Matt

Matt. 10:1-20

6/29/2008

“He Gave Them Authority”

We are glad to have Ray Call with us today. We have been supporting him and his family and praying for them as our missionary but most of you are meeting him for the first time. Now, you can put his face to his name and pray even more specifically. He and his family are wrapping up their fundraising efforts and getting ready to move down to Tijuana. They are going down there because God has extended a missionary call to them and they are responding to it with faith and obedience. It is not going to be easy and they will find many challenges. I hope that we can encourage Pastor Ray through our fellowship with him today. I hope that this worship service, particularly this message, will be an encouragement to him as well.

But I also would like to challenge and encourage us as a congregation. We are at a very critical time in the life of our church. As Joel Norris will present during our meeting today, we have a very important things coming up as we prayerfully get ready to organize ourselves as a particular church by electing elders and calling a pastor. As the Calls have received a mission from God, we have also received a mission from God. We exist here today because God has called us into being as a church. We exist here today because God has entrusted to us a mission as His church. And we don’t need to exist another decade, another year, another day unless we exist to fulfill God’s commission to us. As the Calls get ready to finally move down to Tijuana, as we get organized as a particular church and start a new chapter in the life of our church, we want to take seriously the respective mission God has given to us. We want to do that by looking at today’s Scripture passage. As we do so, I hope that God would humble us, humble us enough to pray with a sense of great urgency and reliance upon God. I hope also that God would encourage us with His assurance.

Here in our passage for today, we see Jesus commissioning His twelve disciples with a mission. What was the mission? The mission was to go throughout the house of Israel and proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (v. 7)! They were also to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (v. 8).

Before we go further, I want us to notice the redemptive historical context of what is taking place in our passage. Take a look at who are being commissioned. They are Jesus’ twelve apostles (v. 2). We have their names mentioned in vv. 2-4. Why did Jesus pick twelve apostles, not three or five or seven or twenty? It is very strongly suggested throughout Matthew that Jesus came to replace the old Israel with a new Israel. Though based on God’s gracious promise, the old Israel was according to the physical lineage (as we see in Matthew 1 genealogy). The new Israel is inaugurated in Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. And those, who belong to this new Israel, are brought into it by being born of the Spirit as well: it is according to the spiritual lineage. Jesus Christ is the King of this new Israel, whose first worshippers were the wise men from the East (Matt. 2). And He would create this new Israel through a new exodus.

We see this in His going down to Egypt from Bethlehem in Canaan, fleeing from Herod’s murderous intention, in the arms of Mary and Joseph, just as Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt from Canaan, fleeing from the severe famine in Canaan. As God called the old Israel out of Egypt, so did God later bring Him out of Egypt to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called My Son” (Matt. 2:14). As the old Israel was baptized at the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10:1), so was Jesus baptized at the Jordan River (Matt. 3:13ff). As the old Israel was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, who came in the form of the pillar of cloud and fire, so was Jesus led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 4:1). As the old Israel was tempted in the wilderness for forty years, so was Jesus tempted in the wilderness for forty days, successfully resisting Satan’s temptation whereas the old Israel failed. As the old Israel received the law of God at Mount Sinai, Jesus gathers a new people of God and gives the law of the kingdom of heaven at what Matthew calls “the mountain” (not Mount Sinai but a new covenant mountain).

In this light, we can see the redemptive historical significance of Jesus sending His twelve disciples to the house of Israel throughout Palestine. It is continuation of the exodus theme, now developing into the theme of the conquest of the land. As the twelve tribes of the old Israel went into Canaan to conquer the land, so are the twelve Apostles being sent to the house of Israel in the land of Canaan. But you can also see the difference, can’t you? Who are going in? Not the twelve tribes of Israel but the twelve apostles of Jesus. Who were conquered when Israel entered the land under the leadership of Joshua? The Canaanites. Who are being conquered now? “Unclean spirits”, “every disease and every affliction” (v. 1; also v. 8). And what does that say about the land of Israel? It is described as a place rampant with unclean spirits and every disease and affliction! Although there were many Gentiles in the land, the primary residents were Jews. Yet this land of the Jews is being described in such a horrific way! In fact, the Jews are described as “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v. 6). What is more, the Jews are where the Canaanites were in the old conquest! They are being invaded, as it were, by the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ! And many of them would reject the message of the Twelve and persecute them (vv. 17ff).

