The Warfare of Our Calling, Part 3

Matthew 10 (cont)

26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, [that] speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, [that] preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

In verse 26, Jesus declares that in the midst of the turmoil that often accompanies responding to your call, that nothing that is covered will go unexposed. What this means is that the truth always outlives the lie. We are not to fear consequences. When others rise up against us and the specter of loss of relationship, loss of life looms threateningly over us, we are to remember that not one sparrow falls to the ground without the Father’s notice. The very hairs of our head are numbered, and anything that befalls you is taken notice of by the throne of heaven. In that light, we are to be diligent in professing Him boldly and without timidity, lest we ourselves be denied at the judgment seat because we chose family and friends over the mandates of the call of God on our lives.

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes [shall be] they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold [water] only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

To reiterate, in verse 34, Jesus restates as though the twelve were not really listening, that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. The sword is not a literal cutting implement, but rather the sword is the word of God. There is nothing as divisive as the word of God among men. They read it and extract from it what they will, and then, unfortunately, handle it unrighteously, turning upon one another rather than examining their own hearts in repentance. For this reason, there is variance between parents and children, between siblings, between in-laws, and yet by implication, even between spouses. Unfortunately, many times the greatest enemies you will ever face share the same roof, eat the same meals, and sleep in the same bed that you do. We are to be prepared to love God more, even if it costs these relationships that are so dear to us. In so doing, we will find life that others will lose because they refuse to set kingdom priorities at the expense of family relations.

Finally, after Jesus instructs those that are sent, He commends them to whom they are to minister. If you receive a prophet in the name of a prophet, you will receive a prophet’s reward. The office of the prophet is the only one of the five ministries of Eph. 4:11-12 that Jesus explicitly and by name advocates that you support them financially and reward them for their labors. In giving and materially supporting the ministry, the promise is that you will share in whatever reward accrues to them for their service because you helped make it possible by your liberality.