The Search for Sheep – part 1 (Matthew 10:1-6)
The First Shepherds
Matthew 10:1-15 (1-6)
May 29, 2011
Last week we hit a transition passage in Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew concluded the section on Jesus’ power
And began to transition to the section on Jesus’ purpose.
Matthew 9:36-38 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
For just a moment Matthew peels back the curtain
And shows us a side of Jesus that we all know and love.
Matthew showed us the heart of Jesus.
Sure we’ve seen His lineage and know He is the rightful King.
Sure we’ve heard His doctrine and know He preaches with conviction.
Sure we’ve seen His miracles and know He possesses power.
But here Matthew reminds that Jesus is also filled with compassion.
As Jesus was literally being bombarded by the masses of people,
He sort of has one of those “slow motion” moments.
(you’ve seen the movies when the main character goes into slow motion
to emphasize that he is taken back by what he sees)
Jesus just stopped and started looking at all these people
Who were flocking to Him.
And while their problems were extremely different,
These people all had two things in common.
“they were distressed and dispirited”
Or as we talked about last week, they were skinned and thrown aside.
Their problems varied greatly, but one thing
They all had in common, was they all needed a shepherd.
The shepherds of Israel had slaughtered the flock of God.
According to Ezekiel:
They had not strengthened the sickly
They had not healed the diseased
They had not bound up the broken
They had not brought back the scattered
They had not sought for the lost
And the flock showed all the signs of being a terrorized group.
And as Jesus took a moment to see what was going on around Him,
He was moved with compassion
And it prompted Him to give a solemn request.
“Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest
To send out workers into His harvest.”
Jesus said, WE NEED MORE WORKERS
We need more shepherds
We need people to care for God’s flock
And this of course directs us into His purpose.
WHY DID JESUS COME?
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus came to rescue the sheep of Israel.
He was the Good Shepherd whom God had promised to send
Who would gather and heal the flock of God.
He would leave the 99 to search for the 1.
He would gently lead the nursing ewes.
He would ultimately lay down His life for the sheep.
And in His purpose He intended that others would help Him in His task.
And that is what we see occurring here.
After revealing the need for more shepherds
Jesus here summons and sends out the twelve to do just that.
BUT I MUST FOREWARN YOU.
We mentioned last week that
One of the problems in the scenario is that shepherds are few.
We said that shepherding is hard work,
But that is not the only reason that shepherds are few.
We will learn in this chapter that shepherding is also very dangerous.
The wolves that want to devour the sheep,
Will most certainly attack the shepherd who seeks to rescue them.
And so the truths Jesus reveals in this chapter are difficult.
We read of trials
We read of scourging
We read of betrayal
We read of hatred
We read of death
Yet, for those who accept the challenge and answer the call
This task ends in certain reward.
Matthew 10:42 “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.”
And so with the promise of danger and the certainty of reward,
Christ sends out the twelve to find the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
There are three things I want us to see
#1 THE POWER HE SHARED
Matthew 10:1
There are two words that really jump out at the beginning that verse.
“summoned” and “authority”
Jesus already revealed that shepherds must be sent by God,
And here Jesus does just that by summoning the twelve.
This was a divine calling.
This was a divine summons.
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”
And we also notice the authority.
“Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority…”
If you have noticed nothing else about Jesus here in Matthew’s gospel,
You must have noticed His authority.
Matthew is mesmerized by the authority of Jesus.
(After all, shouldn’t a king have authority?)
Just look back at the Sermon on the Mount.
11 times Matthew recorded Jesus using the same phrase.
“I say”
Matthew 5:18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Of course we remember those “You have heard…but I say” references.
Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
11 times Jesus uses the phrase.
WHY IS THAT SIGNIFICANT?
No prophet every spoke like that before.
All the prophets of the Old Testament used a different phrase.
“Thus says the Lord”
Jesus said, “I say unto you”
It was authority.
And rest assured the people recognized it.
Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
But that was not all the authority Matthew showed.
Remember the centurion?
Matthew 8:7-9 “Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, ” Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
How about the response of the disciples after the calming of the storm?
Matthew 8:26-27 “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Or do you remember what Jesus said to the doubting Pharisees?
Matthew 9:6 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”
Matthew has been systematic in reminding you
That Jesus had authority like no one else.
And here we find that Christ takes His authority
And shares it with those He sends.