In this regard, the distinction between Jews and Gentiles is virtually eliminated. Yes, Jesus tells the apostles to go only to the house of Israel, not to the Samaritans and Gentiles (v. 5). But this distinction was only temporary. After His death and resurrection, Jesus would commission the apostles to go and make disciples of all the nations (28:19).

What does all this say about the New Exodus in Jesus Christ? It is not just a physical exodus from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, to Palestine. It is what the old exodus pointed to as a sign and a shadow: the New Exodus is from this world to the world to come, from the slavery of sin and death and unclean spirits and demons to the life of righteousness and freedom and grace and truth in the eternal kingdom of heaven! This exodus from the bondage to sin and death and evil spirits--not only do the Samaritans and Gentiles need it but also the Jews need it as well. The twelve apostles’ mission was to show the need of this new, better exodus.

But this mission--it was an impossible mission, if there ever was one. For their mission was not just to proclaim a message about the kingdom of heaven; their mission was also to cast out demons and heal every disease and every affliction. No man has such supernatural power and authority. Left to themselves and their own devising, the Twelve would have miserably failed: rather than proclaiming the message, they would have been silenced; rather than casting out demons, they would have been swallowed whole by them.

But here is the great encouragement to all, who recognize the sheer impossibility of the Christian mission: He who commissions us with a mission impossible provides all that we need to fulfill that impossible mission. And that is exactly what we see in our passage.

We notice that Jesus gives His apostles detailed instruction about their mission. He tells them clearly what their mission is--what to do and to what extent (only to the Jews and not to the Samaritans and Gentiles). He tells them how they are to carry out that mission--what to take and what not to take, how to support themselves while on the mission. He also tells them the difficulties they can expect and what to do when oppositions arise, etc.

But Jesus knew that these instructions themselves were not sufficient. Take swimming, for example. We can read as much as we want and learn all the theories and instructions on how to swim. But we won’t be able to actually swim, and swim well, until we develop all the muscles that are necessary to execute the proper techniques. Think about the kind of mission that the apostles received. They were called to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This task was by no means easy. For their message would be met with much opposition and persecution: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves…. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles” (vv. 16, 19).

But that was not all there was to their mission, was it? They were also to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (v. 8). How could they, as mere men, do all that? Remember how the king of Israel responded when Naaman, the Aramean general, came with the request to heal him of his leprosy? He “tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy…’” (2 Kings 5:7)? Jesus knew that the apostles needed more than clear and detailed instruction of what to do and how to do it; it also required the power and authority to execute it. So Christ did not just give them an impossible mission, not just a good instruction, but also provided all that they needed.

We talked about their mission to proclaim the message of the kingdom of heaven against great opposition, in the midst of persecution. The challenges that faced them would have been too great and too discouraging, were it not for what Jesus promised to them: “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” (v. 20). Though they would be persecuted and threatened, God would give them the courage and the words that they would need to stand firm, true and steadfast to their message.

But that was not all. Take a look at what Jesus did at the beginning of our passage: “And he [that is, Jesus] 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” (v. 1). Obviously He could not give them such authority unless He Himself had the authority. In fact, when the demons fled at their command, why did they flee? Was it because the apostles spoke so convincingly and authoritatively with sonorous, booming voices? Was it because they had stern stare and fierce frown that scared the demons out of their wits? Was it because they had some magical powers that were strong enough to overpower and outmaneuver the demons? Of course not! If the demons fled at their command, it was only because they saw Jesus Christ and His authority standing behind them. Even the demons knew that, if they messed with Jesus’ apostles, they messed with Jesus Himself. Such is the privilege of being Jesus’ servants! For Jesus appointed them as His special envoys and as such their commands carried with them the very authority of Christ. And as God’s beloved eternal Son, Jesus had authority over demons to cast them out and to heal every disease and affliction.

