The Motley Crew

January 20, 2010

 

The Questions

 

Read Matthew 10:17-20

 

1. In verse 17: “... they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.” What were the local councils? Flogging?

 

2. Verse 19 says: “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.” What is this all about?

 

 

Read Matthew 10:21-23

 

3. Why would Jesus want us to flee if we are persecuted in one place?

 

4. How can we reconcile verse 22 & 23, “standing firm to the end” with “fleeing when persecuted”?

 

5. What is meant in Verse 23: “you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes”?

 

 

Read Matthew 10:24-25

 

6. Who is the “head of the house” in verse 25?

 

7. Who is “Beelzebub” and where is Jesus referred to in the Bible as “Beelzebub”?

 

8. What does this mean for us?

 

 

Read Matthew 10:26-31

 

9. Who is it that can destroy both the soul and the body in hell [Greek: Gehenna]?

 

 

Read Matthew 10:32-33

 

Question 10: When will this acknowledgment occur?

 

 

 

 

The Motley Crew

January 20, 2010

 

Suggested Answers

 

Read Matthew 10:17-20

 

17 "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

 

Question 1. In verse 17: “... they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.” What were the local councils? Flogging?

Suggested Answer: The Greek word for “council” is “sanhedrin.”

 

… for they will deliver you up to the councils, or Sanhedrin, of which there were three sorts; the greater, which consisted of seventy one persons, and was only held in Jerusalem; the lesser one, which was made up of twenty three members, and was kept in every place where there were an 120 Israelites; and the third, where there was [less than 120 Israelites], there was a triumvirate, or a bench of three judges only. John Gill's Exposition of the Bible, 10 Volumes, 1746-1766; 1816. http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew10.htm
 

“Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.” The NET Bible.
 

Matthew 5:22: “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell [Gehenna].”


Mark 15:1 (New International Version). Jesus Before Pilate. “Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.”

 

Flogging?

 

The local councils had the power to punish an infraction of Jewish regulations by flogging with a [leather] whip, the maximum penalty being 40 strokes with a whip [but always 39 lashes … for fear of exceeding the law, which itself was punishable by flogging].

Let's Look It Up: Deuteronomy 25:2-3 (New International Version). “If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and have him flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime deserves, but he must not give him more than forty lashes. If he is flogged more than that, your brother will be degraded in your eyes.”

 

2 Corinthians 11:23-24. Paul: “Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.” [emphasis added]

 

Mark 15:6-15

6 Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

9 "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12 "What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.

13 "Crucify him!" they shouted.

14 "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

 

 

Question 2. Verse 19 says: “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.” What is this all about?

Suggested Answer:

We don't have to agonize about what we will say … although it is prudent to think about such things ahead of time … but that God will send His Holy Spirit to guide us in our speech when needed. Says the Lord: “I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” [Exodus 4:12]

This was true then, and remains true today.

It was also suggested that this was encouragement by Jesus to His disciples, many of whom were not well-educated men.

 

Let's Look It Up: Exodus 4:10-12

10 Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."

11 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

3 But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."

                    [It's that old thing about being one of the workers sent to the vineyard.]

Acts 4:8 (New International Version)
 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!

 

 

Read Matthew 10:21-23

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.

 

Micah 7:6 (New International Version)
 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.

 

Question 3. Why would Jesus want us to flee if we are persecuted in one place?

Suggested Answer: There are many vineyards that need workers. If this place isn't open to the message of the Gospel, shake the dust of that town off your sandals (as instructed in Matt. 10:14), and move on to another community that needs and is open to hearing the message of salvation.

Also, when John was arrested, it is recorded that Jesus “withdrew into Galilee.” Matthew 4:12.

 

Matthew 10:11-14. "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.” [Emphasis added.]

 

When they persecute you in this city, flee to another, v. 23. "Thus reject them who reject you and your doctrine, and try whether others will not receive you and it. Thus shift for your own safety." Note, In case of imminent peril, the disciples of Christ may and must secure themselves by flight, when God, in his providence, opens to them a door of escape. He that flies may fight again. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary

http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew10.htm [Emphasis added]

 

 

Question 4. How can we reconcile verse 22 & 23, “standing firm to the end” with “fleeing when persecuted”?

Suggested Answer: Christ doesn't want us to waste our lives where other communities need to hear the Word. But by the same token, Christ commands us to remain true to Him.

