Matthew 10:16-23

So that is our prayer, that is our delight, and

that is our hope that we look for him. Junior

Church, if you will be dismissed at this time

through the back doors as they're making their

way out. If you open your Bibles to Matthew chapter

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

5. No, Matthew chapter 10. I was just in Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

5 for a while and it just was kind of muscle

memory, I guess. I don't know. Some of you just

had a heart attack. Please, no, don't go back.

We're in 10. Verses 16 through 23 this morning

will be our text. Jesus speaking to the 12 there

gathered right before they are sent out on their

first mission. He says, Behold, I send you out

as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be

wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware

of men. for they will deliver you up to councils

and scourge you in their synagogues. You will

be brought before governors and kings for my

sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

But when they deliver you up, do not worry about

how or what you should speak, for it will be

given to you in that hour what you should speak.

For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of

your father who speaks in you. Now brother will

deliver up brother to death. And a father his

child and children will rise up against parents

and cause them to be put to death. And you will

be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who

endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute

you in this city, flee to another. For surely

I say to you, you will not have gone through

the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Would you bow with me in a word of prayer? Father,

we thank you this morning, Lord, for your word.

Lord, we thank you for the privilege we have

to assemble, to praise, Lord, to sing worship

to your name. And I thank you for the message

and song, Lord. Oh, Father, we as your people

are an expectant people. We're expecting the

arrival of our Lord. Even so, come. Lord, today

would you help us, Lord, as we gather, Lord,

to hear from heaven. Lord, would you please feed.

your people with the bread from on high, the

living bread, the true bread that has come down

from heaven, which is Christ himself, the true

bread that we'll celebrate in the sacrament just

in a few moments. God help us, Lord, this morning

we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. In February of

2015, 21 young Christians were captured by ISIS

militants in Libya. These men mostly were Egyptian

migrant workers just looking for a better life.

They were captured, they were tortured, and then

they were given a choice. They could renounce

their faith and live, or they could continue

to confess Jesus Christ and die. All 21 of them

refused to deny Christ. This is on video. Many

of you probably had seen it as it was televised.

Some of the men were heard whispering. Their

final words were, Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, Lord

Jesus. This was their final words. Just moments

before they were beheaded. I was reading a report

this week in Nigeria. It is estimated that over

52 ,000 people have been killed during the last

14 years for being a Christian. According to

the International Society for Civil Liberties

and Rule of Law, at least 14 million have been

uprooted. 8 million have been forced to flee

their homes to avoid being hacked to death. Five

million have been displaced and are now living

in refugee camps. When we hear stories like this,

we realize that Jesus' words in Matthew 10 are

not just an ancient warning for an ancient people.

They are words for disciples in every age. Behold,

I send you out as sheep among wolves. Our text

is Matthew 10, verse 16 through 23. The Lord

Matthew 10:16–23

is preparing his disciples for the cost. I'm

being faithful to him. The context. It's been

a few weeks since we're here because of homecoming.

The context, Jesus has called the 12 apostles

to them. He's getting ready to send them out.

He's given them power to heal diseases and leprosy,

but also to cast out demons. That's a demonstration

that the kingdom of God was at hand. So they're

getting ready to embark upon this first missionary

tour throughout Israel, but only Israel. If you

look at verses 5 and 6 of the text, it says,

Jesus says, do not go into the way of Gentiles,

do not enter a city of the Samaritans, but go

rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

You're not to leave this geographical area, is

what Jesus was saying. And here's one message.

Preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Now, if you're really going to understand Matthew's

gospel, you have to understand how he composed

the book. This book is not written chronologically.

If you look at it chronologically, it's going

to trip you up. Instead, he's marshalling passages

from elsewhere, and he's focusing more on catechism,

more on instruction. Now, the first 15 verses

of chapter 10 apply only to the 12 original apostles

in their first mission. But beginning in verse

16 in our text today, you start to see the horizon

expanding, and it will include the wider mission

of the church throughout history, even going

to the Gentiles. There are just five points this

morning. And I'm not very creative, but these

all begin with B, so I used them. Verse 16, behold.

