Cutting Edge

Matthew 10: The First Sending (5)

Pray Psalm 149.5-9.
Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them sing aloud on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute on them the written judgment—
This honor have all His saints.
Praise the LORD!

Sing Psalm 149.5-9.
Toulon: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art
Sing to the LORD, exult with great delight!
Sing on your beds with joy to God by night!
Sing praise and take His Word into your hand.
Publish His grace and wrath in every land!

Read Matthew 10.1-37; meditate on verse 32-37.
Meditate on the phrase “more than Me”.

Prepare.
1. What did Jesus come to bring to earth? What does that mean?

2. Where are Jesus’ followers supposed to confess Him?

Meditate.Confess Jesus; deny Him. We face this choice every day. If we fear God, we will confess Jesus, come what may. If we fear people, and what they might think or do, we will deny the Lord in our words and actions. We should not want to provoke the consequences of such denying (v. 33). To confess Jesus is to agree with Him concerning Who He is, what He has accomplished, what He demands, and what He promises. Confessing is an act of the tongue, but it must be backed up by a life for which that confession is the explanation (1 Pet. 3.15).

In fact, Christ, Who is the Prince of peace, did come to bring peace, but not as the first fruit of His effort. Peace is the condition of the Kingdom which exists where righteousness obtains, and righteousness is established by the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Jesus came to bring that Sword (v. 34), and it often has dividing effects. The Sword of the Spirit is the cutting edge of the Kingdom and its coming on earth as in heaven.

Men seek peace through compromise. Jesus establishes peace not through compromise, but by truth. Truth offends many, and makes a clear cut between those who submit to truth and those who insist they are truth in themselves (cf. Ps. 12.1-4). Jesus rides out with His Sword each day for the cause of truth, meekness, and righteousness (Ps. 45.3-5; Rev. 6.1, 2). Those who receive that truth, submitting to it and wielding it with King Jesus, make divisions and enemies; yet they know peace and joy in the rule of their King.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Many of us live in situations where the reality of this is true.
We have confessed our Lord Jesus Christ before friends and family, 
and have summarily been rejected by them.

The painful truth of Jesus’ words accompany us on our journey:
“A man’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Matt. 10.36).
“For son dishonors father, daughter rises against her mother, 
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 
a man’s enemies are the men of his own household” (Mic. 7.6).

But the LORD said to Samuel, to comfort him, “…they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, 
that I should not reign over them” (1 Sam. 8.7).

The truth is: we must choose whom to displease, and it best not be God.
For as we know, He can kill both body and soul eternally; whereas people can only kill our bodies.
Although, when it comes to beloved family, our hearts can receive what feel at times, like mortal wounds, 
due to being cast aside. 

As Paul bluntly stated: “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls, 
though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved” (2 Cor. 12.15).

But Jesus gives the upside, the good news: “Whoever confesses Me before men, 
him I will also confess before My Father Who is in heaven” (Matt. 10.33).

Micah finished his thoughts on household enemies with this:
“Therefore I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation; 
my God will hear me. 
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; 
when I fall, I will arise; 
when I sit in darkness, 
the LORD will be a light to me” (Mic. 7.7, 8).

Regardless of earthly disappointments and pain, 
the LORD JESUS CHRIST must be the all in all, 
the whole, the sum of our love and confession.

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever; and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.
(Bernard of Clairvaux, 12^th century)

Reflect.
1. So, if you share the Gospel with someone, and they reject it or it and you, have you failed in your witness? Explain.

2. Or if you do something to help someone, some act of kindness or gesture of love, and they ask why, and you tell them and they laugh you off, have you failed to glorify God? Explain.

3. And when you are rejected or scorned or mocked, how can thanksgiving help to keep you close to the Lord and firmly in His joy?

This is peace: when the cancer is cut away. Only with such radical surgery is it possible for heaven to be reunited to earth. Only in this way does the physician preserve the healthy tissue of the body. The incurable part must be amputated. Only in this way does the military commander preserve the peace: by cutting off those in rebellion. John Chrysostom (344-407), The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 35.1

Pray Psalm 149.1-4.
Praise the Lord for making you, saving you, teaching you to know and praise Him, and sending you to beautify the world with His salvation.

Sing Psalm 149.1-4.
Toulon: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art
Sing to the LORD a glorious song and new!
Praise Him you people, to Whom praise is due!
Let us rejoice, let us be glad in Him
Who has created us and cleansed our sin.

Praise Him with dance, with tambourine and lyre!
To be so praised is God’s one great desire.
LORD, beautify Your holy ones with grace; 
show us the mercy of Your saving face.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.

Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column addresses the question, “How to Church?” Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.