A disciple is not above his teacher

Matthew 10:24-11:6 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!

²⁶ “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 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. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

³² “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came 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 man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

³⁷ “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ⁴¹ He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

11 When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

² Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³ and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

The words of Jesus, in today’s text, in some ways are like the letters to the churches in the New Testament. These are words of instruction, exhortation and warning to believers, to His disciples. We should not expect that those who do not believe in Christ would accept these words of His. For any who do choose to be Christ’s disciple, His words to us today are vital in understanding how we should relate to the world and how it will respond to us.

Jesus says:   “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”     Those who follow Jesus today might not be called Beelzebub, but certainly being maligned by unbelievers is quite common in our culture and society today. Christians are viewed as anything from fools to narrow minded bigots, by those who deny Christ and God the Father. Jesus says:  “Therefore do not fear them…Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul... Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”       Unlike Matthew 6:26 when Jesus encourages believers not to worry about provision saying:   ^“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”     Here Jesus is saying that our eternity is secure, we should not be concerned even with those who might kill our physical bodies. The psalmist expresses that kind of confidence in Psalm 118:6:     The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?

Mark 3:20-21 says:    And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”       Jesus knows and understands what He says to His disciples in today’s text:    “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”        The peace that Jesus gives to His disciples is not peace, unity with the world, but rather it is a peace which surpasses understanding. It is a peace with our eternal standing and relationship with God. Yet whether it is members of our own families or our friends, neighbors and co-workers who reject us and even become our enemies, Jesus says:  “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)      We should not expect that the world will always love us. We cannot or should not concern ourselves with how they will respond to our following Christ. We must though concern ourselves with how we respond to them, loving, blessing and praying for them. The answer though, is not that we should remain silent about our faith so as not to offend. Jesus says:   “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

In the end of today’s text, after His instruction to His disciples Jesus resumes His ministry and interaction with the world. John, who has been imprisoned, sends his disciples to question Jesus and ask Him to verify His identity. Jesus says:    “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”       Some will take offense with Jesus and so with His disciples. But for us may Jesus testimony of Himself be ours also. After all that’s what He commissioned us to do, saying in Mark 16:15-18:   “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the testimony and witness of Your Word, Your life and Your Spirit. May my life also be a testimony of Your redeeming  love and grace, both in word and in deed.     Amen.