A PRAYER TO START
There is something about knowing Jesus that compels us to speak of him, no matter how awkwardly at first or how slowly it feels we mature into our speech. Thus are scriptures are full of the proclamations of those who have been rescued and desire little more than to share of our Father’s glory with the those around them. Join with the saints and pray as a part of this faith family…
Father, from my youth you have taught me, and I still will proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O Father, do not depart from me until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come (Ps. 71). Father, your victorious work reverses everything I have ever thought about the world: all the evil I was afraid of is now a reminder of your power; all the things I was greedy for are now spoil to be shared. Thank you, in Jesus’ name. (Eugene Peterson) Amen.
TAKING A LOOK AHEAD
On any journey, whether a hike in the mountains or a trek to the grocery store, it is important to be aware of your surroundings, to be present. It’s also important to know where you are going! To look up, and take a peek at what is ahead.
This coming week our journey takes us in as participants. We have been observing Jesus talking and teaching, healing and stopping storms, casting out demons and forgiving sins; yet we, and the disciples, have pretty much found a place on the sidelines soaking in the revelation and nature of the kingdom of our Father in Jesus. Now that we have watched for a while, Jesus feels it is time to get in on the action! Time to participate in the harvest that is plentiful and the salvation story continuing to unfold today.
Read Matthew 10:1-42, preferably in The Message translation. I think Peterson’s translation will make this a fresh and more accessible passage for you. As you are reading take notice and note of the following:
Who are the characters in the story? Explicitly named and those assumed.
Where does the story take place? Physically, & how is it connected to what proceeds it?
What repeats? Words, characters, actions/events, sayings, descriptions, etc.
What surprised you?
What might have surprised the people Matthew was writing to?
What questions does the story raise so far?
CONNECTING THE DOTS
Jesus has come to make us whole. That is clear from chapters 8 and 9. Yet our wholeness, our righteousness, is not merely a gift to receive in passivity. While we certainly do nothing to earn the tender touch that makes us clean or the powerful word that gives us life, such actions on Jesus’ part invite us to a new and different life on the other side of them. This life, this kingdom life, will require us to act with compassionate courage and ultimately loose who we think we are only to discover who we really are in Christ. What a journey!
In what ways does 10:1 connect to chapters 8 and 9?
What word in the ESV translation helps you make that connection, and what does this mean for those who follow Jesus…even today?
In what ways are various parts of chapters 5 to 9 reflected in the task the disciples are given, the manner in which they are to go about the task, and what they will experience along the journey?
Consider the story of Matthew’s gospel up to this point. What emotions have surfaced in your reading as Jesus taught and Jesus healed?
As you read Jesus describe what the disciples are going to do and experience in chapter 10, what emotions, thoughts, and questions arise in you?
How do these compare to the first part of the story? Why do you think there is a difference?
Re-read verse 39. In the context of Matthew's story thus far, Why will seeking your life only keep you from finding it?
What does it look like to loose your life for Jesus' sake?
How might doing so allow you to discover yourself?
A THOUGHT TO PONDER
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
(CS Lewis)