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21 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. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ~ Matthew 10:21-23
Today, we return to our study of Matthew 10 where the Lord Jesus is instructing His disciples before He sent them out two by two for the first time into the surrounding towns in Galilee. Many times in the Bible, prophetic words have double application. Today's passage is just that. The description in today's passage applied immediately to the disciples, but these words also apply to believers at the end of times we know it. The main idea is that the disciple keeps his eyes on the Lord. It is only through knowing the purposes of the Lord for our trials are we able to endure them best.
In v.21 of today's passage we read, "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."
In Matthew 10:5-15 we learned of the authority of the Lord Jesus over sickness, death and demon-possession. In Matthew 10:16-23 the tables are turned. Here, we learn of the persecution and even martyrdom that awaits the disciple of the Lord Jesus. This type of severe persecution has come to pass many times over the centuries. As indicated in this passage, Christians have been handed over and even put to death by their own family members. The history of the church is written in the blood of the martyrs. Almost all of the disciples were martyred for their faith. One didn't because he didn't see the resurrection coming. After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus the disciples were changed and emboldened because they had not one doubt that the Lord Jesus had risen.
In v.22 of today's passage we read, "And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved."
History informs us that each of the original disciples sent out by the Lord Jesus was persecuted and jailed but not during this first trip. Later on they were killed for bearing His name. Still, the Lord Jesus said that those of them who endure to the end will be saved. He did not mean that they would escape death at the hands of the persecutors. He meant that by enduring all the way to the end of their lives in faithfulness to His calling, they would immediately enter into their salvation in His kingdom.
People see the Lord Jesus as dangerous because He threatens the safety of their sin. Yes, it is hard to believe but people garner a certain amount of comfort from their sin. Our loving Shepherd, the Lord Jesus has given us boundaries to protect us from sin and from our lack of wisdom. In the face of real danger, God's warnings are motivated by His love for us. God warns us because He knows both the true depths of sin’s destruction and the true heights of His mercy. He knows the threats that exist and He wants to protect us from the destruction of sin in our lives.
The Lord Jesus speaks to us with warnings of perfect love. He warned His disciples because naming the fear is the first step to being freed from it. John reminds us that it is the love of God that casts out our fear. His love, although sometimes frightening, gives us freedom from our fears. Even though we have been imprisoned by fear, God's love frees us from its shackles by convincing us that His definitions of life are best for us. As believers in Christ, we have the life of God living in us. But, if we aren't being defined by His life, we will be defined by that which brings with it unhealthy fear. There is a healthy side of fear. The type of fear that causes God to be bigger in our lives is healthy. But, God's love has to be made perfect to us and it is made more perfect in us as we give ourselves to His definition of things. When we obey Him, we will know that we are being defined by Him. The more we know His love for us, the more we will have a more mature and correct understanding of His love for us.
In v.23 of today's passage we read, "When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
Persecution sometimes serves us by convincing us to not waste our time at a particular place. The Lord Jesus implored the disciples to move on to the next city. We are admonished in the same way, to move on to the next person because time is of the essence. The disciples struggled with this information because they were convinced that the Lord Jesus was there to usher in His kingdom permanently. They didn't understand that at least two thousand years would pass before the end of this world would come. They didn't know about the second coming spoken of in Zechariah 12 where Israel will recognize Him as the one whom they crucified.
When the Lord Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the donkey the people waved palm branches because they expected Him to usher in His kingdom into this world. With it, they along with the disciples, expected the overthrow of the Roman government. But, it didn't happen that way. These first century seekers didn't understand that through the cross God's kingdom would be ushered in by addressing the sin that separated fallen man from God. They didn't know that His first coming was about making atonement for sin. This was the point of all of those passover lambs down through the centuries. Yet, it was in no way what they expected.
When the Lord Jesus captured our heart, we were equipped to recognize His work in our lives. It isn't a guarantee that we will understand what He is doing in our lives. Even though the disciples struggled to understand all these things, with the coming of the Holy Spirit who makes the believer alive to God, they were enabled to adjust to the plan that God had for their lives. We are no different. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that enables us to eventually understand God's plan for our lives. And, our ultimate calling is to bring glory to this One who laid aside His glory to redeem us back to God so that we could bask in His shared glory.