17 and 18, beware. 19 and 20, be calm. 20 and

21, 22, be prepared. And the latter part of 22

and 23, be faithful. Let's look at these this

morning. First, verse 16, behold. Behold, I send

you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore,

be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Now

think with me. Can you ever imagine a shepherd

deliberately sending his flock of sheep into

a wolf -infested land? I mean, no shepherd would

ever do that. In fact, the shepherd is there

to protect the sheep from the wolves. But this

is exactly what Christ, who is the good shepherd,

did. See, he starts, he's talking to the twelve.

He says, behold. Hey, listen up. Take note here.

What I'm getting ready to say is very important.

I am sending you out. You are my sheep. And you

will be going out into a land full of wolves.

Now we know it is normal for a predator to go

after prey. But Jesus said, I'm sending the prey

to go after the predator. So what is Jesus doing

here? He's giving them an advance warning that

the mission they are about to embark upon will

not be easy. He's purposely, he knows the dangers

that await them. He is purposely sending his

apostles out into hostile territory. Why would

he do that though? Because those who live in

hostile territory are the ones who need to hear

the message. The kingdom of God is represented

by the sheep. The weakness of sheep. And yet

the kingdom of God represented by the weakness

of sheep is going to overcome the violent world

of the wolves. I think here we see one of those

other kingdom paradoxes. If you look through

the gospels and when Jesus is talking about his

kingdom, it is full of paradoxes. For example,

he says, the way up is down. If you're going

to be exalted, you must humble yourself. If you

want to save your life, you've got to lose it.

You want to be great in the kingdom of God? Then

you be the servant of all. All you want to get,

then you must give. And if we're going to win

the world, we must go out as sheep amidst wolves.

Now you might think that since the apostles are

going to be preaching to Israel that their Messiah,

their king had come, they would receive a warm

reception. I mean, that's good news. You might

even expect for Israel to roll out the red carpet

and welcome these men and their message. And

Jesus says, no. Instead of being welcomed, you

will be hated. You will be ridiculed. And you

will be persecuted for your faithfulness to me.

Since they are going out into a land inhabited

by wolves, he says you need to be wise as serpents,

shrewd and cunning, and harmless as doves. So

in other words, don't be stupid like sheep. Yes,

you're sheep, but I don't want you to be naive

or stupid like a sheep is. I want you to be shrewd.

I want you to have cunning, if you will, even

the cunning of a serpent, meaning to be sensible.

Be aware of what is going on around you. But

you need to be shrewd without causing harm. Harmless

as doves. So you have the serpent's shrewdness

without the malice of the serpent. So serpents

have venom. So I want you to be as shrewd as

a serpent, but you don't have the venom or the

poison they have. In fact, he says to his sheep,

he says, you are to be harmless. But not naive.

Not gullible. But gentle. Humble. Meaning, you

are going to experience a lot of frustration,

a lot of opposition, but do not let the opposition

and the difficulty you encounter cause you to

be bitter or revengeful or even seek retaliation

upon your enemies. You sheep are being sent out.

Don't you go try to destroy the wolves. Rather,

you seek to save them. Seek to convert them.

So when we think about the Christian, the mission

of the church, we are to be wise and we are to

be innocent. But that's how you navigate life

in a fallen world. Friends, even today in the

21st century, we need to be wise and we need

to be innocent. We need to be shrewd, but we

need to be harmless. Behold, I'm sending you

out as a sheep in the midst of wolves. Beware.

Verse 17. But beware of men, for they're going

to deliver you up. Listen, these men. Beware

of men. These are the wolves that Jesus just

spoke of. And Jesus begins to lay out the ill

treatment that the disciples are going to encounter.

They're going to deliver you up to councils.

They're going to scourge you. They're going to

bring you before governors and kings. But if

you look closely at this treatment, this is exactly

how they treated the Lord first. Before the church,

before his apostles will ever experience this

abuse, Jesus will first experience it, and then

he's going to set the example for his disciples

to follow. In John 15, Jesus said this, If the

world hates you, know that it hated me before

it hated you. If you were of the world, the world

would love its own. Yet because you are not of

the world, but I chose you out of the world,

therefore the world hates you. Remember the word

that I said to you, a servant is not greater

than his master. If they persecuted me, they

will also persecute you. If they keep my word,

they will also keep your word. So look, it says

you're going to be handed over to councils. Jesus

was handled over to the Jerusalem council, the

Sanhedrin. He was brought before Pilate. He was

scourged before he was even brought to Pilate.

