CLICK TO LISTEN: 055 The Choice (Matthew 10 ,32-42)
The Choice
Matthew 10:32-42
July 3, 2011
We’ve been studying recently a very difficult passage.
Jesus is preparing His disciples for the world they will minister in.
Jesus has recognized the pitiful state of the sheep of Israel.
And He recognized the need for someone to search for them.
As Jesus sent out His twelve disciples to perform this task,
He has been very open and honest
About what sort of treatment they can expect.
HE DID NOT WANT THEM TO GO
WITH FALSE HOPES AND UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS.
So He has told them straight.
• While you are valuable to Me, you will not be valuable in the world.
• They will hate you.
• They will arrest you.
• They will scourge you.
• They will imprison you.
• They will kill you.
• Your own family will betray you.
• And everyone will hate you.
And the reason is because they all hate Me.
(25b) “If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of His household.”
Of course, even in the midst of this danger,
Jesus also noted that obedience is still required.
(28) “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
AND THESE ARE ALL GOOD REMINDERS FOR US.
It is often preached that Christianity will make your life wonderful.
They claim Christianity should provide health, wealth, and happiness.
But Jesus says the opposite here.
He says that Christianity has in store for you
Exactly what it had in store for Him.
So if you want to know what expect from life as a Christian,
To enter this world, Jesus had to empty all thoughts of self.
Philippians 2:6-7 “Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
To enter Christianity, you will have to empty yourself as well.
To be obedient to God, He had to humble Himself.
Philippians 2:8 “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
He had to humble Himself, so will you.
Being obedient to God didn’t mean fame, it meant persecution.
John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”
It will mean the same for a follower of Jesus.
Following God meant a life of sacrifice for Jesus.
Matthew 8:20 “Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
It will mean the same for us.
Jesus earthly life was not an easy one,
So we don’t think that life as a Christian will be easy either.
If God allowed the Son of God to walk around poor and homeless,
What would be in store for His follower?
If God would allow the Son of God to be nailed to a cross and killed,
What would God allow for His follower?
Don’t enter Christianity under false pretenses.
Living as a Christian is living as Christ in the world.
2 Corinthians 4:8-11 “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
We can expect in our lives all that Jesus endured in His.
AND AFTER THIS LIFE WE CAN EXPECT THE SAME AS WELL
Christ was also glorified.
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that ever tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
He was glorified, so will we be.
Don’t follow Christ because some preacher told you it was easy.
We aren’t promised freedom from sickness.
We are promised the grace to endure it.
We aren’t promised riches.
We are promised the provision of our needs.
We aren’t promised freedom from persecution.
We are promised that He will be there with us.
If you take Jesus, all your problems won’t go away.
All your eternal problems will go away.
If you follow Christ, this life may be difficult,
But eternity won’t be.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
SO WE HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE.
We either choose comfort in this life, or comfort in the next.
We either choose destruction in this life, or destruction in the next.
THAT CHOICE IS THE CRUX OF OUR PASSAGE THIS MORNING
This morning we will look at what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus.
#1 THE CHARACTERISTIC OF A DISCIPLE
Matthew 10:32-33
Jesus has portrayed the persecution that will come for following Him.
It will be bad.
However, Jesus says we should choose Him anyway.
WHY?
Because the way we confess Him,
Determines the way He will confess us.
“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.”
NOW ISN’T THAT WHAT WE WANT?
• Haven’t we always said that we need an advocate?
• Haven’t we always realized that someone must come to our aid?
• Haven’t we always said it would be Jesus?
1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;”
That is exactly what we want.
Someone who will stand in our place
Well here Jesus says, “Sure, I’ll confess you before the Father, so long as you confess Me before the world.”
But you see there is also a flip side to this concept.
“But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
Now that is a horrifying thought.
In fact we’ve already studied what I think to be
The most terrifying passage in all of Scripture.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
That is precisely what we are talking about here.
People who get to the end and stand in the judgment.
They learn they are guilty before God and so instantly they run to Jesus.
“Hey Jesus, tell God that you know us”
And what a horrifying thought to hear Jesus say,
“I never knew you”
No one in the world wants to have that sort of thing happen.
Even the guys in that passage start pleading with Him,
Trying to convince Him of who they are.
But we learn that you can’t meet Jesus during the judgment,
If you want Him, you must confess Him now.
“Today is the day of salvation”
But let’s talk about this a little more.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CONFESS HIM?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DENY HIM?
How do we deny Jesus?
Better to ask
How would Jesus deny us?
1) He could just flat out deny you.
Just flat out tell people, He wants nothing to do with you.
(like He did with those self-righteous earlier)
Some people deny Him like that.
2) He could avoid a direct question about you.
Judge says, “Does anyone know Rory?”
And He could just remain silent.
SILENCE IS DENYING A PERSON.
Why Would He Be Silent?
A) Maybe He is surrounded by the cool people in heaven,
and He doesn’t want them to know He knows you.
B) Maybe the relationship is too much work,
and He is too lazy to speak up right now.
C) Maybe He’ll just put off confessing you until tomorrow.
NONE OF US WANT JESUS TO DO THAT TO US.
WE SHOULDN’T DO THAT TO HIM.
So despite the danger and the hardship,
Jesus tells us to go out and confess Him anyway.
For that is what we ask Him to do for us.
You see the difference between a true disciple and a false one,
Is in their confession.
That is the characteristic of a disciple.
A disciple of Jesus knows the cost and confesses Him anyway.
THOSE WHO DON’T CONFESS ARE NOT TRUE DISCIPLES.
