Matthew 10:32-39
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 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—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c]
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c]
37 “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.38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Questions:
ReplyDelete- What does it mean to either acknowledge or disown Jesus?
- What does it mean for Jesus to acknowledge or disown us?
- Why did Jesus come to turn us against our family?
- What does it look like to take up our cross? Are we doing it? If we aren't, does that mean we aren't saved?
- What does it look like to lose our lives?
http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/matthew_10_34.htm says:
ReplyDeleteI read constantly that Christians should not be proud of a verse attributed to Jesus. The verse reads:
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword.
At first glance it indeed appears that Jesus encourages violence and calls his disciples to practice it, presumably righteous violence. But appearances can be deceiving. A text without a context often becomes a pretext, as the old saying goes. Once this verse is read in its historical and literary contexts, the meaning will change.
The one key element in this lengthy passage is the word "sword," and its meaning is now clear. It indicates that following Jesus in his original Jewish society may not bring peace to a family, but may "split" it up, the precise function of a metaphorical sword. Are his disciples ready for that? This kind of spiritual sword invisibly severs a man from his father, and daughter from her mother, and so on (Micah 7:6). Given Jesus’ own family resistance early on (they later came around), it is only natural he would say that no matter what the cost, one must follow him to the end, even if it means giving up one’s family. But this applies only if the family rejects the new convert, not if the family accepts him in his new faith; he must not reject them, because the whole point of Jesus’ advent is to win as many people to his side as possible, even if this divides the world in two, but never violently.
Furthermore, we can reference the larger textual context in the Gospel of Matthew. In the Garden of Gethsemane, during the hour when Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Peter struck off the ear of the servant of the high priest in order to protect his Lord. But Jesus tells him to stop.
And now Luke 12:49-53 confirms our interpretation of Matt. 10:34. Jesus did not endorse physical violence against one’s own family, but he warns people about possible family division.
History demonstrates that Jesus never wielded a sword against anyone, and in Matt. 10:34 he does not order his followers to swing one either, in order to kill their family opponents or for any reason. But a true disciple who is worthy of following Christ and who comes from a possibly hostile family has to use a sword of the will (never a physical sword) to sever away all opposition, even as far as taking up his cross—another metaphorical implement for the disciples. It is true that Jesus divides the world into two camps, those who follow him, and those who do not, those in the light, and those in the dark. However, he never tells his followers to wage war on everyone else, and certainly not on one’s family.
It is true that the Roman Emperor Constantine, Medieval Crusaders, and Protestants and Catholics have used the sword against unbelievers and each other. However, none of them is foundational to Christianity—only Jesus is, and he never endorses the sword to spread his message. Also, Christianity has undergone Reform (c. 1400-1600) and has been put under the pressure of the Enlightenment (c. 1600-1800), which demanded peace. Be that as it may, Jesus himself never calls for military holy war, and only he sets the genetic code for his movement.
There is not a single verse in the New Testament that calls the Church to commit violence to spread the gospel or to plant churches or to accomplish anything else. Rather, the New Testament hands the sword over to the State (Rom. 13:1-6). In any case, Jesus says a spiritual sword, not a physical one, may sever family ties, so his disciples must be ready for that.
http://www.thejesussaidproject.com/jesus-said-dont-disown-him-before-men/ says:
ReplyDeleteDisowning or denying Jesus can be as subtle as walking away when others are talking in a negative fashion about God, perhaps making a derogatory joke about Jesus or Christianity. Or it can be as dramatic as renouncing your faith in Jesus in order to save your physical body from persecution, imprisonment, even death, . . . Regardless of the scenario, we disown Jesus when we fail to speak up and make it clear where we stand for Jesus. Even if the situation is not as obvious as renouncing your faith verbally before men, God still knows if you denied Him by an act of omission. It is cowardly, and we know what Jesus said about that.
In Matthew 10:33, Jesus said, “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” These are strong words, but we must take the blunt or seemingly harsh things Jesus said right along with the gentle or encouraging things Jesus said.
Note how Peter’s cowardice in disowning Jesus was BEFORE Peter received the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4. After receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter and the other disciples were bold and never again denied or disowned Jesus (read Acts 4:1-22 and Acts 16:16-34 for two examples). After the disciples received the Holy Spirit, there was no more cowardice whatsoever; they were willing to face death rather than deny Jesus! As a born again Christian, we HAVE that same Holy Spirit RIGHT NOW! We must call on and use that power of God when we are tempted to disown and deny our Lord Jesus.
