Matthew 9 & 10

THEME: Jesus performs six more miracles; calls Matthew; contends with the Pharisees; continues His ministry in Galilee

In the previous chapter we have seen six miracles which demonstrate that the King has the dynamic, the power, to enforce the ethic He has pronounced, and the chapter before us continues the same thought. We see Him performing physical miracles of healing, one that I classify as supernatural (the raising of the dead) and the spiritual miracle of casting out a demon.

And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city [Matt. 9:1].

Jesus left the country of the Gadarenes, who did not want Him, and returned to Capernaum.

And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy: Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee [Matt. 9:2].

We are given details in Mark’s account concerning this event. Mark tells us how this man was let down through the roof of a house, and the Lord both healed him and forgave him his sins. Healing and the forgiveness of sins are related.

And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth [Matt. 9:3].

The scribes were of the opinion that the Lord could not enable this sick man to walk. The Lord, knowing the thought of their minds and the evil in their hearts, asked them—

For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? [Matt. 9:5].

They wouldn’t answer His question, but if they had answered, they would have had to say, “Well, for us, one is as great as the other.”

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

When this palsied man got up and walked, it meant that the One who could make him walk was the One who could forgive his sins.

My friend, you and I cannot forgive sins—only the Lord Jesus can do that. And since we cannot forgive sins, we cannot make a man walk. Satan is a deceiver, and we need to investigate the so-called healings we hear about today. Let’s don’t get in the way of what God does, and let’s make sure that He receives the glory.

And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him [Matt. 9:9].

Matthew modestly passes over his call with only this verse. Luke tells us that Matthew made a great dinner in honor of Jesus (see Luke 5:27–29). Evidently the incident which follows took place at this dinner. Matthew invited many of his publican friends to this dinner because he wanted them to know the Lord Jesus Christ also.

And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? [Matt. 9:10–11].

The Pharisees did not believe in eating with publicans and sinners. Many saints today still have the same idea. It doesn’t hurt to invite sinners to dinner because they are the ones who need to be reached for Christ. We need to have some contact with sinners.

But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick [Matt. 9:12].

Jesus is the Great Physician. He has come to heal mankind of their basic problem, which is sin. This ought to be said to a lot of our little Christian groups who have their banquets and “fellowship” meetings and do not invite the unsaved. If the unsaved do come, the majority of the Christians freeze them out anyway. May I say to you that I think some of these so-called Christian groups are sinful in their very existence and in the way they meet today.

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance [Matt. 9:13].

When Jesus said,“For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” He could have included the Pharisees because they were sinners. In fact, all of us are included—“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23, italics mine).

Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? [Matt. 9:14].

The disciples of John had been observing the Lord Jesus. After all, some of these men were originally disciples of John—we know that Andrew and Philip were. They had come and were following the Lord Jesus, and the other disciples of John said, “Look, here is something happening which is a little different from the way we do it, and we wonder why.”

John, as has been indicated previously, was an Old Testament prophet. He walked out of the Old Testament into the New Testament to make the announcement that the Messiah had come. Malachi had predicted that a messenger would come to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. John said, “All I’m doing is getting the highway ready for the Lord. He will be here in a few minutes.” And He did come as John had said.

Now our Lord is going to enunciate a great principle and reveal the fact that the dispensation is going to be changed.

And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast [Matt. 9:15].

Although for believers today fasting has real value, we have been given no commandment to fast. Fasting should be done with the idea that we are prostrating ourselves before God because we are in need of His mercy and of His help. This is the thought behind fasting.

Now listen to the Lord as He explains the change of dispensations from the Old Testament of law to the New Testament of grace.

No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved [Matt. 9:16–17].

Our Lord is saying this: The old covenant, the old dispensation of law, was ending, and He had not come to project it or to continue under that dispensation. Actually, He had come to provide a new garment, and that new garment was the robe of righteousness which He gives to those who do nothing more than to trust Him.

The “bottles” were the wineskins of that day. They were fashioned of animal skin. You can see that when new wine would be put into a new wineskin, it would expand. But an old wineskin had reached the place of maximum expansion; when it was filled with new wine, it would naturally burst open and the wine would be lost.

