Deployed and Defended by Jesus (Matthew 10:40-42)

Here’s my sermon from this past Sunday, September 17th, 2023, from Matthew chapter 10 in our ongoing “Our King, His Kingdom” series in Matthew. You can listen to the audio here, or by subscribing to our podcast.

Now you might be wondering - why my hair and beard always look so dang good. Every Saturday, we have a routine in our home. My wife cuts my hair and trims my beard. It’s all her. But post-chemo and radiation treatments, my wife’s been dealing with a lot of weakness, along with a lot of pain. And she doesn’t enjoy doing it as much as she used to. We have this weekly Saturday schtick that goes right with it. I say, “Thank you.” She responds with: “Not my pleasure.” Now with her physical condition, there are weeks when we both fear she’s going to lose her concentration or maybe lose her balance, and then, she makes an error, and poof - there goes the beard. You can pray for our relationship and my beard on Saturdays at around noon. And you can pray that you never have to see me all baby-faced.

Now beards have had perhaps too prominent of a place here in Karis. Some have even asked if having a “biblical” beard was a requirement for the eldership. No, in case you wondered. See Jeff “Babyface” Carson. But in the ancient Near East, in Old Testament days, beards were not a minor deal. And what you did with them could be highly symbolic. You’d shave them off when you were mourning. Otherwise, you would let it grow. And if you really wanted to humiliate someone, you’d shave it off for them.

And that’s what we see happen back in the book of 2 Samuel, in chapter 10. The king of the Ammonites dies. David wants to keep up good diplomatic relations with that nation. So he sends some emissaries there - to express his condolences. But the advisors of that new king, Hanun, convince him that David’s men are there to do them harm. To spy. To destroy.

So Hanun’s soldiers do two things to David’s men. They shave off half of their beards. And they slash a big section out of their pants - right down the middle. There’s no mistaking what those actions communicate - the cutting off diplomatic relations, a declaration of war. But it humiliates those men. And the ambassadors of David walk away ashamed.

Now you may be wondering what this has to do with the passage we just read. And if it were me, I’d be thinking the exact same thing. Well, we’ve been walking for many weeks here in Matthew chapter 10. And in this chapter, Christ is sending out His disciples, His ambassadors, on mission. And He’s preparing them for the persecution that awaits.

They’ll go out “as sheep in the midst of wolves,” says verse 16. And it’d be easy for them - and certainly for us - to think it’s not worth what it costs. That only failure and shame awaits us along that road. We’re set up to lose. There’ll be only bad news. We’ll come back from that mission with some really bad haircuts and massive holes in our pants.

Now Jesus understands. And for that reason, He wraps up this teaching with some encouragement. That’s what we hear in these words here in chapter 10, verses 40-42. Now when I first read these words, I started scratching my head. I thought it would be one of those weeks where I threaten to pull out the few hairs here on my head. But the more that I read it, and consulted some helps, the clearer it all became. Here’s the reality. As we go out on His mission we can doubt. We can believe that how we’re treated really doesn’t matter. But Jesus wants us to hear. That’s very much not the case.

Them - and Their Deity

What I want you to hear this morning is that how they receive you and me says something. It says two different somethings, according to Jesus. It displays how they receive their Triune God. And it forecasts the way they’ll be received by Him. How they welcome us and our message - it says something about them. And it shouts a massive word of encouragement over us.

First, how they receive us displays how they receive our Triune God. Look at verse 40 once again: “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives Him who sent me.”  Now at first read, this can kinda get our brain in knots. But if we think about it a bit, it’s really not that hard. What’s Jesus saying here? Take a phrase at a time with me.

“Whoever receives you receives me.” Jesus is saying to those disciples - He’s saying to us - again, after He’s been warning about how hard things would be: “When someone ‘receives you’ - when they welcome you. You as a person. And your message about me. When they receive you into their lives. When they bring you into their homes. When they’re hospitable to you. When they listen to what you say. They’re not just welcoming you. They’re also welcoming me.” Now if you think about that, it’s mind-blowing. And it’s heart-exploding, as well. Right? So, so encouraging.

But it even goes further. “And whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” When people receive Jesus, they’re also receiving His Father. That’s who sent Jesus. Right? We see two of the three persons of our God here. The Father and the Son. God in three persons. Our Triune God.

When people receive you and me - as we bring to them the gospel - they’re also receiving Jesus. And when they receive Jesus, they’re also receiving the Father.

