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S. Pentecost 4.26 Matt 10:21-33

‘…and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.’

We pick up this week right where we left off last week: in the middle of the real “Great Commission” of Jesus to his Apostles. If you missed it, we saw how this is the place, Matt. 10, where Jesus chooses 12 Apostles and gives them their mission brief—like Jim did to Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible, except the tape does not self-destruct! It’s recorded forever in holy scriptures!

It seems like it self-destructed, though! Hardly anyone today sees Matthew 10 for what it is: the mission brief for all pastors for all time that Jesus sends. And BTW: One of those apostles of Jesus is speaking to you now! The Greek word αποστολος simply means “sent” and Jesus sent me to you through the Holy Spirit by the divine call extended through OSLC 26 years ago to shepherd this flock ‘till I die, or you stop receiving the word (see Matthew 10:11-15) or I’m sent to another flock.

The difference between me, a small ‘a’ apostle, and the 12, capital “A” apostles is that I’m sent just to one specific flock like OSLC at a time, while they are Apostles to the whole body of Christ everywhere for all time until Christ’s Parousia and they continue their mission through the Word of holy scriptures which is like my bible 😉

But small ‘a’ and capital ‘A’ apostolic mission brief is exactly the same in every other respect.

Matt. 28:19-20 is not the Great Commission, but simply an addendum from Jesus that the Word proclaimed by us apostles in the ears of his church and Baptism and the Supper administered in his name by our hands will work to make disciples of all peoples. For 4 centuries or so, the Pharisees had been teaching (in the absence of prophets of the LORD) that non-Israelites were somewhere between people and pet, and not capable of being members of the Body of Christ. Some of the 12 before Pentecost thought this too. So Matt. 28:19-20 is simply clearing up the misconception that non-Jews are incapable of becoming children of God.

It doesn’t change the mission brief from Matt. 10 at all, though—not like Jesus changed his mind about the apostles chasing after gentiles. No. Jesus told the apostles “Go nowhere among the gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to do the whole apostle thing.”

And the Acts of the Apostles show they strictly follow this command! They only go intentionally to preach to the church, the synagogues, the assembly places of Israel. (!)

Judaism in the 1st century Roman Empire was like Buddhism in 1960s California—an exotic Eastern religion that drew the curious, idle rich, adventurers and soldiers who faced death on a daily basis and anyone else who needed something more solid than the Greek mystery cults or pagan philosophy to give their lives meaning.

In the Acts of Apostles we see all the gentiles that Peter and Paul and the other pastors go after are Israel—synagogue members already!

We also saw the reason you’ve probably not heard this before is that the Modern Church has a hankering for bigness and an entrepreneurial spirit imbued in her by modern capitalism and does not like to be limited to the few Jesus fanatics of the world as comprising their mission field. They want big money, power, and acclaim and have spun a story that the true church has always been big, rich, powerful and popular.

Our Gospel today shows this story to be false; shows also why taking Matthew 10 at face value as the real mission brief of all pastors of the New Testament is never popular or easy. Because the picture Jesus paints of the results of the mission he sends his Apostles on demolishes all ideas of using Jesus for our self-chosen ends!

If you accept your Mission Impossible, Pr. First-Name, here’s how your life will go: “Brother will deliver brother over to death (‘brother’s’ usually a word in the NT for fellow pastors more often than biological siblings or buddies) and the father his child, and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death and you will be hated by all for Christ’s sake!”

And seriously: who wants to be hated by all?

Yeah; that sounds bad at first, but… Jesus was hated by all. He died virtually friendless, alone on Golgotha. And that worked out not so badly in the end, right? To be like Jesus in every way—just like you wanted to be like Spiderman or Batman or Jonny Quest when you were a kid—it’s not such a bad dream…

The problem with the Modern Christendom is it isn’t hated enough—‘cause it’s trying too hard to get everyone to like us which makes us pretty pathetic… 🙁

BTW: the Greek word διωκω isn’t ‘when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next…’ it’s literally ‘pursue’. The mission of the apostles isn’t to die for Jesus—uhm, other way ‘round: he died for us! The mission’s leading our pursuers on a merry chase! Catch me if you can!

Playing hard to get’s the best way to get the most beautiful, most interesting ones, anyway. It’s how Jesus does it. He plays hard to get. Ever notice that: not one single person who volunteers to follow Jesus becomes his disciple? Jesus always takes the initiative, lures us in…

Like, he gets in your boat, takes you out where you catch so many fish!, the boat is sinking (See! Bigger’s not always better! 😉 and you’re scared, so you beg him to go away!, but he says “Follow me!”. And what can you do but chase after? There’s something about Jesus… he has something we don’t. What is it? Holiness? Goodness? Beauty? Truth? Hmm… yes?

Being with Jesus, your heart burns within you! Will he be the death of you? YES! But what’ve you got to lose that’s so great anyway?

St. Paul “counted EVERYTHING as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD”. Happy “to share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, if, by any means, I may attain the resurrection from the dead…”

You have to be ‘somebody desperate, someone in love’ to talk like that. It’s not for everyone! Which is why Jesus doesn’t promise to be found where 2 or 3 million gather in his Name, but where 2 or 3 lost souls like you, me, Mary, Peter, Paul are found.

Is death really so bad if it gets you into Christ’s Country as a child and heir of Heaven? If you’re shrugging, even slightly—‘Christ-curious’—you’re more than halfway there!

The Way is not to “confess” or “acknowledge” Jesus. That’s not what the Greek says. The Greek is ομολογεω ‘same-word’. “Whoever same-words me, I will same-word before my Father in Heaven…”

Wanna hook up with Jesus? Well… he says just ‘say after me’ ‘cause it’s no better to be safe than sorry. A simple: “I am his and he is mine” will get you Peace, surpassing all understanding, that guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.