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Let me lead us in prayer from what we’ve just sung:

Father, Thank you for these words in Matthew, which your Son Jesus spoke when he was here on earth.Please use them to help us accept the sacrifice and cost of making him known to the world around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Let me kick off with a question for you (if you’re someone trusting and following Jesus); how do you expect people around you to react to your faith? I guess our answers will depend on our experience so far. So if that’s been positive (if family and friends have been open and interested) we might expect people always to react like that. Whereas if our experience has been negative (if family and friends have taken it badly and it’s strained relationships) we might expect people always to react like that. But in the part of Matthew’s Gospel we’re looking at on Sunday nights,
Jesus says both those expectations are wrong. He says people won’t always react positively, and they won’t always react negatively. It’ll be both, and – with the negative always there. And that’s one thing that makes following Jesus hard. And in some places, as we saw in that video earlier, frighteningly hard; life-threateningly hard. So, if you’re following Jesus tonight, or if you’re looking into Christianity and wondering whether you might, what can you expect about how others will react and what that might cost you? That’s what Jesus is speaking about in the part of Matthew we’re looking at tonight. So would you please open a Bible at page 814. And once you’re there, bottom right hand corner of page 814, would you find Matthew chapter 9.36 – which we looked at two Sundays ago (Matthew 9.36-37):

When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest [in other words, the number of people who will respond positively to the gospel] is plentiful”

So that’s why we always expect some positive responses. But now look on to this week’s passage, starting in Matthew 10.16, which is over on the next page under the heading, ‘Persecution will come’ So Matthew 10.16, Jesus says:

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves…”

Which makes me want to say ‘Hold on…you just said the people around us were like sheep without a shepherd. And now you’re saying they’re like wolves. Which is it?’ To which Jesus says…it’s both. On the one hand, he says people are, by nature, like sheep without a shepherd – consciously or subconsciously, they’re saying to him ‘I don’t want you to be my Shepherd, to be God in my life.’ But that actually means there’s a hostility to God in all of us. So, on the other hand, Jesus says people are also, by nature, like wolves, because wolves are a picture of the hostility that says, deep down, ‘I don’t want to know the Jesus you Christian sheep are talking about.’ So Jesus says four things here to Christian sheep trying to share the gospel with people who, spiritually speaking, all have something of the wolf inside them.

1. Realise you’ll be seen as challenging peoples’ deepest commitments

And the first is their commitment to self-rule. Look at Matthew 10.16 again. Jesus says:

“I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves…”

And Jesus pictures people as wolves because of their natural hostility to him – because they’re saying, ‘I don’t want you to be God in my life. I want to live it as I please.’

I have one brother, Niall, who’s not a Christian. He works for Vodafone – so if you’re with them, thanks for subsidising my Christmas and birthday presents. And Niall’s a good brother and good bloke. But I remember saying to him once, ‘Do you believe there’s a God or not?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I definitely believe he’s there.’ To which I said, ‘So if it’s even a possibility that we can know him and relate to him thought Jesus, doesn’t that make Christianity worth looking into?’ And he said, ‘I don’t want to.’ And I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘I guess I just feel an antipathy to God. I don’t want him interfering in my life.’ And there’s the wolf inside. And that’s why people are not by nature open and neutral towards Jesus. So Jesus says, Matthew 10.16:

…be wise as serpents and innocent as doves

So, wise as serpents means ‘don’t be naïve, be wise to the fact that people are not neutral.’ For example, a while back the Newcastle Students Union stopped the Newcastle Christian Union flyering in Freshers’ Week, claiming they hadn’t kept the university’s rules. But they had, and the CU had to be wise to what was actually anti-Christian-ness, and took their case to the university registrar.

so be wise as serpents…and innocent as doves

Which means Christians can’t stoop to being untruthful or underhand, like that Students Union. We are to be truthful and above board. So, as we talk about Jesus, he challenges peoples’ commitment to self-rule. The next thing he challenges is peoples’ commitment to religion. Look on to Matthew 10.17:

Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues

So Jesus was originally speaking here to his twelve apostles, and once he’d died and risen and returned to heaven, they were to take the news about Jesus first to their fellow Jews, and then to the Gentiles (non-Jews). And Matthew 10.17 is about how their fellow-Jews will react:

they will deliver you over to courts [their religious courts] and flog you in their synagogues [their religious meeting places]

Because as Christians talk about Jesus, he challenges peoples’ commitment to religion. In this case, the apostles were going to be saying to Jewish people ‘Your religion won’t put you right with God – you need Jesus for that’ (which is offensive). But another time, Jesus said (John 14.6):

