Mateus 10
F.B. Meyer · Citado em PreceptAustin
Mateus 10
Meyer - Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak ye in the light. These striking words are applicable to us all, Our Lord is constantly taking us into the dark, that He may tell us things. Into the dark of the shadowed home, where bereavement has drawn down the blinds; into the dark of the lonely, desolate life, here some infirmity closes us in from the light and stir of life; into the dark of some crushing sorrow and disappointment. Then He tells us his secrets, great and wonderful, eternal and infinite. The eye, which has become dazzled by the glare of earth, becomes able to behold the heavenly constellations; and the ear to detect the undertones of his voice, which is often drowned amid the tumult of earth’s strident cries. But such revelations always imply a corresponding responsibility — that speak ye in the light — that proclaim upon the housetops. We are not meant to linger always in the dark, or stay in the closet; presently we shall be summoned to take our place in the rush and storm of life; and when that moment comes, we are to speak and proclaim what we have learnt. This gives a new meaning to suffering, the saddest element in which is often its apparent aimlessness. “How useless I am.” “What am I doing for the betterment of men?” “Wherefore this waste of the precious spikenard of my soul.” Such are the desperate laments of the sufferer. But God has a purpose in it all. He has withdrawn his child to the higher altitudes of fellowship, that he may hear God speaking face to face, and bear the message to his fellows at the mountain foot. Were the forty days wasted that Moses spent on the Mount, or the period spent at Horeb by Elijah, or the years Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Do not fear: Mt 10:26 Isa 8:12,13 51:7,12 Da 3:10-18 Lu 12:4,5 Ac 20:23,24 Ac 21:13 Ro 8:35-39 2Ti 4:6-8 Heb 11:35 1Pe 3:14 Rev 2:10 Him: Ps 119:120 Ec 5:7 8:12,13 Isa 66:2 Jer 5:22 Heb 12:28,29 Who is able: Mt 25:46 Mk 9:43-48 Lu 16:22-26 Joh 5:29 2Th 1:8-10 Rev 20:10-15 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul - Do not fear is present imperative with a negative which means either stop fearing or do not begin fearing them. Either way such courage is not natural but is supernaturally enabled by the Holy Spirit that they might obey Jesus' command! Though Satan may have great power (Mt 6:13; Mt 24:22 1 Jn :19), only God can destroy soul and body in hell. Peter writes "But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED. but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (HOLY FEAR);" (1 Pe 3:14-15+) Do not fear death, a defeated foe for as Paul wrote “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Co 15:55-58+). But rather fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell - Fear Him or fear God is in the present imperative which also calls for dependence on the Holy Spirit to obey! Do you fear men or do you fear God? (cf Pr 29:25) How does one fear God in practical terms? Here's a simple test to determine whether you really fear God -- Ask yourself this question: "Do the words, thoughts and deeds of the last 24 hours of my life truly reflect a reverence (reverential fear) of the Lord, Who alone is "Holy, Holy, Holy"? (And by the way, none of us are perfect, which is why 1 Jn 1:9+ is such a gift to cleanse us each new day.) If you find your "fear factor" is diminishing, and to sin willfully no longer grieves you, then you need to beg that the Spirit would enable in you a strong desire to choose the fear of the Lord (Pr 1:29+, cf Lk 10:42+, Heb 11:25+, Pr 23:17). A mighty argument against fear is the comparative weakness of the enemy. Men can only wound our inferior part, the body, but are not able to kill the soul . Spurgeon Commentary This, following upon the former verse, forbids us to forbear our testimony from fear of men. We may not say less or more because of the opposition of the foe. A mighty argument against fear is the comparative weakness of the enemy. Men can only wound our inferior part, the body, but are not able to kill the soul . But if we disobey God, the Supreme Lord of life and death has power even to destroy both parts of our being by casting them both into the death and darkness of Gehenna, or hell. Let us fear the Greater, and we shall not fear the less. There is no cure for the fear of man like the fear of God. Destroy (622)(apollumi from apo = away from or wholly + olethros = state of utter ruin <> ollumi = to destroy <> root of apollyon [Re 9:11] = destroyer) means to destroy utterly but not to cause one to cease to exist. Apollumi as it relates to men, is not the loss of being per se, but is more the loss of well-being. It means to ruin so that the person ruined can no longer serve the use for which he or she was designed. The gospel promises everlasting life for the one who believes. The failure to possess this life will result in utter ruin and eternal uselessness (but not a cessation of existence) In summary, apollumi then has the basic meaning of describing that which is ruined and is no longer usable for its intended purpose. Woe! Walter Kaiser - Whom Should We Fear? - goto