Matthew 10

It is one of the amazing facts of the Lord's plan of redemption that He has chosen to work through the agency of men. This fact is all the more surprising when we consider that there is no absolute necessity for God to work through any means at all. He is the One who created the heavens and the earth from nothing. If He wanted to use means for the proclamation of His truth, it is still a wonder that He would use sinful men when He has holy, wise, powerful, and impressive angels who will do His bidding. Yet it has generally been the Lord's plan to announce salvation through the lives and words of men.

This surprising choice is reflected in the Lord's use of twelve disciples to be agents of His kingdom power throughout Israel. These men, including the one who would betray Him, are given authority to cast out demons, and to heal every disease and affliction among men. We have seen the Lord do these things Himself over the last two chapters in this gospel. Will He now work wonders through a group of twelve weak men?

These twelve are sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. This is not yet the New Testament gospel mission which will come after pouring out of the special gift of the Holy Spirit upon the church. That later ministry will also use the work of men, but the apostles and others who will follow after them will then be told to go to the nations, and not just to Israel. The Matthew 10 mission is a final Old Testament era announcement of the coming of a resurrection kingdom, a kingdom where, not only will the sick be healed, but the dead will be raised imperishable.

The present work of these original disciples is not to be scoffed at or ignored. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Here we find a true taste of Judgment Day. There is blessing for those who receive the emissaries of the Lord and curse for all who would oppose them.

The Lord uses the context of this mission to Israel to teach His disciples some things that especially relate to that later gospel work of the church, the work of going to all the nations. He teaches these men that the proclamation of the kingdom of heaven will entail much danger, yet there will also be a great provision of the Spirit of God for this important enterprise.

If they have called the King Beelzebul, we should not be surprised when the ambassadors of the kingdom are treated the same way. This is not to suggest in any way that the church is to cower in fear before the powers of the world. We are to be bold, even though we know that those who are against us in some places and times may indeed kill the body. It is some comfort for us to know that these enemies of the gospel do not have the authority to cast body and soul into hell. God does have that power. Therefore our safety comes in following Him. He considers us to be a precious possession, redeemed through the incomparable cost of the blood of His Son. He cares for us in every detail of our lives. To deny Him would be a horrendous act of foolishness. To speak of Him boldly is an enormous privilege, attendant with even heavenly acknowledgements and blessings.

This coming gospel age mission of the New Testament church will be one that teaches men about the only way of peace with God through the cross of Jesus Christ. Despite that message of peace, the preaching of the kingdom itself will often be an occasion of the most intense conflict, even dividing members of households against one another.

Because of this kind of strain and severe testing, it is important for each person who would belong to the kingdom of heaven to consider seriously the message he is preaching. If it is a Christian message, it is a story of hope through a cross. It is a message that demands that we embrace the suffering love of the Son of God in such a way that we consider all other human relationships to be less than this one sustaining bond.

In this cross of Christ we have found our eternal life, and we are unwilling to give up either the message of the cross or the man who died there for us. The Lord promises us that we will be truly blessed forever because of our support of this one great Man, His message, and His people. We simply must not turn away from Him.