I am the way [that is, the only way back into relationship with God], and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Because it takes Jesus’ sin-bearing death on the cross to forgive us back into relationship with him and his Father, and no other religion has the cross. So other religions may say some true things about God, but they won’t put anyone right with God, and saying that is offensive. And if you look at the Open Doors World Watch list of the worst countries for persecuting Christians, it’s no surprise that six out of the top seven are countries where Islam is dominant. Because Jesus challenges peoples’ commitment to religion he says all other gods, and ways to god, are ultimately false. Then the next thing he challenges is peoples’ commitment to the State. Look on to Matthew 10.18:

…and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

So after their fellow-Jews, the apostles were to take the news about Jesus to Gentiles. And Matthew 10.18 is about how they’ll react. And the answer is with legal proceedings and imprisonment and all the other things you see done to Christians in the Bible book of Acts, or in the Open Doors Watch list. Why? Because Jesus challenges peoples’ commitment to the State. If people believe the State is god, or that the State leader is god, Jesus comes along and says, ‘No, I’m God. And you don’t owe ultimate commitment to the State or the State leader. You owe it to me’.

So for example, the book of Acts tells us how the early Christians got into trouble with the Roman State for calling Jesus Lord and refusing to call Caesar Lord. For example, when the apostle Paul church planted in Thessalonica, some of the Christians were dragged before the city authorities who were told (Acts 17.7-8):

“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and… they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed

And in the Open Doors Watch list, you find the same thing happening today – for example, in China where Communism sees the State and the State leader as god (as your ultimate commitment). So the Chinese government has said the Christians in the country ‘endanger national security’. There are new rules requiring Christian leaders ‘to love the motherland and support the leadership of the Communist Party’. So no wonder a bookseller and his wife were sentenced last year to 7 years in prison for selling Bibles. The judgement against them said they were ‘inciting subversion of State power’. But the State isn’t neutral here, either. So for example with the passing of the Equality Act in 2010, there is social and legal pressure to affirm things about sexuality and gender that a Christian can’t affirm because our ultimate commitment is not to the State. So that’s the first thing. Realise you’ll be seen as challenging peoples’ deepest commitments:

2. Trust God to help you speak when that lands you in trouble

Look on to Matthew 10.19-20:

When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you

The story’s told of one minister who thought that was saying: preachers and speakers don’t need to prepare – but should instead just look to the Holy Spirit in the moment for what to say. So that’s what he did. And after a few weeks, someone in his church said, ‘What’s happened to your preaching?’ So he explained that, whereas before he’d preached what he’d prepared, now he was saying what the Holy Spirit gave him. To which the other person replied ‘Well, you’re a better preacher than the Holy Spirit. I preferred it how it was’. This is not a promise about the kind of speaking for Jesus for which we can and should be prepared (like a sermon or a talk at our CYFA youth group or whatever). It’s a promise about the kind of speaking that you can’t really prepare for. For example, when those Christians in Thessalonica were dragged before the city authorities and had to answer charges and questions and criticisms.

I know that some of you have faced investigations and disciplinary meetings where people have taken issue with things you’ve said from a Christian point of view, and so have I. A few years ago I was removed from the governing body of a school on the allegation that I’d said something homophobic. It was a Church of England school and there was a discussion about what the Church of England’s position on sexuality and homosexuality was. So I quoted the official position, which includes the words that homosexual practice is to be repented of. And, ironically, that’s what led to a disciplinary process, a court-style hearing in front of the other governors, and ultimately my removal and five year ban from being a governor. Throughout that process, the Christian Institute were a phenomenal support. And I always say you should support them financially not just because what they do is essential, but because you may well need their help one day. And before my first appearance before the court of governors, I spent most of the day at the Christian Institute – going over legalities, getting all the arguments I needed in my head. To that extent, I could prepare. But as the time got nearer, I realised I was about to face something I’d never faced before, that anything could be asked, and that I was out of my depth. And I didn’t feel good, and I turned to these verses and read them (Matthew 10.19-20):

When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you

And I just prayed ‘Father over and above everything I’ve just got into my head, please give me what to say and how to say it’.

And there’s a parallel with sharing the gospel more generally, because to some extent, we can and should be prepared for that. We should learn the gospel and how to explain it. So maybe as a Christian you should do the next Christianity Explored course – to learn the gospel and how to explain it. Or maybe you should get a book on sharing your faith from the bookstall. And I’m certainly aware we need to offer more training in this area as a church. But even when we are more prepared in that way, the moment still comes in that conversation, when we see a clear opportunity to say something Christian, but we’re worried that if we say it, if we launch out, we’ll soon be out of our depth and we won’t know what to say in answer to peoples’ questions and reactions. At which point, Jesus says (Matthew 10.19-20):

do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

And the thing to do is to trust that, send up a quick prayer for help – and then speak. So; Realise you’ll be seen as challenging peoples’ deepest commitments. Trust God to help you speak when that lands you in trouble.