And he says likewise. the followers of Christ,

you too are going to be handed over to councils,

to governors, to kings. Those are all civic authorities,

by the way. Councils, governors, kings. That

you also be scourged in the synagogues. Meaning

the persecution that his church is going to experience

is going to come from civic authorities, but

also from religious authorities. They get it

from both ends. Excuse me. But why are they being

persecuted? He said, for my sake. The church

is going to be hated, treated with contempt,

and persecuted simply because they belong to

Christ. The church, we, the church, we don't

belong to the world. And the world hates the

church just as it hated Christ. Christ was giving

his disciples an advance warning. He said, listen,

this is why I need you to listen up. Behold,

listen carefully. You need to be shrewd as a

serpent because men are going to seek to hurt

you. In fact, they're going to seek to kill you.

Be aware of that, but don't retaliate. Do not

hurt those who are hurting you. You'd be harmless

as a dove. And the disciples, they were willing

to suffer for his sake as a testimony to him.

See, the testimony that arises from being persecuted,

it's not comfortable, but it is very credible.

The apostles being willing to suffer because

they were convinced of the truthfulness of the

message they were preaching. They were convinced

of that. And their witness, now notice, their

witness is going to now extend beyond Israel.

Back in verses 5 and 6, he said, don't go outside

of Israel. But now, he says, this testimony will

be to Israel and to the Gentiles, if you look

down at verse 18. So in other words, the church's

mission, the church's witness, The church's testimony

will be international. But how is this going

to gain that international audience? Through

suffering. We don't have time, but you can look

over in the book of Acts, and you will see the

persecution of the apostles, just as our Lord

warned them of here in Matthew chapter 10. But

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

it was this suffering that caused the gospel

to spread and to expand. In Acts chapter 8, Stephen

Acts 8 · chapter mention

was martyred in Acts chapter 7. And Saul, who

Acts 7 · chapter mention

would later become Paul, was there consenting

to his death. And a great persecution arose against

the church, Acts 8 .1, which was at Jerusalem.

That's where the church was. And they were all

scattered throughout the regions of Judea and

Samaria, except the apostles. They stayed behind

in Jerusalem. Therefore, those who were scattered,

I love verse 4, went everywhere. And what were

they doing? Preaching the word, preaching the

gospel. So it starts in Jerusalem, goes to greater

Judea, into Samaria. See, here's the thing. Satan

has always sought to use persecution to stop

the spread of the gospel. He will use the threat

of physical violence to keep you in fear so that

you don't open your mouth. But it was really

ironic. In fact, this was the tool that our Lord

used to make his message known. The church has

never been stopped because of persecution. Persecution

has always purified the church. It has always

made the church stronger, not weaker. But the

age of persecution did not die off with the apostles.

The church continues to shine the light of Christ

in a dark, fallen world, and it continues to

face the hostility of a dark, fallen world. Think

of Nigeria. Think of Libya. Think of North Korea.

We could go on. Therefore, the church, even today,

continues to be hated. And it will face the ire

of men who will seek to dim its light and silence

her witness. People do not want the prophetic

voice of the church. Now, knowing that persecution

is coming, what is the church to do? Be calm.

Look at verse 19. But when they deliver you up,

don't worry about how or what you should speak.

For it will be given to you in that hour what

you should speak. For it is not you who speaks,

but the spirit of your father who speaks in you.

Notice he says when they deliver you up, not

if they deliver you up. The church is to expect,

in every age, some sort of suffering. But he

says, do not worry. Don't be anxious. Just be

faithful. Don't worry about what you're going

to say in that hour of trial, because God is

going to be there to give you the words, and

he will give you the strength that you most need

in the moment you most need it. And you can easily

see that. I mean, the Bible is full of these

examples. In Acts chapter 26, remember the Apostle

Acts 26 · chapter mention

Paul had been arrested, and he was allowed to

give a defense before King Agrippa, before being

sent off to Rome. And in Acts 26 .1, notice what

Paul said. Then Agrippa said to Paul, you are

permitted to speak for yourself. So Paul stretched

out his hand, he answered for himself, and I

didn't take the time to, we're not going to read

it. Verses 2 all the way down to verse 23 is

Paul's defense. And he gives an excellent defense

and an incredible testimony before Festus. and

also Bernice, and King Agrippa was there. And

it's a gripping testimony. So much so that King

Agrippa in verse 28 says, Paul, you almost persuade

me to become a Christian. What haunting words

that I'm sure that Agrippa is remembering even

today. You almost persuaded me. But God, the

point here is God strengthened the Apostle Paul.

