2 The godly have been swept from the land;
    not one upright man remains.
  All men lie in wait to shed blood;
    each hunts his brother with a net.

3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil;
    the ruler demands gifts,
  the judge accepts bribes,
    the powerful dictate what they desire-
    they all conspire together.

4 The best of them is like a brier,
    the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
  The day of your watchmen has come,
    the day God visits you.
    Now is the time of their confusion.

5 Do not trust a neighbor;
    put no confidence in a friend.
  Even with her who lies in your embrace
    be careful of your words.

6 For a son dishonors his father,
    a daughter rises up against her mother,
  a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-
    a man's enemies are the members of his own household.

7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
    I wait for God my Savior;
    my God will hear me.

21 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!

26 "So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27  What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn

" `a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--
36 a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' [Micah 7:6]

37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Introduction: Great Expectations (21-3)

1. Who's the Greatest? (24,5)

2. No Fear (26-31)

(a) God's Bigness (26,7)

(b) God's Goodness (28-31)

Conclusion: Get a Life! (39)

Introduction:
Great Expectations (21-3)

The passage we're looking at this morning is part of Jesus' pre-mission training for his disciples. He starts by giving them realistic expectations of what mission will be like. Expect to see the closest relationships degenerate into betrayal and murder (21). Expect to be hated by everyone (22). Expect persecution (23).

There is no particular virtue in suffering all this, it's simply the necessary means to a glorious end. Jesus even commands the disciples to flee persecution (23). We are to expect it, not seek it out! It is the glorious end, rather than the suffering means, which are to motivate mission. Jesus makes two glorious promises in these dark verses. What are they?

<... he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (22) and>
<I tell you the truth, you will not finish ... before the Son of Man comes. (23)>

Jesus now goes on to explain why mission will be the way he's warning the disciples it will be. That's point one- Who's the Greatest. Then he encourages the disciples, explaining why they need have No Fear- point two. Point three is Jesus' declaration of war, a war in which everyone ends up Taking Sides.

1. Who's the Greatest? (24,5)

Jesus explains why mission will lead to betrayal, murder, hate and persecution by pointing out something Bob Dylan phrased rather neatly and put to music:

You might be the ambassador to England or France;
you might like to gamble or you might like to dance.
You might be the heavy weight champion of the world;
you migh be a socialite, with a long string of pearls,
but you gonna have to serve somebody.

Yes indeed, you gonna have to serve somebody-
it might be the Devil or it might be the Lord,
but you gonna have to serve somebody.

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
Matthew 6:24

The truth is we become like those who teach us, and like those we serve (25). Jesus asserts that the world is under the headship of Beelzebub and so they learn from him and serve him (25).

However empowered we may feel, however much we may believe we own the direction of our lives or work, the reality is we are never the greatest! We all march to the beat of a spiritual drum, it might be the Devil's or it might be the Lord's.

2. No Fear (26-31)

The next six verses are driven along by the repeated  phrase "do not be afraid," see the start of verses 26, 28 and 31. A summary of Jesus argument would look like this:

26 Do not be afraid of them ...
28 Do not be afraid of them,
     ... rather be afraid of God.
     31 Don't even be afraid of God.

(a) God's Bigness (26,7)
Firstly, he reassures them the message is going to be heard, it is a sure thing, a dead certainty. "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known" (26). In the end it doesn't actually depend on the disciples' faithfulness, but on God's sovereignty. What a relief! Their part, and our part, is a privelege based on hope, not a duty based on desparation- goodbye fear, goodbye panic and goodbye pride. Do not be afraid of men who oppose our mission, because God will ensure the message is heard.

(b) God's Goodness (28-31)
The other part of Jesus' encouragement I found a little hard to follow. Reflecting on it, this is how I think Jesus' argument goes...

Verse 28 contrasts life in this world with life in the next world. This contrast is repeated more simply in verse 39 which we'll get to shortly. Jesus is pointing out that life in the next world is infinitely more valuable to us than life in this. Our fear should be in proportion to what is at stake, and directed toward the one in control. We should fear God far more than any power in this world. As the wisdom of the Old Testament taught, the fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.

Jesus then goes on to describe God's total sovereignty, the question is why? He points out that even the lives and deaths of things of as little value as sparrows have a  place in God's will (29). God's will is specific to even such trivial details as the number of hairs on our heads (30). It's unwise for creatures as limited as ourselves to 'split hairs' about what we never understand fully, however, let's thank God that he can and does!

So why does Jesus point us to God's comprehensive sovereignty? Verse 31 explains it: you are worth more than many sparrows. Verse 28 left us fearing God's power to destroy our souls in hell. Yet verse 29 shows God's care for even things of little value. Verse 31 explains that our souls are valuable to God, so we should expect him to care for them even more than he cares for sparrows and hairs. Jesus turns fear into faith and terror into trust.

3. Taking Sides (32-8)

In the first verses Jesus declares War and Peace. He declares peace with those who acknowledge in this world, his rightful rule over all. He promises us that he will personally recommend us to God in the next world (32). There's a flip-side to this, though. Jesus declares war on those who refuse to acknowledge his rightful rule. He promises that he will condemn them before God in the next world (33).

But there's another war in these verses (34). It's not just Jesus versus the world, it's the world versus Jesus and his people. If we surrender to Jesus and find peace with him, we will find that the world around us is now at war with us (35,6).

We're going to feel this most in our closest relationships (37). The nature of life in this world is that, with limited resources, we have to have priorities in giving our time, money and so on. This means giving Jesus priority in our lives will bring us into conflict with people close to us, who expect a high priority of our time and so on.

Jesus warns us that it's not good enough to say we acknowledge the priority of his rule with our heads or our mouths, and yet fail to acknowledge it in our close relationships. It's worth noting that Jesus knows more about our desire for peace and intimacy than we do. Although he calls us to put him above even our closest relationships, he acknowledges the cost we will feel we're paying. In verse 38 he says anyone who does not take his cross and follow me. The fact remains though, if we're unwilling to face the conflict and isolation, we're not worthy of Jesus (37x2, 38).

Conclusion: Get a Life! (39)

The irony of Christian faith, the irony of entrusting our lives to Jesus, is that, as we look to gain life with him, we find ourselves losing our life in this world. Everyone wants life, the question is what kind of life do we really want.

Will we be satisfied with the short term pleasures and deceptive security of things in this world or will we look beyond them to the better things in the next? Will we take the risk of rejection by family and friends because we are willing to stand for the truth, for the sake of God's glory and the benefit of all who hear? Will we persevere despite many rejections, because we value God's approval more than that of those around us, or will we be content with being quietly moral and considerate without ever telling others why? Never giving them the chance to find out more and make a decision for themselves.

Let's expect rejection, sure, but let's not assume it. Let's give people a chance to respond positively, for by God's grace the Gospel is his power for salvation. Let's proclaim the Gospel from the rooftops and accept the results God provides, either persecution or brothers and sisters for all eternity.