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Matthew 10:24-39 (4th Sunday after Pentecost)
Introduction
This text today may just feel like a continuation of last week. However, in typical rapid-fire fashion, Matthew introduces several ideas that are critical to the prophetic witness and understanding our relationship with God and discipleship.
Context
This week’s text is continuing on the heels of the sending of the disciples from last week. This is the same speech to the disciples where Jesus encourages them to go out into Israel and to spread the Good News of the coming kingdom.
Now a few things. Last week for the Preaching Possibilities, I encouraged not leaning into the martyr complex (of shaking the dust off our feet). I hold to that because it puts a in a defensive position rather than an invitational one as disciples going out into the world. However, this week, the context is even more unmistakable that Jesus is referring to the possibility of martyrdom for these disciples. “38…and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
That being said, Jesus is not giving this warning to put the disciples in a defensive position. He is saying it as a matter of fact (for their time and place) that it will be inevitable because of the type of message that they will be carrying (the kingdom of God has come near).
Prophetic Witness
34“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Wouldn’t it be fun to sing “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling” this week?
Now hopefully you all know where I’m going with this after all these weeks of Matthew, but this is leaning into the prophetic tradition. Remember that Jesus is sending these disciples out with the message, “the kingdom has come near.” And if that is the case, then it means the Day of Judgment may be coming near.
26“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.”
When prophets speak to the people of God, they are usually declaring where the community is falling short. They often declare the “secrets” of the community. The things that the elite and religious authorities are doing (or not doing) that are hurting others.
Amos 6:4-7
4Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; 5who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; 6who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! 7Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
Isaiah 10:1-4
1Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, 2to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey! 3What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth, 4so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain? For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.
This is the prophetic tradition that Jesus is leaning into in this text. And presumably this is the type of message that Jesus is sending his disciples with. They are proclaiming the coming kingdom, the Day of Judgment, and the coming Messiah. They are to care for those who are on the margins of society which is a scourge against society who has left them behind.
And when folks are confronted with these truths, it is not typically received well. Often it is met with anger and retaliation.
Violence of a Sword or Power of Words
Many of you have probably heard this before but I wanted to give a reminder for the image of the sword in scripture. This is not a declaration of physical violence from Jesus. The sword has long been a connected image with the tongue and the Word of God.
Proverbs 12:18-19
18Rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
Hebrews 4:12
12Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Revelation 19:15
15From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Throughout scripture, the word of God has had the potential to be divisive. And it has divided families. It has divided nations. When faced with God’s way or our own, often we have chosen our own.
The Danger of Love
When Jesus says today, “37Whoever 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;” this is language of God.
It is not that we shouldn’t love our families. It is not that we shouldn’t love our homes or our nation. But when we prioritize them over our love of God (and God’s command to love our neighbors), then we often sacrifice the well-being and belovedness of the most in need or the most marginalized in our society for our own security and gain.
It may pain us to hear these words from Jesus, that we often prioritize what WE love to such a great extent that we endanger and destroy the community and world that God so loves. But we need to hear them.
Preaching Possibilities
The Cost of Discipleship
Many Bibles and commentaries will call this section “the Cost of Discipleship” because of the line about taking up the cross and following Jesus. And I know that many of us have preached on that line before, trying to find some way of connecting with our people about how we in modern times can take up our cross. But I’m just not sure that it’s a particularly fruitful discussion.
We are not a persecuted church. Martyrdom for the faith is not really a goal any longer. Now, there are certainly martyrs in the justice movements but, those who have died for justice are not exclusively Christians and it’s supercessionist to claim their death and martyrdom for the church.
But there is a Cost of Discipleship that we can relate to in this text that I referenced above. “37Whoever 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.”
I think this may be one of the most important lines in our text this week.
How many of our folks hold family above all else?
The suburban way of life is one of the most terrifying environments that I’ve ever encountered. They sacrifice every second of their lives to take their children from one program to the next and demand that their children compete at the highest levels. They deliberately schmooze, gossip, and volunteer in order to get their child onto the top soccer team or into the best gymnastics program. They undercut other families in order to ensure that their child is at the top.
There is a desire to get into the top middle and high schools so that they are set up to go to the best colleges. And so, children don’t necessarily go to their local public school, they compete to go to the top magnet, private, or parochial school.
Trying to look at this favorably, you can see that there is care and concern for the child’s future. But I have watched parents berate their child and other children for pitching poorly in a little league game because it meant their team would lose the championship. I have seen parents root against certain players (even players of their own team) so that their child can have a shot. I have seen parents berate and verbally abuse referees and umpires at sporting events because they got a call wrong. I have heard parents verbally assault teachers for giving a fair grade because the teacher must have a grudge against the student rather than the student just having not done well on an assignment.
We pretend that this competition is good for our families and for the youth, that it somehow sets them up for success. And yet, it has bred an insidious situation in our communities that encourages competition, resentment, and disappointment at every turn. It has generated a generation with high levels of anxiety and isolation.
We have sacrificed community on the altar of capitalism and success. We have told ourselves that this is good, when in reality it is a destructive and harmful force that is sweeping through our communities.
Love of God and love of neighbor doesn’t mean that we love our families less. But it means that we recognize that our families are a part of this larger community and this larger story to which we belong. The success of our family should not come at the expense of another. Our success should come from the community’s success. Advocating for resources for the entire school and not just our own student. Ensuring that community schools are adequately funded and represented. Advocating for coaches leaning into teaching rather than scolding. Cheering and celebrating each other rather than generating contempt.
Honestly, we need to start breaking down this system. And it may take a prophetic witness to do so. But I can’t imagine that it will be received well.
And we could have this conversation about many other things as well, our nation, wealth, pursuit of happiness. It is a matter of idolatry. When it becomes our singular focus, and we forget God and our neighbor, often we leave collateral damage around us and can’t see it.
Micah Krey 
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