The Servant and the Master
Jesus realizing that there were many people who were “like sheep without a shepherd,” conveyed to the disciples “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38). The Lord then appointed twelve disciples,
Simon (Peter)
Andrew
James (son of Zebedee)
John
Philip
Bartholomew
Thomas
Matthew the tax collector
James (son of Alphaeus)
Thaddaeus (Judas of James)
Simon the Zealot
Judas Iscariot (The betrayer)
Their mission was to preach to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (10:5-6), albeit they would not finish preaching to all the cities in Israel “until the Son of Man comes” (10:23), which means Christ would have been resurrected into glory before they finished evangelizing their own people. Christ also forewarns them of some of the challenges they would face in being His ministers.
A significant challenge of being a disciple of Christ is the reality that the darkness is always opposed to the light. Christ said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! (Matt. 10:24-25)
The Christian church has always in some way experienced various types of trials and tribulations, but one of the common criticisms today is that the things the church does is simply “unchristian.” “They like Jesus but not the church” or “Jesus wants to save Christians” is a common refrain.
I get it. It does not take much to get a little miffed at the way some would drag the name of Christ in the mud. The name-it-claim-it prosperity gospel of the Word of Faith movement is certainly unbiblical and real a turn off. The Westboro Baptist funeral protestor’s anti-gay slogans simply more heat than light.
What if the church shined as a light to the world? Perhaps a great many people could see Christ in the Christian for the first time. On the other hand, the darkness hates the light and sinful people also rage unbridled war against God Almighty. Yes, there are a few professing Christians who fail to live up to the standard and make an embarrassment of themselves and the church; however, what the Christian gets the message right and lives it out? Just as the darkness opposed Christ, the Christian can expect opposition. The one who stands for Christ can also be expected to stand before the court of popular opinion to give a reason for why they believe what they believe. The faith that Christ calls the Christian is certainly one of radical abandonment. In the end, however, the Lord promises, “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 10:31).
Simon (Peter)
Andrew
James (son of Zebedee)
John
Philip
Bartholomew
Thomas
Matthew the tax collector
James (son of Alphaeus)
Thaddaeus (Judas of James)
Simon the Zealot
Judas Iscariot (The betrayer)
Their mission was to preach to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (10:5-6), albeit they would not finish preaching to all the cities in Israel “until the Son of Man comes” (10:23), which means Christ would have been resurrected into glory before they finished evangelizing their own people. Christ also forewarns them of some of the challenges they would face in being His ministers.
A significant challenge of being a disciple of Christ is the reality that the darkness is always opposed to the light. Christ said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! (Matt. 10:24-25)
The Christian church has always in some way experienced various types of trials and tribulations, but one of the common criticisms today is that the things the church does is simply “unchristian.” “They like Jesus but not the church” or “Jesus wants to save Christians” is a common refrain.
I get it. It does not take much to get a little miffed at the way some would drag the name of Christ in the mud. The name-it-claim-it prosperity gospel of the Word of Faith movement is certainly unbiblical and real a turn off. The Westboro Baptist funeral protestor’s anti-gay slogans simply more heat than light.
What if the church shined as a light to the world? Perhaps a great many people could see Christ in the Christian for the first time. On the other hand, the darkness hates the light and sinful people also rage unbridled war against God Almighty. Yes, there are a few professing Christians who fail to live up to the standard and make an embarrassment of themselves and the church; however, what the Christian gets the message right and lives it out? Just as the darkness opposed Christ, the Christian can expect opposition. The one who stands for Christ can also be expected to stand before the court of popular opinion to give a reason for why they believe what they believe. The faith that Christ calls the Christian is certainly one of radical abandonment. In the end, however, the Lord promises, “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it” (Matt. 10:31).
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