Our Lord is saying this, “I haven’t come to sew patches on an old garment. I have come to present a new garment, something which is altogether new.” This was very radical. John summed it up in his Gospel when he said, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

We come to the eighth and ninth miracles which, in a manner of speaking, are linked together. Both are miracles of healing, and it is a tremendous scene.

While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live [Matt. 9:18].

Luke in his Gospel tells us that when this ruler first came to Jesus it was to ask Him to heal his daughter: “And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying …” (Luke 8:41–42). The little girl was sick unto death, and while her father waited to talk with Jesus, a servant came and told him that the little girl had died.

As Jesus and His disciples arose to follow Jairus to his home, a large crowd gathered around Him.

And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment [Matt. 9:20].

You cannot help but notice how striking this passage is. The little girl was twelve years old, and this woman had suffered with this issue of blood for twelve years. Here were twelve years of light going out of this child’s life, and twelve years of darkness were coming to an end and light was breaking into this woman’s life. Here is the contrast of light and darkness.

In the previous verse note what the woman did—Jesus did not touch her, as He did in many other miracles, but she touched Him. It was not the method, however, that brought about her healing; it was her faith.

For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour [Matt. 9:21–22].

Dr. Luke gives us much more detail about this miracle, recording our Lord’s reaction to this woman’s touch and her response. Jesus then moves from this woman and continues toward the house of Jairus.

And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,

He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn [Matt. 9:23–24].

When Jesus arrived at the home, people were already mourning for the child. He told them the little girl was only sleeping and not dead, and they laughed at Him. None in the house believed Jesus could raise the dead, but He kept moving toward the child.

But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose [Matt. 9:25].

This is the first instance of raising the dead that we have in the Gospels. Three notable incidents of raising the dead are recorded. Again, Luke goes into more detail than Matthew. Luke adds that He spoke to the little girl in this lovely fashion, “Little lamb, wake up, I say.” The method of Jesus in raising the dead was always the same. He spoke to the person directly.

After healing the woman with the issue of blood and raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead, the fame of Jesus spread.

And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us [Matt. 9:27].

Note that the two blind men addressed Him as the “Son of David.” This is significant in this Gospel which presents Him as King.

And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it [Matt. 9:28–30].

This is another remarkable case where the Lord charges these men not to tell anyone about what happened to them. He said the same thing to the leper. There are several reasons for the Lord to ask this favor, but one is made clear in this passage. The publication of His miracles caused the crowds to press in upon Him and actually hindered Him at His work.

But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country [Matt. 9:31].

These two men whose sight was restored just couldn’t contain their joy—“they … spread abroad his fame.”

We now come to the eleventh miracle. Another demon-possessed man is healed. This is the third incident of demon possession recorded in chapters 8–9 of Matthew.

As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel [Matt. 9:32–33].

But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils [Matt. 9:34].

They did not deny that He had caused the dumb to speak and the blind to see and the crippled to walk. What they accused Him of was that He did these things by the power of Satan.

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people [Matt. 9:35].

“The gospel of the kingdom” is not the gospel of the grace of God. This does not mean to imply that there are two gospels. There is only one gospel, but there are many facets of it. The gospel of the Kingdom was the announcement that the Kingdom of the heavens was at hand. It meant to get ready for the King. It required a heart condition that would accept and follow the King who was then going to the cross.

“And healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” We see again and again that Matthew inserts this information that there were thousands of folk who were healed in that day. This is the reason the enemy never questioned the fact that He performed miracles—it was too obvious.

Again let me say that in our day a great many people get excited about the claim of certain ones to have a gift of healing. Personally, I do not think that anyone in our day has that gift. As I mentioned previously, for many years I have offered one hundred dollars to anyone who would come forward and be able to prove that he had been healed by a so-called faith healer. You would think that out of literally hundreds of reported faith healings during the time of a sensational healing meeting, there would be one case that is genuine. I’ll be honest with you—I did expect someone to come along that had had a psychological cure. No one has come.

I asked the leader of a certain denomination who has offered one thousand dollars to anyone who could prove he had been cured by a faith healer what his experience had been. He told me about several lawsuits that had been filed against him by those who had tried to collect the money. No one, however, had ever been able to go into court and prove that he had been healed by a faith healer.

