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Matthew 10:16-33

Matthew had recorded the pattern of ministry for Jesus in Galilee - teaching in their synagogues, preaching
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all who came to Him of their afflictions (Mt 4:23-24) - which
revealed Him as Israel’s Messiah. His committed followers have been accompanying Him, watching Him,
and learning from Him to become fishers of men.

Last week we read of Jesus commissioning twelve of them to be His apostles, who would one day be sent
out into the world as eyewitnesses to Jesus and His ministry, to share the good news of the Savior with the
world of men.

Jesus gave the apostles immediate practice in what would be their ministry. He temporarily equipped them
with the power to heal and to cast out demons - His own supernatural ability.

The miraculous works that the apostles did would bear witness to them being the representatives of Jesus -
and therefore also under God’s authority, as Jesus was. This would authenticate their preaching with the
people, as being of God, as well.

We began looking at the instructions that Jesus gave His disciples, for this short-term practice in ministry.
Their ministry was to be principally with the Jews at this time. The people of the nation that God had made
for Himself, to be His witness nation, was given the privilege of hearing the good news first, and
responding to it. But this was not meant to be at the exclusion of any Samaritans or Gentiles, who might
also hear it.

And the instructions of Jesus would make it necessary for the apostles to trust God for their material
provisions - as well as to trust God’s leading, in where to go and what to say. This practice in ministry
would be vital to the apostles, after Jesus returned to heaven.

As we continue with Matthew’s record of the instructions of Jesus, we see that Jesus was intent on
preparing His apostles for how their message would be received, by the world at large. That reception
would not be favorable.

We continue now in verse 16.

[Matthew 10:16-23]

The instructions that Jesus gave to His apostles which we studied last week were pertinent specifically to
them, to the short-term mission that Jesus was sending them on, in Galilee, with the Jews.

But what about as Jesus continued, with these instructions? It’s part of the same discourse; but there are
some things which Jesus mentioned that suggest He did not intend His words to the apostles in their
ministry at this time.

In verses 14-15, Jesus had implied that the apostles’ words would not be received favorably. That certainly
would have been true, in that day, just as the words of Jesus were at that time beginning to be contested, by
some.

But what about verse 16? “Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves”? That suggests not just
some contention, but ferocious opposition - which has not yet been manifested even against Jesus Himself,
in Matthew’s gospel.
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And in verse 17, “They will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues” - there’s no
evidence that there was anywhere near that level of persecution, at this time. Same for verses 18-20 - “You
will be brought before governors and kings for My sake”, etc.

Those things didn’t happen to the apostles, at this time. Did they ever happen to the apostles? They did;
later, after Jesus had died, and risen, and returned to heaven; after He poured out the Holy Spirit, upon His
Body, on earth. As the apostles brought their eyewitness testimony to Jesus out into the world, they
encountered this level of persecution, at times - including the apostle Paul - and so did other believers, in
the early church.

But what about verse 21? “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will
rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death”. There may have been an occasion here and there
where this was true, under periods of intense persecution by the Roman Empire; but it did not characterize
the church age, in general.

In what time frame will there be such fierce persecution that it will cause family members to routinely
betray each other, to the authorities? That time can only be the Great Tribulation - the last 3 ½ years of the
seven-year trial that is coming upon the whole earth.

That’s when the Jews will be persecuted beyond measure by the man of sin, whom people commonly call
the Antichrist. And two-thirds of the Jews will perish.

This period is also reflected in verses 22 and 23, culminating with the coming of the Son of Man - Jesus in
His Second Coming to the earth, returning as the King of kings and Lord of lords - to rescue those who will
receive Him as their King; and to judge His enemies.

So the words of Jesus which Matthew has recorded in this discourse begin to speak beyond the immediate
time of ministry, of His apostles - moving forward in time to when the apostles will be sent out into the
world with the good news of Jesus, with the early church - and move way further forward still, future to our
time, when the Jews experience severe persecution during the Tribulation - and the elect of Israel, the
believing remnant will be delivered through the return of Jesus.

So now we have more of a sense of what Jesus was saying here - but why was He saying all this, to the
Twelve? After all, some of His words will go well past their lifetimes - way past.

But was Matthew’s gospel written for them? No; who was it written for? It was written specifically with
believing Jews of Matthew’s day, in mind - but it has become part of the canon of Scripture, for all
believers through time - including the church, and the remnant of Israel that will believe, during the
Tribulation.

Now, Matthew’s gospel was written in the early to mid-60’s, AD. By that time, the church was beginning
to experience some significant persecution.

Do you think that Matthew’s record, containing these words of Jesus, would be a comfort, to them? Of
course it would. And imagine how much it will mean to the believing Jews during the Tribulation - to
know that Jesus had foreknown of their sufferings, and to have this encouragement from Him.