page 435 in Hard Sayings The first part of this saying presents no difficulty. Jesus faced violent death himself, and he warned his disciples more than once that they might expect no less. “Brother will betray brother to death,” he said. “All men will hate you because of me” (Mt 10:21–22). In a counterpart to these words in the Fourth Gospel he tells them that “a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God” (Jn 16:2). But those who put them to death could do them no more harm. Stephen might be stoned to death, but his eyes were filled with the vision of the Son of Man standing to welcome him as his advocate and friend at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). So too Paul, on the eve of execution, could say with confidence, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Tim 4:18+). It is the second part of the saying that raises a question. Whereas in both Gospels “those who kill the body” are referred to in the plural, the person who is really to be feared is mentioned in the singular: it is he “who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell” or, as it is put in Matthew’s version, “who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). Who is he? There are those who “kill the body but cannot kill the soul,” as it runs in Matthew; there are others who do serious damage to the souls of men, women and children by reducing them to obedient automata, by leading them into sin, or in other ways. Are such people to be feared more than ordinary murderers? Perhaps they are. The singular pronoun him in “fear him” could mean “that sort of person.” But it is more probable that Jesus meant “Be more afraid of the condemnation of God than of the death sentence of human beings.” This sense is not unparalleled in Jewish literature of the period. In a document from Jewish Alexandria, the fourth book of Maccabees (which quite certainly has not influenced the present saying of Jesus or been influenced by it), seven brothers about to be martyred because of the refusal to renounce their faith encourage one another in these words: “Let us not fear him who thinks he is killing us; for great conflict and danger to the soul is laid up in eternal torment for those who transgress the commandment of God” (4 Macc 13:14–15). If they are put to death for their fidelity to God, they have the sure hope of eternal life; if through fear of physical death they prove unfaithful to him, certain retribution awaits them. The sense is more or less the same in Jesus’ present saying. The one who has power to cast into hell is not, as some have suggested, the devil; if he is resisted, he can do no real harm to the follower of Jesus. It is God who is to be feared: Fear him, ye saints, and you will then Have nothing else to fear. The “hell” mentioned here is Gehenna, the place of eternal destruction after death. There are Jewish parallels for the belief, attested in Matthew’s form of the saying, that soul and body alike are consumed in the fire of Gehenna. It is noteworthy that in both Gospels, immediately after the warning that the condemnation of God is to be feared, comes the encouragement that the protecting love of God is to be trusted: the God who takes note of the fall of a single sparrow knows every hair of his children’s heads (Lk 12:6–7; Mt 10:29–31). See also comment on Proverbs 1:7. Love God or Fear Him? - see page 255 All sorts of fears obsess believers. Although some may be legitimate, most are vague, nameless feelings of apprehension. They rob us of confidence and joy, and keep us from spiritual health and effectiveness. The Bible has the solution to this problem. When we learn the fear of God, we will not be controlled by earthly terrors. A young boy living in Holland when it was occupied by the Nazis during World War II, wrote the following in his journal: "Last week three German officers stopped my dad in the hallway. They held him at gunpoint and forced him to open the steel door leading to the basement. One of them ordered Dad to show the crawl space under the hallways. He said if he didn't tell where the hidden weapons are, he will be shot. Dad usually is not a great hero. He's even afraid of the dentist. But this time he is not afraid at all. One of them cocked his Luger and held it against my Dad's temple. Dad recited the Bible verse that was on his mind, `And fear not them who kill the body, . . . but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.' The Germans looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and then left. The steel heels of their boots made a clanging noise on the iron stairway." We need not fear the darkness of this world, for we have Christ the light. Can’t Die But Once Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.Matthew 10:28 Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 10:26–32 Born into slavery and badly treated as a young girl, Harriet Tubman (c. 1822–1913) found a shining ray of hope in the Bible stories her mother told. The account of Israel’s escape from slavery under Pharaoh showed her a God who desired freedom for His people. Harriet found freedom when she slipped over the Maryland state line and out of slavery. She