fasting would draw our reliance and our focus to God and that it should result in an other focused way of living by the power of God. And that’s what we need as we seek to follow Jesus.

 

That was the short version of the big picture from last week, seeing Jesus teach that truth, live out the example, and then give some instruction about how this was all going to work out in the future. This week we are going to see the small group of men that Jesus gathered around Him, the guys that He was teaching these things to, the guys that were watching Jesus do all of these things as well, but now this week He’s like, now it’s time for YOU GUYS to get out there and start doing these things too. Let’s read our passage.

 

Read Matthew 10:1-15

 

In verse one here we see the first mention in Matthew of the full group of the twelve disciples being there with Jesus. Jesus had lots of people following Him around as we have seen, some with good intentions, some with not good intentions, but through all of those people, Jesus called twelve men specifically to this group of disciples. And they are named for us here in verses 2 through 4:

 

Simon Peter (or just Peter usually)

Andrew (who was Peter’s brother)

James the son of Zebedee

John (who was James’ brother)

Philip

Bartholomew

Thomas

Matthew (who is the guy writing this)

James the son of Alphaeus (there’s two James)

Lebbaeus (who is sometimes called Thaddaeus)

Simon

And of course, Judas Iscariot (who as it says there will be the one to betray Jesus)

 

That’s twelve men. Twelve men that were called by Jesus to the incredible role of being His disciples. And so, what is a disciple? The simple definition is a follower of someone, a person who accepts and helps in spreading the doctrines or teachings of another person. For us, as Christians, and for these twelve men, that means following Jesus, and accepting and helping, in the spreading of the Gospel truth, that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to save sinners like us. Like I said, Jesus had lots of people following Him around, He had plenty of on-lookers, He had plenty of people listening, He even had people as we have seen, following Him around with bad intentions, trying to destroy His reputation. But these twelves guys are the first ones that Jesus has specifically called to join Him and help Him in His ministry.

 

But there’s a number of things that I don’t want to miss about Jesus calling these guys. For one, Jesus is God, and He absolutely could have just done everything by Himself, He could have come in some crazy glorious way, and revealed immediately to everyone, exactly Who He was. But He didn’t. Instead, He made a plan to invite people into His work, which is crazy when we actually stop to think about it.

 

Maybe we can understand that the almighty God is at work in this world, and sometimes perhaps we think about ourselves as just detached from that, like we are just living our lives, and God is just doing what He does, but what we see here is God inviting people to be part of His work. There isn’t just some detachment here, there is an invitation. But then maybe we’re like, well the invitation must have just been to these special guys at this specific time. And yes, there was a certain call to a certain work that was unique to these guys at this time, but that doesn’t at all mean that God isn’t still calling His people, to participate in what He is doing, in this world right now. And we have to understand that.

 

And God’s call to these guys, even though it was somewhat unique for them, to be right there in the work with Jesus physically, wasn’t at all because they were some special super humans or super saints or something like that. It wasn’t based on their ability, it based on God’s choice and His call. These were pretty regular, pretty ordinary guys, and to me that’s always encouraging. That God would use the regular people like us. I want to look at another passage together in 1 Corinthians.

 

Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

 

 

But maybe our problem that needs correcting is the flip side of that view. Maybe we think so little of ourselves that we think we couldn’t actually be used by God, or maybe even so far as why would God want me? And this passage once again can correct our way of thinking from this as well. When Paul wrote this to the church in the city of Corinth, he told them in verse 26 that of their own flesh, of their own selves, that not many of them were wise, or mighty, or noble when they were called. He didn’t completely exclude someone from having any of those characteristics, but the point that he is making, is that God isn’t doing some draft process based on your life and ability statistics. He’s not looking at people and saying, ok so you’re this wise, and this mighty, and this noble, or this righteous, and so I am going to pick you based on those things. That’s not how this works at all. God calls people to Himself and then sends us out equipped with His power, His words, His purpose, to tell others about Him, and that’s not based on our natural traits and skillset, it’s based on Him and only by His power.

 

If we had to be worthy of it, or be good enough, or stand out in some way, if I had to have some sort of charisma to make me stand out, I don’t think I would have made it through the draft. But thankfully God is gracious, and He called people like us. Maybe we’re like, I’m good at a thing or two, or maybe I know a thing or two, but could we have ever lived up to the qualifications in front of a perfect God? Of course not. But the incredible truth of this passage, is that maybe even in light of our weakness and absolute insufficiency, it says that God takes the foolish things of this world and puts to shame those that think that they are wise, He takes the weak things of this world and puts to shame those that think that they are mighty.

 

The main point here is that God calls people into His work, just like these disciples that we are looking at back in Matthew again, but God using people in His work isn’t based on the person’s ability, it’s based on God using His power through that person, even you or I, and accomplishing his purposes with us. Maybe we couldn’t change the world or even our immediate community on our own, but it’s absolutely possible in every single way by His power working through us. I would never sell short what is possible by the power of our awesome God.

 

Back in Matthew 10, at the end of verse 1, it says that Jesus gave these guys power to accomplish the mission that He was sending them on. He gave them a specific gifting of God’s power for their specific mission. Just like God gives each and every one of us, that believe in Jesus, unique gifting for His work in our life. That gifting may not be casting out demons, and healing like these guys were going to do, but if you believe in Him, you are definitely gifted, and called, to something. When God calls, when God saves, God equips for His purposes.