So let’s go back now and look more closely at what Jesus said.
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v. 16 Well, we have a small zoo in just this one verse! Clearly Jesus was using these animals as metaphors,
based on certain character traits that they possess.

Behold I send you out - the apostles are being sent out on their mission, by Jesus - to preach the gospel of
the kingdom. This mission will be expanded into the church’s ministry of reconciliation, after the return of
Jesus to heaven. They will be bearing the good news of the Savior; but Jesus wants them to know that there
will be opposition to their message.

The nature of this opposition is ferocious. Wolves are the natural predators of sheep; their goal is to kill
and devour them. And sheep are naturally defenseless - helpless and vulnerable. Jesus was making it clear
that their ministry would be fraught with danger.

Why is preaching the gospel dangerous? Because it is the Word of Life, that can free men from sin and
death - and from Satan’s world system. Satan and his world system are at enmity with God and His good
purposes for man, and will fiercely resist efforts to save men out of the system. This can include stifling or
perverting the message - or even killing the messenger, if necessary.

The apostles and others who will preach the gospel do not, in themselves, have the power to contend
against Satan’s powerful world system. So what are these sheep to do? Jesus says, be wise as serpents.

Jesus needed to move to a new animal, in order to make His point, concerning avoiding dangerous
opposition. But notice He does not say THE serpent, He says serpents - plural. Jesus was speaking of a
characteristic of serpents - of snakes - regarding what they do when they are in danger. Snakes are very
wise about avoiding it. They flee rapidly, and they hide themselves skillfully, in order to escape the threat.

But occasionally, snakes will stand and strike, when threatened, won’t they? Jesus wanted to be certain His
disciples did not think He was suggesting that response, to danger - and so He adds to His statement, that
they are to be harmless as doves.

Doves are known for their gentle, peaceable nature; they don’t confront or provoke. In the face of the
world’s hostility, the disciples were to avoid direct confrontations with the religious and political
authorities; to flee danger, when they can; to be as peaceable and law-abiding, as possible.

Of course, this did not mean that they were to change their message in any way; in fact, the goal was to
preserve the messenger, so that he would live to deliver his message another day!

We find a good example of this in Paul’s ministry. Turn to Acts chapter 17. Paul had been preaching the
gospel with Silas and Timothy in Thessalonica. The Gentiles began to respond, and the unbelieving Jews
became envious, and caused an uproar there. So this is what the brethren in Thessalonica did.

[Acts 17:10] They sent Paul and Silas away under cover of darkness, so the crowds would not see them.
Apparently, Timothy was left there for a little while, to continue the work; his youth and his Gentile
appearance would have been less noticeable to the people.

In Berea, Paul and Silas had a better reception, and Timothy rejoined them to minister there. But then some
of the Jews from Thessalonica came to Berea and stirred up the crowds once again. This is what the
believers in Berea did.
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[Acts 17:14] They apparently realized that Paul was the chief instigator of the unbelieving Jews, and that
things would settle down if he left. Silas and Timothy probably kept a low profile for a time, but then were
able to continue to minister “under the radar”, so to speak.

[Return to Matthew 10]

Jesus continued to sound His note of caution.

v. 17-20 The apostles did not experience this persecution during their short-term ministry, but they did so
later on, as the church preached the gospel throughout the world of men. Jesus was saying that despite
fleeing danger when they could, despite being law-abiding and peaceable, there would still be occasion
when the apostles would have confrontations with the authorities.

Why? Because of opposition to their message; to the One whom it proclaimed. Initially, the apostles ran
afoul of the unbelieving Jews, who viewed Jesus as an imposter, and His followers as apostate Jews. The
councils that are mentioned in verse 17 are the local Jewish courts, run by elders or priests, which held
judicial hearings in the synagogues, and carried out public discipline there as well - often flogging.

Jesus was telling His disciples that they would be rejected by their own people, their fellow Jews - because
of Him. We have numerous examples in the book of Acts in which the Jewish authorities attempt to crush
the preaching of the gospel through arrest, and trial, and imprisonment, and beatings.

And the opposition would mount. The governors and kings of verse 18 referred to the ruling Gentile
authorities. At first, the Gentiles would view the followers of Jesus as just another sect of Judaism - for the
believers were mostly Jewish, in the beginning. But as the gospel spread and many Gentiles began to
receive Jesus as their Savior, enmity against Jesus and His followers began to grow; for they were viewed
as a threat to the state; to Rome, and Roman society.

We see this played out particularly with Paul, as he was tried before governors of the provinces; before
King Herod Agrippa II; and presumably, before the Roman emperor, Nero.

Jesus indicated that such encounters with the ruling authorities would provide high-profile opportunities for
the apostles to give their witness, to Jesus. This was a prominent platform from which to share the gospel
of the Savior with the Gentiles and their rulers.