Now I’ve got teens now. And I’ve heard this line. I’ve said it. You’ve said it. Especially when it comes to math. “When am I ever, EVER going to actually use this stuff?” Well, here you go. The transitive property. Right here in this verse. When people receive us - A, they’re also receiving Jesus - B, and when people receive Jesus - B, they also receive the Father - C. Now don’t get caught up in why we’re A and the Father is C. I’m following the order of the verse. The point is this: A = C. When people receive us - us as people, us with a message - they’re also receiving the Father. Dude. That’s amazing.

Now think with me about what all this means. It says something about Jesus, and something about the church. There are a couple of things that people like to say today. They’re not new. But they fit with this age. The first is this: Jesus is just one of the paths where you can make your way to God. Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, whoever - pick your path. It’s all good. But no, friends. No family. Jesus is saying, “Whoever receives me, receives Him who sent me.” And, of course, the opposite is also true. When you reject Jesus, you’re also rejecting the Father who sent Him. As Jesus says in John 14:6,“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Here’s another thing that’s common today. I love Jesus, but I don’t want to be near the church. Now, that I understand. If you’ve been at Karis before, and you’ve heard me preach more than once, you know how I feel. Now I’m a sinner. And I’m a part of the problem. But I’ve been so frustrated at the church in America. We’ve been terrible representatives of our King. I get that, I do.

But Jesus just won’t let us stay there. Why’s that? These words: “Whoever receives you receives me.” What the? Really? Yes. It means exactly that. When people receive us, the church, they’re also receiving Jesus. And again, the opposite also fits. Whoever won’t receive His people, also will not receive Him.

Has that thought ever hit you before? That Jesus so closely identifies with us. After all, we’re called His body in Scripture. And He’s the head. It doesn’t really get much closer than that. But it reminds me of when Paul tells His story, over in Acts. When he gets knocked on his butt, on the road to Damascus, do you remember what Christ says? “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” To persecute one of the people of God is tantamount to persecuting Jesus himself.

Now that apostle later will pen letters to Christ’s church. And there’s a phrase He repeats, that maybe you’ve heard. He describes God’s people as “in Christ.” We’re in union with Him. That’s just how closely He identifies with us. And again, that extends to the Father. That transitive property again. No, you can’t hate the church, and say you love Jesus. Or the Father. That’s a message to persecutors, that they need to hear. But it’s a word also for us, for those who are persecuted. He’s with us. He’s for us. He’s got our backs.

This verse also reminds us of our role. We are sent by Him, as representatives of our King. Jesus says that, over in John 20:21. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even I am sending you.” The Father sent Jesus. And let every heart prepare Him room. Jesus has sent us. And the world should welcome us - His church - in just the same way.

Here again is the main point Christ is making: how they receive us displays how they receive Him, our Triune God. You might have heard this expression, when it comes to us sharing our faith. You’re just the mailman. You’ve got this letter. You’re carrying this message. If they bite you, like the dog on that route, don’t take it personally. It’s not about you. It’s on them. And it’s really about Him. You’re the messenger. So as T-Swift would say, shake it off.

But I think we should take it even further that that. You and I, we’re ambassadors. That’s how 2 Corinthians 5 puts it. We’re emissaries. We’re diplomats - for Him. Maybe for one of us here, that’ll end up being our job. We go represent America. We carry her message - to some other land. We represent our President, and our other leaders here. And how they respond to us is how they respond also to them. If they welcome us, they’re also welcoming our country.

Karis, that’s us with our King. We go and proclaim His reign. Inviting all to emigrate in. That’s our calling. That’s our task. We’re His representatives. Not just carrying a message in our hands. We also bear the message in our lives. Of what the King can do in sinners like you and me. And they have to respond. And as they receive, or as they reject, you and me - and our message of grace, they’re really saying something about themselves. And about their relationship to Him.

Now this is an honor. Far greater than representing any country on earth. But it also grants us incredible freedom. It’s all about Him, after all. Really not us. And the results come from Him. Not how well we can do. And that’s so encouraging, church. It can sustain us in any struggle. How they receive us displays how they receive our Triune God. It says something about them and our Deity.

Them - and Their Destiny

But it also says something about them - and their destiny. Let’s move on to the next thing this passage says to us. Second, how they receive us forecasts how they’ll be received by Him. Listen again to verses 41 and 42.

Matthew 10:41 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.

Matthew 10:42 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.”

Now this again is a bit confusing on the surface. “Prophets”? “Righteous” people? “Little ones”? What? Who? And what’s this talk of reward? First of all, Jesus seems to be calling His people three different things here. His disciples back then - the 12. And His disciples today - you and me and other Christians around the world.

He’s calling us “prophets,” first. Now when we hear that title, we often think of people who are predicting things that will come. But usually in the Bible it really emphasizes something different - more speaking on behalf of someone. Proclaiming someone’s message. That’s what the prophets in the Old Testament did. And that’s what we do, as well. It’s what we’re called, church. We’re prophets who speak for our King.

