Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10, verses 34 to 42.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean.
! I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.
And it's my great joy and privilege to preach God's word to you this morning.
If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.
We'd love to give you a copy you can have and use.
Looks like everybody has one.
We're in Matthew chapter 10, verse 34 to 42.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.
Heavenly Father, thank you for calling us as your children.
And for giving us the privilege of following Jesus Christ, your son.
And we ask that as we open up your word together, that you would speak to us and impress deeply upon our minds and hearts the worthiness of Jesus Christ, the King.
That we might submit to him, pledge allegiance to him, and follow him at all costs.
Fill our hearts with thanksgiving and praise as we remember how you have used us to proclaim your gospel and to build up this local church, your body of Christ, the body of Christ.
Thank you, Father, for that privilege.
Be glorified in our midst.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Please stand if you are able to honor God as we read from his word.
Amen.
Matthew chapter 10, verses 34 to 42.
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 a person's enemies will be those of his 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 his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it.
And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Whoever receives you receives me.
And whoever receives me receives him who sent me.
The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward.
And the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward.
And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple.
Truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Please be seated.
There are several places in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus expressly states his purpose.
The purpose for which he came to earth.
We've seen two of those so far already in this series in Matthew.
In Matthew 5.17 Jesus said,
I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill them.
We saw it again in chapter 9 verse 13.
I came not to call the righteous but sinners.
And probably the most famous purpose statement that Jesus gives is in Matthew 20 verse 28.
The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
So to recap why Jesus came to earth.
He came to fulfill the law.
To call sinners to himself and to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
To redeem a people for himself.
For God.
But there is one more.
I have come to fill in the blank statement in the Gospel of Matthew.
And that's the one we see here in our passage.
And this is probably the most surprising and shocking one.
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I have not come to bring peace but a sword.
Jesus came to earth to bring a sword.
Not a literal sword of violence.
But a figurative sword that slices apart even the most basic building blocks of society and family.
But wait isn't Jesus pro-family?
And aren't Christians supposed to be pro-family?
Yes we are.
But not at the expense of following Jesus.
The main point of this passage is that to follow Christ we must carry our cross.
Even the cross of losing our loved ones.
First let's talk about the cross of following Jesus.
And then lastly I'll talk about the reward of following Jesus.
Jesus' statement in verse 34 is shocking because it appears to contradict what we already know.
Scripture says elsewhere about Jesus' coming and his purpose.
For example later in Matthew 21 verse 5 Matthew cites an excerpt from a prophecy in Zechariah 9.9-10 to show that Jesus riding on a donkey into the city of Jerusalem is a fulfillment of the messianic prophecy.
And that passage in Zechariah says that the Messiah would speak peace to the nations.
Isaiah 9.6-7 another famous messianic prophecy foretold that Jesus the Messiah would be the prince of peace.
And that of the increase of his government, his rule, there will be no end.
This is why when Jesus is born the angels proclaim him in Luke chapter 2 verse 14 saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
So how can Jesus say that he did not come to bring peace?
That he came to bring a sword?
The answer lies in this that Jesus did bring peace but that that peace is not for everyone.
The angels' announcement in Luke 2 verse 14 was on earth peace among those with whom God is pleased.
Remember earlier in Matthew chapter 10 verse 13 as he was commissioning, Jesus was commissioning his 12 apostles to go and proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.
He told them to as they go from house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood, to proclaim his peace.
And that their peace would come upon them.
But if those people would, if should they refuse them, refuse to receive them, show them hospitality and refuse and reject their message of the gospel,
then Jesus said that their peace would return to them and not rest on those people.
In other words, the peace that Jesus offers is for those who receive him as the messianic king and submit to him as subjects of his kingdom.
Those who reject Christ as their king do not get to enter into the kingdom of God.
That's the realm over which Christ reigns as king.
And if you're not in the kingdom of God, then you don't benefit from his reign.
You miss out on true peace for there can only be peace where the rightful king reigns from his throne.
Peace in biblical terms goes far beyond the mere absence of conflict.
It has in its background the Old Testament idea of shalom, which is the Hebrew word for peace.
It represents being in right relationship with God.
God says in Isaiah 54 verse 10,
When we are the objects of God's steadfast love and a recipient of his covenant of peace,
that's when we are whole.
That's when our lives are rightly ordered.
That's when we have true peace.