He gave him the words that he needed to speak

before the king. You see the same thing in Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4. Peter and John had been arrested in

the temple for preaching in the name of Christ.

They were beaten. They were held in custody.

And then Peter was given a chance to give a defense

before the governing authorities. Now keep in

mind this Peter who weeks earlier or months earlier

would have been the one who denied Christ three

times before servant girl. But in Acts chapter

Acts 4 · chapter mention

4, you see a whole new Peter. And I do want to

read this, beginning in verse 8. Then Peter,

filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers

of the people and elders of Israel, this is an

august body here. These are the ruling authorities.

If we this day are judged for a good deed done

to a helpless man, because they killed a man,

by what means is being made well, well, let me

tell you about it. Let it be known to you all

and to all the people of Israel, And notice the

boldness of Peter. That by the name of Jesus

Christ of Nazareth, whom you, and he's speaking

to elders and rulers, whom you crucified, whom

God raised from the dead, by him this man stands

before you here whole. It's not by Peter and

John, it's by Christ. This Christ is the stone

which was rejected by you builders. But it's

not rejected, it's become the chief cornerstone.

And just so you know, nor is there salvation

in any other, for there is no other name under

heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John

and perceived that they were uneducated, untrained

men, because these are erudite scholars who are

judging them, they marveled, and I love this,

and they realized they'd been with Jesus. The

Holy Spirit was with Peter, giving him the right

words, bold words, to say at the moment that

he needed to speak. And you can read the apostles

were beaten. They were imprisoned. They were

dragged into courts. They were flogged. They

were brought before kings. They were brought

before governors. And the whole time, the Holy

Spirit was with them, strengthening them, giving

them words they needed to speak. You're like,

yeah, but those are the apostles. Right, we're

not. But even today, Christians who are persecuted

for their faith and given an opportunity to speak,

the Holy Spirit will be with them to give them

the words and the strength they need in that

moment. Who was the one strengthening those 21

martyrs on that beach in Libya? The Holy Spirit.

Giving them the privilege and the opportunity

and the courage not to deny Christ. See, our

job is not to worry what we're going to say.

What is our job then? Be faithful. Be a faithful

witness to Christ, whatever it costs you. And

then trust that God is going to give you the

words you need in that hour. Now, let me just

say something here as a side note. God's promise

to give us the words does not mean we should

be passive or irresponsible or not prepare. I

have heard some preachers say, we don't need

to study. You just get up in the pulpit and you

speak on the fly because God's going to give

you the words you need in that moment and they

will use this text. That's not at all. That's

a terrible exegesis. That's not what he's saying.

You and I are to be prepared. In fact, 1 Peter

3 says, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts

and always be ready to give a defense to everyone

who asks you a reason for the hope that is in

you with meekness and fear. You ought to be able

to give a credible witness. You better be prepared

to stand for Jesus. But what our Lord is saying

in this passage is that any anxiety, give that

to the Lord, let that be surrendered to God,

and he's going to be with you. We are to behold.

We are to beware. We are to become and be prepared.

Verse 21. Be prepared for what? Even family members

might turn against you. Brother against brother,

father against child, children against parents,

causing them to be put to death. And then verse

22, he moves from family to everyone. Everyone's

going to hate you for my name's sake. I can't

imagine this. Family members turning against

you for the cause of Christ, turning you into

authorities and having you put to death. Documented

cases throughout church history. A hatred for

Christ will sever even family ties. Many throughout

the ages have lost. siblings and parents and

children because of their faithfulness to Christ.

A few weeks ago or a few months ago, Todd Kincaid

on a Sunday night was here serving there in Rome,

working with like Bangladesh refugees and others,

primarily predominant Muslim countries. And when

they are baptized, they have people in their

church today in Rome who have no contact with

their families because they are dead to their

families because they were baptized in the name

of the triune God because they are faithful to

Christ. And if they go home, if they go back

to Bangladesh, they die. There's a bounty on

their head. But our loyalty, listen, our loyalty

to Jesus must surpass even our loyalty to our

family. That's not my demand. That's Christ demanding

that. In Luke chapter 14, he says, if anyone

Luke 14 · chapter mention

comes to me and doesn't hate his father and his

mother and his wife and his children and brothers

and sisters, even his own life, well, he can't

be my disciple. He demands that level of loyalty

because he's worthy. No one can come above Christ.

