Matthew 10:21-23

Matthew 10:21-23

And a brother will hand over a brother into death, and a father will hand over a child.  And children will rise up in rebellion upon their parents and they will put them to death.  And you all will be hated for the sake of my name.  But the one who holds his ground into the end – this one will be saved.  Whenever they persecute you all in this city, flee into another!  For amen I say to you all, you all should not finish the cities of Israel until the Son of Man should come.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I find it disheartening to hear how Jesus talks about family in these verses.  Brother will hand over brother.  Parents and children will fight against one another.  There is an old saying: blood is thicker than water.  But I think there is a better saying: the Spirit is thicker than blood.  Families will bond together when attacked by the world.  But there are things that can split a family.  Having one party with their focus upon God and another part with their focus elsewhere is one of the things that can split a family.

Have you seen a family split of religious reasons?  Have you ever been inspired by a story of a person choosing God over family?  Have you ever been disheartened by seeing what should have been a faithful family devolve into fighting?

Second Thought:

We need to be careful with the middle part of this passage that talks about “holding his ground to the end.”  Jesus is not telling us to be stubborn.  Jesus is not telling us to not change.  Remember that the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to transform us!  (See Romans 12:1-2)  Jesus is speaking these words in the context of persecution.  Jesus is saying that those who stand firm with God under persecution to the end will be saved.  But we will certainly be changed in that process!  We will certainly grow, mature, develop, and find new ways of thinking about old things.  Our focus should be on following the transformation God is actively doing within us rather than stubborn adherence to how we’ve always done things.

Do you find it easy to tell the difference between being called into change and being called to stand firm?  Do you find it easy or hard to endure under persecution?

Third Thought:

Jesus tells us to flee the persecution.  Now, this doesn’t mean we always have to run and cannot stand up for our faith.  Of course there are times when standing up for God is exactly what we should do!  However, remember the context from yesterday.  If we find ourselves in a place and location that refuses to receive the message of God, what will we be able to accomplish?  In those times when we meet pure resistance to the point where the resistance would drive us out, we should not feel the need to stand against the flow against us.  There is nothing wrong with letting the aggression of a location reveal that it is time to move on.  We actually see this dynamic played out in Paul’s life quite often.

Do you tend to be a fight or flight person under persecution?  When it is right to stand and fight?  When is it wiser to flee?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 10:24-25