Scripture: Matthew 10:26-39
Today we consider our fifth troubling issue in scripture - one that is fairly widespread within the United Methodist Church, as well as a concern for others in other denominations. And in many instances, it is a silent objection, and not openly stated! The problem? Submission to the teachings of Jesus Christ! I don’t have a good sense of why, except that God tends to go against everything that the world stands for, and that’s a tough row to hoe for many.
Today, we consider Jesus’ teaching that if we are to be his disciple, we need to submit to him and the new way that he brings. Now it’s important to understand that “submission”, in this context, isn’t a negative, it doesn’t mean that we are to lay down and accept everything that comes our way. If we ever tried to do that, confusion and turmoil would reign in our life! Rather, we are to set the routine standards of earth aside, those ways that we have been guided by all of our life, and accept the new way that has come to us through the life, the ministry, the sacrifice that Jesus has made for every person in the world.
Quite honestly, the issue isn’t even about the teaching – it is actually about the authority, the perfect love, the infinite wisdom of our Almighty God! So why don’t folks readily accept the new way? Let’s see!
Read Matthew 10:26-31
Our passage begins with a call against the fear that may rise up in our lives when we make that drastic and radical decision to give up our dependency on the ways of earth, and instead, put our hope and life in the way of Jesus. The Lord is saying that Truth should never be feared. Remember that in John 14:6-7, Jesus tells us that his Way is the Truth, and that his Truth leads to a Life eternal with the heavenly Father.
The world still believes that it holds the truth for this life, when in reality, their thoughts are nothing more than an opinion that presents a divergent perspective, and it has nothing to do with Truth. And this is what Jesus is telling us should be feared. Anything that deviates from the way of God is misleading, and it takes us away from the eternal path that leads to True Life.
He says that one day, all will be made perfectly clear – that nothing will be able to hide from the Light of Christ. And he goes even further, in that we are to proclaim his Truth even while we are still immersed in the world. Listen carefully in the darkness, and proclaim loudly in the silence. Now there is a word that we all should live by. And the only thing that the hatred of the world can do about it is to further the distance that already exists between them and the Lord.
And he gives us a reason to trust him and never fear to follow him – we have great worth in the eyes of the Father! Don’t fear hatred; don’t fear persecution; don’t fear the lies of earth; don’t fear attacks on the body. The only thing we should fear is what the Lord’s decision will be when we stand before him at the Judgment Seat. And that should be enough to keep us in his way!
Read Matthew 10:32-36
Jesus is constantly telling us that God is balanced when it comes to the relationship that we desire in him. In Matthew 7:1-2, we read that however we judge others, that is the way that the Lord will judge us. It we decide that others are falling far short in faith and will be condemned for it, then our faith, too, will be judged as inadequate. That doesn’t mean, of course, that we should let others go on believing anything that they want. We are to be decerning, not judgmental, of what is God’s way and what isn’t.
And here, we read that Godly balance is still upon us. If we proclaim Jesus and his Truth as the only way, then he will proclaim us before the Father. If we celebrate some other way and neglect our growth in Christ, we may as well forget about Jesus standing with us at the Judgment. We all know the old saying “what goes around, comes around!” It means that there will always be consequences, regardless of what we do – they could be good, or they could be bad, and it’s all up to us to decide if we will follow God’s way, or if we will decide that his way is off track and that we know much better!
Our denial of Jesus can occur in three different ways.
The first way is by the words we speak. If we use words that contradict the ways of Jesus, we have denied his Truth and teachings. We are to be different than the people of earth, and that must include the things we say. In 2 Corinthians 11:3-5, we read that if anyone proclaims a Jesus that is different from who he truly is, it is a denial of his Truth. And if we accept that same divergent word easily, we have been deceived, and in turn, will become deceivers ourselves. William Barley writes in his commentary on Matthew (Volume 1, page 391) “The Christian can never escape the duty of being different from the world. It is not our duty to be conformed to the world; it is our duty to be transformed from it.”
Second, we deny Christ through our silence. The Lord brings many opportunities into our lives to proclaim him to the world. But if, due to our fear of what others may think, we fail to speak a word of glory to the name of Jesus, our failure, our silence, will condemn us. And just as important, if we fail to take a stand against evil, that too is a denial of Christ. This is the easy way out, which will never be the way of God. Silence, in the presence of evil, is just as certain a word of endorsement as it is when we overtly speak in its favor.
Third, we reject Christ by our actions. The Greek word that is translated “hypocrite”, means two-faced. It means that our outward appearance is different from our inner self. If we want to be faithful to Jesus, not only must our actions reflect him, but our heart must love him. And conversely, if we act as though we are faithful Christians, then there had better be a heartfelt Christian substance behind it. There’s another old saying that “actions speak louder than words”. If we allow the world to have control over our outward life, regardless of what we may want to live, then what will that tell others about our faith? Nothing good, I assure you.
And Jesus tells us that by choosing him and his ways over the ways of earth, great divisions will come to be. We’ve been experiencing that within the United Methodist Church for as long as 50 years, give or take a few. And families have known that same divisiveness. And it’s not just a difference in opinion! I’ve known people who had grown up in other faith expressions, such as Hindu, and Islam, and even Judaism, and when they chose to convert to the way of Jesus, they were not only berated by their loved ones, but they were actually shut out of the family. He may bring an overwhelming peace to our lives, but that peace will usually become a sword that destroys our relationships in the world.
Read Matthew 10:37-39
This is the extent that we must be prepared for when we choose Jesus over the world. The Lord isn’t saying that we must stop loving our family, but simply that we are to love the Lord more than them. We need to be willing to continue to love them, even when their love for us begins to wane.
And this is where “taking up our cross” comes in. It’s about surrender and submission to a new way – a way that will always have consequences, a way that will always have detractors, a way that will always demand commitment and fortitude, a way that will always stand in conflict with what our worldly friendships and relationships demand, a way that will always require our peace and love in spite of the sword that will be wielded by the world. Our cross, the cross that first belonged to Jesus Christ, is far more about our love and compassion than it is about the hammer and nails that are brandished by the world.
We have been called to sacrifice our personal ambitions, our plans and accomplishments in careers, those things that we enjoyed and relaxed with, our dreams, our honors, our old hopes – for these all deserve to be hung on the tree of Christ, too. This life can no longer be about our desires and will and effort. As a Christian, our life now resides and rests within the life and love and will of our Almighty God.
This is the way of a Christian – never easy, never peaceful, but always a joy beyond anything that this life could ever conceive of on its own. You see, submitting our selves to Jesus is not something to fear – it is something to embrace. Saving the things we have come to know and enjoy in a worldly sense is easy – just say “No” to Jesus. But if we are to gain the life that awaits us in Christ, the old must fall away to make room for the newness of God.
“Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” anew in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is a promise that comes straight from our Almighty God.
Amen.