Not even your children. We see the hatred that

grows from family members in verse 21. He says,

hey, but you're going to be hated by all. Verse

22. Why? He says, for my namesake. You really

want to follow me? Do you know what it's going

to cost you? So it's because we're associated

with Jesus. But let me ask you this. Why does

the world hate Jesus? We love him. Why does the

world hate him? Because he's light. He's truth.

He is holiness. And he exposes the darkness and

the evil of the world. In John 3, Jesus said

this. This is the condemnation. That the light,

that's Christ, has come into the world. But men

love darkness rather than light because their

deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil

hates the light. This is not morally neutral

people. They're bent toward evil. This is the

depravity of man and does not come to the light.

See, the gospel of Jesus Christ exposes sinners.

It exposes our sin and the world hates that exposure.

The message of the gospel is that we must repent

of our sin. We must surrender to Christ and we

follow him. But the world, the world apart from

Christ, they love autonomy. The world loves the

right to do what they want to do when they want

to do it. And Christ does not allow for that.

He doesn't. You have a new Lord. Let me give

you one example. And it's an easy example because

it's so prevalent and easily seen in our society

in the sexual deviation perversion of our culture.

The church has always proclaimed from the beginning,

That sexual activity is restricted by God's design

of one, now I have to say this now, biological

man and one biological female in a covenant union

of marriage until death separates them. That's

it. Anything and everything outside of that is

sin. Morally wrong. That knocks out, that forbids

fornication. Any type of sexual activity before

marriage doesn't matter if it's homosexual or

heterosexual. Any sexual activity. Boys will

not be boys and all this is just people fooling

around. It's sin before a holy God. Living together

before marriage, it's on the rise. Doesn't matter.

It's not practical. It is evil. It is sinful.

The church has always stood for that. And we

don't need to tolerate it. We need to expose

it. And people get mad. And then we can come

to, before we get to the other easily things,

what about the people get married and divorced

and married and divorced? It's not right. Marriage

is a union, a covenant before God taking sacred

vows that you're not dissolving that covenant

until death separates you. Then, of course, we

have homosexuality. And so many today try to

twist and pervert the scriptures to allow for

that. You can't do it, friends. It's impossible

to do. And then we have the blight of transgenderism.

Men thinking they're women. Women thinking they're

men. Friends, it's insanity. It's Rome. And the

message that I just spoke is odious to the world.

They hate it. And if you mess with one of the

world's idols, which is sexual autonomy, they

will hate you and they will seek to silence you.

Anyone who speaks out on this matter is in danger

of being silenced, canceled, shunned. What do

you think got John the Baptist killed? Do you

remember there was King Herod? King Herod was

sleeping with his brother Philip's wife Herodias.

And John the Baptist looked at the king and said,

hey, that's against the law of God. You can't

do that. And the lady, Herodias, said, well,

watch me. And she had his head put on a platter.

He was killed for that message alone. Jesus says,

whoever does not forsake all that he has cannot

be my disciple. You want to follow him? Because

man is depraved, he hates light. He hates those

who bear witness to light. It has always been

this way. It will always be this way until the

time when Christ returns. It's not going to change.

So the church, you must be calm. You must be

prepared. And finally, you must be faithful.

Look at verse 22, the latter part. But he who

endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute

you in the city, flee to another. For assuredly,

I say to you, you will have not gone through

the cities of Israel. Before the Son of Man comes.

Even in the face of persecution and possible

martyrdom, the disciples must remain loyal to

Jesus. You cannot, you cannot abandon Christ

because it becomes too hard. Just consider the

book of Hebrews. There are warning passages.

You do not turn your back on Christ. Remaining

true with your loyalty to Jesus, it may cost

you your life. But then you will be saved. Although

you must remain faithful to Christ, that does

not mean you must stay where you are being persecuted.

If they persecute you in this city, Jesus said,

well, move on to the next. You don't have to

keep casting your pearls before swine. Look at

the Apostle Paul. You see that in his ministry.