Perhaps more importantly, know that all is not lost if you have sinned and disowned Jesus before men. Peter’s behavior was no surprise to Jesus, for God knows all and He predicted it at the Last Supper in Luke 22:31-34. Jesus prayed that Peter would repent (Luke 22:32), and Peter did, as evidenced when he broke down and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75b, Mark 14:72b, Luke 22:62). Then Peter received Jesus’ forgiveness for this sin, as beautifully recorded in John 21:15-19. This is a lesson to us all, of how God calls us to live, and how His grace and mercy heals what needs to be healed so that we can do so.
Like Peter, if you have denied/disowned Jesus in the past, then repent like Peter, confess, and ask God for His forgiveness (1 John 1:9-10). You will receive it, and you can then move forward. Ask to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit, to be so in love with Jesus, so filled by God’s Spirit, that you will never again disown Jesus before men, but will love and serve Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength as Jesus said to in Mark 12:30. Amen!
http://www.loth.org/confess-but-maybe-not-like-you-think/ says:
ReplyDeleteWhy do we do something like confirmation? Sadly, many people consider confirmation an antiquated tradition, something that we do simply because “we’ve always done it that way”. But if you read Matthew 10:32-33, you discover that Jesus himself calls us to make a public confession of what we believe.
Jesus desires that we acknowledge faith in him before other people. Why? There are at least two answers to that question.
Confessing our faith before others strengthens our faith. When we talk about what Jesus has done for us with other people, whether they are believers or not, our spiritual muscles are exercised and we become stronger. Conversely, if we do not share our faith in Jesus, we tend to become weaker, making our faith less and less a part of our daily lives. So Jesus asks us to confess our faith in him for our own good!
Confessing our faith before others spread the Gospel. The word gospel means “good news”, and when we share the good news with other people, the Holy Spirit will use that gospel to bring some of them to faith.
Does it make you feel anxious or uneasy when you think about confessing your faith in Jesus Christ? After all, we live in a culture that at times can be very antagonistic toward followers of Jesus. Don’t be discouraged! These words from Matthew 10 are set in exactly that kind of context. Jesus was sending his disciples out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and during that time and in the years to come, they would suffer persecution and even death.
But Jesus has a promise for his followers:
“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39 NIV)
Jesus has already given us eternal life. When we lose our lives for the sake of Jesus, that is, when following him becomes more important than our own personal security, then Jesus gives us a life that has tremendous depth and meaning, a life that not even death can extinguish.
My 2 cents on acknowledging or not acknowledging God:
ReplyDeleteI've heard and I think many people have an incorrect and legalistic view of what this verse is saying. The view goes something like: "If we aren't out there boldly sharing the gospel, we are going to hell." I think that this view is unique to the evangelical movement.
To tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure what this verse means. I both don't know exactly what acknowledging Jesus before men means, or what Jesus acknowledging us before God means. If Jesus doesn't acknowledge us before God, does that mean we are out on are ear? Or does it mean that Jesus won't acknowledge those times in our lives when we were dragging His name through the mud?
In conclusion, I think there's an overarching meaning. If we are saved and have the Holy Spirit working in us, we will desire to share Jesus with others. If we lose our way and forget about what Jesus has done and wants to do in our lives, we lose our desire for Jesus and our desire to make Jesus known.
Making Jesus known comes in a variety of forms. If we are smart and are listening to the Holy Spirit, we will reveal Him to people in a way that they will listen. Sometimes we have to earn the right for an audience before we should share. Otherwise, it becomes more about us discharging what we think our duty is, rather than attempting to reach people with the knowledge of Jesus.
On the other hand, maybe I'm completely wrong and Jesus wants us all to indiscriminately and loudly preach wherever we are.
My 2 cents on Jesus turning people against their families:
ReplyDeleteWhen someone in a family comes to Christ, they choose Jesus over all other things, including their family. The natural reaction of the unsaved family is shock to seeing this kind of new-found devotion to something they don't understand. The rest of the family will demand that the new believer give up their devotion, or they will abandon her/him to their devotion and pull away. Just wait to see what happens when another member of the family follows the original into their lunacy. It will be all out war!
And that's what I think Jesus meant. He was describing this phenomonem here. And when this common occurence happens to the new believer, Jesus is clearly telling them to keep their devotion completely for Himself, and do not give into the family one bit - which of course, will naturally cause a schism in the "previous" family.
http://www.meetingwithchrist.com/E054%20He%20who%20does%20not%20take%20his%20cross%20-%20Mt%2010(38-39).htm says about taking up our cross:
ReplyDeleteFor Christians, the cross is the instrument of Christ’s atoning death. It is only through the cross of Christ and through the blood of His cross that we have our salvation. Jesus’ death on the cross was for all people. However, not everyone is saved. How does His saving work become effective in our lives? A quick answer would be to say that it becomes effective by faith. In this lesson, we will see how this faith is expressed.