couldn’t remain content, however, knowing so many were still trapped in captivity. So she led more than a dozen rescue missions to free those still in slavery, dismissing the personal danger. “I can’t die but once,” she said. Harriet knew the truth of the statement: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matt. 10:28). Jesus spoke those words as He sent His disciples on their first mission. He knew they would face danger, and not everyone would receive them warmly. So why expose the disciples to the risk? The answer is found in the previous chapter. “When he saw the crowds, [Jesus] had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36). May we find our peace and purpose in You, Lord, and share You with others. True freedom is found in knowing and serving Christ. Not One Sparrow Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Psalm 116:15 Today's Scripture & Insight: Matthew 10:28–33 My mother, so dignified and proper her entire life, now lay in a hospice bed, held captive by debilitating age. Struggling for breath, her declining condition contradicted the gorgeous spring day that danced invitingly on the other side of the windowpane. All the emotional preparation in the world cannot sufficiently brace us for the stark reality of goodbye. Death is such an indignity! I thought. I diverted my gaze to the birdfeeder outside the window. A grosbeak flitted close to help itself to some seed. Instantly a familiar phrase popped into my mind: “Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it” (Matt. 10:29 nlt). Jesus had said that to His disciples as He gave them marching orders for a mission to Judea, but the principle applies to all of us. “You are worth more than many sparrows,” He told them (v. 31). My mom stirred and opened her eyes. Reaching back to her childhood, she used a Dutch term of endearment for her own mother and declared, “Muti’s dead!” “Yes,” my wife agreed. “She’s with Jesus now.” Uncertain, Mom continued. “And Joyce and Jim?” she questioned of her sister and brother. “Yes, they’re with Jesus too,” said my wife. “But we’ll be with them soon!” Death is the last shadow before heaven’s dawn. Matthew 10:29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. two: Lu 12:6,7 Cent Mt 18:28." and one: Ps 104:27-30 A SERMON ON FEAR TEXT = TWO SPARROWS! Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? Henry
Mateus 10
Meyer: We are not simply to cut off this or the other indulgence, but to put the Cross of Christ between ourselves and the gratification of our own will. We must be willing to follow the Lamb, though the old Abraham cries out in grievous pain. Billy Graham in “The Offense of the Cross” -When Jesus said, “If you are going to follow me, you have to take up a cross,” it was the same as saying, “Come and bring your electric chair with you. Take up the gas chamber and follow me.” He did not have a beautiful gold cross in mind—the cross on a church steeple or on the front of your Bible. Jesus had in mind a place of execution. We need men of the cross, with the message of the cross, bearing the marks of the cross. - Vance Havner Christ’s cross is such a burden as sails are to a ship or wings to a bird. - Samuel Rutherford The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. - A.W. Tozer The figure of the Crucified invalidates all thought which takes success for its standard. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning. - Oswald Chambers ILLUSTRATION - When the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez landed at Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1519 he was intent on conquest. To assure the devotion of his men, Cortez set fire to his fleet of eleven ships! With no means of retreat Cortez’s army had only one direction to move, into the Mexican interior. Cortez understood the price of commitment—and he paid it. Taking The Cross He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. —Matthew 10:38 Today's Scripture:Matthew 10:1-7, 24-39 The cross. We see it today as the rough, wooden instrument of death for Jesus Christ. But before His followers had even a faint idea that Jesus would die that way, He spoke of the cross. As He stood near the Sea of Galilee preparing the disciples to reach “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt. 10:6), Jesus told them, “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (v.38). The men didn’t associate the cross with Jesus’ approaching death, but they knew what a cross signified. Crucifixions were a common method of execution. The disciples had a vivid picture of the agony, punishment, and misery that a cross represented. Taking a cross meant walking life’s toughest road. So why was Jesus promoting cross-bearing? Because He wanted disciples who were willing to face the difficulties it would take to serve His cause. Soon Jesus would be killed, and His followers would have to carry on His message alone. To stand against the forces that would seek to quiet the gospel would take total commitment. Am I a soldier of the cross? A follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause Or blush to speak His name? —Watts After all that Christ has done for us, how can we do less