He was persecuted. He would move on. Fleeing

is not cowardice. It is prudence. Now, sometimes

it is more prudent to stay. Sometimes people

say, you know what, even if it costs me my life,

I'm not moving. I'm staying here. I think of

Sandy's pastor back in the time when the city

of Juarez was under great, tremendous violence.

Everyone, it was a city of about 3 million people,

and about half of it fled. A million and a half

people fled. And her pastor had an opportunity

to come to the states and take a pastorate here

in the states. And literally, there was a time

when he walked outside and his neighbor was being

riddled with bullets. Walking out of Costco,

the crank wreck, made someone's gun down right

there. Violence was everywhere. People afraid

to leave their house. And I said, Jorge, why

did you not leave? You had the opportunity to

come. And he said, what kind of shepherd would

I be if I left my sheep when they needed me most?

He said, if it cost me my life, I was going to

stay. The Apostle Paul, though, you see in his

ministry, when persecution began, he'd leave

that city and go to the next. By the way, this

allowed the gospel to spread very rapidly. Now,

this section of text closes with a promise. Jesus

says, You will have not gone through all the

cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

Now listen, I've read a lot. I've read every

different interpretation. This is a very difficult

verse, and there are many different interpretations.

I'm going to give you the one I think works the

best and fits context. Let me just say right

now, it's not referring to the second coming

at the end of the age. How do you know that?

Because he's saying, hey, you twelve, you're

on a preaching tour in Israel, you won't even

get through all of Israel until the Son of Man

comes. Well, that was done at Pentecost, by the

way, even before then, and the Son of Man has

not returned. So now notice, pay attention, see

if you can follow this line of argumentation

here. He tells the twelve, you're going to go

on a preaching tour, you're going to go through

Israel, strictly Israel, don't go up to verses

5 and 6, don't go anywhere else. And you won't

even make it all the way through until the Son

of Man comes. He doesn't say Son of Man comes

again. He says until the Son of Man comes. Now

that language, the Son of Man coming, is borrowed

from a text in Daniel chapter 7, and we see it

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

various places in Matthew's Gospel. Now let me

give you the text in Daniel 7. I was watching

in the night visions, and behold, one like the

Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven,

he came to the ancient days. This is a vision,

friends. The Trinity's not split up by this.

This is a vision. And they brought him, that's

the son of man, near before him, that's the ancient

of days. Then to him, the son of man, was given

dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples,

nations, and languages should serve him. His

dominion is an everlasting dominion which will

not pass away and his kingdom the one which will

not be destroyed. Okay. That's Daniel's vision.

So Daniel sees the son of man. What's Jesus'

favorite title for himself? Son of man. He uses

it all the time. And Daniel sees the Son of Man

coming to the Ancient of Days. That's God the

Father seated on his throne. And it says at this

time, Daniel's time is still future, the Son

of Man was given an everlasting kingship over

all the earth, over all people. Now the Son of

Man is coming before God to be crowned as king

over all people. Notice this coming is not on

the earth. He says he's coming in the clouds

of heaven. That's Daniel 7. So the coming is

speaking of a heavenly enthronement when this

son of man is vindicated and pronounced as king.

Now this is referring to Jesus' coronation. Keep

in your mind, when was Jesus crowned as king?

When was the kingdom inaugurated? This view is

further supported by Matthew 26. Jesus, now we

skip forward 16 chapters. He's standing there

before the religious authorities. But he kept

silent. The high priest said to him, I put you

under oath by the living God. Tell us if you

are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said, it

is as you said. And then he quotes Daniel 7.

Nevertheless, I say to you hereafter, you will

see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand

of the power and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Okay, so he's referring back to Daniel 7. When

did Christ receive the kingdom from his Father?

The Lord Jesus suffered. He was crucified, buried,

and yet the third day he was vindicated and raised

from the dead by the Father. He ascended 40 days

later into heaven. We don't make much of the

ascension, but we should, and I've tried to do

this here in this church. 40 days later at the

ascension, he enters into heaven. He is crowned

as king at his ascension. And that is known in

church theology as Jesus' session. He goes in.

He receives the kingdom. He's seated at God the

Father's right hand. His being seated is known

as his session. And from there, he rules from

the Father's right hand until all his enemies

are placed under his feet. Till his enemies are

made his footstool, the Bible says. The kingdom

was inaugurated. It came when Christ was crucified.