“Jesus summoned His disciples and gave them authority…”
And this is an important point for all of us to grasp.
We all know that Jesus has authority over all things.
He is Lord of Heaven and earth.
BUT LET ME ASK YOU, WHO ELSE HAS AUTHORITY?
Whoever He gives it to.
Is this not how a theocracy works?
Is this not how a king shares authority?
Those the king sends come with the authority of the King.
It is not their own authority, it is the king’s authority.
But they exercise it because to disobey them,
Is to disobey the one who sent them.
This is what we mean when we use the term “ambassador.”
2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
Paul said we are just the messengers, but we speak with full authority,
Just like it was actually God speaking.
Jesus is giving His authority to those He has chosen.
And we even see some specifics about it.
“authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.”
Jesus gave supreme authority.
And incidentally, this is how Matthew’s gospel ended as well.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Those whom Christ appoints He also endows with His authority.
You’ve probably heard it said before,
“God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.”
Of course that means that none of us can use the excuse,
“I can’t do that” or “I’m just not good at that.”
BUT ALL THAT IS DOING IS DOUBTING THE POWER OF GOD.
Think of it this way.
I can’t paint the Mona Lisa, but I can’t blame it on the brush.
Yet when we act like we can’t do the work of the kingdom,
It is as though we are saying, God can’t use me, He is not that powerful.
The issue is not ability, it is availability.
Either we will obey the Master’s call or we won’t.
It has nothing to do with our ability.
Christ equips those He calls.
So you see The Power He Shared
#2 THE PEOPLE HE SUMMONED
Matthew 10:2-4
And this by the way only emphasizes what we just learned,
That God equips the called.
When you take just a moment and look at the names on this list,
You quickly learn that Jesus did not choose the cream of the crop.
Instead of the philosophers and historians of Greece…
Instead of the senators and orators of Rome…
Instead of the wise men of the east…
Jesus chose these 12.
Christ was not looking for men who could do it on their own.
He didn’t need men who could endure in their own strength…
He didn’t need men who could preach in their own wisdom…
He needed men who were empty vessels
Who could be used totally for Him, by Him and for His glory.
Paul would describe apostleship like this:
2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;”
Paul knew that God likes to use clay pots.
Because glory really stands out in a clay pot.
And that is precisely what Jesus got with the 12.
These are without a doubt 12 ordinary men.
Now, other authors and preachers have done a wonderful job
Giving biographical sketches of these men,
And for just a moment I would like to stand on some of their shoulders
And introduce you to some of these disciples a little more.
Some generalities about the list of apostles or disciples.
They are listed here, also in Mark 3 and in Luke 6.
And all three of these lists have a couple of things in common.
• Peter is always first
• Judas is always last
• The top four are always the top four
• The bottom four are always the bottom four
Group 1 is always Peter, Andrew, James and John
Group 2 is always Matthew, Thomas, Philip, and Bartholomew
Group 3 is always James, Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas
And that seems to be not only a list but sort of a rank,
For it is obvious that the top group
Consistently had closer access to Jesus than the rest of the 12.
John’s gospel even seems to sort of bear this out a little.
John 12:20-22 “Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.”
So you sort of see an order among the disciples.
And that is certainly true of Peter.
In fact Matthew unequivocally calls Peter “the first”.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
“first” translates PROTOS
Which does not indicate chronological order,
But rather order of importance.
It is the word Paul used for himself in 1 Timothy
When he called himself the “chief of sinners” the PROTOS of sinners.
And certainly this makes sense here.
If you are talking chronologically then Peter was not the first,
For in fact it was Andrew who led Peter to Jesus.
No, Matthew reveals that Peter was the leader of the 12.
So even these 12 appointed men, endowed with the authority of Jesus
Had a clear leader in Peter.
This explains a little why Peter was always the spokesman for the group.
Peter took initiative.
AND WE LOVE PETER
• Very human
• Prone to mistakes, but made them going forward
(walking on water, following after arrest)
But Jesus used this impulsive fisherman,
In fact Jesus turned him into a rock
Who would bring Jerusalem to its knees at Pentecost.
We also are familiar with “Andrew his brother”.
Andrew doesn’t appear outspoken and bold, but Andrew is always bringing people to Jesus. (Peter, Greeks, Boy with fish)
And obviously Jesus uses people who bring others to Him.
You are also familiar with the other two we see here,
“James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;”
Mark 3:17 “and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”);”
And who can forget these two rowdy brothers.