 

There are a lot of different jobs in the movement of God’s kingdom, in God’s work in this world, and they aren’t higher or lesser jobs, there is just the perfect job that God has made each of us for. There is the role that He has specifically gifted you to fill and every single one of us are just coworkers in the big picture of God’s plan. But if we together as God’s people are going to be effective in His work then we need to be figuring out and getting into our roles. For these guys here in Matthew, Jesus laid out their role pretty clearly, and now He was sending them out to get to work.

 

Read Matthew 10:5-10

 

This group of fishermen, tax collectors, blue collar workers, laborers, we’re being told by Jesus who was also a carpenter to go and get to work for the Kingdom. He told them don’t go for all the gentiles yet or into the city of Samaria, He’s like let’s focus right here and right now first. That’s not saying that the message wasn’t going to be for everyone, obviously it would get there, and we’re sitting here because of it, but Jesus wanted them to take the message to their fellow countrymen first.

 

Maybe there is a lesson for us in that too, because often times reaching people and missions kind of brings to our mind like going out to some third world country for Jesus, and that can definitely be the case. But if we look at the world situation spiritually right now, the greatest weakness and decline in the church is in the first world countries, it’s in our own backyard and there is so much to be done here right now. That is not at all to say that I don’t want to be involved with or support the mission everywhere, but let’s not wait until we are somewhere else to be on mission for Jesus, when there is plenty of mission all around us.

 

So, Jesus sent them, perhaps right up the street. He told them to preach the Kingdom, and to use His power to help those that needed it. He told them at the end of verse 8 to do this freely. He basically said that they got this free from Him, so they should give freely to others as well. And the crazy thing on top of that in verse 9 and 10 is that He basically said that you don’t need to take a bunch of stuff with you, not even money or whatever else. He tells them that a worker is worthy of his food. Which could totally mean that in their serving and ministering to people that they are blessed in that work to be provided food and maybe shelter or whatever else and it could also mean right along with that, that maybe they serve, and they minister and maybe they head out to the fields to work right alongside the people that they are ministering to as well, so that they can eat. Jesus was like get to work guys and somehow or another you will get what you need to survive.

 

And then there’s one last bit of instruction in verses 11 through 15.

 

Read Matthew 10:11-15

 

And I think these verses can sound kind of odd when just reading through this. But in reality, this is a very practical instruction for these guys. Like we talked about earlier, it wasn’t that they were looking for some specific worthy people that deserved their time. That passage in 1 Corinthians made it really clear that God isn’t evaluating some stat sheet on us. But what is in view here is really practical, as they were going into these areas around them and preaching the Kingdom, using God’s power, talking about Jesus, then I’m sure they would begin to see the people that were actually paying attention, that wanted to know more, that knew that there was something to all of this. So, for these sorts of people, they would stay with them, and speak further with them, and share the good news with them. But if people didn’t want anything to do with it, like in verse 14, if they will not receive or hear your words, then depart from those people. And the unfortunate reality is that for those that deny Jesus, that want nothing to do with Him, then the outlook isn’t great, Jesus says it’s worst then what happened in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which the Bible says were actually destroyed by sulfur and fire as a result of their sin.

 

We of course, absolutely don’t want that for anyone, at least I hope not, but in practicality at that time, Jesus was like there is 12 of you guys, go find the people that actually want to hear about Me, and invest your time there, and that’s exactly what these totally ordinary guys went out to do.

 

So, what are we walking away from all of this with?

 

I want us to walk away with the very ordinary nature of these guys that were called to an extraordinary purpose. They would have never been able to do these things on their own, but a great God called them for just such a time as this. Please don’t let us ever think of ourselves as not good enough, or not skilled enough, or whatever else, to be used in God’s work. We very well might not be good enough at all, but I know that He, and His power, can make us able to do His work. If He has saved you, He has called you to His work, just like He called these twelve guys. Maybe He has called you as an encourager, or as a giver, or as a helper, or as an administrator, or as a teacher, or as a leader. I can’t prescribe what your called to, but we would sure love to help you figure it out. For me, I never saw myself teaching or leading, this is not at all who I am naturally, and the ONLY REASON that I am up here right now is because God called us to do this, and His power is making it work out. And I know with absolute certainty, because I have seen it in myself, and in my wife, and others, that whatever role God has called you to, He can absolutely empower you to do it, and every role in His Kingdom work is extremely important.

 

This is why we are taking this next step as a church and starting these discipleship groups. I had a great time with the guys on Tuesday that were able to make it and if you weren’t able to make it, I hope can for the next one. And the women’s group is starting this coming Tuesday. But the point of these groups, is to take things, from just me talking up here, to an actual conversation with each other, about how we can grow from the truth, and get into the actual practice of following Jesus and doing the good things, doing the work that He has called us to do. That’s the goal. And today we saw Jesus take twelve average guys and start them on the path of turning the world upside down. I know that He has plans for us too, let’s make sure we’re serious about it. I can’t wait to see what all He has in store for us, and I hope receives all of the glory, all the way through it.