When I read a verse like this, many questions come to my mind. For instance, if the cross of Christ saves me, why does Jesus say, ‘unless a man takes up his cross and follow Me, he is not worthy of Me. He cannot be My disciple – and therefore he is not saved’? Is it His cross that saves me or do I have to take my cross also? How do we put these crosses together in the context of redemption?
You see, we have learned early in our Christian life that it is the cross of Jesus, and that alone, that saves us. And then, when we come to this passage where Jesus commands us to take up our cross (otherwise we cannot belong to Him), we are confused. If we are saved solely by His death and if it is only His cross that matters, then what is all this talk about taking up our cross? What is the need for me to take up the cross since it is His cross that saves me? We said it before. It is only through the cross of Christ that we have our salvation. Why then do I have to take the cross?
These are uncomfortable but important questions. They are uncomfortable because they challenge some of our most fundamental beliefs as Christians. . . . Are we then saved by God’s grace or are we saved by the effort of carrying our cross? Am I somehow saved both by God’s grace and by the effort that I make in carrying the cross? If that is the case, am I not putting something into God’s grace? How then can the grace of God still be grace if I have my own effort in it?
Here is another question. How can I be required to take up the cross if salvation is a free gift from God? For to take up the cross is to give everything we have to God. We give our whole life. We die on the cross. We are crucified with Christ on the cross. Are we then saved by His death or by our death? Or perhaps, we are saved both by His death and our death!
Before we try to answer these questions, we need to look at the three different words that the Lord Jesus uses in His teaching in connection with taking up the cross. . . .
Now we can see a progression in the teaching of the Lord Jesus about the cross. Firstly, we have to take hold of the cross (lambano). Secondly, we lift up the cross and we put it on our shoulders (airo). And thirdly, we carry that cross to Calvary (bastazo).
At what point then do we become a disciple? Is it when we just ‘take’ the cross? Or do we become a disciple only when we suffer with Him? No, discipleship does not begin only when we start to suffer with Him. Matthew 10:38 tells us that the moment we decide to take the cross, the condition for discipleship is already fulfilled. We must have at least the willingness to take hold of the cross. But we understand that when we accept the cross, when we take hold of the cross, it is with the intention to go all the way to Calvary. The moment we accept the cross, we are on the road to dying. We are on the way to losing our life.
This means that I am willing to experience the cross in my own life. Jesus suffered everything for our sins. But He asks of us that we suffer with Him. The cross is not something that only Jesus endures. The cross must be something that becomes truly mine, in my own heart. ‘Unless you are willing to experience personally the cross in your life, you cannot be My disciple.’
http://www.meetingwithchrist.com/E054%20He%20who%20does%20not%20take%20his%20cross%20-%20Mt%2010(38-39).htm (continued)
ReplyDeleteHe who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. This verse is the explanation of the previous one about taking the cross. If you understand why you need to lose your life in order to gain life, you will also understand why the disciple of Christ must take his cross. These two verses share two similar themes: (1) death and (2) reorientation of one’s life. And they both relate directly to the fundamental subject of faith.
We can see that a fundamental change of attitude is involved here. A totally self-centered attitude toward life is replaced by a willingness to give one’s own life for the sake of Jesus. Therefore orientation to Jesus is a prerequisite for saving life.
This change of orientation is also expressed in the cross-bearing picture.
You don’t turn to Jesus, you don’t lose your life for His sake unless you have faith. So now the question is not whether we are saved by Jesus’ cross or by our cross. The questions is whether you have faith. And if you do have faith, you will take up the cross the cross and follow Jesus.
This passage tells us that I die to self when:
(1) I count myself crucified with Christ (Romans 6:11)
(2) I count myself dead to sin, but alive to God (Romans (6:11)
(3) I do not let sin reign in my body (Romans 6:12)
(4) I do not present the members of my body as instruments of sin (Romans 6:13a)
(5) I yield myself to God – as much as those who are alive from the dead are yielded to God (Romans 6:13b)
(6) I present the members of my body as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13c)
We should remember that hardship itself is not the cross but it can bring a person to the place where the Lord can deal with him. If that person faces his burden with the right attitude, with humility and submission, it is then that the hardship becomes the cross and the denial of self that Jesus is talking about. With an act of faith, the Christian counts himself dead to sin but alive to God. It is an act that can be described as committing all that one is and has to Christ. The essence of discipleship is found in this kind of attitude.
http://faithhopelove.net/TakeUpCross.html says about taking up your cross:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, from reviewing the above pertinent scriptures, it is clear that Jesus wanted His followers to understand that they each had a "cross" to carry that was uniquely each one's own "cross". . . . A common idea seems to be that if Christians bear up and accept the burdens of everyday life, especially unjust persecutions that sometimes arise, one will in the end be justly rewarded by the Lord for a job well done. . . . But this understanding scarcely accommodates the actual meaning of this word "cross."