Now, the apostles were common men; virtually all of them without formal education or training in public
speaking. To talk before such authorities would be naturally intimidating, for them. But Jesus assured
them that they would have supernatural help; who would help them? THE Helper; the Holy Spirit, whom
Jesus called, “the Spirit of your Father”.

Their heavenly Father would be with them, His children, in their time of need - through the Holy Spirit,
dwelling right within them. And the Spirit would give them the words they were to speak.

Luke records Jesus as saying, “I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be
able to contradict or resist” (Lk 21:15).

The Sanhedrin marveled at the words of Peter, when he and John were on trial before them (Acts 4:13).
The Hellenist Jews could not resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which Stephen spoke (Acts 6:10). And
King Herod Agrippa II told Paul that he almost persuaded him to become a Christian (Acts 26:28).
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This inspiration of the Holy Spirit to give the words needed before intimidating authorities has been evident
in times of persecution throughout the church age. And the words of Jesus concerning the Holy Spirit’s
enabling will be particularly encouraging to believing Jews during the Great Tribulation - their terrible time
of trial.

The words of Jesus become more exclusive to that future time.

v. 21-23 Jesus was given to see into the future regarding the persecution that would come upon those who
put their faith in Him. Opposition would rise up against believers, beginning with the apostles in their day.
Some would even be put to death; we can think of Stephen, stoned to death by the Jewish council (Acts
7:58-60); and James, who was executed by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-2).

During the Great Tribulation, this opposition to the gospel will grow into a savage pursuit of believers, to
the death; they will be hunted down, and executed.

The severity of this time of trial will be so great that it will even overwhelm the loving bonds that bind the
family together. People will inform on members of their own family! And they will do so, knowing that
those family members will be put to death!

Of course, we know that this persecution will be against all the Jews, during the Great Tribulation - it is the
time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer 30:7). But some of those Jews will come to believe in Jesus, at that time - and
it is these to whom Jesus was directing His words.

Believing Jews will be sharing the gospel of the kingdom, during this time - and the world will hate them,
for it. The world will have chosen its savior - the Beast; the man of sin. Most will have taken his mark, to
indicate their allegiance to him. They would not want to consider that they might be wrong - terribly,
horribly wrong. These will not want to hear anything about Jesus.

But virtually none of the Jews will have taken the mark of the Beast. Their eyes will have been finally
opened to his deception, of them - with his false peace. And as he then seeks to eradicate the Jews, some of
them will become receptive to the true Savior of the world - Jesus. Therefore the preaching must continue -
to the end of this time of fiery trial.

Jesus was sending His words of exhortation to the Jewish believers during the Tribulation, not to lose heart;
to persevere, to the end, in their witness to Him. All true believers ultimately do persevere; and Jesus
assured them, they will be saved; whether it is in this life, or through death, into eternity. Not one of them
will be lost.

The words of Jesus in verse 23 echo what he said to the apostles in verse 16 - to be wise as serpents, and
harmless as doves. They should attempt to evade their persecutors, so that the message can continue to go
out.

And Jesus assures them, they will not run out of cities into which to flee in Israel, before He returns - to
rescue them. In a later passage, Jesus will indicate that God will shorten these days of tribulation, for the
elect’s sake - for these Jewish believers (Mt 24:22).

Jesus speaks of His return to the earth as “the Son of Man” coming. This is the name that Jesus uses for
Himself more than any other, emphasizing His humanity. The Son of Man coming would immediately take
Matthew’s Jewish readers back a prophecy of Daniel, concerning Messiah. Let’s take a look at it together.
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Turn to Daniel chapter 7. Daniel had been given to see visions of the Tribulation. He saw the time at the
end of it when the Beast’s kingdom will come into judgment by God - the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:9, 21-
22). The Beast’s dominion will be taken away (Dan 7:26) - and given to the rightful ruler, of the earth.

We begin in verse 13.

[Daniel 7:13-14] So Daniel saw the Son of Man receive everlasting dominion over the earth, being given
it by God Himself. Jesus received this authority after He completed the work of redemption, in His first
coming to the earth (Mt 28:18).

When Jesus returns to the earth in His second coming, He will set up His kingdom. The Jews understood
this “Son of Man” to be their Messiah, that He would come to the earth (“with clouds”), deliver them from
their oppressors, and establish them as the head nation over His kingdom on earth (Dan 7:23-27).
[Return to Matthew 10]

We continue in verse 24.

v. 24-25 Jesus was saying to His disciples that they should not expect to be treated any better, than He
Himself is treated. By this time, some opposition was being manifest, against Jesus - particularly from the
religious establishment.

Jesus mentions being called Beelzebub - this was a false deity whose name the Jews borrowed for Satan.
In calling Jesus by this name, the Jews were using a name that was as disparaging as possible -
blaspheming Him.