And that's why it is impossible to have peace apart from Christ.
As long as rebels exist who defy Christ the king,
Jesus does not bring peace to the earth, but a sword.
Jesus is not speaking here of his judgment and of waging war against his enemies.
Jesus will not do that.
He will not bring his final judgment until his second coming,
when he will subdue all the rebels and bring universal peace.
But until then, it's the time for his followers, his disciples,
to bear witness to Jesus, their king, and to take a stand for Jesus.
To tell people about Jesus and to give them an opportunity to repent.
To repent of their sins and follow Jesus themselves.
This necessarily means planting a flag on the ground.
It necessarily means drawing a line on the sand.
Saying, I belong to the kingdom of God.
I am with Christ, my king.
I have drawn the line on the sand.
And no matter what you do and no matter what people say,
I will not cross over to the other side.
You may join me here, but I am not going over again.
This is the reality that Jesus speaks of when he says,
I have come to bring a sword.
I've mentioned to some of you before that I was part of the largest naturalization ceremony in U.S. history,
which took place at Fenway Park here in Boston.
On September 14, 2010.
And when I took the oath of U.S. citizenship,
this is what I had to say with my right hand raised.
I hereby declare on oath that I absolutely and entirely
renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince,
patented state, or sovereignty,
of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.
That I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America
against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
It seems kind of extreme at first,
very categorical language,
but if you think about it,
it's not extreme at all.
How can I be a citizen of the United States
while pledging allegiance to a foreign state or power?
That would make me a spy or an imposter.
The same principle applies in the spiritual realm.
How can we be citizens of the kingdom of God
and claim to serve Christ the King
if our loyalties are divided,
if we have multiple allegiances?
Jesus explains in verses 35 to 37,
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 a person's enemies will be those of his 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.
This is an allusion to Micah 7, 6,
which prophesied of family divisions,
not only during the time of Micah,
but also especially in the Messianic age.
It's important to note here
that Jesus is not commanding us
to reject or neglect our family members.
In fact, one of the Ten Commandments
is to honor your father and mother.
And 1 Timothy 5, 8 teaches us
that if anyone does not provide for his relatives
and especially for members of his household,
he has denied the faith
and is worse than an unbeliever.
As Christians, we ought to love our families
and take care of our families.
But nevertheless, Jesus says,
you must not love them more than you love Jesus.
If we are more loyal to our families
than we are to Jesus,
then we are not worthy of Jesus.
If our loyalty to our families
subverts our allegiance to Christ
and damages our witness for Christ,
then we are not worthy to follow him.
This is what,
this is the choice that my parents had to make
when they refused to participate
in ancestor worship in Korea
and were consequently shunned by their family members
and branded as those who bring dishonor to the family.
This is what Pastor Emmanuel,
that we had as a guest preacher
some months ago in this year,
experienced himself
when he converted to follow Christ in Nigeria
and then was subsequently disowned by his own father
and put in jail
because his father was an imam of a Muslim mosque.
The sword divided their families
because of people's refusal to acknowledge Christ as king.
It's fine to want to please your parents,
but you want to please them even more
than you want to please God.
When they oppose your decision to follow Christ
and serve him,
do you take a stand for Christ?
Are you open to marrying a non-Christian
even though that goes against the counsel of scripture
in 1 Corinthians 7.39?
Even though you're aware
that drawing nearer to that person
will necessarily mean drawing further away from God
and vice versa
because they do not share
your fundamental allegiance to the Lord.
What about children?
Do you love your children more than you love Jesus?
Are you more concerned about their health
and wealth and success in the world
than for their faith and obedience in Christ?
Is participation in a sports league
more important than their faithful attendance
and Sunday worship?
Are you willing to let your children risk
being mocked or bullied in school
for boldly sharing the gospel of Jesus with others?
Or would you rather them be silent?
Are you so preoccupied and consumed
with their well-being
that you give hardly any time
to your own relationship with God?
Do your life choices and priorities
revolve ultimately around Jesus,
the King,
or around your kids?
When our church planting team
was initially sent out by King of Grace Church
10 years ago,
we only had five adults in our church.
Steve and Lauren Miller, right there.
John Buckley.
Where's John?
Yeah.
And Hannah,
Hannah, my wife.
I think we did have one kid at the time, right?
Ine, the oldest.
Why did John and the Millers
leave their home church
and their houses
to join an unproven
recent seminary grad
still in his 20s?
