St Matthew, Chapter 10, verse: 11, The Instructions

Our paragraph topic is:  (Instructions to the Twelve) Part 4.  

Christ continues to prepare his disciples for their solo journey.  He has told them where to go.  He has told them who to seek.  He has told them what they are to proclaim.  He has told them how to dress, what to wear, what to carry with them, and what not to carry.  The disciples are to become laborers.  They are to be worthy of their calling and the work they are to perform.  Their work must be deserving of their pay.  Now as he gathers them around, he gives them instructions for the battles they are to face.  He tells them what their first encounter will be.

Christ began his  mission of preaching and teaching with miracles.  He cast out demons, healed the sick and cured the lame.  The words of his ministry spread like wildfire throughout all of Syria.  Large crowds followed him from Galilee and Decapolis, and Jerusalem and Judea and even from beyond the Jordan.  His fame preceded him.  The people had heard of him, and the spiritual world of demons knew about him.  They heard the word of his fame and the battle was being prepared for his coming.  It was a time of war and Christ was the great warrior who conquered all the territories that he entered.  There was no stopping the onslaught of his ministry.  

Now the disciples were being prepared to enter the battle with the spiritual world.  They are given powers to fight the demons.  They are given powers to cure the sick and heal the lame, cleanse the lepers.  They are given powers to push back the forces of darkness and to bring light into the lives of the people.  But the demons do not give up.  Christ instructs his disciples to enter a village or a town and to, "Inquire who in it is worthy."   They are to inquire amongst the people of the village who they thought was holy and spiritually worthy in their town. 

What would this do?  The village or town would spread the word, saying to each other, "There is a man in town seeking the one who is worthy."  Every person who thought that they were worthy would come forth.  Every person who had claims on being worthy would appear.  And those who had authority would appear out of curiosity.  The town would become a buzz with the talk of who is worthy.  And the demon possessed people would also appear to put down this talk of being worthy because it is contrary to their cause.  Finally the true person who is worthy would appear, to reveal himself or herself to the disciple, to receive his blessing.  So Christ gave his disciples a challenge call to bring forth the true person that was holy and worthy, and also to bring forth the evil ones.

Christ gives his disciples a challenge call to bring forth the worthy in the villages and towns they are to visit.  What a wonderful example he has given, even to us, today.  When we enter a new job, who do we align ourselves with?  When we enter a new town, a new community, a new school, who do we seek?  Do we seek the one that is worthy or do we seek the one that is popular?  Do we seek the one that is most talked about or the one that is least talked about?  In our social environment, in our work environment, even in our church environment, we are challenged to fit in.  Those who are there before us, will challenge us.  They will play games with us.  They will trick us.  They will seek us out, to determine where we will fit into the social order.  How do we, as people of the faith of Christ, align ourselves with others in preparation for the battle?  Do we seek or inquire who is worthy or do we just fit into the world???  

St Matthew, Chapter 10, verses: 9-10, The Instructions

Our paragraph topic is: (Instructions to the Twelve) Part 3.  

Now after Christ has given his disciples instructions on what they are to tell the people and the miracles they are to perform, he tells them about their appearance.  Christ instructs his disciples to not carry a wallet.  He tells them that they are not to keep gold or silver or money in their girdles.  They are to not take two tunics, or sandals.  They are to go barefoot into the villages and towns.  They are not to take a staff to lean upon, to indicate some degree of prestige of being a prophet.   He tells them, "The laborer deserves his living."  

The disciples of Christ are to become laborers.  They are to perform honest work amongst the people.  They are to deserve, through the contributions of the people, their daily bread.  They are to be dependent upon the people for their clothing, for their shelter, for their food.  They are to perform miracles by casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, and cleansing the lepers.  Through these acts the love of God in the people will provide for them.  Through these acts the spirit of love will open the hearts of the people and give them shelter.  Through these acts the charity of the people will feed them.  They will be taken care of through the love of the Holy Spirit.

