Matthew 10:34–42

7^th Sunday after Pentecost

³⁴"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ⁴⁰"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ⁴¹The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. ⁴²And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

The night Jesus was born the angels sang: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." For unto us a child is born and his name shall be called, "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Jesus is the Prince of Peace. At his coming "men will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

So it seems as if these words of Jesus, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword," are a contradiction. How can the Prince of Peace bring the sword? If he brings peace to men and if he restores peace between man and God, then how can he bring the sword?

The problem is, sinful man does not want peace with God. Man born into sin is opposed to God and turns from Him. Sinful man rejects the Prince of Peace and cannot tolerate being at peace with God.

This entire portion of Scripture is part of the instructions Jesus was giving to his disciples when he sent them out on their first mission trip. He was giving instructions for all disciples that he would send into the ripened fields from then until his return at the Last Day. So these words of our text are part of the instructions he is giving to us as he sends us, his church, into the world to evangelize and do mission work. He is sending us, his people, to proclaim his Gospel and this is his warning. "Behold," he said, "I am sending you as sheep among wolves." Indeed he sends us to look for the lost sheep. He sends us to seek and save the lost sheep through his name, by proclaiming his word and by administering the sacraments. But because of the fallen, sinful nature of man, the very sheep we seek to save are also often wolves in sheep's clothing.

The very fact that he sends us to save lost sinners means that our mission is to sinners; people who by nature reject God; who by nature hate God; and who by nature hate the one whom God sends to save them. Yes, some will hear the gospel message and believe, but many will despise it, reject it, and reject the messenger as well.

The fact that our mission is to sinners means we will have to deal with sinful people. People who are not "up to our standard," people who act and behave in ways which we consider wrong and sinful, people who rub us the wrong way. The fact is, we too are sinners. We too by nature reject Christ and the gospel. But, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and called to faith by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, Jesus then sends us out as sheep among wolves.

Therefore we cannot always expect success in terms that the world calls success. Often if we are faithful in proclaiming the gospel to the sinful world success in our mission will look like persecution, weakness, and failure as we meet with opposition and resistance and even hatred. These may indeed by the true marks of a successful mission, because if we don't meet opposition we are probably not carrying the gospel to a sinful world. "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." That means if we are doing what Jesus sends us to do, we should expect swords!

The Apostle Paul was imprisoned, beaten, stoned, scourged, and beheaded for the name of Christ. Was he a failure? No! It was because he was obeying the call of his crucified Lord that his life took on the shape of a cross. John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. Was he a failure? No! It was because he obeyed the call of his crucified Lord that his life took on the shape of a cross. St. Peter was arrested and crucified upside down. Was he a failure? No! But because he was faithful in his witness to the crucified Christ his life took on the shape of a cross.

All that is bad enough, perhaps enough to frighten us away from doing the evangelism and mission work that Jesus sends us to do. But the next thing Jesus says gets even scarier: "I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household." Very often, perhaps most often, as we live for Christ and testify to his name, the people who will take offense first will be our very own family members. As we witness for Christ and speak his Gospel it is our loved ones and family who will hate us and reject us for the sake of Christ.

Then sometimes these same non-Christian family members, a spouse or parents or children will demand allegiance and conformity in ways which the Christian simply must not agree. The conflict can be bitter. Sometimes it will even lead to persecution and death. Then the disciple must love Jesus more than father or mother or son or daughter. At such times we are tempted to give in for the sake of peace in the family. In order to save our own hide from scorn and rejection from our family we hide our faith under a bushel and are afraid to testify to Jesus. Rather than lose a family member we let down our Lord. But Jesus says, "whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it." In a attempt to fine our life in this world among family and friends, we are in danger of losing our eternal life in heaven.

Jesus himself was rejected by his own family members. On one occasion they came to take him home and lock him up in the bedroom because they thought he had gone mad. Jesus was scorned, beaten, whipped, spat upon, smitten, and crucified on a cross by the very people he came to save. Was he a failure? No! It was because he was faithful in his mission that his life took on the shape of a cross; it was his very cruciform life that saved us.

As Jesus says; we are not worthy of him. We often do love our mother or father or son or daughter more than him. We often do not take our cross and follow him. We too often seek to save our life or our relationship with family members and in so doing risk losing our eternal life.

For that very reason, because we are not worthy of him, Jesus himself took up his cross. It is because we are sinners and reject his love that he made himself lower than a man, yes a hated and scorned man, a worm among men. He even took upon our sins and absorbed into his body our iniquity and hatred. Precisely because of our unworthiness he offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins to make atonement for them. On account of his obedience to his Father, obedience unto death, he is worthy. He is worthy of life, glory and exaltation. Yes, worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. As we sing in the liturgy, "This is the feast of victory for our God: Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God."

We are not worthy, but Christ is worthy. Christ earned worthiness by his obedience and by his death on the cross. Christ became worthy because he did take up his cross. But more than that, when we were baptized, we were joined to Christ. We were united to him in his death and raised with him in his resurrection. In baptism then our lives were absorbed into his life; his life became ours; his worthiness became worthiness for us. His worthiness was shared with us and so the Father counts us worthy. Not by our deeds or merits, but because of the worthiness of Christ! We are worthy because of Christ's worthiness. We are holy because of Christ's holiness. We are made righteous by Christ's righteousness. We are in Christ; his life becomes ours, and his goodness and holiness become ours.

With this good news he sends us out to bear witness to him. He sends us out like sheep among wolves to seek the lost and call them to repentance and faith. Christ sends us out, the church, his body, with its pastors and missionaries, and teachers, and evangelists to bear witness to the name of Christ. He gives us his authority to preach his gospel. He is with us as we go out, just as he says in Matthew, "Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them all things I have taught you, and lo, I am with you unto the end of the age." He does not make a blanket, general statement that he is with us, but as we are in mission, going about the business of making disciples he says he is with us.

Here in our text he identifies himself with us to such a degree that he says that if anyone receives us he receives Christ. Among those wolves into which he sends us and who persecute us, some will hear the gospel we proclaim and believe. The Holy Spirit will work faith in some, in spite of their resistant hearts. Those who hear our words, the words of the prophet and believe will receive our reward, the prophet's reward: forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Those who hear and believe our words, words of people righteous in Christ, will receive the reward we righteous in Christ receive: forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation. Those who receive our words, the words of Disciples of Christ, receive the reward of a disciple of Christ: eternal life and communion with God forever.

Christ says that those who receive our message receive him. That is how close he is with to in our mission. In fact, not only do they receive him, they receive his Father who sent him.

"Do not fear," Jesus tells us, "men who can kill only the body but not the soul." Jesus sends us out on his mission. We will find opposition because the very people we are sent to are sinful people who hate and despise God. But the Lord of the harvest is with us. He is with us until the end of the age and he is sitting at the right hand of his Father. He has all authority in heaven and earth. And if anyone hears you and believes your words he receives Christ himself and the reward of eternal life.

Amen.