Tough Passage? Preach What the Gospel Says (Not What You Wish it Said)
Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash
Matthew 10:34-38
‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’
For many of us, this is not a Scripture passage we enjoy preaching.
We ask ourselves whether Jesus could really be suggesting…
that we have to choose between Jesus and our families?
that violence has its place?
that our worthiness is earned by carrying his cross?
that there’s no “out” to sacrificing ourselves?”
“Preaching a challenging passage can be done by reporting what the Scripture says, then asking questions—without answering them.”
My study of this text answers those questions with “Sort of no. And a lot more yes.”
Rats.
How do we preach on a passage like this?
Preaching a challenging passage can be done by reporting what the Scripture says, then asking questions—without answering them.
The Biblical Picture
Matthew 10 is the second missionary discourse.
Here, Jesus prepares the disciples for the persecutions they should expect as they beg, heal, and preach as authorized by Jesus.
In the passage above, Jesus quotes Micah 7:6: “For the son treats the father with contempt…your enemies are members of your own family.”
Micah describes what happens when some members of the family choose God as their nexus while others choose themselves as their nexus.
Jesus’s take on faith and family discord? Bring it!
Jesus said he didn’t come to bring peace; he brought a sword to sever the relationships that we value above our relationship with him.
If our most important relationships don’t let us serve God with our whole mind, body, and heart, well, we have to choose.
Jesus even reinforces this message in Matthew 12:46-50 when his biological mother and and brothers show up to hear him preach. Jesus points to his disciples and says they are his real mother and brothers, not because of biology, but because of right-ordered loves and the service that follows.
Jesus also said to the disciples that if we find a life for ourselves—we’ve already lost it.
But, he goes on to say, if we give up our lives for his sake—choosing to follow Jesus and serve all people with love, grace, mercy, and redemption as he did, even at the expense of self-preservation or valued relationships—then we have already found our life.
It sounds to me like Jesus is asking us a straightforward question: who do you love most?
Yourself?
Your most important relationships?
Or me?
It’s Not that Hard—Except It Really Is
After Jesus’s conversation with the disciples, they individually and collectively got busy.
By their words and works, they demonstrated what it meant to choose God and others over oneself, and over their most valued relationships, desires, and fears.
For example:
they left family and friends behind to seek those in need
they healed those separated from loved ones and livelihoods because of illness of body and mind, or separated from God from illness of heart and spirit.
Jesus taught in parables to flip the equation because those who believed they were faithful and thus in God’s good graces needed to see they were in God’s graces and thus able to be faithful.
Jesus—and after his resurrection, the disciples too—risked their reputations, comfort, safety, and lives to serve.
They had Jesus right with them to show them who they should love most and how. And they made sacrifices to follow his lead.
What do we choose?
Our personal interests or Jesus’s?
Our coffers or his cross?
Others’ sacrifices so we live, or our sacrifices so they live?
This passage begs for an examen of conscience.
What About Us?
How can we tell who we love most?
One clue is by looking at those who are served by our words and works.
Jesus authorized his followers to serve those in need in his name.
He authorized his disciples to serve widows and orphans—the vulnerable who did not have family or others to fend for them, and who depended on a system run by the faithful (the collection and distribution of alms) to care for them.
Jesus authorized his disciples to serve the stranger and immigrant preyed on by the unscrupulous, as they navigated treacherous journeys. He hoped his followers would offer food, shelter, and respite to those dependent on others’ hospitality—just as Jesus and his disciples were.
Jesus authorized his disciples to heal illnesses of body, mind, and spirit through the laying on of hands, prayers, and medical care.
Jesus authorized the disciples to preach and teach to bring people out of religious complacency, first being convicted of our own.
That’s what Jesus and the disciples said and did.
Collectively and individually, are we Jesus’s disciples? That is, are we serving as Jesus asked—even at our own expense?
We must ask ourselves:
Who is served? Who is not?
How did and do we decide?
Are we losing our lives, or finding them?
Reflect on our need for God’s grace that not only heals but sends us out to serve the ones Jesus would serve—no matter the cost.
The Preacher’s Role
As you read this post, did you find yourself reflecting on your own life? Identifying places where perhaps your loyalties were to something or someone other than Jesus? Thinking about what these words meant for your life or preaching?
Any clarity or conviction you may have experienced came from your own consent to the Spirit.
At no point did I tell you how to apply this passage to your own life. I did not:
give you a cause to take up or a specific action to take
tell you how this passage applies to our current political climate
suggest a particular application of the text to your life
I simply presented the text in its context. Made connections to related scripture passages. Highlighted what the application of this passage looked like in the lives of the disciples.
And then I asked questions.
That’s it.
This is what good preaching does. It brings the passage—with any necessary context and/or other Scriptural connections—to life.
Sometimes the principalities and powers of this world need to be named because they are in need of God’s redemption. However, if we name the same principalities and powers every week people will tune out the urgency.
Instead, help people hear the context and need for God’s redemption revealed by the text itself.
Let people wrestle with angels through questions posed— without giving answers.
Then trust God will convert any willing heart to love Jesus most.
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