3. Don’t let the trouble you land in stop you living and speaking for Jesus

Look on to Matthew 10.21:

Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death

And in the Open Doors Watch List you can read about that going on today in the many countries where religious commitment (for example, to Islam in Nigeria, or Hinduism in India) overlaps almost totally with family commitment. So turn to Jesus, and your family may not just want you out, but want you dead. Read on, Matthew 10.22:

and you will be hated by all for my name's sake…

And that’s how it is for many Christians today. So the 2022 Open Doors Parliamentary Report says:

The persecution of Christians has reached the highest levels since the World Watch List began 30 years ago. Across 76 countries, more than 360 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith – an increase of 20 million since last year.

Which makes you think ‘Wouldn’t it be easier for them (and us) to stop living and speaking for Jesus?’ Well, read on in Matthew 10.22 Jesus says:

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

In other words, Jesus says ‘Don’t stop living and speaking for me. Keep going – by keeping your eyes on the end, when you’ll finally be with me in glory, and saved from all the hostility and fallenness of this world’ (and next week’s passages has lots more to say about that). Matthew 10.23:

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Remember, again, that Jesus originally had in mind the evangelism of his twelve apostles and the early church around them. And in the book of Acts you see that what Jesus talks about in Matthew 10.23 is exactly what happened. They would be persecuted in one place. But they didn’t stop living and speaking for Jesus. Instead, they moved on to the next place and kept living and speaking for him – because they knew that the opportunity for their fellow-Jews to hear the gospel was going to get worse quite soon. That’s what Jesus is on about when he says:

truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Some people jump to the conclusion that he was talking there about his second coming as Judge at the end of time. But Jesus also used that language about his ‘coming’ in acts of judgement within time – especially, the judgement that came on Israel 40 years after he said these words, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and much more, which made reaching Jewish people with the gospel much harder, as they hunkered down after that trauma. So I think Jesus is saying ‘Keep living and speaking for me – partly, because you know you’ll soon be with me in glory, where the cost is behind you; and partly because you know that the opportunity for people around you to hear about me is running out’.

So; Realise you’ll be seen as challenging peoples’ deepest commitments. Trust God to help you speak when that lands you in trouble. Don’t let the trouble you land in stop you living and speaking for Jesus. Finally:

4. Expect the world to treat you as it treated Jesus

And this really underlies everything else the passage has said. Look on to Matthew 10.24-25:

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. [Implication: don’t expect to be treated better than Jesus was treated. Don’t expect your evangelism to be better received than his]. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

So three weeks ago we saw the Pharisees saying (Matthew 9.34):

[Jesus] casts out demons by the prince of demons.

And Jesus says here, ‘If they malign me like that, they’ll do the same to you – because of how you identify with me, because of how you represent me’. Which brings us full circle to where we began. Which is that, by nature, everyone has that hostility to Jesus that says ‘I don’t want you to be God in my life’. And Jesus is saying (in these last verses) that’s why they may be hostile to us when we live for him and speak for him. It’s because we’re reminding them of him and of his claim on their lives. Which means that, when we do get negative reactions to our faith, we need to try not to take it so personally because they’re not so much reacting to us, as reacting to Jesus through us.

4. Expect the world to treat you as it treated Jesus

Look on to Matthew 10.24-25:

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. [So we shouldn’t expect a better reaction to our evangelism than he got]. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

In other words, Jesus is saying there: ‘If people bad mouthed me, they’ll do the same to you. They might not say your power comes from Beelzebub (ie, Satan. But they will say your influence is intolerant and phobic and bad. And all because you identify with me, and represent me’. Which brings us back to where we began. Which was Jesus telling us that everyone, by nature, has something of the wolf in them) that hostility that says to Jesus ‘I don’t want you to be God in my life.’ And that’s why people may be hostile to us – it's because we remind them of Jesus’ claim on their lives. So, this is easier said then done, but when we get negative reactions to our faith, we need to try not to take it so personally because they’re not so much reacting to us, as reacting to Jesus through us. He’s the target; we’re just the punchbag. But we also began with Jesus reminding us that the harvest is plentiful. In other words, there are many people who’ll respond positively because God has chosen to work in them, and overcome the wolf in them, so that they want Jesus in their lives. Just like he did for you, if you’re trusting and following Jesus tonight.

So the Lord Jesus doesn’t want us to come away from this passage more fearful about speaking for him, assuming we’ll get a negative reaction every time – we won’t. Instead, he wants us to come away from this more ready to speak for him, not assuming negative reactions, but not surprised and put off if there is. Because on the one hand, he’s sending us out into a plentiful harvest, but on the other, he’s sending us out like sheep among wolves.Which means our evangelism together as a church will always be fruitful, but it’ll never be comfortable.