Sermon: The Supremacy of Christ Matthew 10:34–42
Truth Taught- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Introduction
Today as we finish the section where Jesus is telling His disciples what to expect when they go out in His name speaking the Gospel He shares with us a quote from the OT. Jesus quotes from the Prophet Micah 7.
In Micah 7, the Prophet is sharing his experience as he too was out among the people sharing God’s Word with them. He too lived in a society that was very corrupt and very idolatrous. He has preached and preached and it seems no one listens or cares, they are all out for other things. He feels like he’s the only one who loves God. His strength is dried up. Then in an amazing turn God reminds Micah that no matter what happens in this life, no matter who hates you even if they come from your own family, Micah is reminded to trust God who is his Savior and wait. It will all come to the light in the end. Micah waits and loves God while he does so. That’s Jesus’ encouragement for His followers and for us. When division comes even within families look to Christ even more.
Micah 7:1–7 (ESV)
7 Woe is me! For I have become
as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
2 The godly has perished from the earth,
and there is no one upright among mankind;
they all lie in wait for blood,
and each hunts the other with a net.
3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
5 Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;
6 for the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
When Jesus quotes from Micah, He does so to remind His followers that even though the message of Jesus and the Gospel create division even among families that we should not be discouraged but be reminded to place even more trust in Jesus. Our love for Jesus should increase when we go through times of difficulty. Like Micah, who experienced many emotions connected with the rejection of those around him, he still held fast to Jesus, so must we.
Micah knew a wonderful truth. His love for God is what carried him through these difficulties. His love for God overshadowed the fear of man. His love for God was supreme and in God he had all he needed in this life. This is the type of love and trust our Lord was looking for in His disciples. He looks for it in us as well.
Matthew 10:34–42 (ESV)
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
1. Christ’s Supremacy Carries Us Through Conflict (34-36)
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
The Prince of Peace first brings a sword. The Messiah, Jesus will one day bring peace. He is the Prince of Peace. For now, however, there will not always be peace. Our Lord tells us the truth when He says that He brings not peace but a sword.
He goes on to describe what He means. Notice that He says I have come to…bring a sword and set families against each other.
Within the family circle to demands of Jesus will cause division. When God’s Word says one thing and those in the family see things differently there is difficulty. Or when you share the Gospel with those in your family they often assume you think you’re better than them because your telling them about some deficiency in their life etc. When we share the Gospel with others there is often a view that they think we are somehow better than them. These are the things Jesus is talking about.
Here’s a difficult saying. Jesus doesn’t simply tell us that the Gospel might cause division within family units but He says, that He has come for that purpose…35 For I have come to set a man against his father
So, it sounds somewhat strange but one part of Jesus’ mission is to shake up the family unit so that we will find in Jesus the love we have perhaps lost due to our commitment to Him. If you find that there are family divisions because of Christ seek to draw near to Jesus and near to your Church Family.
2. Christ Is the Supreme Target of Our Affections (37-39)
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What is our Lord telling us here? He’s saying that He must be who we love the most. He is the supreme target for our affections. To love anyone or anything on the list He gave us is to be guilty of idolatry. This is another hard saying that Jesus gives us. If you love anyone more than Him you’re not worthy of Him. If you love your life more than Him you’re not worthy of Him. Let’s be honest, the things Jesus tells us are often hard to hear and hard to process.
Let’s look together at our love for God and I think this will help us process Jesus’ demands here.
Matthew 22:36–37 (ESV)
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
We read Matthew 22:36-37 and say okay, I get it. We are to love God with everything in us our heart, soul, mind, and strength. What does that really mean? What could be the commentary on this passage? Our text today shows us what loving God this way looks like in real life. To love God with all our heart is to love Him supremely, which means loving Him more than anything including our family and our life. I wouldn’t take a billion dollars for one of my children and I would give my life for them. Jesus tells us we must love Him more.
What is the nature of love of this magnitude?
Here is a love that has no fear of man. Here is a love that does not care about anything but Jesus. It all comes about because she had been forgiven much. Do you know how much Jesus has forgiven you? Let’s read and discover the extent of our forgiveness in the picture of this woman.
