Most sane people do not want to be called divider or hater.

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1 Introduction Most sane people do not want to be called divider or hater. But Christ and the gospel are dividers of people. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and the Gospel is the message of peace but when people confess Christ, they usually make enemies (see Warren Wiersbe s Expository Outlines on the New Testament; p.44). Jesus requires first place in the believer s life. Supreme loyalty. Supreme love (v.37). Discipleship costs. People are frightened and alarmed when a belief or ideology can drive a wedge in something so fundamental and powerful as natural affection. We understand and are shocked that an addict would chose her addiction over family. We are terrified that a mother or father would abandon or abuse their baby in order to satisfy their cravings! Can anyone or anything claim supreme priority in our lives? Remember the context of these words; Jesus called these men to himself with a message from himself. Jesus has outlined the servant s position (vv.24-25), protection (vv.26-32), privileges (vv.33-38), promise (v.39) and practice (vv.40-42). The disciple must stand up for Jesus (vv.32-33). The disciple makes the necessary sacrifices for Jesus (vv.34-37). To stand up for Jesus means that sometimes we must stand against evil and sin and human rebellion against God. We are willing to sacrifice self for Christ (vv.38-39). We see our future with Jesus (vv.40-42). Preparation For Conflict (vv.34-36) Matthew 10:34 42 (NKJV)34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. Jesus came to wage war against evil and sin and human rebellion against God. Jesus did come to bring peace the peace of God and peace with God (see Eph. 2:14-17). Jesus came that a human being might experience forgiveness, life and hope; Jesus came that the world might be saved through Him (see John 3:17). Which is it? Peace or conflict? We live in a world that imagines God supports evil and sin and condemns righteousness! The Lord Jesus Christ cannot offer God s peace and blessing to a world or a person who insists and persists in sin. The Lord cannot offer God s peace to a person who rejects Christ, the gospel and God s solution for sin! The presence of Jesus always brings division. The division is personal, social and cultural. Our old fallen human nature stubbornly refuses to submit to the Spirit of God. The division is social and cultural as people remain in darkness and stubbornly refuse to come into the light. 1

2 We live in a broken world. We have all experienced hurt, pain and suffering, not peace. In John 16:33 Jesus said, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Jesus said, in Me you may have peace. Apart from Christ there is no lasting permanent peace. There is only a momentary calm before the storm. We have tribulation because we live in fallen broken sinful world (Rom.8:35-36). We have afflictions and sorrows and sufferings which God allows in our lives for growth and maturation (see 2 Cor.13:7) and sometimes direct discipline or chastisement which comes directly from God (see Heb. 12:6). But Jesus has overcome the world. You mean faith in Christ might mean conflict in this world? You mean faith in Christ might bring conflict with my family? 35For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law ; The phrase set a man against translates the Greek word dixazo and means to cut in two or tear apart and is only use here in the Greek NT. The word was often used to describe devastation and permanent separation. Sometimes serving Christ leads to a painful loss of relationship. Conflict for Christians is inevitable. The most serious and painful conflict takes place with family! There is no way to avoid the conflict. The wounds are inevitable. 36and a man s enemies will be those of his own household. When a person comes to Christ they are sometimes hated by their immediate family. Their commitment to Christ and love and loyalty to Christ is sometimes seen as a threat to family cohesion and stability. William MacDonald: So a choice must often be made between Christ and family. No ties of nature can be allowed to deflect a disciple from utter allegiance to the Lord. The Savior must take precedence over father, mother, son or daughter. One of the costs of discipleship is to experience tension, strife, alienation from one s own family. This hostility is often more bitter than is encountered in other areas of life (Believer s Bible Commentary; p.1241). There is one way to avoid the conflict. There is one way to walk around unscathed and unharmed. Agree with your family! Deny Christ! Pliny when he was Governor of Bithynia (Northern Asia Minor), wrote Trajan the Emperor of Rome a letter; people in the province were to offer incense to the Emperor to affirm their loyalty. He tried arrest, fines, imprisonment, beatings, torture, even execution to get them to renounce the Lord Jesus Christ. In trying to excuse himself to the Emperor Pliny wrote; None of these acts, those who are really Christians can be compelled to do. The pagan Governor knew first hand of the Christian commitment. Christians took this matter of denying Jesus seriously! 2

