Matthew Chapter 10 Part B

Matt. 10:33 But whoever denies Me before people, I also will deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

But whoever denies me before people, This makes the same point in a negative way.

I also will deny him before My Father who is in heaven To reject Jesus it be rejected by Jesus before the Father. There is no middle ground or neutrality. One is either for Jesus or against Him. No mere prophet, teacher or Rabbi is capable of such words—Jesus stands apart from all of them. 1 John 2:23 tells us to reject Jesus is to reject God. You cannot have God without believing in Jesus.

The result of Jesus coming into the world will be to divide families.

Matt. 10:34 Do not ever imagine that I came to bring peace upon the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Do not ever imagine that I can to bring peace upon the earth; The way the statement is given suggests that it would have been their natural inclination of the disciples to assume that Jesus came to bring peace. Was not the gospel a message of peace (cf 5:9; 10:13)? Would not the kingdom age bring peace with it (Luke 1:79; Isaiah 9:6; 11:9)?

The answer is yes in its final realization and even in some sense in the present (John 14:27) but the interim period in which the kingdom is proclaimed will not be characterized by peace.

I did not come to bring peace, but a sword The present time will bring hostility even between family members. This hostility is described by Jesus with the metaphor of a sword. The sense in which Jesus came to bring a sword is explained in the following verses.

Matt. 10:35 For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter‐in‐law against her mother‐in‐law;

For I came to set a man against his father, This describes more the effect of the ministry of Jesus than its purpose. Response to His message will cause division.

and a daughter against her mother, Another close family relationship that will be strained because of Jesus.

and daughter‐in‐law against her mother‐in‐law; Family relationships, which were so important in that culture, would be a source of division.

Matt. 10:36 And a man’s enemies will be members of his own household.

And a man’s enemies will be members of his own household The believers would be rejected by their own family members.

Matt. 10:37 The one who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

Note on a variant reading: A few manuscripts (including Vaticanus) do not have the phrase and the one who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

The one who loves his father or mother above Me Family relationships are important but they must not be allowed to divert a disciple from loyalty to Jesus.

is not worthy of Me; Those who allow such loyalty to get in the way should not be Jesus’ disciple.

and the one who loves his son or daughter The same idea with loving family members.

more than Me Of course we are to love them, just not above Jesus.

is not worthy of Me. Even the most honored relationships of father and mother must be secondary to discipleship. See the parallel passage in Luke 14:26 in which Luke uses the word “hate” which here means “love less”.

Matt. 10:38 And whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

And whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me Taking up your cross means following Jesus in absolute obedience. He is the model of radical obedience and self‐denial (cf 4:1-11). Mounce writes, “Crucifixion was well known in Palestine. One of the Maccabean rulers crucified eight hundred Pharisees, and the Roman general Varus broke up the Jewish revolt, crucifying two thousand Jews along the roads leading to Galilee” (Mounce, p. 101).

is not worthy of me Those who do not follow Him are not worthy of Him.

Matt. 10:39 The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Note on a variant reading: Codex Sinaiticus does not have the phrase The one who finds his life will lose it.

The one who finds his life will lose it, Living life on his own self‐centered terms. This person will not inherit the kingdom.

and the one who loses his life for my sake Loses his life for the sake of the Lord.

will find it. Those who follow Jesus have the promise of reward in the age to come (John 12:25). Discipleship is costly and some human relationships, even of the most intimate kind must not keep us from following Christ. The other half of the story is that we will receive rewards beyond calculation.

Jesus speaks of the receiving His messengers and the rewards given to those who are faithful.

Matt. 10:40 He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.

He who receives you receives me, Receive means to receive the message they bring.

and he who receives me receives him who sent me. Those who receive the message of Jesus receive God the Father. Again, you cannot have the Father without having the Son.

Matt. 10:41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophets reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.

Note on a variant reading: A couple of manuscripts do not have the phrase and he who receives a righteous man in the name a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.

He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet The person who receives a prophet as a prophet.

will receive a prophets reward; Stressing hospitality. Those who help the prophet will receive a similar reward. The context is in missionary proclamation of the message of Jesus.

and he who receives a righteous man Here Jesus is stating the same idea in a different way.

in the name a righteous man Name has the idea of accepting his status.

will receive a righteous man’s reward. Same idea stated another way.

Matt. 10:42 And whoever will give to one of these little ones, only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, that he will not lose his reward.

And whoever will give to one of these little ones, Little ones are believers.

only a cup of cold water to drink The simplest of deeds.

in the name of a disciple, Because that person is a disciple.

truly I say to you, that he will not lose his reward God will reward their faithfulness.

Chapter 10 has Jesus calling His disciples and then sending them out in the ministry. For the first time, we have the twelve disciples named. They are then sent out to proclaim the kingdom. They are told not to go to either the Gentiles or Samaritans but only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

First, and foremost Jesus was sent as the Messiah to that nation.

The Lord tells them how to act along the way. They are not to profit from the ministry but rather trust God for their needs.

With the commissioning also comes a warning. Persecution will be their lot. The message will not be welcomed by everyone.

Jesus gives them instructions on how to respond to this hostility.

He also says what the reward will be for those who rightfully treat His messengers.

As we read the gospels we find an apparent contradiction with what the disciples were commanded to take with them on their journey. Robert Mounce writes

The simplest way to understand Matthew’s divergence from Mark is to take the “two” (or extra as the NIV has it) with sandals and staff as well as tunic. It would hardly be reasonable to understand Matthew as saying that the Twelve are to travel barefoot and without a staff for protection against snakes and wild animals. They are to travel unencumbered and allow their hearers to take care of their daily needs (Mounce, pp. 92, 93).