Matthew 10
The prayers for laborers in the field are answered. He formally calls His twelve disciples to labor. Their testimony to Israel would continue until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman general, Titus, in 70 A.D.
When called, they were forbidden to go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans but were sent just to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They were to preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven and to heal the sick. They were to provide nothing for their journey; the workman was worthy of his meat. Emmanuel was with them.
In each place they were to abide in the house of one who was worthy, and their peace would rest on it. If unworthy, their peace would return to the disciples. If not received, they were to shake off the dust of their feet against them. Judgment would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for those of that city.
The disciples represent both the Jewish remnant during the three-and-one-half years of Christ's ministry before He went to heaven, and those who preach the gospel of the kingdom during the seven years of tribulation (Matt. 24:1414And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)). The latter would preach for three-and-one-half years in Jerusalem, and, after being cast out, for three-and-one-half years to the nations about them.
They are warned about those who would deliver them up to authorities. They should not think beforehand what to say to the authorities, because it would be given them when they needed to give answer.
Christ is more precious than family; family life would be interrupted. They would be hated of all nations, and those who endured to the end, the millennium, would be saved. The end would come when the Son of man appeared. The Lord came, not to send peace on the earth, but a sword. A man's foes would be they of his own household. This will be the painful part of their serving: to be rejected, even of their loved ones, because of the cause of Christ.
In a household there may be believers and unbelievers. The latter will walk in a path that is not in keeping with the kingdom and its principles. Such could not agree as to spiritual things with the believer. Be warned, for it is our companions and our habits that ruin us in spiritual and natural things.
Should there be persecution, they were to flee to another city until the Son of man came. Those who rejected His servants rejected Him. They would not have gone over the cities of Israel until the Son of man came. This is instruction for those who preach during the seven years before the millennium.
The title "Son of man" is of greater scope than the title "Messiah." He is Messiah to Israel, but He will come as Son of man over all that God has destined for man.
He that does not take his cross and follow after Christ in His path is not worthy of Him. 'The believer has a cross of rejection in this world. He is not accepted in the world, if faithful to Christ. Do we realize how serious it is to be in the kingdom of heaven?
The sparrow is precious to the Father; not one will fall to the ground without His knowing it. The believer is more precious to God than many sparrows.
One who finds his life in this world shall lose it. To find one's life in the world is to fit into the pattern of the world. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 1 John 2:15-1715Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:15‑17).
To lose our life in this world is to follow Christ in His path as He walked down here in dependence and obedience, denying the things that belong to this world. When man was created in the garden of Eden, God put the world in his heart (Eccl. 3:1717I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. (Ecclesiastes 3:17)). Having sinned, the tendency is still in the heart. It will be right to have the world in the heart when Christ reigns on earth.
A cup of cold water given to a son of the kingdom, His little ones, even in the name of a disciple, shall not lose its reward.