It's probably not the smartest decision
they've made.
Not because I was special,
but because they were following Christ.
Because they wanted to establish
a gospel outpost in East Cambridge
where there wasn't one.
They have Christian parents,
so no sword had to divide their families,
but it was nonetheless
a real sacrifice
to move down here
to an expensive neighborhood
where they've never lived,
away from homes that they grew up
and taking on jobs
that they've never done
to support the work
of building Trinity Cambridge Church.
Are you willing
to make the same sacrifice?
Jesus himself endured this sword.
In Mark 3.21,
it says that even some
of his own family members
said of him,
he is out of his mind.
And later in that passage,
while his family members
are calling for him,
Jesus asks,
who are my mother
and my brothers?
And looking about
at the disciples
who sat around him,
Jesus said,
here are my mother
and my brothers.
For whoever does
the will of God,
he is my brother
and sister
and mother.
Jesus is here speaking
of the reality
of the spiritual family.
bought by the blood of Christ
and bonded together
by the spirit of God
which will outlast
any earthly family.
When we partake
in the life
of the local church,
when we work
to build up
a local church,
we do so as members
of the very family of God.
Note how starkly
Jesus puts this
in verse 37.
Whoever loves father
or mother
more than me
is not worthy of me.
When whoever loves son
or daughter
more than me
is not worthy of me.
There are no in-between
halfway options here.
There is no option C
for loving your biological family
and Jesus equally.
You must make a choice.
Unless we submit to Christ
as our king,
as the supreme ruler
of our lives,
we are not worthy of him.
Why?
Why does Jesus
have to be so demanding?
Why?
Because Jesus
is worthy
of that kind of worship
and obedience.
Because Jesus
is the king of kings
and lord of lords.
Because Jesus
is the son of God
and son of man.
And because Jesus
is the savior
and redeemer
of the world
who laid down
his own life
to save us
from sin and death.
Only those
who therefore
acknowledge
Jesus' true worth
and follow him
are worthy
to be called
one of his own.
In medieval
dubbing ceremonies
when a king
confers knighthood
on a loyal subject,
he lightly taps
the flat part
of his sword
upon the subject's
head or shoulder
to indicate
that that person
is now a knight
that carries out
the king's purposes
and priorities.
That is what Christ
has done
for every single Christian.
And that allegiance
necessarily brings
division
in this sinful world
that is in rebellion
against God.
And the sword
that King Jesus
confers
on his loyal knights
is a cross.
Jesus says
in verses 38 to 39,
whoever does not
take his cross
and follow me
is not worthy
of me.
Whoever finds
his life
will lose it
and whoever
loses his life
for my sake
will find it.
In the western world
we're so familiar
with crosses
and crucifixes
that this verse
loses its shock factor.
But we have to remember
that for the Greeks
and Romans
crucifixion
was a form
of cruel
and unusual punishment.
It was a form
of torture
and execution
wrapped up
in one.
The Romans
had several other
far more efficient
means of killing people
but crucifixion
is what they reserved
for special cases
for the low life
criminals
and enemies
of the state.
In fact,
Cicero,
the famous Roman
politician
and philosopher
himself denounced
the practice
of crucifixion.
He called it
a most cruel
and disgusting punishment.
He says,
quote,
the very mention
of the cross
should be far removed
not only from
a Roman citizen's body
but from his mind,
his eyes,
his ears.
The cross
was a stigmatized
shameful symbol
of humiliating defeat.
But this
public disgrace
did not begin
at the crucifixion.
It began
long before that
when the condemned
criminal
was forced
to carry
that heavy
cross beam
that he will
be nailed
to himself
to the place,
the location
of the execution
while bearing
the jeers
and the insults
of the crowd.
This is exactly
what Jesus endures
in Matthew 27
and this
is the glorious
prospect
that Jesus
lays out
in front of
all of his
potential followers.
Do you want
to be found
worthy
of Jesus?
Then you must
take up
your cross
and follow
Jesus
in his
footsteps,
meaning
into
betrayal,
rejection,
suffering,
persecution,
possibly even
death,
martyrdom.
This is
what Jesus
confers
on us,
not a mighty
sword with which
to slay all
of the wicked,
but a cross
by which
we are
to be slain
by the wicked
as sheep
in the midst
of wolves.
When following
Christ means
being shunned
by the world,
will you
follow Christ
still?