He’s also labeling you - and me - if we’re in Christ - a “righteous person.” If we trust Jesus, His righteous life is given to us. His sacrificial death washes us clean. We not only speak a message. We live it out. He calls us righteous. He makes us righteous - little by little - to look like Him, our King.    

He’s also calling us “little ones” there in verse 42. Whereas calling us “prophets” endows us with dignity. Calling us “little ones” describes our vulnerability. But Jesus also moves in descending order in these titles - descending also in terms of their dignity.

Three times in Matthew Jesus talks about what He calls the “least of these.” And He’s talking about disciples. And disciples who suffer. Over in Matthew 25, Christ tells us, “‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these,  my brothers, you did it to me.’”

A few pages before, in Matthew 18, Jesus tells us that we should have faith like a child. The “little ones” alone will enter the kingdom, He says. The least will be the greatest in the new world that’s ahead. And then He says these words, that sound a lot like these here - “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (verse 5). We’re His “little ones,” Karis. That’s a tender name He gives, for one who’s His “disciple.” Matthew 10:42 tells us. He’s our Dad. And we’re His precious kids.

This is who our King says we are - His citizens. Prophets who proclaim Him, righteous people who display Him, little ones who need Him. He cares deeply about how people interact with us.

Well, second, what’s the “reward” - that Jesus keeps talking about here? It’s salvation. It’s the Kingdom. If we trust in Jesus. That’s what’s ahead. It’s what is ours also now. And Jesus says clearly to the world: receive us and receive Him. And as you do, you’ll also end up receiving our reward. Welcome God’s children, Jesus says, and you’ll be welcomed yourselves into His kingdom of heaven.

And He even says, in verse 42, “Do even the smallest thing - for my kids. Show even a little hospitality to those I love. Give one of my precious ones even the most basic thing - “a cup of cold water” - and I will never forget it. There’s a reward that will never be lost.”  

Now think with me about what all this means. Doesn’t it say something about the gospel, and our calling? We carry this amazing news - of this amazing reward. Of being with our Lord in a new heavens and earth. Life in the kingdom. But most of all, HE is our reward. God is the gospel. We get an eternity with our King. People today resist the idea that it’s something only some people will experience. All paths lead to heaven. Everyone will be saved. But that’s not what Jesus says. The good news is for those who receive Jesus. And again, those who receive us.

And what’s our calling, again? To dispense the rewards of our King. This is a mind-boggling thing. It’s pretty breathtaking, for sure. But as the Lord says over in Matthew 16:19, He gives us the “keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Think about that. The keys. I know that sounds weird. But it’s not far from what we see here.

Receive us, the “prophets,” the “righteous” men and women, the “little ones.” And they’ll also receive the rewards we get. So how they respond to us is what gets them in the door. Today in our world, people say you shouldn’t try to change others’ beliefs. It’s the quickest way to get shunned or mocked. But Christianity has always been a missionary faith. And it’s the most loving thing we can possibly do. Eternal life and joy are both on the line.

We’re sent by Him with the salvation of the Kingdom. We’re heralds of the rewards that are free for those who believe. And it’s not just that we point the way. In a sense, we are the way. Because He uses us as His means. How they receive us shows how He’ll receive them. Christ is saying - treat others, treat them, as you want to be treated. Want hospitality from me? Show it to them. Want a room in my forever home then? You better make a place for my missionaries now.

Back to working as an ambassador again. How that other country responds really matters. Welcome what we say, and financial assistance my come. You may gain an ally. Respect will be rewarded. But show disrespect, and things won’t go well. Tariffs may come, or maybe even a war. Punch the mailman, and the feds come to your door. Dis a diplomat, and you’ll soon meet your doom.

How people respond to us, really matters. It’s life or death. Heaven or hell. Receive us, and great reward will be theirs. Right alongside us. Reject us, and it’ll all slip away. Again, this a great privilege for us. To point the way to life, to reward. But it’s also quite a responsibility. Is it not? We have to represent Him well. We have to share the message faithfully. How they receive us forecasts how they’ll be received by Him. It says something about them - and their destiny.

But here’s a question, that jumped into my mind - after both of these truths. If all of this is true, then how can we stay humble? I think it would be easy for that to go to our heads. But it shouldn’t if we keep these three things in mind. Our task will keep us humble, or at least it should. As we go out on mission, and we take risks for Him, we’ll end up getting hated. And that will sure keep us humble.

Our title here should also make us humble. Jesus calls us the “little ones” here. We’re vulnerable. We are. He wants us to remember just who we are. His kids. Nothing amazing. Nobody powerful.