The instructions that Christ gives to his disciples are the principles by which he has lived.  He has told us that "The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."   Christ had no home to sleep in, no roof over his head, no bed to lay in.  Yet he slept on this earth.  He was fed.  He had clothes to wear and sandals for his feet.  He worked for the living that he received.  His work was honest.  His work was pure.  His work was without deceit or trickery.  He did not want.  Yet he did not own.  The love of the people that he ministered to provided for him.  His heavenly father knew his needs and sent the people to take care of them.  These are the principles that he wants his disciples to possess and to live by.  An honest days work for an honest living.  These are the principles that he instructs his disciples to practice on their journey into the villages and towns to preach the good news.

We work today in the industries of the world.  For our labor we are paid a salary, a compensation, bonuses, perks, etc.  In this society it is OK to lie, to steal, to cheat to get paid.  We are encouraged to do anything to get ahead, to make more money, to live the good life.  We get angry when we see others getting ahead when we are left behind.  We search for ways to get more than we deserve without doing the labor that deserves the pay.  We want more than what we receive based on our individual labors.  Our passions tell us that we deserve more than what we receive based upon the work that we perform. 

Christ tells us that the laborers in his employ deserve their living by the honest work that they perform.  They are shepherds.  They lead the flock.  They work to bring the flock to pasture and to protect them from the hungry wolves that would kill them and scatter them.  They deserve their living by the sweat of their brow.  Will you deserve your living by the honest works that you perform as a laborer for Christ?

St Matthew, Chapter 10, verses: 7-8, The Instructions

Our paragraph topic is:  (Instructions to the Twelve) Part 2.  

The disciples are ready to go forth and preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.  Christ has given them instructions as to where to go and where not to go.   He wants his disciples to preach to the lost sheep of the house of Israel first.  He does not want them to go in the direction of the Gentiles or to the Samaritans.  The lost sheep are to be gathered first, those that will listen and follow.  Many have fallen by the wayside.  Many have taken up with the pagans.  And many are blinded by the evil one.  

Christ tells his disciples what to preach.  He tells them, "And as you go, preach the message, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand!' "   So he wants his disciples to walk through the towns and villages preaching to the people, "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand."  He wants his disciples to tell how the kingdom has arrived.  He wants his disciples to awaken the people and spread the good news.  He wants them to let the people know the arrival of the kingdom to their towns and their villages.  Christ wants the lost sheep of the house of Israel to know that the opportunity has come for them to return to the fold.  The opportunity has come for them to turn back to the God of their for fathers, the one true God, Jehovah.

Christ tells them further to demonstrate to the lost sheep the presence of the kingdom.  He wants them to not just talk about it but to show the people that what they preach is true.  He tells them to,Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils.  So the disciples are to perform the miracles that Christ has instructed them to do.  They are to battle with the demons that possess the village people.  They are to battle with the sickness that cripples families.  They are to cure diseases that rob the life from the ill and the injured.  They are to cleanse the lepers and raise the dead so that the people will know without a doubt that something is happening that is bringing about the miracles that they are witness to by the disciples.

Christ now gives his disciples the most important requirement of all.  He tells them that they have received freely.  He tells them that,  "Freely you have received, freely give."   Christ wants his disciples to know that they are not to force the teachings upon anyone.  It has been their free decision to follow him.  It has been their free choice to become his disciples.  Without the threat of punishment or damnation, they freely followed his teachings.  They, in turn, are to preach to the people to freely accept the teachings, so that through their belief they may know that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.    

Christ wants to send us forth today to be his disciples.  He wants us to proclaim the kingdom to the lost sheep.  He gives us instructions as to what we are to do when we accept his discipleship.  He instructs us in specific tasks that we are to perform and he provides the Holy Spirit to guide us daily in our walk with him.  Beware, if you are convicted of the Holy Spirit in the love of Christ, your life will not be the same.  Beware, you will no longer want the things of this world.  Beware, you will no longer do the same things that you did before.  You will no longer live the same way.  You will be a new creature in Christ, convicted of his love.  You will have a new life, a new spirit, a new inner being, alive with the life that Christ has given you.  You will be different.  

Come, all who would know the true God.  Come, all who would be different.  Come, all who would become a new person.  Come, receive your gift, for freely it is given.  It is up to you to freely receive it.  Will you freely receive the gift that Christ wants to give to you?