than give Him our best? Spurgeon's Sermon Notes - Matthew 10:38—“He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” Before his crucifixion, our Lord has a foresight of it, and does not hesitate to realize himself as bearing his cross. With equal prescience he foresees each true disciple receiving and taking up his own personal cross. He sees none exempted. Picture to the mind’s eye a procession led by the cross-bearing Jesus, and made up of his cross-bearing train. This is not a pageant, but a real march of suffering. It reaches through all time. The chief requirement of a disciple is to follow Jesus in all things, in cross-bearing as in all else. Cross-bearing is trying, laborious, sorrowful, humiliating. Cross-bearing is inevitable to the follower of Jesus. We are bound to take up our cross or give up all idea of being Christians. Let us obediently enquire— I. WHAT IS MY PECULIAR CROSS? “He that taketh not his cross.” 1. It may be the giving up of certain pleasures or indulgences. 2. It may be the endurance of reproach and unkindness, or remaining in poverty and obscurity for the good of others. 3. It may be the suffering of losses and persecutions, for Christ’s sake. 4. It certainly means the consecrating of all to Jesus: the bowing of my whole self beneath the blessed burden of service with which he honours me. 5. It also includes the endurance of my heavenly Father’s will with patience, acquiescence, and thanksgiving. My cross is well, wisely, kindly, and surely chosen for me by my Lord. It is only meet that I should be made like my Lord in bearing it. II. WHAT AM I TO DO WITH IT? “Taketh … followeth after me.” 1. I am deliberately to take it up. Not to choose a cross, or pine after another form of trial. Not to make a cross, by petulance and obstinacy. Not to murmur at the cross appointed me. Not to despise it, by callous stoicism, or wilful neglect of duty. Not to faint under it, fall beneath it, or run from it. 2. I am boldly to face it. It is only a wooden cross after all. 3. I am patiently to endure it, for I have only to carry it a little way. 4. I am cheerfully to resign myself to it, for my Lord appoints it. 5. I am obediently to follow Christ with it. What an honour and a comfort to be treading in his steps! This is the essential point. It is not enough to bear a cross, we must bear it after Jesus. I ought to be thankful that I have only to bear it, and that it does not bear me. It is a royal burden, a sanctified burden, a sanctifying burden, a burden which gives communion with Christ. III. WHAT SHOULD ENCOURAGE ME? 1. Necessity: I cannot be a disciple without cross-bearing. 2. Society: better men than I have carried it. 3. Love: Jesus bore a far heavier cross than mine. 4. Faith: grace will be given equal to the weight of the cross. 5. Hope: good to myself will result from my bearing this load. 6. Zeal: Jesus will be honoured by my patient endurance. 7. Experience: I shall yet find pleasure in it, for it will produce in me much blessing. The cross is a fruitful tree. 8. Expectation: glory will be the reward of it. No cross, no crown. Let not the ungodly fancy that theirs is a better lot: the Psalmist says, “many sorrows shall be to the wicked.” Let not the righteous dread the cross, for it will not crush them: it may be painted with iron colours by our fears, but it is not made of that heavy metal; we can bear it, and we will bear it right joyously. NAILS When Alexander the Great marched through Persia, his way was stopped with ice and snow, insomuch that his soldiers, being tired out with hard marches, were discouraged, and would have gone no further, which he perceiving, dismounted his horse, and went on foot through the midst of them all, making himself a way with a pickaxe; whereat they all being ashamed, first his friends, then the captains of his army, and, last of all, the common soldiers, followed him. So should all men follow Christ their Saviour, by that rough and unpleasant way of the cross that he hath traversed before them. He having drunk unto them in the cup of his passion, they are to pledge him when occasion is offered; he having left them an example of his suffering, they are to follow him in the selfsame steps of sorrow.—John Spencer. The cross is easier to him who takes it up than to him who drags it along.—J. E. Vaux. We are bid to take, not to make our cross. God in his providence will provide one for us. And we are bid to take it up; we hear nothing of laying it down. Our troubles and our lives live and die together. W. Gurnall. Must Jesus bear the cross alone, And all the church go free? No, there’s a cross for every one, And there’s a cross for me. “No man,” said Flavel, “hath a velvet cross.” As an old Yorkshire working-man, a friend of mine, said, “Ah! it is blessed work cross-bearing when it’s tied on with love.”—Newman Hall. Welcome the cross of Christ, and bear it triumphantly; but see that it be indeed Christ’s cross, and not thine own.—Wilcox. Christ’s cross is the sweetest burden that ever I bore; it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or sails to a ship, to carry me forward to my harbour.