DS 010

Applying Jesus' Sermon

Matthew 10:5-15 & 26-33

Often we find a difference between the truths we claim and the reality we live. In others, we call this hypocrisy, but on some level we all fail to live up to our ideals. We have heard reports of medical doctors who do not wash their hands. We have heard of police who abuse their authority to commit crimes. We claim to be law-abiding citizens, yet fail to follow traffic laws. We claim to hold missions as very important, yet fail to support it financially. We hold marriage in high regard, yet have the highest rate of divorce in the nation. Most often, we do not even recognize the difference between our claims and the reality of our actions.

We like Jesus. Often enough, however, our lives ignore the majority of Jesus' teachings. We claim Jesus as Lord and Savior, and yet we tend to live as if Jesus' words have little to no relevance to our daily interactions with one another. It is almost as if we are more in love with the idea of Jesus or the claim of loving Jesus than with the actual Jesus as described in the gospels. We know that loving Jesus is the right answer, but our claims may ring hollow.

Often as not, we memorize and quote Jesus' words, especially from the Sermon on the Mount. Then we go on to live as though we had never heard those same words. Some have taken this so far as to say that those words do not apply to life on earth, only to the heavenly reality that is yet to come. The problem is that Jesus and his disciples did not interpret his words that way. They actually attempted to apply them to the process of daily living.

A few chapters after Matthew's summary of Jesus' central teachings, we find Jesus giving the disciples some basic instructions before sending them out on a missionary journey throughout Israel. Mixed in with Jesus' instructions for that specific occasion, we find a set of instructions for the early church as it confronted persecution in the service of Christ Jesus. These instructions apply some of the same principles Jesus had included in the Sermon on the Mount. These words designed to encourage the early church during persecution in the generation immediately following Jesus' earthly ministry apply the same range of principles from the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus included in these instructions that the disciples were to announce that God's reign was soon to arrive. He told them to minister to all those they found in need. They were to labor without requiring payment. They were to depend upon God's provision and the generosity of their hosts. They were to trust God to care for their physical needs as they focused on ministering to the people they came across. They were to leave issues of condemnation to God and focus on ministering the gospel message. They were to share the message with those willing to listen, not force it upon the uninterested. They were to live and minister free from anxiety as they trusted God's provision for their needs.

As the disciples set out to walk throughout the land, they took no provisions for the trip ahead of them. They took no money, no changes of clothing, no food, no credit cards, trail mix, or bottled water. They took no maps, had no hotel reservations, and prepared to follow God's direction as they walked into the unknown.

The disciples did not know where they were going, how long it would take them, nor how they would find food and shelter. Like the Hebrews leaving Egypt, they were to trust God to meet their needs and keep their sandals from wearing out. Along the way, they would meet different people, among whom they were to find hosts who would offer them hospitality. They were to accept the food offered them as a token of God's provision. They were to trust God's abundance as sufficient to meet their needs. They were to practice the good news Jesus had been preaching and offer the same sermon in word, in attitude, and in action.

They were to go in the same kind of faith exemplified in the way Jesus had taught them to pray. They were to place their lives into God's service and trust for daily bread like the Hebrews eating manna in the wilderness. They were to offer forgiveness, grace, and blessing because God is forgiving, gracious, and blessing. They were to trust God as Father to be willing, able, and desirous of meeting their needs. They were to live in the freedom that comes with trust. They were to exhibit full confidence in God's provision and loving care.

When I go on a trip, I like to know where I am going. I'm not quite as particular as my wife about some of the details, but I want to know the destination. I want to know the sleeping arrangements. I want some idea with regard to meals. I want a sense of how long we will be gone. I have to be sure I have enough books, access to those things necessary for my work, and a sense of how to plan for my return. I don't want to leave too many work and home issues pending while I am out of touch. I want to be forewarned in order to be forearmed for the eventualities I can expect.

Just like much of Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, however, the disciples were to begin their missionary journey in a manner I would consider completely unprepared. They were to take no supplies with them. They were to take neither food, nor money, nor extra clothing. They were simply to go and follow God's leading wherever the road would take them. They were seemingly given no time frame for their return. They were given no destination. They were given instead, a mission to complete. They were to share with others the teaching Jesus had given them.

This was a rather open-ended commission. The disciples started out moving in twos from one town to another. They talked with people about what Jesus was teaching. They offered healing under Jesus' authority. They placed their lives in God's care. They depended on those they taught to shelter and feed them. They made a reality out of Jesus' words. They placed their lives in the hands of God as their loving Father, who would care for their needs as they cared and ministered to the needs of the people they encountered.

They had no identifiable income source for their journey. They had no structured itinerary. They had no emergency reserve resources upon which to depend. They had no staff or other weapon to protect themselves on the roads from those who would abuse them. They were not to amass any of these resources in the process of their journey. Instead of following the norms for getting ahead and protecting oneself in any society, they were instructed to become as the most vulnerable among whom they would minister.

This was an exercise in trust. This was an exercise in learning to depend upon God, rather than on any human structure, wisdom, or standard of security. They were to set aside their ambitions, dreams, and desires for comfort or well-being. They were to leave all behind to foolishly follow the mission set before them. Each step of that journey was to be one more step in a life of faith. They were to embody all of Jesus' teaching with regard to trusting God into the unknown and thus proving God's faithfulness before others.

This mission upon which Jesus sent these disciples was hardly a vacation to see the sights throughout the land. It was hardly a leisurely stroll in comfort and security. Matthew's placement of these instructions along with Jesus' words about the early church facing persecution before political and religious leaders makes that very clear. This was a short term experience in which they were to apply the gospel in a very practical way. It was an introduction to the reality of trusting God and finding God faithful.

This experience set the stage for the early church to live in dependence upon God in the face of persecution and suffering. If we are unwilling to apply Jesus' teaching as having practical application here and now, what good are our claims of following Jesus as Lord?

—Pr. Christopher B. Harbin

© Copyright 2017 Christopher B. Harbin.