He's buried. He rose again. He ascended into

heaven. He came before his father and received

his kingdom. And Christ right now currently rules

from heaven, but the kingdom now is expanding

beyond the borders of Israel into all nations

until the time that he returns in final judgment.

I'm going to give you a summary and see if I

can clear up any loose ends. The coming of the

Son of Man in Matthew 10 .23 is referring to

Jesus coming to receive his kingdom. It marked

the end of a specific mission to Israel. Before

that, the apostles were not to leave Israel.

After that, they were to go into all the nations.

Look at Jesus' final words in the Great Commission.

Go and make disciples of whom? All the nations.

The universal kingdom of Christ was established

at his ascension. And at that moment, the church's

mission was broadened from those narrow borders

of Israel to expand into the entire world. But

until that time, until that happened, these 12

men were to only minister where? To the cities

of Israel. And he says, you're not going to make

it all throughout Israel before the Son of Man

comes. Comes where? Into his kingdom, before

the kingdom is annihilated, death, burial, resurrection,

and ascension. That's Matthew 10, 23. When we

get to Matthew 24, at the Olivet Discourse, he

is going to talk about the final return of the

Son of Man to the earth and final judgment. Now,

I know you could have a lot of questions, and

I know I spoke very quickly there, but I really

think that's a good interpretation. It's the

best I have. I've read a lot. I think it fits.

Everything else did not fit. And if you want

to argue about it, hey, have at it. I'm fine

because we're good. Because there's a lot of

people that would say, some say it's Pentecost.

Men like Calvin, Theodore Boza, and St. John

Chrysostom from the 4th century. I don't know.

I think this works. So take it as you want. But

that's what I think it means. So now let me just

summarize. Let's go to the close. Give me the

two -minute warning here, all right? We're down

to it. Now what? As a follower of Christ. You

are to sanctify the Lord in your heart and follow

him implicitly. But you are to expect there to

be opposition. Do not be caught off guard because

your life is not easy. Don't be caught off guard

because your life is marked out for suffering,

because some are. Faithfulness, fidelity to Christ

will often bring suffering. But don't quit. Persevere

in this race that God has given you to run. And

let me say to moms and dads and to grandparents,

I beg you, I beg you, teach your kids this. We

have adopted a soft prosperity theology in the

church in the Western world. That somehow being

with Jesus is going to make life better and there's

no promise of that whatsoever. I was thinking

about this message and I was thinking yesterday

and I was thinking about my own son. What would

I have wanted him to do if he's 21, if he's a

young man in his 20s standing on a Libyan beach

saying you either deny Christ or you save your

life or you lose your head. I'll lose your head,

son, to the glory of Christ. And that would kill

me. But don't deny your Lord. But are we prepared

to do that? See, we're not. If we're just getting

cotton candy and games and silly things all the

time. Friends, this is a sobering thing. Jesus

said this is what you expect. Teach them. It

might come. It may not. But look to the church.

Look to those people who have suffered for Christ.

And God's going to give you the strength and

the wisdom. And he'll give you the words when

you need them. And God will not abandon his people,

especially in the dark season. He's with you,

friends. He is for you. He is with you. And don't

quit because your salvation is proven by your

perseverance. Perseverance does not earn it.

It's grace through faith. Perseverance proves

it. Endurance is the mark of a true disciple.

We persevere only because God in his grace is

preserving us until that final day. Don't lose

your reward, folks. This is the mission of the

church throughout the ages. Let's pray. Father,

we thank you for your word, and Lord, I thank

you for your help, and Lord, I pray that you

would use Perhaps unclear words of mine, I don't

know, Lord, to stir someone up in their spirit,

Lord. God, use this word, Lord, the best we could

execute it, to minister to the saints that are

gathered here, but to awaken sinners. Lord, no

doubt there may be some who still, Lord, are

apart from Christ. They've never, ever identified

with him. They've never bowed the knee to him

and surrendered in faith. God, awaken them. to

their soul's peril. Awaken them to their soul's

delight in Christ. Father, help us to trust you

to do this and not in the power of persuasion.

We ask God that you would meet with us now at

the table, the table of the Lord, which is given

to us. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.