Daily Blast - The Book of Matthew: Chapter 10
Scripture
“2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”
Reflection
Matthew Chapter 10 is an interesting one. It speaks of sending out the 12 disciples in the name of Jesus and all that they may face in carrying out this task. Furthermore, it discusses what to do in tough situations and how to behave as God’s messengers. Essentially, it is about the early beginnings of evangelism, i.e. telling people about God! Whilst all of this is good advice for the disciples though, what does it mean for us today in the 21st century?
To start with, we can look at what Jesus wants us to do; in verses 5 and 6, He states that we should “not go to the gentiles or the Samaritans, 6 but only to the people of Israel – God’s lost sheep”. To put it simply, it means that instead of preaching to the already converted (although don’t get me wrong, it’s great to discuss the bible with other Christians!), we need to go out into the world and discuss God with people who don’t know Him, because they’re the ones who need Him the most.
However, that’s gonna be a pretty tough thing to do! But that’s okay because Jesus specifically sets out things in this chapter to help us. In verse 16, Jesus says that we need to be “as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves” whilst carrying out His work, meaning that we need to be wise and gentle in the way we approach sharing the good news with people. However, don’t get worked up about what you are going to say, because “God will give you the right words at the right time. 20 For it is not you who will be speaking – it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (verses 19 – 20). God knows exactly what you will say and when, and what you will say to whom – the Holy Spirit will be flowing through you when the right time comes for the conversation. If you need some reassurance on this though, look to verse 40 - “Anyone who receives you receives me (Jesus)”. So, if we are living life in God’s image, we are able to influence those around us into seeing what living a Christian life means.
Challenge
So – here’s my challenge to you for today. Who can you think of that you could maybe introduce to Jesus? How could you do this and what might you start off by thinking? If you’re not sure right this moment, pray about it, then come back and see what happens…