[Machine transcription]
In the name of Jesus, amen.
Dear saints, when I was in high school, I worked at a pizza place, Dion’s Pizza in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And I remember every once in a while, someone would come in and order a pizza with everything on it. I mean, everything. Pineapple and anchovy and sausage and bacon and ham and pepperoni, just the works. Everything you’ve got, put it on the pizza.
I just wonder if that’s how the Lord ordered up 2020 for us. Would you like a slice of pandemic, or some economic uncertainty, or a slice of protests of racial injustice, or a slice of riots, or a slice of anarchy, or a slice of Supreme Court decisions with unexpected consequences, or of a raucous political debate? And the Lord says, just give me a little bit of everything. That’s how the year is.
And when things are like this, there’s a number of temptations that come our way. One, the temptation to try to keep up with it all, and maybe right along with that, the temptation to think that that’s what matters. Or that something totally new and unexpected is happening, that maybe the Bible has something to say when things are more peaceful, but maybe now the scriptures are not as relevant. I think the opposite is the case. We have to make sure that our attention is not so totally swept away by the news that we forget about the good news, the old news, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the wisdom that he has for us.
Now, I think that the text today from Matthew chapter 10, Jesus is going to have some particularly relevant wisdom for us to take away from the sermon. The text in Matthew 10 is a continuation of the gospel reading that we had last week, Jesus sending out his disciples to prepare the way for him, to preach, to heal, to cast away demons. He says, remember at the end of last week that you’re going like sheep amongst wolves, and he’s going to expand on that theme.
Now there’s a verse right in the middle of the text, two verses, verses 24 and 25, where Jesus says this: he says, “A disciple is not above his teacher; a servant is not above his master.” Now we know that to be true, but we expect Jesus to say a disciple is below his teacher, a servant is below his master, but that’s not what Jesus says. He says, “It’s enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant to be like his master.” Now that’s an amazing thing, and in that verse, Jesus is saying that as he sends us out into the world bearing his name, that we are like him. That we, the Christians, are like Christ.
Now in what way? I was thinking about this this week. In what way would we like to be like Christ? That we would be wise and gentle? That we would be powerful? That we could walk on water or walk through doors and perform miracles? But listen to how Jesus describes our being like him.
“You will be hated by all” (verse 22). “You will be called Beelzebub, the lord of the flies, the master of demons” (verse 25). “You will be rejected by your family, and you will even be put to death” (verses 21 and 22). That is how we are like Christ in the world.
The Christian life, and this is from the beginning of the Bible to the very end, the Christian life is an opposed life. The Christian has enemies. You, dear Christian, have enemies. And these enemies are significant. This is not like the 5th-grade bully in the cafeteria at school. The enemies that each one of us face are none other than the world, and the devil, and your own sinful flesh. These three great and powerful enemies are fighting against faith, fighting against your trust in God, fighting against your Christian love for one another.
So we are opposed, not only individually, but also as a congregation, as a church, we are opposed by these three fierce, strong, and dare say frightful enemies. The unbelieving world is fighting against the church, the devil and all his minions are fighting against the Christian, and your own sinful flesh and the sinful flesh of all people is fighting against your faith in Christ.
Now what happens when we consider this, when we realize it, when we meditate on these things? What happens when we hear these words of Jesus, these warnings of Jesus that we will be maligned and that we will be hated? And it doesn’t say you’ll be hated by all people; you’ll be put to death. What happens when we hear those things? When we’re nervous, we’re intimidated, we’re frustrated, we’re angry, we’re sad, we worry, we’re afraid, some kind of fear shows up. But that’s the point of the text. Jesus is going to come to us after he tells us that we will be like him, that we will be hated and maligned, and all this sort of stuff. Jesus comes to us in the text and he says, “Do not fear” three times.
“Do not fear.” Verse 26: Jesus says, “Therefore have no fear of them.” Verse 28: “And do not fear those who kill the body.” Verse 31: “Fear not therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
How are we supposed to think about this opposed Christian life? Well, Jesus tells us the way we’re not supposed to think about it is we’re not supposed to be afraid. And in fact, he gives us reasons. I think that Jesus gives us four reasons. Now let’s just kind of hammer these things down into our conscience.
Jesus gives us four reasons that we are not supposed to be afraid of all of the enemies that are attacking us.
Number one, the pattern of lies that they bring against us will not stand. Jesus said, “It’s enough for the disciples to be like his teacher, the servant to be like his master.” “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of the household?” In other words, Jesus says, “You’ve seen this before. You’ve seen them accuse me of being possessed by demons and being a Samaritan. You’ve seen their accusations and how they are false. They, when they come to you, are still false. They are lies, and they will not stand.”
The second reason: the day of judgment will make everything right. Verse 26: Jesus says, “Have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” All of the wrongdoings brought to the church and brought to the Christians will be brought into the light on the last day.
The third reason, verse 28: their power is limited. The power of the world and the flesh and the devil has limits. Jesus says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Now who can kill the body? There’s a lot of options there; basically anybody with a rock can kill the body, or a medium-sized stick. There’s a lot of people that can kill or hurt the body. Even the devil himself, if the Lord would grant it, can come and afflict us in the body, and if the Lord grants it, can push us off the cliff. But they can only hurt the body and not the soul. When Jesus says, “Don’t fear the one who can hurt only the body, but fear the one who can kill both body and soul,” he is saying the only one that you ought to be afraid of, the only one who deserves your fear, is the one who will judge you on the last day, God himself.
In fact, it’s one of the things about the fear of God; it casts out all other fears. There’s nothing else to be afraid of. So don’t be afraid of the ones who can only hurt the body; you should be afraid of God. Therefore, do not fear your enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. They can hurt your body, but they cannot affect your soul.
And then the fourth reason that Jesus gives us this: you are valuable to God. He cares about you. He loves you. But this text is not necessarily talking about the love of God; it’s talking about the love of God that shows up in care, or provision, or help. Jesus says, starting in verse 29, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father? But even the hairs of your head are all numbered? Fear not therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” God values you.
And you know this because, well, you know it because of the price that he paid for you. I remember when Dad was teaching me economics, I had this baseball card collection, and I think I told you the story. I would look up the value of the baseball cards in the Beckett magazine, and I’d say, “This one’s worth $45,” and Dad would say, “Only if you find someone to pay you $45.” The value of a thing is found in what someone will pay for it.
And look at the price, dear saints, look at the price that God has paid for you. Not with gold or silver has he redeemed us, but with his holy precious blood, with his innocent suffering and death. God values you and has paid the price to have you as his own with his own suffering and death, with his own holy precious blood.
So don’t be afraid. The Christian has a lot of enemies. The world, the flesh, and the devil. But we have the one friend that matters: Jesus Christ, our Lord. And if God is for us, if God is for you, who can be against you?
Amen.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, cast away fear and keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.