Luke 9:52-54 “and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
These men were edgy and rough and absolutely intolerant.
Mark 9:38-39 “John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.”
And who can forget the day that they used their mother
To petition for the best seats in the kingdom?
These guys were quick-tempered, impatient, always stirring the pot.
Yet Jesus uses men like this.
In fact, James was such a problem for the opposition
That he was the first one the enemy killed.
From there we see “Philip and Bartholomew”
Bartholomew is called Nathanael in John’s gospel.
Jesus called Philip
Philip found Nathanael
Nathanael was first to confess Jesus as the Son of God
Certainly Jesus used Philip, He was the first missionary of the church,
Leading the Ethiopian Eunich to Christ.
From there we see “Thomas” affectionately known as
“Doubting Thomas”, but that isn’t exactly accurate.
Thomas was just a pessimist.
When the disciples thought Jesus would die for going back to the home of Lazarus, Thomas said:
John 11:16 “Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
There we also learn that Thomas was a twin.
We also see his pessimism in the upper room
John 14:4-5 “And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
And then there was the scene where he would not believe
Until he could touch the wounds.
And yet Jesus used that pessimist.
Some could argue that a pessimist has to have even greater faith.
(Thomas followed when he was certain he would die.)
Then “Matthew” introduces himself and he does so as “the tax collector”.
This would not have been a popular thing to keep bringing up,
And that alone reveals the humility of Matthew.
And of course Jesus uses humble men like Matthew
Then in the final group we see “James the son of Alphaeus”
In Mark 15:40 he is called:
“James the less”
And that again gives insight into his humility.
And interestingly enough, James was a disciple, but even 2,000 years later
We do not know a single word he spoke or a single thing he did.
He remains in obscurity even as one of the 12.
(Certainly not all followers are meant to be famous)
“Thaddaeus”
In Luke’s gospel he is called “Judas the son of James”
Which was his name.
“Thaddaeus” is a nickname.
It means “breast baby”
I don’t know if Matthew was aggravating him here, but it probably indicates that Thaddaeus was the youngest of the twelve.
And apart from one question he asks in the book of John,
We don’t know anything about this disciple as well.
Except to note that Jesus uses young people too.
The next disciples Matthew actually gives a little more insight about.
“Simon the Zealot”
The Zealots were a radical party
Who insisted upon throwing off the yoke of Rome.
One Jewish historian called them SICARII which means “daggermen”
Because they were famous for hiding daggers in their cloak which they would use
to stab Roman soldiers and then flee into the hills.
They were terrorists.
And yet Jesus chose one.
Jesus uses passionate people who well sell out for a cause.
And of course the list ends with “Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.”
Jesus knew all along, and yet he chose this traitor anyway.
BUT EVEN MORE AMAZING IS THAT
JUDAS COULD NOT THWART HIS PLAN.
But you see here those whom Jesus chose.
Truly, there is nothing innately special about this list.
He had several fishermen
He had at least one tax collector, one terrorist, one traitor,
And a breast baby.
• Peter was always overeager…
• Thomas was always skeptical…
• James and John wanted to destroy people…
• Andrew just kept bringing them to Jesus…
If God could use these guys, then God can use anyone.
The Power He Shared The People He Summoned
#3 THE PLACE HE SENT THEM
Matthew 10:5-6
Now obviously there is much more to the story than just this,
But I do want you to quickly recognize the parameter.
“These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
SO WHY DID JESUS SPECIFY THIS?
(certainly we know Jesus loved the Gentiles)
THIS IS WHY WE SAY IT IS NOT OVERLY EVANGELISTIC IN THEME
This command ties back to chapter 9 when He saw the sheep of Israel were “distressed and dispirited”
And the most extreme consequence was that many were “lost”.
This was not Jesus excluding Gentiles
This was about caring for the flock of God.
Yes Jesus wanted the lost saved,
But don’t miss that He wanted God’s flock to be cared for.
We learn not to be so enamored with more sheep
That we don’t care for the ones we have.
And so we learn two great things about our Lord.
• HE EQUIPS THOSE HE CALLS
• HE CALLS THEM FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE
Here it is to gather the sheep
That the bad shepherds of Israel had cast aside.
We are obviously encouraged to not only pray for workers,
But to understand that we just might be the workers
Our Lord wants to use.
Matthew 9:36-38 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
