Don't Panic: The First Commision
Matthew - Masterclass • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 31:46
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· 6 viewsThe First Commission Matthew 10:1-15 Jesus calls out a motley crew of 12 and gives them power, mission and a method. The method changes a bit over time, though we can learn a lot from this first mission. The power and mission remains the same: the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called, sending them with authority... as He sends us.
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Matthew 10:1-15
Jesus calls out a motley crew of 12 and gives them power, mission and a method. The method changes a bit over time, though we can learn a lot from this first mission. The power and mission remains the same: the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Send It
Send It
KK is on snow duty this coming winter… and winter is coming. She’s an expert now, she’s actually leading a snow team for the city… but just a couple years ago she was brand new on those plows and tractors.
The city guys tend to race for the good equipment, the best equipment. And when she was new, she got stuck with a truck or… the Colorado.
Like a Chevy Colorado, little baby truck. Little baby truck with a front plow bigger and heavier than the rest of the truck. Pile it up with snow and it’s WAY heavier than the truck. That’s a problem when you’re trying to push the snow.
Their solution? “Send it.” That is, get going fast and hard and don’t stop when you hit the snow, use the momentum to power through!
KK’s more than a bit nervous to drive this thing. But her partner on snow duty is riding shotgun and has one piece of advice. “Send it!”
“But what if I end up in the ditch?”
“SEND IT!” “SEND IT!”
So, she does, petal down, pushing the snow, she sends it… right into the ditch. Twice.
Jesus Calls the Twelve
Jesus Calls the Twelve
Jesus is doing ministry, all over, proclaiming the Kingdom, teaching the Kingdom, and healing every disease and affliction.
He is filled with compassion for the “harassed and helpless.”
And God has a plan… for people to be a part of it. Workers for the harvest.
Jesus is up all night praying about who to send.
And then he picks them:
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
It’s a pretty rough crew. I love the Chosen TV show, most for how they fill in some of these characters we don’t know much about.
It doesn’t list their qualifications. They are the 12 we really know about because they are the 12 that Jesus chose. I don’t think their choosing was obvious, I don’t think their qualifications were clear, and it seems to me that Jesus had lots of options in the choosing.
He chose these 12.
Mission Trip
Mission Trip
Get ready for a field trip. Everybody pair up, get a partner. This is just like school, last one to find a partner has to partner with the teacher.
“Can we be a group of three?” No!
Here’s the plan:
I have a map of the 12 nearest neighborhoods or apartment complexes. Each of you will be a team heading to one of these.
You are going to stay there for a few days.
It’s kind of like camping, more of an urban camping thing, couch surfing. Just ask nicely and someone will let you stay at their house or apartment or whatever.
Same for food, just ask for food.
And in the meantime, you are going to preach the world’s shortest sermon “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Sound good? This is how Jesus gave the 12 their instructions:
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts,
no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.
As you enter the house, greet it.
And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
This is the first commission, Jesus sending out the disciples who will be known as “The Twelve”, “The Chosen”… this is the first sign that they are something special.
But he’s also going to send out other disciples, 72 of them, and even that wasn’t all… At the end of Matthew, he gives the GREAT Commission and sends out all, and by extension all the Church, on mission.
But we can learn from this first sending. Things that(maybe) don’t apply today:
Lessons from the First Commission:
Jews only!
Find some lepers
No gold, silver, or copper… (Venmo is fine, credit card is fine, US dollars, all fine)
No sandals! That includes Crocs. Sneakers are good to go, though.
Practice your dramatic dust shaking footwork. A curse on both your houses!
Principles that ABSOLUTELY apply today. I want to highlight four of them:
Go to Whom You are Sent.
Go to Whom You are Sent.
“Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood.” -MSG
Jesus goes to the Gentiles himself at times, later missions and disciples and apostles will be sent to the Gentiles very specifically.
This mission, this commission, this sending is directed specifically. In fact, every sending is directed specifically.
Sometimes we know ahead of time. We get a leading, “go talk to Carl.” Okay, yes Lord.
Sometimes it’s just a direction, timing, a place, a time… go and share with whoever’s there.
Go where you’re sent, to whom you are sent, when you are sent.
And if you’re not sure where and when… err on the side of sharing Jesus e’ry’where. Let God shut you up. (I think that’s better than letting the rocks cry out because we are too afraid to say something).
It isn’t about the Equipment or the Equipping
It isn’t about the Equipment or the Equipping
“You received without paying: give without pay.”
It is all too easy for the church to get obsessed with budgets and buildings (and bodies). How much does is cost you to share a good word with your neighbor? 0 dollars and 0 cents.
It can be that simple. It can grow from there, it does grow from there. But budget is NEVER a barrier to God.
It costs something more valuable than that, your time, your energy, your attention, your willingness, your obedience. But don’t let $$ be an excuse.
Not gold - rich provision.