But slander was just the beginning of what His disciples could expect. Jesus was ridiculed; insulted; falsely
accused; physically abused; and finally put to death. Any disciple of His must expect the same.

Jesus would later reiterate this to His disciples. Turn to John chapter 15. Jesus was in the upper room with
His disciples, shortly before He was to go to the cross.

[John 15:18-25] The world’s hatred of Jesus is unjust. He has given the world no reason to hate Him.
Every word and action of His toward them was righteous. But that righteousness revealed the world to be
unrighteousness. The world of men love darkness; so they hate the light.

[Return to Matthew 10]

Jesus continued to speak of those who persecute the disciples.

v. 26 The reason the disciples should not fear their adversaries is not because of the dreadful things their
adversaries can do to them, that He has just alluded to. They should not fear them, because ultimately God
will judge their adversaries.

That is what Jesus means about that which is covered or hidden, being revealed and made known. The idea
is that as the believers endure to the end, through the persecution, God will vindicate them and He will
condemn their adversaries. The temporal is but for the moment; God’s judgments are for eternity.

Paul gave a real sense of this when he was encouraging the church in Thessalonica, which was
experiencing severe persecution. Turn to Second Thessalonians chapter 1.
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[Second Thessalonians 1:3-10]

v. 3-8 The “rest with us” that Paul is referring to in verse 7 will be when the church is caught up to be with
the Lord in the Rapture, and taken to her heavenly home. Meanwhile, those who remain on earth will go
through the Tribulation, culminating in the return of Christ, when He will judge His enemies.

v. 9-10 When He comes, in that Day; when He returns to the earth at His second coming. A glorious day
for those who have come to believe; and judgment day for the rebels.

[Return to Matthew 10]

Jesus continues, in verse 27.

v. 27-28 Wait a minute. Weren’t the disciples supposed to be keeping a low profile, and flee danger? Yes;
they were not to provoke the authorities, and avoid confrontations - unnecessarily. But Jesus makes it clear
here that it is necessary for them to preach of the gospel; they are to carry out His work. They were to
boldly proclaim the gospel, and testify to Him - openly, publicly.

They must not fear men, who can only kill their bodies. After all, the Lord has new bodies, for those who
believe in Him. Instead, they must fear God - believe and obey Him - for He has to power and authority to
send men to the place of eternal destruction - hell - where both being and body are destroyed. In a sense,
their fear of God will keep them from fearing men.

So believers should concern themselves completely with God and His judgment. But at the same time, they
are never to forget that their God is also a loving Father, to them.

v. 29-31 Jesus is showing two facets of the Father’s care, for those who are His own. Sparrows are small
birds that were of little value; they were a poor man’s food. Yet Jesus says that the death of each sparrow is
subject to the Father’s will; He oversees it. The idea then is that, if a believer is being persecuted to the
death, their heavenly Father is right there to take them through it.

The other thought Jesus brings forth is that of hair. The strands of hair on your head are innumerable - at
least, for most of us! You wouldn’t want to have to count them, would you? That would be a painstaking
task! But your Father knows just how many hairs there are, and has even numbered them.

What did Jesus mean? That God is aware of every detail; of every circumstance, in the believer’s life.
Nothing escapes His notice; He doesn’t miss anything; He controls every aspect. So when the believer’s
circumstances are perilous, he can trust His heavenly Father to show him the way through it.

Again, the exhortation to not fear comes from Jesus; to continue to proclaim the gospel and give their
testimony to Him. Jesus then indicates that they will be judged, based on their obedience, in this.

v. 32-33 God’s judgment is always retributive. Who specifically is making the judgment here? Jesus is;
He will judge men, based on their witness to Him - whether they acknowledge Him as their Lord, before
men, or deny Him.

This seems to be a severe judgment. It is. For Jesus to confess a person before His Father means that He is
acknowledging him as one of His own - and the Father will receive them, on that basis. For Jesus to deny
someone before His Father means that one is not His own - and the Father will reject them, on that basis.
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But what happens if a believer does not bear witness to Jesus, at every opportunity - perhaps out of fear, of
men? Does that mean that Jesus will deny the believer, to His Father?

Thankfully, we have an example is Scripture that shows us this is not so; can you think of him? Simon
Peter. He denied His Lord three times, out of fear of man (Mt 26:69-75). But Peter repented, and was
forgiven - and later became one of the boldest of witnesses, for Jesus.

The idea is more of someone who would categorically deny Jesus before men. One of the apostles Jesus
was speaking to that day would do just that. But the rest would grow in their faith and their boldness to
proclaim their Lord - as they grew in their love for Him.

Reading: Matthew 10:34-42; Lk 22:35-38; Micah 7