All That I Have Commanded You (4) – Matthew 10.24-33

In the fourth message of this series, we learn that a disciple is part of a missional movement in which God’s kingdom is growing by His power and for His glory.  Matthew 10 is Jesus’ great teaching about the source, nature, and outcome of this great mission.  While we as disciples may not all have the same role in this mission, we are still a part of it and need to understand ourselves in light of it.

In chapter 10 of Matthew we learn that a disciples has great authority (vs.1), a great obligation (vs. 8), great allies and enemies (vss. 11 & 16), a great testimony (vss. 18-20), a great Master (vs. 24), great fear (vs. 28), and great value (vss. 29-31).

God’s mission proceeds out of His authority over all things, especially those forces that oppose Him.  We are obliged to pursue this mission by freely offering to others what we have freely received from the Lord.  As we engage in the mission we will find that the Lord has been at work already preparing hearts who will receive the message and aid the mission.  We will also encounter enemies who offer opposition and even threaten us.  It’s in the midst of this reality that we will be enabled to offer a great witness, great because of who Jesus is, not great because of who we are.  We can take heart in that we undertake this mission under the authority of a great Master, Jesus, who is not asking us to do anything that he hasn’t already done.  While God’s enemies might be fearful, our fear of Him must be greater and the good news is that He loves and values us a great deal and promises that all things will fall under his justice and judgement.