DISCIPLE: DIVIDED AND UNDIVIDED
Matthew 10:34-42, ESV
This is part 2 of a sermon series, “DISCIPLE.”
When the Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to make disciples of all nations, they understood what he meant. They understood because the Lord taught them what it meant to be His disciple. The common usage of the word “disciple,” mathetes in Greek (μαθητής), is a learner, follower, apprentice, and adherent. In those days, learned men, teachers, would set their terms and conditions for those who wanted to become their disciples. Christ also set His terms and standards clearly: to be His disciple is to put Him first, above family and above self. That devotion will divide households and bring conflict where Christ is not adhered to. The genuine disciple of Christ will be despised and rejected, but to those who receive the disciple, God will reward.
Division
The Lord warns that His arrival will bring division like a sword. People must choose either to follow Him or go against Him. When some in the family submit to Christ, but others reject Him, expect the closest relationships to be divided.
Matthew 10:34-36: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For 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. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”
In a fallen world, the gospel saves and brings eternal peace with God, but it also separates human allegiances. The conflict Jesus describes is the painful but real cost of being His disciple. Every new disciple should anticipate the possible division.
Undivided Standard
The Lord set His terms and conditions. He should be above the family, meaning, above all; no one can compare to Him. The Lord Jesus is not abolishing family affection, but He is forbidding any commitment equal to or higher than Him. Christ expects His disciples to commit to Him more than to self and to any government. The cross is a symbol of what Rome does to those who defy it: suffering and humiliation.
Matthew 10:37-38: 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. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
The genuine disciple must “lose his life for Christ,” and the reward is that he will find his life. But those who try to preserve their own lives rather than offer them to Christ will lose them. Christ expects His disciples to put Him first, above life itself. Yet it is the Lord who will reward them with life.
Rewards
Even if the disciples experience rejection in their own homes, the Lord comforts them. He gives an allusion to the prophets of Old that whoever receives a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward and the same for a righteous person. The Lord states that those who receive the disciples will be rewarded because they are also receiving the Son and the Father.
Matthew 10:40-42: “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The 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. 42 And 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 widow of Zarepath (1 Ki 17) and the Shunammite woman (2 Ki 4) both received rewards for supporting Elijah and Elisha, respectively. The disciples of Christ will love Christ above all, even above their own lives. It is the Lord who rewards them and all who welcome them.
Application
1. Let us become disciples of Christ, loving Him above all relationships and above the self. Then let us expect division and rejection when we enjoin others to become His disciples. Yet our hearts must remain true, for it is the Lord who gives us life, even if we lose it.
2. Our love for Christ must exceed our love for our closest relationships. Our commitment to Him should be higher than any government, even prepared for persecution and death. Otherwise, we are not worthy of Him. We will believe and obey His word rather than people, governments, or the self.
3. Let us welcome and bless fellow disciples in Christ. If we do so, we receive the Father and Son, who blesses us with the work of the Holy Spirit, life, and bounties that we do not know yet.
Poem
DISCIPLES UNDIVIDED by Ed Pilapil Jr Not father, not mother, no one Only the Son is high above Children, friends, and lovers, no one Triune God, above all, we love If our family rejects us We shall remain His disciples Even if governments threaten us We bear the cross as disciples Our lives, for His glory alone We are disciples of the throne Hearts undivided and untorn Serving the Lamb who’s on the throne God rewards all who will receive The disciples of Christ Jesus Praying that they will all believe The good news of the Lord Jesus
Study Guide
1. What can we expect if we become a genuine disciple? (Mt 10:34-36)
2. What clear terms and standards did Christ establish to be worthy of Him? (Mt 10:37-39)
3. Explain Christ’s allusion to receiving the prophets. How does that relate to receiving a disciple? (Mt 10:40-42).
