Note: This series is written as a first-person narrative in order to present Jesus in the context he walked with the unknown disciple that narrates presenting my thoughts and sparking more thoughts with his questions. Enjoy.
Jesus wasn’t finished. He had more instructions.
“Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
39 lashes. To keep from breaking the 40 lash limit as laid out in Deuteronomy. My nervousness increases again. Even with God’s Spirit giving me the words.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.“
We all looked at each other, stealing quick glances.
“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers
and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Beezlebul, a reference to Satan. Or a reference to Baal-Zebub, a pagan deity Jewish kings worshipped. One of the reasons we were exiled as punishment.
It is nice to know how valued I was to God. He knows me so well, overlooking nothing.
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.”
Rabbis say acknowledge or confess God to others. Jesus is applying this to himself. To confess him to others. That could cause trouble, I thought.
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Quoting Micah, one of the prophets, about familial division before the final tribulation. What really hit me was talking about our parents. Honoring them is like the greatest commandment in our culture. Only God gets more honor.
Carrying a cross meant death and the humiliation of the walk to one’s death. Is this a matter of willingness?
He ended on a positive note. This is the proving ground, a test. I had some thinking to do as we walked today.
Matthew 10:17-42
A Ronin's Journey 