When following
Christ means
losing your job,
when following
Christ means
loss of security,
when following
Christ means
disrepute and
disrespect among
your peers and
colleagues,
will you still
follow Christ?
if out of
the desire
to preserve
our own
lives,
our wealth,
our reputation,
our career,
we refuse to
acknowledge Christ
before men
and bear witness
to him,
as we saw
in the previous
passage,
you might
succeed in
preserving your
life for a
time,
but you will
lose something
much bigger,
your eternal
life.
This is what
Jesus means
when he says
in verse 38,
whoever finds
his life will
lose it,
and whoever
loses his life
for my sake
will find it.
If you try
to gain your
life in the
kingdom of
this world,
you will lose
it in the
kingdom of
God.
Jesus adds
in Matthew
16,
26,
for what
will it
profit a
man if
he gains
the whole
world and
forfeits his
soul?
Or what
shall a
man give
in return
for his
soul?
It is
folly to
forsake
your eternal
soul to
gain this
temporary
world that
is just
passing away.
following
Christ is
not merely
a matter
of life
and death.
It is
much more
important than
that.
But this
cross of
following
Jesus also
comes with
a great
reward.
Jesus says
in verses
40 to
41,
whoever
receives
you
receives
me,
and whoever
receives
me receives
him who
sent me.
The one
who receives
a prophet
because he
is a
prophet will
receive a
prophet's
reward,
and the
one who
receives a
righteous
person
because he
is a
righteous
person
will
receive a
righteous
person's
reward.
When we
go out
in Jesus'
name to
proclaim the
good news
of the
kingdom of
God,
those who
receive us
and receive
our message
receive Christ
himself.
Why is
that?
Because we
are representatives
of Christ,
ambassadors of
Christ.
Envoys are
extensions of
the king's
will and
authority,
and for that
reason,
the envoys
are to be
received with
honor the
way you'd
receive a
king.
For this
reason,
in 2 Samuel
chapter 10,
when the
Ammonites
shame King
David's
envoys by
shading off
half their
beards and
cutting off
half their
garments and
make them
walk back
in shame,
it leads
to an
all-out war
between King
David and
the Ammonites
because to
insult and
mistreat the
envoys of
the king is
to insult and
mistreat the
king himself.
1 Corinthians
12, 27
teaches us that
all Christians
are individually
members of the
body of Christ.
We are united
to Christ our
Lord by faith,
and therefore,
to receive or
reject us is
to receive or
reject Christ
himself.
Later in
Matthew 25,
Jesus speaks of
what the final
judgment will
look like in the
end of days.
And King
Jesus will be
sitting on his
glorious throne,
and he will say
to the righteous,
come you who are
blessed by my
father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for
you from the
foundation of the
world.
For I was hungry
and you gave me
food.
I was thirsty and
you gave me drink.
I was a stranger
and you welcomed me.
I was naked and
you clothed me.
I was sick and you
visited me.
I was in prison and
you came to me.
Then the righteous
will answer him
saying, Lord, when
did we see you
hungry and feed you
or thirsty and give
you something to
drink?
And when did we
see you a stranger
and welcome you or
naked and clothe you?
When did we ever
see you sick or in
prison and visit you?
And the king will
answer them, truly I
say to you, as you
did to one of the
least of these my
brothers, you did it
to me.
This world will be
judged according to
the way they treated
the disciples of
Christ.
Whether they receive
them and their
message or not,
because to reject
the envoys of the
king, to reject
their gospel message
is to reject
Christ himself.
But that's not all.
Jesus also says,
and whoever receives
me receives him who
sent me.
The chain of
representation goes up
even further.
Those who receive the
disciples of Christ
receive Christ himself.
And those who receive
Christ receive God the
Father himself.
Brothers and sisters,
that's the kind of
backing we have when
we go out as witnesses
of Jesus Christ and
share the gospel.
That's the kind of
authorization we have.
Jesus continues in verse
42, and whoever gives
one of these little
ones even a cup of
cold water because he
is a disciple, truly I
say to you, he will by
no means lose his
reward.
Jesus calls all of his
disciples little ones.
It's very affectionate,
isn't it?
I love how our children's
ministry volunteers refer
to the kids sometimes
at littles.
Jesus is speaking of the
spiritual reality that
all of his followers are
adopted children of God.
God.
