LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1989, Page 81

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the world that we can reach. But it is a focus that includes
Jews and Gentiles and many ethnic groups and many back-
grounds, as we said yesterday. The instructions go on.
Verse 7: “As you go, preach this message: ‘the kingdom of
heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those
who have leprosy, drive out demons” [NIV]. What a com-
fort! Our message is His message. Our mission is His
mission.

A message about a kingdom at hand—in the King, the
Messiah, who will have the nail-pierced hands as He pours
out his life blood, who will rise from the dead. We call it
the ministry of Word and Sacraments. We call it the Gos-
pel, which is the heartbeat of all that we are as Lutheran
Christians. As long as His message is our message, we can
go and lives will truly be changed. That message will touch
people in their physical, as well as their spiritual needs,
and many wounds will be bound up.

The instructions continue, and I will skip to verse 11
for now [NIV]: “Whatever town or village you enter, search
for some worthy person there and stay at his house until
you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If
the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not,
let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome
you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet
when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it
will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day
of judgment than for that town.” A strategy and a warning
or a predicted response. He says when you go into a village,
find a worthy, respected citizen and offer, or ask, to stay
in their midst so that you have a home base for operation
and you can reach out to the rest of the people in that
town. Good advice. Paul used it on his missionary journeys,
with Lydia and others; and we can use it today as we plant
churches, as we reach out in many ways to people and
areas that are not reached.

But the warning or the predicted response is that there
are some risks. You come bringing the message of peace
and offering “shalom” in the full sense of that complete
relationship between God and man which is ours to share
with others and sometimes that peace will be rejected.
When that happens, Jesus asks His disciples to shake the
dust off their feet, to separate themselves even from the
dust of the ground upon which that home stands or that
village is located and move on from there. A word of judg-
ment here, that a worse state than that of Sodom and
Gomorrah will await those who reject.

And now we move back to the final instruction in verses
9 and 10: “Do not take along any gold or silver or copper
in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic,
or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep”
{NIV]. Sounds almost nonsensical in some ways, like ask-
ing a football player to play without equipment or a base-
ball player not to be able to use a bat or glove. Standard
equipment for the traveler certainly was a staff and san-
dals, a tunic and a bag with some food, and some gold or
silver at the belt; yet He’s saying, “Don’t do that.” He’s
saying, in effect, “I’m sending you; trust Me for your pro-
vision. The laborer is worthy of his keep. I'll be with you.”

He’s also perhaps saying, “Be so focused on the mission
that you don’t get too absorbed with all of the things you

LIFELIGHT BIBLE STUDY 81

need.” I don’t know what the implications of that would
be—for congregational budgets and synodical budgets and
all of the apparatus of the modern missionary effort. I can
only hear Him saying, “I’m sending you on the mission.
Go out there and trust Me for provision.” I don’t know if
you noticed, but I left one little phrase until last. Right at
the end cf verse 8, “freely you have received, freely give.”
Whether you are Simon or Thaddaeus or a pastor or a
teacher, that mission is something far beyond our ability
to do at all. He has freely given Himself on Calvary for us.
And He provides us with all that we could ever need by
His grace. And so having received, we freely give and start
out on that mission. As the popular Christian song goes,

Freely, freely you have received;

Freely, freely give.

Go in My name and because you believe
Others will know that I live.

Bible Study 3

Jesus Prepares the Disciples for Opposition
and Trials on the Mission

(Matt. 10:16-25)

Jesus sets the example by His own mission activity. He
calls the disciples on the same mission and gives them His
authority to minister. He supplies instructions and prom-
ises resources. Now He prepares them for the harsh real-
ities of carrying out His mission. He uses animal imagery.
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (v. 16).
Helpless sheep, pursued by wily, hungry, ferocious
wolves—hardly a fair match!

Jesus continues, “Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and
as innocent as doves.” The serpent in Genesis 3 was more
crafty than any of the other animals in the garden. The
disciple on a mission needs wisdom and practical shrewd-
ness in dealing with others. Planning and strategy are
important. There are times to witness and times to with-
draw until a more opportune moment. Yet that shrewdness
never becomes plotting or manipulating. The caring dis-
ciple on a mission lives with the innocence of doves, not
preying on others with the intent to maim and kill.

With the analogies in mind of sheep among wolves and
shrewd snakes living as innocent doves, Jesus describes
the terrifying possibilities awaiting faithful witnesses. In
every case the anticipated suffering recapitulates His own
suffering. “Be on your guard against men; they will hand
you over to the local councils and flog you in their syn-
agogues. On my account you will be brought before gov-
ernors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles”
(vv. 17-18). The chief priests and elders plotted to arrest
Jesus and kill Him (Matt. 26:3-4). They arrested Him and
handed Him over to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court
(26:50, 57). They struck Him and spit on Him (26:67). He
was brought before a Gentile governor, flogged and con-
demned to die (27:11—14, 22-26). A similar fate awaited
the apostles as is recorded in the book of Acts. Peter and
John were thrown in jail after healing the crippled beggar
and dragged before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:1-22). Stephen
was dragged before the Sanhedrin and stoned to death