Main Idea: Our Commitment as disciples will be proven by the challenges we endure.

Today is our second message in the series "Why Good Isn’t Good Enough: Real Commitment in a Lukewarm World." In this series we’re talking about the difference between someone who is a good person morally, who says they are a believer in Christ and someone who is a disciple of Jesus Christ. We said last week that being good was not good enough when Jesus is calling us to be disciples who are truly committed to him. Today we go a step further as we talk about the challenges that disciples will face. What Jesus tells us in our text for today is that the commitment of disciples will be proven by the challenges we endure.

We are looking at Matthew 10 as our basis for these messages on real commitment. This passage today is part of the context of Jesus instructing and sending out the Twelve on their first mission into Galilee. In verses 1-15 he told them to go primarily to their own countrymen. Now in verses 16-23 he widens the circle to include their mission into places where they would be challenged in their commitment to him. They would go not merely where they were unwelcome but where they would risk arrest, punishment and even death for their commitment to him. He even goes so far as to warn them that even their own family might be the cause of their death.

In the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," which stars Harrison Ford and Sean Connery, Indiana Jones and his father Henry are on a mission to find the Holy Grail, the mythical cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper, and rescue it before the Nazis are able to get it. The cup supposedly has the ability to give eternal life. The only thing to guide them to the location of the Holy Grail is an ancient guidebook written in code by knights from the Crusades. When the Nazis, Indiana Jones and his father arrive at the location of the Grail his father is shot. Finding the Grail is the only hope of saving his father. This forces Indy to endure three challenges to secure the grail.

Before Indy can get to the place where the Grail is kept he must endure "The Breath of God" where "only the penitent man will pass," the "Word of God" where "only in the footsteps of God will he proceed" and the "Path of God" where "only in the leap from the Lion’s head will he prove his worth." Each challenge, if not performed properly, can result in death. After nail-biting tension, Indiana Jones passes the tests and secures the cup that will save his father’s life.

While you and I are not sent on some fairy tale adventure, we are sent as disciples of Jesus Christ into a world that delights in opposing us. Yet our opposition isn’t an obstacle to our purpose. In verse 16 of Matthew 10 Jesus says, "Look, I am sending you out…." The word he uses is not the typical word for being sent, but instead it is a special term that means "to send authoritatively " or "send out as a representative." Jesus is emphatically telling these Twelve that they are being sent out as his representatives.

This would not be the only time he would tell them that, for he would tell them in John 20:21, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." This morning I say to you that you and I as disciples of Jesus Christ are sent with a mission of introducing people to God. That "you" of being sent didn’t stop with the disciples but it carried on to you and me. We each have a mission or responsibility of connecting people with the hope that is found in Jesus Christ. Yet fulfilling that mission is going to be challenged. Just like Indiana Jones faced specific challenges to accomplish his mission, so you and I face definite challenges to accomplish the calling of Christ.

The first challenge is one I call "The Character Challenge." In verse 16 Jesus describes the type of character that his disciples then and now were to have as they and we fulfill our mission. To do that he uses four creatures, three positive and one negative, to define or describe the type of character that disciples are to have.

He first says he is sending his disciples out "as sheep among wolves." The sheep would be someone thought of as trustful, unassuming or vulnerable. There is no more trustful animal than a sheep. On the other hand, he uses the word "wolves" to describe the negative or hostile opposition that would face those who followed him. Jesus uses this analogy to tell us that our character as sheep is the quality that is needed to fulfill the mission. The idea is that a sheep-like character will draw people by their trustful spirit and gentleness.

He then says that disciples are to be "as wary as snakes." In spite of their reputation, snakes want to get away from you more than you want to get away from them. A snake will quickly see danger coming and rapidly escape from it. The quality that Jesus is affirming for our character is that of being cautious or discerning. It describes a person who looks for the best way to accomplish the mission.

The last analogy is that of being as "harmless as a dove." A dove is always seen as innocent and pure, without any unmixed motives. They are so pure in their actions that they will fly in the direction of harm simply because they are so trusting. Jesus is advising that his disciples are to live out their commitment with an innocence and purity that is persistent. It’s living our lives with a single-minded devotion to doing the right thing.

How do these natural analogies fit your character and mine as we seek to demonstrate real commitment as disciples of Jesus Christ? It’s this: Our character as a disciple is going to be tested by the circumstances into which we are called. Jesus used the word "wolves" to define the level of hostility into which you and are I placed. You would think that if we were asked to go into an adversarial situation that Jesus would advise us to be equally aggressive. In other words, to match force with force. Instead, he invites us to have a character that is vulnerable, wise and sincere. Can you imagine anything that could sound more absurd? Yet Jesus calls for us to demonstrate character that calls for a level of commitment unlike any the world can offer.

So ask yourself: Will I be vulnerable? Will I be wise? Will I be sincere? Jesus is saying to us that we are sent into threatening circumstances with a character equal to the tension.

The next challenge a disciple will face is "The Rejection Challenge." (Matt. 11:17-20) It is essential that we have the right character to handle the hostility that we face by our just being a disciple of Jesus. Yet that hostility can take a more harsh and aggressive tone. That’s what he describes in verses 17-20. In his next words he makes clear that those who would be committed to him will face extreme rejection. He says, "But beware!" They were not to be lulled into thinking that everyone was their best friend. He wants them to know there were some people who were just mean, manipulative and so evil they were to be treated with caution.

