Matthew 10:1-4 - The Opportunity of Your Lifetime

 

Daily Devo w/ Pastor Eric October 4, 2021

The Opportunity of Your Lifetime

 

Matthew 10:1-4, CEB - He called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to throw them out and to heal every disease and every sickness.  Here are the names of the twelve apostles: 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 Cananaean; and Judas, who betrayed Jesus.

 

At the end of chapter 9, we hear Jesus asking his audience to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send workers.  Immediately, we see here in the beginning of chapter 10, those prayers are answered as Jesus calls his twelve disciples.  Twelve is a significant number as there were twelve tribes of Israel that stemmed from the twelve sons of Jacob.  In the Book of Revelation, we see that the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem are inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles. Also in Revelation, there are twelve gates, twelve pearls, and twelve angels.  Throughout the Bible, the number twelve is regarded as a divinely perfect number.  So Jesus calls twelve disciples.

                But what Jesus does next is even more significant.  He gives them the same authority He possesses.  The authority that we have seen in Matthew’s gospel thus far is now conferred upon his disciples.  Thus, the movement of God’s kingdom is now multiplied twelve-fold.  Matthew intends for us to see that this is how the kingdom works – through multiplication.  We don’t just invite others to be believers in Jesus – we invite them to be disciples – fully investing their lives in the mission of the Kingdom of God. 

                The fact that you’re reading this means that you at least believe that the story of Jesus is one worth investigating.  You should know, though, that the invitation is not just to investigate it or even believe that it is true, but to become part of the effort to bring the Kingdom of God to fruition here on earth.  There is no bigger cause in the universe, and you and I are asked to serve.  Spend some time thinking about that today.

 

Question:  What does it mean to you to be invited to serve the Kingdom of the One God of the Universe?

 

Prayer:  Lord, help us see your invitation for what it is.  Help us see the unique role you have asked each of us to play in your Kingdom. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for a clear sense of purpose about what you can do to love God and love people.

 

Song:  Lead On King Eternal – Sara Groves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7wd2_shSNw  

Matthew 7:6 - The Thing About Dogs and Pigs

 

Daily Devo w/ Pastor Eric September 10, 2021

The Thing About Dogs and Pigs

 

Matthew 7:6 - “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces”              

 

The “pigs” half of this saying of Jesus is what gets the most press.  In our culture, it has become a way of saying something like, “I choose to not even engage you because you are unworthy of my time, knowledge, or help;  I don’t cast my pearls before swine.” In other words, it has become a way to proclaim judgement of another.  But Jesus has just taught in the preceding passages (see devo’s from last several days) that judgement is wrong for anyone but God, so obviously, he’s not teaching us to judge people worthy of our effort (or not).  So what is He saying?

First of all, we need to remember that Jesus talks not just about pigs, but also about dogs.   It’s clear that Jesus wants us to consider both together.  Otherwise, why not just use one example?  Second, when Jesus says “dogs,” we hear “man’s best friend.”  Dogs were no such thing in Jesus’s day.  Dogs were wild animals that traveled in packs and they were dangerous, especially if they were hungry.  You throw anything to them that is not food and once they determine that it’s not food, they no longer have any interest in it.  You, the thrower, actually can be food – hence the be torn to pieces bit.  The pairing of this saying about dogs with pigs further clarifies Jesus’s intended meaning.  Pigs are also animals that are not interested in anything you throw at them unless it’s food. They probably won’t tear you to pieces, but your offering will probably get trampled.  Taken together, we see that Jesus wants us not to offer people something that for which they obviously don’t have any interest.  It is a wasted and possibly dangerous offering.  It would be a better choice to give them what they want if you give them anything at all. 

This saying is about discernment of needs, not judgement of character.  To reinforce the point, make yourself the “dog.”  I don’t mean literally a dog, but someone who is ravenously hungry and has become pretty single-minded about getting something to eat.  To coin a fairly modern saying, you are “hangry” (the fun combination of “hungry” and “angry”).  You come up to the guy in the park with a sizeable cooler of food sitting of the bench next to him.  You ask if he has any food he could spare and he answers, “the food is not for you, but have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?”  At that moment, how interested are you in hearing more about Jesus?

You might become more interested if this cooler-hoarding guy gave you one of the sandwiches in the cooler and a cold drink first.  This is what Jesus is getting at – it’s about discernment of needs, not judgement of character.  The Gospel will be received much more warmly if our first thought is to meet the immediate need.  Both dogs and pigs have become “domesticated” since Jesus’s time because they learned to trust people who took care of their needs first.  Jesus is suggesting that the same approach works with people who don’t show any interest in our “pearls” when we first happen upon them. 

 

Prayer:  Jesus, thank you for your teaching about pearls.  Help us to not only understand it, but practice your wisdom better.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for your closest friends today

 

Song:  BAND AID - ♥ ✩ Do They Know It's Christmas?  I know it’s not Christmas, but this song matches the message for today of meeting needs and earning trust before proclaiming good news.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIxj7Ew_99w