You see, Jesus is no Pharaoh. He does not give us an impossible task and leave us in our misery and suffering, cracking His whips demanding results, and more results! He is a compassionate God and Savior to us! The new exodus was not something that the twelve apostles would accomplish by their missionary work among the people of Israel: it was something that Jesus would accomplish! Only He, He alone, could accomplish the new exodus, which would usher His people into the kingdom of heaven itself, not just into an earthly Promised Land. And He would do it by laying down His life as the true Passover Lamb so that He might deliver them from the just judgment of God, from their bondage to sin and death and Satan and demons. You see, Jesus’ death and resurrection was the new exodus proper! Through His death and resurrection, He departed from this world of sin and death and entered into the kingdom of resurrection life and glory! In doing so, He conquered sin and death and obtained all the blessings of the kingdom of heaven on our behalf! So through His death and resurrection, through His exodus, we have been delivered from eternal punishment unto eternal life! So then, when Jesus entrusted the mission to His disciples, He was not yoking them with an unbearable burden. Rather, He was extending to them the privilege of participating and sharing in the glory and benefits of His Exodus. And He did so by providing all that they needed.

This is only another instance of God’s consistent ways, isn’t it? God does not commission anyone without also providing what he needs for the mission. God called Abram to be the Patriarch of many nations. So He gave them a son even in his old age and the Promised Land. God called Moses to deliver Israel out of Egypt. When Moses replied, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” the Lord said, “I will be with you.” When Moses replied, “I don’t even know your name!” the Lord told him His name, “I AM Who I AM.” When Moses replied, “What if they don’t believe me?” the Lord performed signs and wonders through him to show them. When Moses replied, “I do not know how to speak”, the Lord replied, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” And even when Moses, running out of excuses, simply said, “Lord, send someone else,” the Lord provided his brother, Aaron, to be his spokesman. In the same way, when Isaiah, after beholding the glory of God in his vision, cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips…!” what did the Lord do? He cleansed his lips with a burning coal that was taken from the tongs of the altar. When Jeremiah was commissioned by God as a prophet, he said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” Then the LORD replied, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.”

As you may have noticed, this is the very dynamic of God’s covenant relationship with us. Augustine once said, “You command continence [self-control in sexual matters]. Give what You command, and command what You will” (Confessions X, xxix, 40). Do you see what he is saying? As fallen creatures, we cannot fulfill God’s covenant demand, which He must demand on account of His holy nature. So then, in order to save and make us right, God must do on our behalf what we cannot do on our own: God must give us what He commands. And God did so by giving us His only begotten Son as our covenant Representative, not only to die in our place to pay for our sins but also to live in our place to fulfill what God demands of us. Indeed, that is the very dynamic of what Jesus did with His apostles.

Isn’t this a wonderful truth to know and believe, worthy of our full, whole-hearted acceptance? This is not some kind of abstract truth that just sounds good! This truth is about our eternally true, eternally unchanging, eternally immutable and eternally faithful God! We can trust and know without a shadow of the doubt that for all that He commands of us, for all that He demands of us, for all that He calls us unto, He will provide us with whatever is necessary to fulfill all of them! But you may ask, “How is that so? God commands us to be perfect as He is perfect. But I don’t see myself being anywhere near perfect!” But, ah, do you not see? Do you not see that God has already provided in Jesus Christ all that we need to be perfect and made us perfect? For in Jesus Christ we have already been justified in His sight--that is, God sees us now as if we had never sinned and God sees us as if we had fulfilled all of His demands, to the very last jot and tittle of them! And we shall indeed be made perfect on that glorious day of Christ’s return! Praise the Lord!

Our perfection will come only on that day of consummation. Until then, nothing we do will be characterized by the final, eschatological perfection. But God has assigned to each of us and to each of our families and to each of our churches a mission according to the measure of His grace and our faith. And God provides us with all that we need to accomplish our mission perfectly (and let us call this the temporal, provisional perfection as opposed to the final, eschatological perfection). Another way to look at this is this: God will make us, train us and equip us to be all that we need to be to accomplish the mission He has entrusted to us.