The Characteristic of a disciple
#2 THE COST OF A DISCIPLE
Matthew 10:34-36
And here we have another one of those statements
Where Jesus clarifies a major misconception.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth;”
And this is something that the disciples obviously thought.
Now first off, they were in one sense correct to believe
The Messiah would bring peace on the earth.
Isaiah 9:7 “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
Part of the Messianic promise is in fact world peace.
The problem is not that they misinterpreted that passage.
The problem was that they failed to learn
All the passages regarding Messiah.
They obviously overlooked all the suffering servant passages in Isaiah.
And even here Jesus reveals that they overlooked a prophecy of Micah.
In short, they did what the “prosperity gospel” preachers do today.
They claim all the blessings and benefits and promises of Scripture,
And totally disregard the promises of suffering and hardship.
To do that causes you to be caught off guard.
You may remember, even after this passage
The disciples still didn’t grasp what Jesus said,
For later in Matthew 16 when Jesus tells them He is going to the cross,
Peter seems shocked saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”
They had a misconception that following Jesus would be a life of ease,
And so Jesus corrects that misconception.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Don’t think everything will just be wonderful,
There is a definite division that will occur if you choose to follow Christ.
THERE IS A DEFINITE COST TO FOLLOWING ME
“For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”
Jesus is quoting an ignored prophecy from Micah 7.
And what Jesus spoke of us that before there is world peace,
There will first be extreme division.
And it can be a division
That can penetrate even the most sacred relationships.
Jesus lets them know that following Him could actually cost them
Their relationship with even their family.
This is why we call it a narrow gate.
Hopefully your father and mother and son and daughter will enter it too, but if they do they will also go on their own.
You cannot enter the gate as a family.
And the fact is that some families are divided there.
THERE CAN BE A DEFINITE COST TO FOLLOWING JESUS.
The Characteristics of a Disciple, The Cost of a Disciple
#3 THE CHOICE OF A DISCIPLE
Matthew 10:37-39
SO WE HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE
• Jesus says we must choose who we love.
• Jesus says we must choose who we want a relationship with.
• Jesus says we must choose where we want comfort.
And the reality is that if you choose anything over Jesus,
Then you don’t get Him.
It is the epitome of what God meant when He said,
“I am a jealous God…”
In other words to choose something over Him
Is the equivalent of denying Him.
A disciple must choose Jesus over every other thing.
And then Jesus gives THREE THINGS
That routinely cause people to deny Him.
SEPARATION FROM FAMILY
“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.”
THREAT OF SUFFERING
(38) “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
Just before Jesus time,
There was a Jewish insurrection against Rome by a zealot named Judas.
The Romans easily stopped the insurrection, but to make a statement,
The Roman general Varus ordered over 2,000 Jews to be crucified.
It is said that the crosses lined the roads of Galilee from one end to the other. (MacArthur, John, “The MacArthur New Testament Commentary; Matthew 8-15, Moody Press, Chicago, Ill, 1985, pg.233)
When Jesus said take up your cross, they knew what it meant.
They had to be willing to suffer for Him.
They had to be willing to endure the harshest of treatment.
LOSS OF LIFE
(39) “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
Now certainly that could refer to physical death.
(the cross certainly would be)
But there is more to losing your life than just physical death.
A Christian is called to die to self.
Paul said, “I die daily”
• It can be your occupation (like Matthew)
• It can be your reputation (like Paul)
There are many ways in which following Jesus
Will cost us life as we know it.
• Many have confessed Christ, and then moved across the world on mission.
• Many have confessed Him and very quickly changed occupations.
• Many have confessed and accepted a dramatic change in income.
• Many have confessed and as a result given up their fame or popularity.
Confessing Jesus costs you your life.
And many aren’t willing to follow that far.
THE QUESTION IS WILL YOU?
“So your telling me that one way or another, I’m gonna have suffering.”
(either here or for eternity)
“Why did God make it like that?”
God didn’t make it like that. We made it like that.
We chose to have the choice.
God created a persecution free world.
Remember, man wanted a choice.
We wanted to be like God,
We wanted knowledge of good and evil.
(Adam and Eve)
Because of that, there is a choice to be made.
SO NOW WE MUST CHOOSE WHO WE LOVE MORE.
Jesus or Everything Else
What will you choose?
A true disciple chooses Jesus over every other single relationship, over every single comfort, even over life itself.
A true disciple is characterized by confession of Christ.
A true disciple must pay the cost of persecution.
A true disciple chooses Christ above everything else.
#4 THE COMPENSATION OF A DISCIPLE
Matthew 10:39-42
Persecution is a real consequence of living for Jesus.
However, so is Heavenly Compensation
If you choose to keep your life on earth, you have forfeited life for eternity.
If you choose to sacrifice your life,
Then you will receive your life for eternity.
“Losers finders, Keepers weepers”
Jim Elliot – “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
You cannot lose anything, that God will not reward you.
Now, I know that Jesus is speaking directly to the twelve disciples,
but if you’ll notice, He extends this offer to all who hear this message.
(40) “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
If we will but surrender our life in this world,
We will gain it come eternity.
AND NOT EVEN THE SMALLEST SACRIFICE WILL GO UNREWARDED
“And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
A disciple will be compensated.
Mark 10:28-30 “Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother of father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.”
So that is it, very clearly and simply.
Do you choose the present or the future?
Do you follow Christ, or silently deny?
The notion that we can have this world and the next
Is just not a part of the gospel that Jesus preached.
I know it is popular on television today, but Jesus never offered it.
Jesus was very clear.
Lose this life and find life for eternity.
Keep this life and lost if for all eternity.
You must be willing to surrender all to Jesus.
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny Him before My Father who is in heaven.”
