Day 289 (Matthew 10) - Year 4
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

Not long ago, Jesus chose 12 of his many disciples to be in his inner circle. Eventually, scripture starts referring to these 12 as apostles and distinguishes them from the other disciples. Depending on who you ask, you'll get a different answer for whether the title apostle is something we can use today, and if so, what that might look like. We'll link to a short article about that if you want to read more. Strictly speaking, the word disciple means learner, and the word apostle refers to a messenger who is sent out.

Today, we see Jesus sending out 12 of his disciples as apostles. Before he sends them out, he gives them authority over things he knows they're going to encounter. Demons, disease, and affliction. Obviously, you can't give something you don't have, so it's noteworthy that Jesus has already exercised this authority in front of them multiple times. Because they've seen him cast out demons and heal the sick, they know firsthand that he has this authority to give to them. He's not just making it up so they can feel good about themselves.

He gives them a few specific instructions as they set out. Instruction number one, he gives them directions. He tells them to only go to the Jews, not the Gentiles or even the Samaritans who are half Gentile, half Jewish. This seems contradictory to what Jesus has been doing himself, doesn't it? Here's why it isn't. God's plan has always involved getting the message to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles. For Jesus in particular, he does this as well. He did approximately 90% of his miracles in the Jewish town of Capernaum.

But he has a specific timeline and a specific mission to fulfill before his death. And the more he speaks among the Jews as the Messiah, the more they'll recognize him as a threat to what they're doing and try to eliminate him. His followers, however, can go around healing and helping people without being in the same kind of danger.

Instruction number two. He gives them a message and a mission. He tells them to proclaim the kingdom of God, heal the sick, and raise the dead. Those things seem increasingly challenging to me. I'd be like, proclaim the kingdom. Great. Heal the sick. Cool. Raise the dead. Say what?

Instruction number three, he gives them limits. He tells them how to pack for the trip, where to stay, and when to leave. This seems to be their first practical lesson in trusting him for all of their provision, their food, their bills, even where they'll be staying. He makes it clear that he'll be providing for them through other people, which is both faith-building and humbling, because in order to rely on him, they have to rely on others. He says they should only stay in places that welcome his message and

and he promises to deal with those who don't handle them with care. Then he goes on to promise them that what they're doing will certainly result in persecution. People will accuse them based on their relationship with him. They'll be mistreated and questioned and brought to trial. And he says, don't try to plan ahead for this. You won't be able to. But don't sweat it, because when the time comes, you'll know exactly what to say. God the Spirit will be the one speaking through you. He's the one who equips you with the right words.

Jesus reminds them that God is not only the one calling them, but the one equipping them. And what God initiates, he will sustain and he will fulfill. The ones who endure to the end are the ones God has called and equipped. And that will serve as evidence of the relationship he initiated with them. Otherwise, they would give up early and bail when persecution comes. Like we talked about with the four soils, persecution is not the only thing that will

Persecution can serve as a sifting tool, separating the true believers from those whose faith is shallow and hasn't taken root. He lets them know not to be surprised when even their families turn against them or when people hate them because of their relationship with him. And in the midst of this, he says, don't be afraid because nothing their enemies can do to them is eternal. Nothing. The enemy can't touch their souls.

Then he talks about swords and rewards. These two sections both point to what we ultimately value. It's not wrong to love our families. God loves them too. But what Jesus is teaching here is that their commitment to God should always take precedence over their commitment to their family. That's going to be especially important given that he just said the families of some of these disciples will turn against them. If they're driven by fear of man or people-pleasing or peacekeeping, their allegiance will be divided.

But if they're driven by fear of God and peacemaking, they can move forward without being distracted or hindered by that conflict. Ultimately, God says he takes first place or no place at all. And for those who value him above all else, there will be rewards. Just like the punishment he promises for those who mistreat his people, he promises blessings for those who treat them well. For those of you who are with us in the Old Testament, does this remind you of his promise to the Jews?

God so identifies with his people that he says, ultimately, those who reject his people are rejecting him and those who accept his people are accepting him. In the midst of the trials and oppression, the people who dare to open their homes to the apostles and welcome them in are welcoming the kingdom of God and the God of the kingdom. So the apostles go out and continue the message we heard from both JTB and Jesus. Repent.

And they heal people and cast out demons and continue to spread the good news about Jesus. My God shot today was in the breadth of his attention to details big and small. Not only is he watching over the biggest detail of all, their eternal souls, and keeping them for eternity, but he's also tuned into the medium-sized details, like providing them with clothes and food and lodging, and even watching over the tiny details, giving them the very words they speak.

Sometimes it's easy to think of God as only being concerned with the majors. I regularly hear people say things like, God doesn't care whether you do X or Y, He only cares about A or B. What I see in Scripture is that God seems to care about everything, actually, because He's the only one who sees how it all fits together in His sovereign plan. You and I can't handle that level of detail, of course. Our minds are finite, but His mind is infinite, and it's never preoccupied.

Romans 8.28 tells us he's at work in every detail. If you don't think he cares about the tiny details, go read the instructions he gave for building the tabernacle back in Exodus 25-30. Nothing escapes him. I love that we serve a God who has attention to detail, that nothing is too big or too small for him, because I pray about lots of things. Some things many people would find unimportant or inconsequential, and other things people might find impossible.

But not Yahweh. He listens to all my prayers of various levels of earthly importance, and he always answers in one way or another. He shows us repeatedly that he's in the details, and he's where the joy is.

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