I find this enormously encouraging. I hope you do, too. Ray is going down to Tijuana, a place (as we all know) is rampant with corruption, immorality and crimes. Why is God calling Ray and his family to that town? What does God want them to accomplish there? There is no privilege greater than representing God and serving Him as His special envoys to this sinful world, even if our work did not produce spectacular results. But what if God wanted Ray and his co-laborers to do some amazing things in the name of Jesus Christ and facilitate radical transformation of many lives there in Tijuana? And what about you in your respective families and neighborhoods and workplaces? What about our church in our own mission field? The apostles were called unto a mission that they probably never imagined that they could ever do when they were fishing in the Sea of Galilee and counting money as a tax collector! And my hope and desire is that the word of God I am sharing today is stirring up in our hearts an intense, undying longing and desire for God’s impossible mission for our life and our family and our church--something so big and so overwhelming and so glorious that we cannot help but fall on our faces in humility and cry out to God in prayer day and night!

It cannot be an accident that we are who we are and where we are, have what we have and know whom we know and do what we do. It cannot be an accident that our church is in La Jolla at this very time. It cannot be an accident that we are right next to UCSD, where many future leaders of our country are being trained, where many future leaders of many nations are being trained as international scholars! And it cannot be an accident that we are near the campus of Westminster Seminary in California, where many future leaders in the kingdom of God are being trained! Our small faith and mind cannot comprehend what God can do through our church if He so desires! Oh, may God be pleased to grant us many impossible missions! And may the Lord make us and train us and equip us to accomplish all of them to His praise and glory!

I would like to conclude with one last observation about our passage. Jesus already gave authority over demons and diseases to His disciples. Jesus already gave them instructions. But there were certain things He had not given as yet. Jesus said, “Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor 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” (vv. 9-11). You see, there were certain things that Christ would not provide until they got to the mission field. This was true of the words that they must speak before the governors and judges that would persecute and oppress them. And I wonder whether they felt any different when the Lord gave them the authority over demons and diseases, some kind of electric shock. You see, their journey was to be a journey of faith. They were to step out in faith and obedience and as they went they would receive what they needed as they needed them. We can see how difficult such a life would be, especially as Americans who would like to be in control of things. But can’t we see what an exciting such a life can be--this life of faith? If we try to keep our life under our control, our life will not amount to anything beyond our limitations that are too many to count. But if we surrender our lives to the control of the infinite and almighty God, boy, can we even begin to imagine what our life will be like?

Brothers and sisters, what are some of the things that God is calling you to? And if you are not embarking on your mission, why? I hope you are not waiting until everything feels just right, until you feel completely ready. There is no doubt that we must equip ourselves well to do the work of God. For God deserves our best. But we also know that we can use our preparation, or the lack thereof, as an excuse to put off our obedience indefinitely. It is like marriage and having children: we will never feel quite ready. (If we think we are ready, we will be in for a lot of surprises!) Besides, no matter how well we might have prepares ourselves, in the end, our confession should be, “Who is adequate for these things” (2 Cor. 2:16). “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Ps. 127:1). As we have seen and experienced in life, there are certain things that God does not provide until we take the step of faith in obedience, not one minute sooner than when it is necessary. The Lord calls us to follow Him in faith every step of the way. We are not to stake our life on our calculation and natural abilities. We are to stake our life on God’s irrevocable promises and infallible faithfulness. After all, is there a life that is more secure than the one founded upon the faithfulness of God?

The same is true of our church. We are so small. When we think about how many lost people there are in La Jolla and their resistance to the Gospel, how can we go on as a church, unless all we expect is bare survival. But I believe that God calls us to thrive, not merely survive. May the Lord grant us a mission that is too great for us! And may that vision cause us to throw ourselves at His feet and plead for His mercy! And may the Lord give us the courage to start acting on obedience and, as we do so, experience God’s most sufficient and timely provision for our every need. The Lord will make us what we need to be to fulfill all that God has entrusted to us. And we know that, ultimately, His zeal will accomplish them all and we shall be presented to Him in glory without any blemish!