—Samuel Rutherford. Whatever the path is, Christ is there, and to be with him is joy enough for any creature, whether man or angel. He does not send us to walk in a dreary, desolate road. He does not say, “Go ye,” pointing to a lonely way in which he is not to be found; he says, “Come after me,” so that we need not take a single step where his footprints cannot be seen, and where his presence may not still be found. If the sharp flints cut our feet, they have wounded his before. If the darkness gathers thickly here and there, it was a denser gloom that surrounded him. If ofttimes we must stand and fight, it was through fiercer conflicts that he passed. If the cross is heavy to our shoulder, it is light when compared with the one he bore. “Christ leads me,” said Baxter, “through no darker room than he went through before.” If the road were a thousand times rougher than it is, it would be well worth while to walk in it for the sake of walking with Christ there. Following Jesus means fellowship with Jesus, and the joy of that fellowship cannot be told.—P. Amazing Grace - August 30 I SURRENDER ALL Judson W. Van De Venter, 1855–1939 - Borrow Amazing grace Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:38, 39) The Bible teaches us that brokenness is a prerequisite to blessing and usefulness. No one ever achieves spiritual greatness until he has fully surrendered himself to God. Victorious living comes only as we abandon ourselves to the Lordship of Christ, becoming His loving bond slave. God’s best for our lives is not the result of struggle. Rather, it is simply the acceptance of His perfect will and the recognition of His authority in every area of our lives. Higher than the highest heaven, Deeper than the deepest sea, Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered: Grant me now my supplication, None of self and all of Thee. —Unknown Judson Van De Venter wrote this text after surrendering his many talents to his all-wise Savior: For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life, I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing. After making his decision to devote his life to Christian service, Van De Venter ministered with much blessing in extensive evangelistic work both at home and abroad. Billy Graham is one of many who claim that Judson Van De Venter had greatly influenced their lives and ministry. All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I free give; I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live. All to Jesus I surrender, humbly at His feet I bow; worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me, Jesus, take me now. All to Jesus I surrender, make me, Savior, wholly Thine; let me feel the Holy Spirit—truly know that Thou art mine. All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; fill me with Thy love and power; let Thy blessings fall on me. Chorus: I surrender all, I surrender all, all to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. For Today: Romans 6:8–14; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; Ephesians 3:16, 17 If you have lost the enthusiasm for Christ that you once had, make a fresh surrender to His will and Lordship. Sing as you go— (BORROW Amazing grace) Matthew 10:39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. Mt 16:25,26 Mk 8:35,36 Lu 17:33 Joh 12:25 Php 1:20,21 2Ti 4:6-8 Rev 2:10 Related Passages: Luke 17:33+ “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. John 12:24-25+ “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. Philippians 3:7-8 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, HOW TO SAVE YOUR LIFE! "LOSERS ARE KEEPERS!" He who has found (heurisko) his life will lose (apollumi) it - This verse is one of the most vivid paradoxes in the entire Bible! This describes those who reject Jesus as Savior and Lord and says they will find their life in this short, temporary time on earth. Woe to them! This is as good as their life will ever be for they will spend the next life in eternal punishment. On the other hand, this life is as bad as it will ever be for those who lose their life for Jesus! What does found his life look like practically? Instead of believing in Christ, this person clings to this present life (comforts, relationships, ambitions, etc) In effect they prioritize this life as their be all, end all, so to speak. They let their possessions possess them instead of being willing by grace through faith to be the possession of Jesus. Their self-focused pursuit will lead to them losing everything they ever gained in this life and worst of all losing their soul for all eternity! They will come to realize that they made a fatal trade but it will be too late. The paradox is that dying to self allows one to most fully live. And he who has lost (apollumi) his life for My sake will find (heurisko) it - Losing to gain! Lost his life is figurative not literal. In Mk 8:36+ Jesus adds "whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it." Jim Elliot's famous quote summarizes Jesus' teaching for "He is not fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Losing one's life does not describe something man can do to merit salvation in Christ. It does however speak to another aspect of our belief in Christ. John