He describes where that rejection comes from in verses 17-18. Jesus uses three levels of aggression to define the intensity of the rejection. He says that the rejection begins on a lower level but then it grows to highest authority in the land. He mentions their being tried in courts then handed over to synagogues. There they would be beaten, which was done with a leather whip that was studded with metal. Paul would say that he experienced this five times. He warns them further that they could face trial before governors and kings.

The reasons for the rejection are given in the last part of verse 18. He tells them that there were two reasons for this kind of aggression. The first reason was because they were his followers. The second reason was for an opportunity "to tell them about me—yes, to witness to the world". Jesus wants them to understand the reason for the rejection is intentional in two ways. One was the natural result of their being associated with him and the second was spiritually directed by God as an opportunity to tell others about him.

It would be natural or normal for someone faced with this kind of hostility to struggle with anxiety over what they would say. How could they tell or witness in such a situation? He seeks to console them by saying that they can rest in the resources that he will make available to them. He says they will "be given the right words at the right time," and that it won’t be their voice but the voice of the Spirit speaking through them. He says, "It will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (v. 20). He is not telling them that there is no need to be prepared but that what they must say will be given to them when they must say it!

I realize that you and I read these words and can see how they would apply to someone in a country whose religious freedom has been stripped from them. We can understand the need for such a word of warning if you lived in China, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. What possible application could these words have for my life? It’s this: If we are persons who choose real commitment over being really good then our commitment is on a collision course with our culture. It is that collision that we want to pretend isn’t real but it is there waiting for your devotion to rise high enough that it becomes an irritant to the world and even other Christians.

What we do, though, is insulate ourselves with good relationships with good people doing good things for a good reason. Instead what Jesus is calling us to do is to break out of our comfortable insulation and ultimate isolation and connect people with God. If we do that we will eventually encounter rejection. Then when it comes, recognize it for what it is, realize that it’s coming because of your commitment as a disciple and rest in the resources of God’s Spirit in you to get you through! Understand that we are promised rejection, yet are assured of strength!

As Jesus transitions in his remarks to his disciples he takes the issue of rejection to its lowest level. The rejection of civil, religious and political groups was bad enough, but Jesus warns that even members of their own families would be party to their persecution. To withstand such intense rejection would call for endurance. That’s why I call verses 21-23 "The Endurance Challenge" (Matt. 10:21-23)

He begins by telling them that the deepest resentment was going to come from those to whom they had the strongest ties—their own family! (v. 21). Jesus doesn’t mention this until he assures them of the Father’s presence with them. The one place that ought to be a refuge for us, and a place of security has the potential of becoming a danger zone. No relationship is safe: siblings, parents and children. It is hard for us to fathom such persecution but it was true in the first century and in places where Christianity is banned it still happens today.

Then he tells them that they will face unending resistance because of their loyalty to him (v. 22). He says, "Everyone will hate you…." Other translations use the word "all" and it carries the idea of their being hated by all kinds of people and hated for all that a person stands for. He adds, though, this hatred is not temporary but unending because he says, "Endure to the end." The hatred was not going to stop until they were dead or until Christ returned.

He adds, though that they were going to be faced with the exhausting requirement of carrying his message on in spite of their rejection (v. 23). He tells them that when they meet persecution in one place they were not to resign but to move on to the next place and start over again. There is no surrender in Jesus’ words but continuing to carry the Good News until it is received. The time limit set for this is until he returns. Can you see the exhausting demands that this placed on his disciples? They were betrayed by their family, hated by everyone, persecuted everywhere they went but Jesus says: Keep going until I return!

What this says to us is that taking the challenge of real commitment will require endurance. It will demand the ability and strength to not quit obeying and following in spite of all that opposes us. The challenge to endure causes us to ask ourselves, "Can I endure the deepest resentment?" If the resentment for my commitment as a disciple comes from those whose blood I share, can I hold out? Another question we must ask ourselves is, "Can I endure unending resistance?" In other words, how long can I hold on to my commitment as a disciple when it seems that everyone is against me? A final question we need to ask is, "Can I endure the exhausting requirement of carrying the gospel?" No matter how deep or great the rejection will be I am not to stop obeying. If I find rejection one place I just move on but quitting isn’t an option! That kind of commitment is exhausting physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Yet, regardless of the exhaustion, the need is still calling!

I realize that these words of Jesus this morning seem better suited to an underground church in Jakarta, Indonesia or Beijing, China, than in Jonesboro, Arkansas. It’s a funny thing about the Bible—its truth isn’t applied by zip codes! It doesn’t matter where you get your mail-your level of commitment is still going to be challenged if you choose to be a disciple of Jesus Christ! Your character will be challenged, your ability to handle rejection will be challenged and your endurance in the face of that rejection will be challenged. That is why when it comes to this kind of intense challenge to your faith being good is not going to be good enough! Good will only wither and fade under this kind of pressure. What Jesus calls for you to give to him is your commitment as a disciple regardless of the challenges!

Many of our guests from the Gulf Coast staying in our CAC Red Cross shelter have some harrowing stories of survival from Hurricane Katrina. The majority of our guests were evacuated from the Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center. The horrors that people endured in those places are beyond description. One family of six whom Ross Burton met told him how they survived the days as they waited in the Superdome for help to come. They said they realized that things were quickly becoming chaotic and found a corner out of the way and settled there. During the day they watched out for one another but at night when the real danger came, one stayed awake and the others prayed and slept. They survived and their faith sustained them. Sheep among wolves? No doubt. Here’s the point, though: Their situation was not something they chose! Yet for the disciple, we are sent out into a world of chaos, hate, immorality, sorrow and evil to introduce people to God. Your being good won’t cut it when the challenges come. Only real commitment as a disciple will be the one essential to endure. Are you ready?

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org