This is why Jesus taught
us to pray in Matthew
6, 9, to cry out to our
Father in heaven.
We are God's little ones.
And God the Father, like
any good father, takes
very seriously how his
children are treated.
I've mentioned this to
some of you before that
when my family, we travel
to Seattle to visit my
parents, we get treated
like royalty out there.
These people from the
church that my dad
pastors, you know, take
us out to restaurants to
eat, they buy and
slaughter an entire black
goat, which is like a
delicacy, and they prepare
it for us to eat.
They buy expensive
Dungeness crabs, which is
unique to the Pacific
Coast, straight off the
boat and steam them and
feed us, even though I
don't really like crabs.
They even give allowances
to my kids.
I'm like, who are these
people, you know?
Like, why are you doing
this?
Why do they do this?
Not because they think
we're so great.
They barely know us.
They see us, we see them
once a year.
They do it because they
love my parents.
they feel indebted to
them.
This is their way of
loving them and serving
them.
It's the same with God,
our Father.
He says, if you give one
of my little ones, even a
cup of cold water, a cup
of cold water is the very
least thing, the smallest
thing you can do for
someone in this, as an
expression of hospitality.
Even if all you can do in
receiving one of my little
ones, my disciples, my
emissaries of Christ, is to
give them a cup of cold
water, God says, you know,
that's not much, but it's
enough.
You receive them, you
receive the message of the
gospel, and I will reward
you.
God promises heavenly
rewards to all those who
receive the followers of
Christ because to receive
them is to receive Christ's
Christ himself.
And to receive Christ, God's
son, is to receive God the
Father himself.
I want to remind all those
who are part of our original
team, Hannah, as well as all
those who left their homes and
were sent out by their local
churches early on in our ears
to build this church.
If you're listening, you might
not be here, but you're
listening to the message.
This is what Jesus says in
Matthew 19, 29.
And everyone who has left
houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or
children or lands for my
name's sake will receive a
hundredfold and will inherit
eternal life.
And I also want to thank all of you
who are here now as members, but
also all those who have been
church members over their years
because without your work of
faith and labor of love and
steadfastness of hope in our
Lord Jesus Christ, this local
church would not be the local
church that it is today.
All those times you've greeted
our guests, all those times
you've shared the gospel with
unbelievers, all those times
you've played music, watched the
children and taught them in
children's ministry, all those
times you've hosted community
groups in your homes or invited
believers, other believers in
the church out for coffee or
lunch, all those times you pray
for one another, all those times
you have worked quietly in the
background to set up the sound and
to move the slides and set up the
chairs and the projection, all
those times you've updated the
church website or sent out
announcements on posts on Slack
or social media, everything you
have ever done for Christ matters
forever.
Because Jesus promised us whoever
gives one of these little ones
even a cup of cold water because
he is a disciple, truly I say to
you, he will by no means lose his
reward.
Jesus is such a kind Lord and King.
He says in Hebrews 6, 10, for God
is not unjust so as to overlook your
work and the love that you have
shown for his name in serving the
saints as you still do.
What do you expect to hear when God
says, when this Bible says, for God
is not unjust so as to overlook,
overlook your sins.
Maybe in our guilty consciences we
think of our sins.
God is not unjust so he will not
overlook your sins.
That's not what it says.
God is not unjust so as to overlook
your work and the love that you have
shown for his name in serving the
saints as you still do.
You know what God does overlook?
Our sins.
Romans 4, 7 to 8, blessed are those
whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the
Lord will not count his sin.
How can it be that our Lord will not
overlook a single smallest thing we do
in his service and he will overlook
every sin and every offense and every
failing and shortcoming?
That's the kind of Lord we serve
because Jesus gave his own life
and died on the cross for our sins
so that he can not count our sins
against us and yet count everything
we do in faith for his namesake.
He will count them all
and reward us all richly.
It's the greatest honor to serve him.
Let's pray together.
Lord God, there is no one like you.
No one saves like you do.
And no God is merciful, gracious like you.
Oh Lord Jesus, there is no king like you.
Lord Jesus, there is no king like you.
And we want to follow you.
And we want to follow you to the ends of the earth.
We want to follow you to our dying breath.
We want to pick up our crosses
and walk and run after you.
So Lord, fill us with your spirit.
Empower us to do it.
Because you are worthy.
You are worthy.
Be glorified.
Continue to be glorified in our midst.
In and through our church.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.