No follower of Jesus expected Him to be put to death in this way. . . So what were the listeners to the words of Jesus to understand by this statement, Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple?
But what specifically does it mean to us today to take up one's own cross? Surely it means far more than merely bearing up under the petty trying inconveniences of the fleshly life.
I must understand that the "cross" that He bore was not His own. IT WAS MINE! It was the horrible symbol of the future that Satan had in mind for ME, the symbol of the judgement for MY SINS! And Jesus willingly substituted Himself for ME and bore MY CROSS! If my judgement of death on my cross is to be cancelled in the substitutionary death of Jesus on my cross, I must take up my cross; that is, I must acknowledge my cross which is the righteous judgement against me, and I must pursue Jesus as His disciple! That is the meaning of Jesus' statement, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it."
http://www.gotquestions.org/follow-Christ.html says:
ReplyDeleteTo truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us. Everyone follows something: friends, popular culture, family, selfish desires, or God. We can only follow one thing at a time (Matthew 6:24). God states we are to have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; Mark 12:30). To truly follow Christ means we do not follow anything else. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." There is no such thing as a "halfway disciple." As the disciples demonstrated, no one can follow Christ by the strength of his own willpower. The Pharisees were good examples of those who were trying to obey God in their own strength. Their self-effort led only to arrogance and distortion of the whole purpose of God's Law (Luke 11:39; Matthew 23:24).
Jesus gave His disciples the secret to faithfully following Him, but they did not recognize it at the time. He said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing (John 6:63). And "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them” (verse 65). The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years, learning, observing, and participating in His miracles. Yet, even they could not follow Him faithfully in their own strength. They needed a Helper.
Jesus promised many times that, once He had ascended to the Father, He would send a "Helper" to them—the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26). In fact, He told them that it was for their good that He was going away so that the Holy Spirit could come (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit indwells the heart of every believer (Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:16; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20). Jesus warned His followers that they were not to begin testifying of Him "until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4). When the Holy Spirit came upon those first believers at Pentecost, they suddenly had all the power they needed to follow Christ, even to the death, if needed (Acts 2:1–4; 4:31; 7:59-60).
Following Jesus means striving to be like Him. He always obeyed His Father, so that's what we strive to do (John 8:29; 15:10). To truly follow Christ means to make Him the Boss. That's what it means to make Jesus Lord of our lives (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5). Every decision and dream is filtered through His Word with the goal of glorifying Him in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31). We are not saved by the things we do for Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9) but by what He has done for us. Because of His grace, we want to please Him in everything. All this is accomplished as we allow the Holy Spirit to have complete control of every area of our lives (Ephesians 5:18). He explains the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:14), empowers us with spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), comforts us (John 14:16), and guides us (John 14:26). To follow Christ means we apply the truths we learn from His Word and live as if Jesus walked beside us in person.
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ReplyDeleteIt occurs to me that there's something of a "whoever disowns me before others, I will disown" idea running in my head when I'm taking a Biblical stand when debating current events on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI think that there's a sense in me that part of my job as a Christian is to provide a Biblical perspective to situations that lack it - which is most situations, really.
Our society sees chaos and concludes that no God would allow it. I see an originally perfect humanity, but a society that is lost and chaotic because of the fall.
It's a complicated topic for sure. A huge question among Christians is how much should we engage non-Christians in discussions about cultural and political issues?
DeleteVirtually no Christians say that we should not speak the gospel to people. But there is a divide among Christians as to how much we should enter a cultural war against the "world" in the realm of government and politics. Some Christians say it is our duty to vehemently fight any idea out there that goes against Christian holiness. While others would say that we should limit ourselves to the Gospel of Christ when it comes to the outside world.
It seems like the message to the world by Paul, the apostles, and Jesus Himself was very simple. I can't think of a simple example in which someone discussed Roman politics or advised that people get involved politically. On the other hand, I think an argument could be made that the Roman empire was a different animal than the US government. If we have the freedom to engage in the discussion, should we, and in what ways do we limit ourselves? Like I said, it's a complicated question.