Luke 7:36–50 (ESV)
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
This is a wonderful example…
1 John 4:19 (ESV)
19 We love because he first loved us.
We can learn so much from this former prostitute. She loved Jesus supremely because He first loved her. She understood the depth of her depravity and the utter hopelessness of her situation. She knew more than most the rottenness of her soul before God. Then, in the most unusual way in some divine encounter she met Jesus and He forgave her for all those untold multitude of sins. Her soul was new and her life different and her love for Jesus supreme.
If you ever find your love growing cold reread this account and imagine her life now and why she loved so much…because she had been forgiven much. You see Simon the Pharisee did not love Jesus because his sins were not forgiven. Simon acted righteous and thought he was better than this woman. The reality, he had just as much sin in his life as she did.
3. Partnering With Jesus (40-42)
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
I feel like we have made it through the darkside to more encouraging material. Like we have made it through winter in Ohio and spring is coming.
The reality is when we share the Gospel or in any way speak of Jesus to others if they accept or reject us and our message they are really accepting or rejecting Jesus. When they were welcomed into a home then the home was welcoming Jesus. When they were rejected, that home rejected Jesus. So, whoever rejects the disciples is guilty of a grave sin, rejecting Jesus. What our Lord is telling His followers is that when they are welcomed into a home then Jesus enters as well. Jesus enters the house with His disciples or Jesus has the door slammed in His face. We must always keep that in mind as we share our faith with others.
The implication of welcoming the disciple is to receive the reward from God.
What are those addressed by this text going to be rewarded for? Since Jesus sends his disciples to act on his behalf, those who receive them also receive Jesus (10:40a). And in receiving Jesus they also receive God, the one who sent him. Underlying this saying is the shaliach conception of ancient Jewish law, according to which a man’s duly authorized messenger “is as the man himself.” (Hare, Interpretation Commentary on Matthew, 118) The one sent out represents the one who sent him, so that to receive a disciple of Christ is to receive Christ and to receive Christ is to receive God. (Argyle, Cambridge Commentary on Matthew, 83-4)
Those who receive the disciples also receive the same benefits or reward they receive, the blessing of participation in the kingdom of God, all participate in the present in the blessings of divine presence, comfort, wisdom, forgiveness, which are the realities of the reign of God now and forever.
The reward of eternal life is given as the witness with the Gospel is welcomed. Jesus and His message is also welcomed and the one showing hospitality receives eternal life.
When we go out to share the Gospel with other we too are the righteous ones, the prophets, and the little ones Jesus speaks of. We have no power but solely depend on God for strength and success.
We are the little ones Jesus speaks of. We are not too flashy or impressive but to welcome us or even give a follower a drink as they travel is to partner with Jesus in His mission and He promises that something so small as a cup of cold water will not be overlooked by God.
Conclusion/Application
If we are to endure to the end and escape the fear of man and be the witnesses He wants us to be there is one component that makes all this happen. If there is anything that you believe is lacking in your Christian walk this one thing makes all the difference. How is your love for Jesus?
How do we increase our love for Jesus?
Love the Lord Jesus Christ – by Thomas Brooks (1608-1680)
O my friends! There is no love but a superlative love that is any ways suitable to the transcendent sufferings of dear Jesus. Oh, love him above your lusts, love him above your relations, love him above the world, love him above all your outward contentments and enjoyments; yea, love him above your very lives; for thus the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, saints, primitive Christians, and the martyrs of old, have loved our Lord Jesus Christ with an overtopping love: Rev. xii. 11, ‘They loved not their lives unto the death;’ that is, they slighted, contemned, yea, despised their lives, exposing them to hazard and loss, out of love to the Lamb, ‘who had washed them in his blood.’
A. Increase your Bible reading and praise God for what you learn
B. Increase your prayer time and be thankful
C. Read about those Christians from the past who loved Jesus greatly
D. Commit to loving others in Jesus’ name, praying for and serving them.
*Resources Used:
Matthew by D A Carson in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary
A Theology of Matthew by Charles Quarles
A Gospel of Matthew by France
Matthew by Craig Bloomberg
Matthew by Doriani
Matthew by Charles Price
Matthew by Leon Morris
Blue Letter Bible
