The 
ight House
Sunday School (Swords and Rewards)
Swords and Rewards
(Matthew 10:34-42)
In the following scriptures, Jesus continues to teach about commitment and priorities.
34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Matthew 10:34-37People today often have a shallow understanding of what it truly means to be fully committed and devoted to the Lord. Here Jesus illustrates the degree of devotion that is expected of his followers by comparing the love of family to the love we are to have for him. To love someone more than we love our parents or our children seems extreme, but that is the point. Our devotion and commitment is to be that extreme! This same analogy is used to make the same point in another scripture…
26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 4:26It is very important to take these scriptures in the correct context and understand that they are to be taken symbolically rather than literally. Jesus often used symbolism and parables in his teaching to give his points greater strength and to be more easily understood. We are certainly instructed to love and honor our parents and in fact to love all people. That love however we have for others is to be like hatred in comparison to the love we have for God. The message is not to diminish the love we have for others, but rather to exemplify the greater love we are expected to have for Christ.
Jesus uses the symbol of the sword to represent strife within the household. This symbolism was also used in 2 Samuel to describe the violence which would take place in David’s household because of his sin of adultery.
10Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
2 Samuel 2:10-12Prior lessons have focused largely on persecution. Here Jesus is warning that some of the persecution which come to his followers may come from within the believers own household. Strife within the family is of course the most difficult to contend with. If one was prone to stand down in the face of persecution, it may be more likely to occur due to persecution from within the home, than from anywhere else. This is probably because we desire to live in peace with our loved ones more than with anyone else. Never the less Jesus is clear about where our priorities should lie. Remember from a previous lesson that Jesus told all that would consider being a follower to count the cost. Of course the cost is far greater for NOT being a follower, being warned of the persecutions in advance helps to make us prepared.
26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. 33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 34Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Luke 14:26-35In these scriptures Jesus provides several examples to illustrate the need for his followers to count the cost. The cost is to put all things and people, including our own lives second to following Him. The lord demands absolute total devotion to Him. Anything less than a total commitment to Him is considered luke warm and is not desirable.
15I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:15-16It should be noted that being instructed not to submit to our persecutors does not imply that we are to be in constant strife and get into heated arguments with them. The message is that we are not to compromise the Lord’s teachings on how we are to live for the sake of avoiding persecution. It is a message regarding priorities. It takes a full and uncompromising commitment to the Lord to live for him in the midst of all the criticism, threats, and persecution that is directed toward Christians.
Now look at the remaining scriptures of this lesson…
38And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 40He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Matthew 10:38-42“To take up one’s cross” is to bare the burdens of living for Christ as the preceding scriptures have described those burdens. The possibility of persecution from mockery to execution, the possibility of being an outcast in our own household, and the possibility of being the subject of discrimination for being a Christian are examples of these burdens. Placing God first in our lives means we are willing to endure these things for the sake of following Christ. “Following Christ”, simply means to live according to his teachings and forsaking all concerns which would hinder us from living according to his teachings. Jesus said that if we are not willing to endure the afflictions that come with following him, then we are not worthy of him.
Jesus says that if we find our life, we will loose it, but if we looser our life for his sake, we will find it. A man who finds his life is the man who lives according to his own will rather than living according to the Lord’s will as revealed in God’s word. He is not willing to endure the afflictions of being a follower of Christ. Jesus teaches that such a man will ultimately loose his life. There is a day of judgement for every person
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Hebrews 9:27Such a person ultimately looses his life because he has not been redeemed, and without redemption we die in our sins and the wages of sin is death.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23To say that not being a follower of Christ is to be lost is not saying that we are saved by our works. Works, however are is evidence of salvation.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:26The person who denies Christ for his own desires may avoid the afflictions that come with being a follower of Christ, but in the end he pays a far greater price for doing so than if he had been willing to forsake his own desires to endure the afflictions of a follower.
To loose one’s life for Christ’s sake is not speaking in the context of a physical biological death, it is in the context of denying one’s self in order to live for Christ. It is to put Christ first even before ourselves. The bible teaches that we (the redeemed) are not our own, but we belong to God.
19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20One that yields his own life to God’s service is the one who looses his life. The same one that willingly looses his life to serve God finds his life in Christ and ultimately receives eternal life without pain or sorrow and enjoys an eternity full of peace and joy.
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:164And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:4An important point needs to be made here. From what has been presented in this lesson so far it may seem as though a person must live a life of sorrow and misery void of any happiness in order to receive that gift of eternal life. This is not so! Living for Christ may indeed result in persecutions and placing God’s will before our own, but living according to God’s will has it’s own rewards in this life. In the midst of the persecutions and trials attached to being a Christian, we also experience certain blessings reserved only for the born again children of God. In living for Christ there is a cost and there are rewards. Jesus wants us to be aware of both. The costs are temporal and only in this earthly life, but the rewards are eternal. Some of the reward is given in this life with the greater reward in our eternal life in Heaven. The blessings reserved for God’s children while yet in this life do not come in the place of trials and persecutions, but rather they come with them
30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life
Mark 10:30The greatest blessings of the born again child of God in this life are not the things we can see with our eyes or hold in our hands. They are the things which can not be bought with money or given to us by anyone other than God. Some of these blessings are a deep settled peace that passes all understanding, a joy which is not based on our circumstances but rather is present in spite of our circumstances, the love of God in our hearts, the fellowship we have with God, the privilege of talking in prayer with the one who has all power in Heaven and Earth and knowing that He is listening, and the peace and joy that comes from knowing our name is written in the Lambs Book of life and every problem and sorrow we have in this life will be forever taken away when we are called home.
Jesus taught here that those who received his disciples received him and the Father. He also taught that acts of kindness toward his disciples would be considered an act of kindness toward him as well. This is because they are His representatives. As Christians we too are representatives of Christ and ambassadors to God’s kingdom. We have a responsibility to spread the gospel, to witness to others, to be a light to this world of darkness. Doing God’s work and supporting others that do God’s work will be rewarded. All things will be brought into judgement, both the good and the bad that is done in our body. Each day of life that we are blessed with is another opportunity to do a work for the Lord. Each day of life is therefore an opportunity to obtain a reward. We can see from these scriptures that God will even reward the simplest of an act of kindness toward his people
A final thought is that we should not do these things solely for the purpose of winning a reward, but they are to be done for the love we have of Christ and of the love we have for our fellow man. If the heart is not in it, it counts for nothing.
God Bless you,
Carl
I may not look like much, but I cost a bunch!
