January 10, 2008 - The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter
10
General Comment: Chapter 9 ends with a brief
description of Jesus' travels through Galilee and the unique ministry he had
already begun. He is announcing the good news of the beginning of a new
age, the age of the Reign of God. Part of this beginning is his ministry
of healing, a healing of relationships as well as the illnesses that have
estranged men and women from families and communities. The word "Good
News" - euangelion, from which we get the word evangelism - is
befitting of Jesus' message in an age of anticipation and hope. In Greek
use it depicts the announcement of victory after a military conflict. The
messenger brings the good news to the city, a cause for celebration. No
doubt this is how Jesus thinks of his message, as a victory that has already
begun, and it has begun in him.
We know that Jesus has a residence in Capernaum, yet he
"...went about all the cities and villages..." Unlike other holy men
of Galilee who "put out their shingle" and expected people to come to
them, Jesus went to the people. Perhaps he feels a sense of urgency, a sense
that time is short, the message too important to wait. The closing words of
chapter 9 speak to the enormity of the task. "The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few.." and so the need for others to share in
this great mission. Chapter 10 will address this issue of "...sending
laborers into this harvest."
Matthew 10:1-15 Ordaining and Sending of "The
Twelve"
Jesus has many followers but few Disciples. So far we
have heard of four, two sets of brothers, Peter and Andrew, James and John. The
word "Disciple" (mathetes), derived from the verb "to
learn", like many Greek words, has two basic meanings held in
tension. At one level it means "learner," one who learns and adheres
to the philosophy or doctrine of the Master of the school. Beyond that it
also means one who then actively spreads the teachings of the Master to others,
in a deliberate way. In early Christianity these two meanings become
separated and the one who spreads the teachings and is commissioned to act on
behalf of the Master acquired the title "Apostle," one who is sent on
behalf of another, with a particularly defined authority.
The Twelve have been summoned by Jesus. As Disciples they
have observed and learned Jesus' teachings and how these teachings are to be
applied in the important task ahead. As they sit together in the courtyard,
Jesus gives them a commission, to act in his stead, to expand the mission. He
ordains them as Apostles with the authority he had exercised and will
now share with them. With this authority and as a sign that the Reign of God is
widening its influence, they will cast out demons and heal the sick. We
know their names, even the one who one day will prove that not even
doing the work of God can shine a light in the heart of one bent on
treachery.
The ordination is over. Authority rests on them like a
heavy mantle. We wonder if they have learned enough. What they have seen in
Jesus' ministry is now theirs to share and the instructions are specific.
The first thrust into the ripe fields will be to "the
lost sheep of the house of Israel." In the first two decades after
Jesus' death, the center of Apostolic activity as well as
authority was established in Jerusalem, under the leadership of James, the
brother of Jesus. It would take that long to get an agreement which authorized
a mission already taking place among the Gentiles and Samaritans. Paul and
Barnabas had already made significant inroads among the Gentiles
even without the approval of James, who insisted the
Gentiles agree to being circumcised and to follow Jewish food laws.
Philip the Evangelist had established a mission among the Samaritans with the
blessings of Peter. However, any restriction in Jesus' mission
instructions would be due to expediency of time, distance and language,
not by any distain for Gentiles on Jesus' part. He had already declared
the faith of one Gentile to be greater than any seen in all of Israel.
Their mission will continue Jesus' ministry of healing
and declaring the nearness of the Reign of God. Receive no payment, carry
no money, no extra clothing; share the hospitality of villagers, a
sacred obligation in the Mid-East; go only to those who welcome you, test
the "spirit" of the house and let your peace come upon it if it is
worthy. The language is strange to us, but this is representative of how the
message of and about Jesus was quickly spread from town by town, family to
family. The harvest is plentiful, and the laborers are devoted to their labor.
Matthew 10:16-39 Persecution and Division
Much of what Matthew writes in this part of Chapter 10 has
been written for the benefit of the Church. It reflects the
"situation on the ground" in his own time, and the experience of
his own church community, in the latter part of the first century. It was a
time of persecution. It was dangerous, even fatal, to publicly profess
faith in Jesus as Lord; families were in conflict by the conversion of a
member; Jewish Christians were being forced out of Synagogues for
their belief in Jesus as Son of God and giving him the title,Lord,
used in Judaism for God rather than God's Hebrew name, YAHWEH, taken from
Exodus; Christians were betrayed to the Romans by neighbors, arrested,
enslaved or worse. As early as 50 CE there were riots in Rome aimed at
Christians. It is little wonder that this was a time to be afraid, to hide
one's faith, even deny it. Matthew knows the need to encourage the
faithful and even to warn those who are tempted to deny their
Christianity. Thus we see the need to be as wise as serpents and innocent as
doves because they are sheep (missionaries) in the midst of wolves (Jewish
leadership). They are warriors in the battle between Kingdoms, God's
versus that of governors and kings. They are encouraged to flee from
persecution in one town to another (Prisca and Aquila as well as Lydia (Acts)
fled Rome). In facing such trials Matthew exhorts the flock not to worry about
what to say when brought before authorities, for the words will be given to
them by the Spirit. He even invokes a level of fear assuring them that
only those who endure until the end will be saved, and only those who
acknowledge Jesus before others (confess their faith openly) will be
acknowledged by him before the Father in heaven. So, one is not to
fear those who can kill only the body, but Him [God] who can destroy both
soul and body in hell (Gehanna).
It is in this struggle to encourage the faithful that
we read the strange declaration that Jesus has come not to bring peace, but a
sword with which he sets one versus another in the same household; that one
must love him more than one's parents - not to do so is to be unworthy of him.
As we sift through the ragged edges of Matthew's language,
can we discover something meaningful for our own day? Perhaps it is the lesson
of remaining faithful to our role as Disciples in this age when we are pulled
in so many directions by enticements that add little to the value to
life, when allegiances are so quickly formed and discarded, when the least
consequential offence fractures a relationship. Can we not hear the call across
the ages not to be timid or halting when called upon to take a stand on the
side of our faith principles rather than to accommodate our
actions and words to the lure of social acceptance? Is our time so precious
that it cannot be shared with and for others who so desperately need the touch
of God's compassion and justice? Perhaps Jesus has spoken the greater truth
that, "...those who lose their life for my sake will find it.'
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