In contrast to this, there were thousands of folk who had been healed by our Lord when He was here. And I would think that there would be at least one today, wouldn’t you think so? Let me ask you the question: Do you really know someone who has been healed by a man or woman? The point is that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Great Physician, and I believe—I know—that He can heal today as well as yesterday. I have great confidence in Him. Now let me make myself clear: We should seek the best medical help available to us, but we need to recognize that doctors are very limited. However, the Lord Jesus is not limited. We can be confident that He will deal with us according to His perfect will, and we need to give Him the credit for whatever happens.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd [Matt. 9:36].

God’s ideal kings and rulers have been shepherds. Both Moses and David were shepherds before they led God’s people. When we pray for the Lord to thrust forth laborers into His harvest, pray that He will give them the heart of a shepherd. Pray that the Lord will give you a heart of compassion for the lost.

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest [Matt. 9:37–38].

Having said this to His disciples, He now sends them forth. My friend, when you pray for something, it is always well to be willing to do it yourself. When our Lord asked the disciples to pray for laborers, He sent into the harvest these very men whom He asked to pray about it. This is very interesting indeed. An old bishop in the Methodist church in Georgia years ago said, “When a man prays for a corn crop, the Lord expects him to say ‘Amen’ with a hoe.” I have always believed that you should not pray about anything unless you are also willing to do it yourself.

THEME: Jesus commissions the twelve apostles to go to the nation Israel and preach the gospel of the Kingdom

This chapter continues the movement we have seen in the Gospel of Matthew. The Lord Jesus, having given the ethic, came down from the mountain, demonstrated His power in the twelve miracles which have been enumerated. Now He commissions the twelve apostles to go to the nation Israel and preach the gospel of the Kingdom.

These men are to go, not as forerunners but as after-runners. Our Lord gave them power to perform miracles—this was their credential. (Have you ever noticed that John the Baptist never performed a miracle?) Note that their title is changed from disciple (learner) to apostle (delegate).

As we enter this chapter, keep in mind the number of cults which come to this chapter for their authority for some peculiar ministry or conduct. You see, the instructions for the Christian are not found in this chapter. We need to consider the instruction here in light of the circumstances and conditions under which they were given, and we should be able to interpret them accurately.

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease [Matt. 10:1].

The power He gave to them was their credential as they went to the nation Israel. The prophets of the Old Testament had said that this would be the credentials of the Messiah. Having given them this power, they are no longer disciples but apostles.

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him [Matt. 10:2–4].

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the city of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.

Now if you are going to take your instructions from this chapter for your personal ministry, you will have to limit yourself to the nation Israel, because this is to be given to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Obviously, these verses do not contain our commission. Contrast it with our commission in Acts 1:8: “… and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Notice that we are to include Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth, while Jesus instructed the twelve in this chapter to stay out of Samaria and not to go into the way of the Gentiles but only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand [Matt. 10:7].

How could it be “at hand”? It was at hand in the person of the King—He was in their midst.

At the turn of the century and at the conclusion of the Victorian era, there was a feeling of optimism throughout the so-called Christian world. All of the major denominations at that time took on the herculean task of “building the Kingdom of Heaven” here on this earth. Each group thought that they had a contract from God to accomplish this purpose. Of course, the church was never called to build the Kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself will establish the Kingdom when He returns to the earth. The church is a called-out body from the world to manifest Christ and to preach His gospel throughout the world. Kingdom business is none of our business.

Now notice that our Lord sends out the twelve with the same credentials that He Himself has—

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give [Matt. 10:8].

Now I insist that if you are going to do one of the above things, you ought to be able to do all four of them. Note that raising the dead is included! Obviously, this was applicable to the time and circumstances under which it was given.

It is interesting to note that folk in our day who use verse 8 as their commission ignore the next verse—at least, I have never heard them use it—yet it all goes together in one package.

Some time ago I suggested to a so-called faith healer that he go to the hospitals where they really needed him. But it is interesting to see that these folk have to be in a place where an offering can be taken.

Obviously, we need to place this verse in its correct context. These were temporary instructions during our Lord’s three-year ministry. There came a day at the end of His ministry when He gave different instructions to His apostles: “And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one” (Luke 22:35–36).

And the apostle Paul wrote, “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14), and he deals at length with the matter of the preacher in 1 Corinthians 9. In our day, certainly God expects us to support Christian ministries.

My only suggestion is that if you are going to appropriate to yourself Matthew 10:8, be sure to take the next verse that goes along with it. I don’t mean to be harsh, but it is important to interpret a verse in its context.