3 Priority And Proof Of Love (vv.37-38) 37He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. The disciple of Christ has a new and powerful priority. Jesus boldly invites His follower to love Him above family and friends. Jesus invites His follower to put Him first. Jesus demands supreme love; note the words more than Me. Believers absolutely must love their families; but not more than they love the Lord. Two terrible things happen when our affection for our children exceed our affection for God. We become child centered homes instead of Christ centered homes. No family can ever achieve God s goals for that family apart from God. There will be a lack of spiritual growth; maturation, strength, conviction, confidence, commitment, purpose, meaning, significance. The second concerns control. What happens to a family when God is in control of the family? What happens when the family is left simply to the wishes, desires, of the individual family members? What happens when God s guidance is rejected? What happens when God s voice is left unheard? How will you have the resources to face the conflicts, trials and difficulties that life brings? How is it that you want the Lord to look after you and care for you but you have no reason to include Him in the process? No wonder Jesus says; But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:33). In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said;...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. But some people will chose family. The opposition is strong. The division deep. The sacrifice too great. The mental or emotional or financial strain overwhelms the person and the person thinks the demands of God too great. No one is suggesting that we neglect our family our ignore our family or abuse or family. God commands us to honor our mother and father. The warning is for misplaced priorities. We are not to place family before worship of God and affection for God. No one is suggesting that we lack affection. No one is suggesting that sacrifices must be made in order to insure the health and well being of our family. 38And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. The priority of love and loyalty is evidenced in sacrifice. Can family members rob Christ of His rightful place first place? Yes. But there is one more person who often insists on supremacy. Self. We love ourselves. We love our lives (apart from Christ). Who decides? Who is the one who makes the final decision of what constitutes worthy behavior? Jesus decides. Jesus is the one who decides who is and is not worthy! 3

4 Who is the one worthy? And who is the one unworthy? The Lord uses the illustration of the cross. Note the word is singular. Jesus is not speaking of trials, problems, set backs, difficulties or temptations. Jesus is speaking of a personal cross. When a person took up his cross there was only one destination; the place of execution. If you woke up and you took up your cross you would be on that cross and on your way to die. The cross is the instrument of execution and death. We must die to self everyday. We must count ourselves dead to sin and follow Christ. Later Jesus will say (Matt. 16:24); If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. In Luke 14:26; If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33). The cross is the only ladder high enough to touch Heaven s threshold (George Dana Boardman). And what is the reward? The person is counted worthy. What does it mean to take up the cross and follow Christ? It means to accept the instrument of your own death. What you want. Your ambitions, desires, pleasures, goals, dreams, future. A person who has picked up their cross has no vacation plans, or retirement plans, or business goals. Their is only one agenda one destination one outcome. Does this mean that Christians and Christianity belong to some kind of death cult? Just the opposite. We belong to the only worldview that offers permanent peace; eternal life; an everlasting hope. It may take a crucified church to take a crucified Christ before the eyes of the world (W.E. Orchard). Not all Christians will be required to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel or the sake of the Lord. But we are all called to so highly esteem Christ that our own lives don t matter. We do not count our own lives precious in comparison to Christ. I think this is what Paul meant when he said (Gal. 2:20); I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Privileges And Rewards (vv.39-42) 39He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. There is a great reward for loving the Lord Jesus Christ supremely. And what is that reward? We are counted worthy or unworthy. The Lord has placed in the human being strong instincts for survival and self-preservation. 4