Not silver - medium provision.
Not even copper - poor provision.
“You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment.” - MSG
It’d be so easy to let this be another excuse for us. They went with: no cash, no bag, no change of clothes, no sandals, no staff, no lodging plans… just going to find a place to crash when they get there.
That’s less crazy then than now, we expect to find a Motel 6, but inns weren’t really a thing back then, they practiced a radical hospitality and both the Law and the Prophets speak of the responsibility of feeding and housing travelers through town.
So someone “worthy” would put them up, count on it. Bank on it. And they’ll be blessed for it!
Almost no equipment.
Almost no equipping.
Jesus chose these 12 men. Young men, it seems. Typically a disciple would be younger than the master, so younger than Jesus would put them under 30.
And their actions are going to shake the world, change the world. They are going to travel the globe, they will plant churches in Europe, in Africa, and farther East in Asia. Almost all will die as martyrs for the Cause of Christ...
But none of them are that yet.
They are baby Christians. Pre-Christians, really.
What do these disciples know? What do they understand at this point of Jesus? They don't know the cross, much less the resurrection. They don't know the Roman Road or the SHARE method, no Chick tracks in sight… are these even Christians?
When did Jesus call Matthew? The way it reads? Like… yesterday pretty much. The end of chapter 9 with “Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages...” that could cover some time… but it doesn’t seem like Matthew’s been in the crew for long.
This is still the earliest days of Jesus’ ministry. Almost certainly, none of these folks have been Christians or near-Christians for more than a year. And yet Jesus calls them as his “disciples.”
How much training has Jesus given them in evangelistic method? They don’t have much information at all!
What’s the message he sends them with? It’s the good news of the gospel, which I bet you understand more already than they did then.
Say it with me:
The Kingdom of Heaven is Here
The Kingdom of Heaven is Here
The Kingdom of Heaven is here.
To the Gentile audiences, the other gospel authors tend to say “the Kingdom of God is here...” likely because most Gentile audiences didn’t really have an idea of heaven, and pagan views of the afterlife are way off what Biblical heaven is like.
Kind of like most modern depictions of heaven.
It is ultimately all about the Presence of God, radical new availability of relationship with God, the righteousness and holiness to be in forever and beautiful relationship with God, life as it was meant to be.
The Kingdom of Heaven is Here.
How? Jesus died for your sins that you could be holy and righteous, and He gives you His Spirit that you can have direct personal relationship with God now and forever… and He rose from the dead and will resurrect you to to make that “forever” thing happen.
The Kingdom of Heaven is Here.
If you can say those six words, you are ready to share the gospel. If you can explain all the in-between stuff I said, GREAT! If you can’t, that’s okay. You know where to direct folks for more.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is HERE!” “What does that mean????” “Not sure, let’s go here to find out!” (And dive into Scripture, dive into Bible Study, invite to church, invite to great Christian preachers on YouTube, great Christian books or podcasts… endless options for Next Steps.”
I think that’s what the disciples are doing. “The Kingdom of Heaven is here!” “Where?” “Come meet Jesus.”
What if someone presses even harder, like someone puts you on the spot and FORCES answers out of you? In a few verses he’s going to say:
When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.
For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
We are just the invitation. We are the tagline, the advertisement,
We are the click bait. Jesus is the substance.
Don’t Panic when they don’t listen
Don’t Panic when they don’t listen
This might be the most intimidating factor in evangelism or making disciples.
What if I do it wrong?
The command of Jesus is to go and proclaim here.
Success is measure in faithfulness.
What happens if someone doesn’t listen? There’s a plan for that. Don’t panic, don’t be dramatic, this is a quiet thing, and I think it’s more for the sake of the disciples than any watching audience.
Okay… not that house, moving on.
“Shrug your shoulders and walk away” - MSG
If you are sent, when you are sent… you are sent with power and authority to accomplish His mission.
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
Your mission, maybe not the same as their mission. You may be sent with other signs, different signs. You may be sent into power encounters, truth encounters, or merely to plant a seed.
I bet the twelve didn’t all carry out this mission the same way. I bet Matthew the tax collector’s approach was a bit different than James the fishermen… or Simon the Zealot.
Sent
Sent
Send it!
You may not see the results you expect or want…
But, again, this is the incredible miracle: Jesus invites us into His ministry. His work. His harvest. His mission to save the world.
Why? I don’t know, seems like a bad idea. But I am honored to be Chosen.
I am humbled to be Sent.
I am Sent by Jesus, filled with His Holy Spirit, empowered to do miracles in His name…
Lord, give me your compassion for the harassed and helpless.
Lord, send me. Prepared or not, whether I feel ready or not, whether I feel worthy or not, whether I have a plan or not, whether it’s scary or not...
Send me, to whom, for whom, when and where you direct.
Send me, to proclaim “The Kingdom of Heaven is Here.”