Now notice the further instructions our Lord gave to the twelve before He sent them out at this time—

And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence [Matt. 10:11].

This certainly is not for our day. The best place for a visiting speaker to go is to a motel or hotel instead of causing an extra burden on folk when they are so busy. Some people still have a “prophet’s chamber,” and I know where many of them are in this country; they are delightful places. But in our day, I don’t think our Lord would have us go into a town and ask, “Who is worthy in this town; who is your outstanding Christian?” then go and knock on his door and say, “Look, I’m here.” Again let’s note that the Lord Jesus is giving His men temporary instructions under local circumstances for a three-year period. Let’s interpret it in its correct context.

And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you [Matt. 10:12–13].

The word house refers, of course, not to the building but to the people who live in it, the household.

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet [Matt. 10:14].

This is not our commission today. This is not the attitude of modern missionaries. Certainly, when I have gone to other places to hold meetings, I have never gone outside the towns and shaken the dust off my feet. I won’t say that I haven’t felt like it in some places, but I have never done it. I feel that this instruction was given to these men for that particular time.

Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city [Matt. 10:15].

In the next chapter of Matthew we will find out what happened to some of these cities that fell under judgment.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as servants, and harmless as doves [Matt. 10:16].

Having spoken about the local situation, the Lord now gives these men certain great principles by which they are to go as His witnesses. These principles are good for time and eternity, and they certainly are good for our day. The child of God should be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. It is dangerous to be one and not the other. I have met some who are wise as serpents—they are clever—but they are not helpless as doves. To use a common expression, they will take you. I know others who are quite gullible; they are harmless as doves, but they are not wise as serpents. A serpent is dangerous, and a dove is in danger, so that we need to combine both qualities.

But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues [Matt. 10:17].

I have never been scourged in a synagogue, but I have been verbally scourged in some of our good churches.

And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles [Matt. 10:18].

In that day this certainly happened to those who were His. Also, it has happened subsequently to many in the church.

But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you [Matt. 10:19–20].

I believe these verses apply to those men who had no opportunity to prepare answers when they were arrested for doing the job Jesus sent them to do. These men sent out by the Lord made no preparation, and if we place these verses in the local situation, we will have no problem with them at all.

Unfortunately, there are many folk who apply these verses to themselves and make no preparation for their sermons! When I was in seminary, a fellow student, who was a little odd in more ways than one, believed that he should preach without any preparation. A friend and I decided one night that we would go and hear him preach. Well, it was painfully obvious that he had not prepared his message. On the way back to the seminary, my friend, who had even more nerve than l had, asked him, “Did you prepare that message tonight?”

My friend said to him, “I don’t think you ought to blame that message on the Holy Spirit!”

Another friend of mine was at Temple, Texas, years ago when the trains were running through there, and he had to change trains there on a Sunday morning. As he waited for his connection, he was walking up and down with his notes in his hand because he was to preach that morning. He was wearing a long frock coat, and another man approached him who also was wearing a frock coat. The man asked him, “Are you a preacher?”

“Well, suppose when you get up, the Holy Spirit doesn’t give you the message immediately. Then what do you do?”

Unfortunately, there are a whole lot of preachers just messing around in our day and using as their excuse this instruction which our Lord gave to His apostles. That is really a misinterpretation of Scripture. If we put these verses back in their context and see them in their local situation, their meaning is crystal clear.

And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death [Matt. 10:21].

The coming of Christ into the world divided man; it did not bring unity. When one person in a family accepts Christ and another family member does not, you have a division. Paul said it well in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved [Matt. 10:22].

This refers to the fact that the Lord will be able to keep His own for the three-year period of His ministry. Similarly, Matthew 24:13 means that the Lord will be able to keep His own during the Great Tribulation period, as we shall see when we come to chapter 24.

But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come [Matt. 10:23].

Notice that He says, “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel”—not the world, but Israel—“till the Son of man be come,” meaning until He is manifested before the nation. It is difficult for us to conceive of the fact that our Lord covered the nation of Israel. And there was a real division in the nation concerning Him. When He asked His disciples, “… Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt. 16:13), they gave Him several answers. Everybody had his own opinion about Him. In our day He is still the most controversial Person who has ever been in the world.