5 We are wired to preserve and protect our life. We are wired to avoid pain and seek pleasure. How in the world can a person bypass these strong instincts in order to live lives of personal commitment and sacrifice? We all know why a person runs from a burning building or runs away when shots are fired. But what would cause a person to run towards the building? What would cause a person to run towards the danger? There are people who live their lives in service to themselves, or to their families, or to their country. We admire people who are willing to give their lives for family and country. Jesus invites us to live in service to Him. The greatest life is the life spent in dedication to Christ. And what constitutes the wasted life? It is the life spent in gratification of self! The person who loses their life in devotion to Christ finds it! And the person who remains convinced the only life worth living is the life dedicated to satisfying oneself loses the very life God gave them! There is one thing that will override the instinct for self-preservation! It is a greater love. There is a reason why a mother can face down a bear with only a broomstick! She loves her child more than she fears the bear. Our love for Christ must be greater than our instinct for selfpreservation. 40 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. Some will hear the message and receive the message. Jesus in effect says the person who receives Christ s disciple receives Christ. And the person who receives Jesus receives the Father who sent the Son. Jesus embraces the notion that the Sender is greater than the sent. In modern culture when a government sends an ambassador to a foreign country receiving the ambassador is also receiving the government that sent the ambassador. You treat the ambassador with respect and courtesy, dignity and appropriate hospitality. 41He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man s reward. Following Christ is not without privileges or rewards. Jesus has prepared us for conflict in discipleship (vv.34-36); Jesus has outlines the conditions for discipleship; the priority and proof of our love for the Lord Jesus (vv.37-38); and now Jesus speaks of the benefits or compensation for the true disciple! We are honored by the Son in the presence of the Father (vv.32-33). We fully gain our lives (v.39). We are given great rewards (vv.40-42). 5

6 What does it mean to receive a prophet in the name of a prophet? I think it has to do with judgment. Those who judge by appearances may be mislead. We sometimes judge by the outward instead of the inward. A.T. Pierson: The Jews regarded the reward of the prophet as the greatest; because, while kings bore rule in the name of the Lord, and priests ministered in the name of the Lord, the prophet came from the Lord to instruct both priest and king. Christ says that if you do more than receive a prophet in the capacity of a prophet, the same reward that is given to the prophet will be given to you, if you help the prophet along. Think of all that if you are inclined to criticize a speaker! If you help him speak for God, and encourage him you will get part of his reward. It is a great thing to help a man who is seeking to do good. You should not regard his dress, his attitude, his manners or his voice; but you should look beyond those things and say, Is this message of God for me? Is this man a prophet of God to my soul? If he is, receive him, magnify his word and work, and get part of his reward (see MacDonald Bible Commentary; p.1242). 42And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. What does this mean? Every kindness shown to the followers of Jesus is seen by God. All acts of kindness and support are seen and will be rewarded! Even something as simple and basic as a cold cup of water reaps rewards! Jesus in effect reminds the disciples that the acts of kindness and provision given to them are in effect done to Him. No we understand a little better the phrase if you did it to these the least of my disciples you did it unto me. Will the follower of Christ experience pain, suffering, rejection persecution opposition, trial imprisonment and perhaps even be killed? But in the end we must remember that we are ambassadors of the great king and we have been given great privileges and we will reap great rewards. Conclusion When you become a Christian you must weigh every desire, every relationship in light of your commitment to Christ. Jesus brings inner peace but sometimes relational turmoil. The Christian acknowledges Jesus as Lord and is willing to forsake all other claims to supremacy of life. Being a Christian is more than believing in God. It means forsaking sin. It means following Jesus. John Bunyon was told to quit preaching Christ or go to prison. He knew if he was thrown in jail his wife and children would be left destitute. They had little to wear and little to eat even when 6

7 he was free! Incarceration meant certain poverty. Yet Bunyon knew he must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was thrown into prison and he wrote: The parting with my wife and poor children hath often been to me in this place as the pulling of the flesh from my bones; and that not only because I am somewhat too fond of these great mercies, but also because I would have often brought to mind the hardships, miseries, and wants that my poor family was like to meet with, should I be taken from them, especially my poor blind child, who lay nearer to my heart that all I have besides. Oh, the thought of the hardship I thought my blind one might go under would break my heart to pieces...but yet, recalling myself, thought I, I must venture all with God, though it goeth to the quick to leave you. Oh, I saw in this condition, I was a man who was pulling down his house upon the head of his wife and children; yet thought I, I must do it. I must do it (quoted at length from John MacArthur p ). Sometimes faithfulness requires sacrifice. We stand up for Jesus. We sacrifice family for Jesus. We sacrifice self for Jesus. We see our future with Jesus. 7