These twelve
Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the
Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither
gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither
two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his
meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is
worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house,
salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it
be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive
you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off
the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for
the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise
as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver
you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye
shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony
against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought
how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye
shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which
speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the
father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and
cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s
sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute
you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye
shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come
(Matt. 10:5-23).
ARGUMENT:
Isn’t this text
implying that Jesus would return during the lifetime of His hearers? (yet still
has not returned)
(I)
Prof. Herman C. Hanko
[In Matthew 10], Jesus is sending out
His disciples but with specific instructions; but in doing so, He is also
giving instructions to His people throughout the entire new dispensation.
One outstanding characteristic of
this period in which the church of Christ goes out to testify and witness to
the truth is that the faithful will be persecuted. Such persecution will make
it necessary to flee from the city where persecution takes place to another
city where it has not yet come.
This was literally what happened to Paul
and the other apostles, and it was also literally what has happened to the
church throughout this dispensation.
But this will continue to the very
end. Persecution will always be the lot of those who faithfully testify of the
truth of God’s Word in a wicked world.
But here we have a unique promise of
Jesus. When the church is forced to flee because of persecution, there will
always be a place into which to flee.
For the disciples, that meant that,
within the confines of Palestine, there would always be a place to find refuge.
For the apostles, it meant that somewhere in the Mediterranean world they would
be able to find a hiding place from their persecutors. For the church
throughout the ages it means that, while indeed many saints have been and are
killed for their faith, there will always be a place for saints to flee.
Even at the end, when Antichrist
comes, and comes as close as anyone ever does in destroying the church,
somewhere God’s people will still find a place of safety.
The reason for this is clear. Christ
wills that His church be on earth till the very end. For when Christ comes
again, there will be saints living who will be changed to go to glory without
having to die (cf. I Cor. 15:51-52).
That is comforting. The enemy will
never be able to wipe the earth free from the presence of the saints no matter
how hard they try.
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(II)
(II)
More to come! (DV)
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