Now the Lord Jesus gives His men general instructions. Again, these are great principles which you and I can certainly apply to ourselves, although the direct interpretation is to the twelve apostles.

The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord [Matt. 10:24].

We need to keep in mind that we are representing the Lord Jesus Christ, and He must come first. If we do not put Him first, we will have trouble—I mean trouble with Him!

It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? [Matt. 10:25].

Don’t worry about what people say about you if you are being faithful to Him. They did not say nice things about the Lord. If Jesus Himself received ill-treatment, His disciples could hardly expect to fare better.

Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known [Matt. 10:26].

Friend, your life is going to be turned wrong side out someday and so is mine. God’s ultimate judgment will someday vindicate believers and deal with persecutors; so you had better have the inside of your life looking as attractive as the outside.

What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops [Matt. 10:27].

I always think of a radio as being the best way of preaching from the housetops. Put an aerial on your rooftop and you can pick up even the most difficult radio stations. This is the way we preach from the housetops today, and I think it is an effective way.

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 [Matt. 10:28].

Someone asked Cromwell why he was such a brave man. Cromwell replied, “I’ve learned that when you fear God, you do not have any man to fear.”

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father [Matt. 10:29].

What a marvelous verse! The Lord takes care of the little sparrows. Have you ever watched a sparrow? I was in a hotel back East, in a downtown area, and there were hundreds of sparrows around a fountain on the grounds. I thought to myself, “There is not one of those birds that the Lord does not know about.” How wonderful this is to remember.

God loves you! The Lord Jesus loves you more than your mother loved you. Did your mother ever count the hairs on your head? But God knows the number!

Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows [Matt. 10:31].

Think of that—if God knows where the sparrow is, my friend, He knows where you are. You will never get to the place where He doesn’t know where you are.

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven [Matt. 10:32–33].

It stands to reason that if we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior from sin, we will acknowledge it publicly or whenever it is deemed necessary to give a testimony. Therefore, the statement of verse 33 follows as day follows night. This verse alerts me to want to confess Him and never to deny Him. However, I don’t want to make a fool of myself because there are times when I am not to cast my pearls before swine; that is, there are times when we do not honor Him by the use of His name in certain circles. Assuredly, we never want to deny Him—neither will we deny Him.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword [Matt. 10:34].

This is a verse with which the pacifist has had difficulty. However, until all unrighteousness is put down and suppressed, the Person of Christ will cause the enmity of Satan, and a battle will ensue.

I wish a little of this verse would get into the United Nations today and into the thinking of some liberal preachers. Christ did not come to bring peace at His first coming. Sin is still in the world; and, as long as it stays upon the earth, God says that there will be no peace for the wicked.

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.

Paul amplified the truth of this verse when he said,“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). Actually, families have been divided by the preaching of the gospel. Also, brothers have been separated. There is a unity of believers, and that very unity makes a division with the unsaved world.

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 [Matt. 10:37].

Unless you have really committed your life to Christ and paid a price, you cannot talk much about commitment. Personally, I do not brag about being a committed Christian because I find that I am in Simon Peter’s class. But, thank God, He is faithful. That’s the wonder of it all!

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me [Matt. 10:38].

I wish that I could have heard Him use that expression, “not worthy of me.” Many of us are not, and it means that He is not going to use us unless we are really committed to Him. But, thank God, He will not throw us overboard!

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it [Matt. 10:39].

He is putting in contrast the life which we have here in the flesh with the gift of eternal life which comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is possible that when a person comes to Christ, he may be put to death because of his faith. This is not true in the United States yet, but it is true in other parts of the world even in our day. A man who loses his physical life for Christ shall find eternal life which takes him into the presence of Christ. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).

He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

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.

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 [Matt. 10:40–42].

In John 15 the Lord Jesus clarifies this section when He says that the world has hated Him and is going to hate His own. We ought not to be any more popular with the world than Jesus Christ is popular. The measure of our loyalty and faithfulness to Him is given in the prophet’s reward and the righteous man’s reward. If you defend the Lord Jesus as a prophet, you will receive a prophet’s reward. If you receive Him as only a righteous man, you will receive a righteous man’s reward. But if you acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior, you will receive a full reward. Our Lord makes it very clear that rewards are given on the basis of faithfulness.

[i]J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1981 by J. Vernon McGee.

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