And looking at our teacher should keep us humble, as well. Jesus didn’t walk around with a swagger, twirling the keys to the kingdom around his finger. He didn’t look down His nose. He was gentle and lowly. And He ended up dying a humiliating death. Yes, these words should encourage us. But they shouldn’t make us proud. Because it’s not our greatness that’s getting any rewards. It’s His.

Risk and Reward

Back to that reward. My voice is a struggle today. Because of all the yelling at the game. The final field goal was good. And everyone rushed on to the field. And there was shouting. And there was celebrating. And it made me think of the reward that’s ahead. On that final day, when the groom comes for His bride. The wedding feast of the lamb.

We’ll be eating and dancing and singing and shouting. That’s ahead for us, family. So much greater than what happened in that game. But we also get to take others with us. We get to make disciples. To share this reward. Our King. His Kingdom. With them.

But as we follow Jesus in this, it sure won’t be easy. If we try to live in these ways, and put ourselves out there, there’s no doubt that we’ll often get put down - and hard. We’ll walk through the trials Christ has walked us through here. And it will be so easy to think that He doesn’t really care.

But how they treat us matters. The King loves us, His kids. And He definitely has our backs. Be encouraged, family: you represent Jesus. Their response - how they receive you and your message - it matters to HIm. Their relationship with Him, the rewards they’ll receive - it’s all at stake. The King loves us, His kids. And He has our backs. He does.

I think about my family. My wife’s really loving and kind. But if you mess with her kids, she turns into mama bear, that’s for sure. You’ll have to mess with her. And that’s not something you want. I think about my oldest son. And one thing makes me really, really proud. How tender and loving he can be with his sister. My youngest son is also picking that up. The way he treats his sister, the way he thinks about his mom. They’re protective of them. They’ll defend them, for sure.

Now that doesn’t even compare to the way the Lord thinks about us. He sees you, “prophet” of God. He is with you, “righteous” disciple. He is for you, “little one.” He knows the risks you’re taking. He knows the wounds you’re experiencing for Him. He cares. And He’ll make it right.

Your risk will be rewarded. Your pain will be healed. Your wounds will be avenged. Your honor will be vindicated. Go out and represent Him. And as you do, remember these words.

Into your classes, as you step out for Him. When you talk about Jesus to those on your side. Or you work the gospel into the presentations you give, you’ll get some abuse. But He’s got your back.

At your workplace, as you speak up for Him. As you bring up your faith. And you hold out your hope. You’ll no doubt get pain. But He promises relief. He will not forget you.

We have a family from Karis, the H family, over in North Africa. It’s a predominantly Muslim country. Christianity isn’t welcomed. Sharing Jesus isn’t allowed. They’re over there sharing His love, bringing goodness to that people group. But what they’re doing could get them bounced. It could even get them beheaded. But those that hurt them will be held accountable for that. And if they receive those dear friends, they’ll be rewarded by God. The King loves us, His kids. And He definitely has our backs.

But there’s one thing we’ve jumped over. Something we don’t want to forget. Jesus talks like people will receive us. Am I right? They’ll receive us. And receive Him. And His Father, as well. They’ll receive us as prophets, as righteous persons, as little ones. And they’ll get this reward. They’ll get our God. Do we really believe this? If we did, we’d make disciples in hope.

No Shame for His Saints

Now our next Sunday in Matthew, we’ll jump from this sermon by Jesus back into some stories about Him. But let’s not forget all we’ve learned from Him here - in this message in Matthew chapter 10. He’s sending us out. And it’s going to be hard. But as we go, we can know, that He won’t leave us hanging. In the words of Psalm 25:3, “None who wait for you shall be put to shame.”

Well, back to that story about David’s men and those beards. The King tells the men to hang out in Jericho, a town on the way, until their whiskers grow fully back. David is protecting them there. And the Ammonites realize quickly that they’ve made a really big mistake. So they scramble and hire out the Syrians to give them a hand. And they end up running from David’s army and are defeated. Messing with those men was messing with the king. And David of Israel ended up cutting them in half. He defends His men, those he had deployed.

A few chapters before that story - there in 2 Samuel chapter 10 - the Lord makes a promise to that king. That He’d put one of His descendants on his throne - and that son would reign there forever and ever. And that of course is Jesus. The better and greater David. Our King.

Karis family, we can be confident. He will defend His own. Even more than David back then. We will not ultimately be ashamed. We don’t need to defend ourselves. That’s His job. And His alone. What they do to us, is what they’re doing to Him. How they treat us is how they’ll be treated by Him. The Son of David - He sees you. He’s with you. And for you. We’re deployed and defended by Him. Let that encourage us now. We represent Jesus. Their response - how they receive us and our message - it matters to Him.  Let’s pray.