 

It is no inglorious thing for Christ's soldiers to quit their ground, provided they do not quit their colours: they may go out of the way of danger, though they must not go out of the way of duty. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew10.htm

 

flee ye into another; not so much for their own safety, though this, according to the circumstances of things, is lawful, but for the further spreading of the Gospel. The exhortation is not to take methods to avoid persecution, or to make an escape from it, but to perseverance under it: the sense is, they were not to be discouraged, and to leave off, because of persecution in one place, but to persist in the ministration of the Gospel, by carrying it to other cities; and it seems to be a spur to them to make haste, and fulfil their office of preaching the Gospel, in the land of Judea: nor need they fear going on too fast, lest they should have no places to preach in. John Gill's Exposition of the Bible, 10 Volumes, 1746-1766; 1816.
 http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew10.htm [Emphasis added]

 

The Great Commission: “...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20).

 

We can't fulfill that mission if we waste our time and our lives where there isn't an openness to hearing the Gospel.

 

 

Question 5. What is meant in Verse 23: “you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes”?

Suggested Answer. The commentators are all over the place on this one, and I couldn't see that there was a definitive answer. In recent Bibles, the preference seems to be that this refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. However, there are several suggested meanings.

“Some take Jesus' saying here as a reference to His Second Coming at the end of the age (as is written in Matthew 24:30), but it is hard to reconcile this with the failure of the disciples to “finish going through” (that is, evangelizing) the cities of Israel before this happens. It is therefore probably best understood as referring to His coming in judgment on the Jews when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in A.D. 70.” (The NIV Study Bible, page 1626; Lutheran Study Bible, p. 1600 n)
 

Matthew 24:30: “"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.”

 

...ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the son of man be come”; which is not to be understood of his second coming to judgment, but either [1] of his resurrection from the dead, when he was declared to be the Son of God, and when his glorification began; [2] or of the pouring forth of the Spirit at the day of Pentecost, when his kingdom began more visibly to take place, and he was made, or manifested to be the Lord and Christ; [3] or of his coming to take vengeance on his enemies, that would not have him to rule over them, and the persecutors of his ministers, at the destruction of Jerusalem. John Gill's Exposition of the Bible, 10 Volumes, 1746-1766; 1816.
 http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew10.htm

 

It was also suggested that “Israel” in the sense of that verse means where ever we live today … our “Israel” (recalling the poster outside the sanctuary during the Purpose Drive Life campaign). See also Matthew 24:14.

 

 

Read Matthew 10:24-25

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!

 

Note 1. What is a “student” in verses 24 & 25?

The Greek word is “Mathetes” - (μαθητής - Strong's Number 3101), and is defined as “a learner, pupil, disciple.” So, what Jesus is saying here is that his disciples are not above him, but that it is enough that they are like Him. As He said in Matthew 5:48: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 

Note 2. What is a “servant” in these two verses?

The Greek word is “doulos” (δουλος - Strong's Number 1401), meaning “a slave or bondman” (i.e., someone who has voluntarily sold himself into service), and is used by Christ as one who gives himself up to His will in extending and advancing His cause among men, the establishment of the Kingdom.

 

 

Question 6: Who is the “head of the house” in verse 25?

Suggested Answer: Jesus.

 

Question 7. Who is “Beelzebub” and where is Jesus referred to in the Bible as “Beelzebub”?

Suggested Answer:

Beelzebub: “The prince of demons (12:24); the Greek form of the Hebrew name Baal-Zebul. … The name came to be used of Satan.” The NIV Study Bible.

 

Though we nowhere read that our Lord was actually called "Beelzebub," He was charged with being in league with Satan under that hateful name (Mt 12:24, 26), and more than once Himself was charged with "having a devil" or "demon" (Mr 3:30; Joh 7:20; 8:48). Here it is used to denote the most opprobrious language which could be applied by one to another. Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871.

 

Mark 3:22 (New International Version)

And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub. By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."
 

Matthew 12:24-26 (New International Version)

24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?


Mark 3:30 (New International Version)

[Jesus] said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."


John 7:19-20 (New International Version)

[Jesus asked]. “Why are you trying to kill me?" "You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered.


John 8:48 (New International Version)

The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?"

 

Question 8. What does this mean for us?

Suggested Answer. We'll be lucky if we're only referred to as followers of Beelzebub, but in some places in this world today, it is worse than that.

 

Sometimes, this extends not just to being a Christian, but to what denomination a Christian is a member of.

Personal story: A local church in Somerville that has a strong outreach program. When one of their members came to the door one day, inviting us to worship with them, I responded that my wife and I were members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Decatur. He asked: "What are the Lutherans?"

 

This story generated an extensive discussion of experiences concerning an apparent lack of knowledge of the history of the church among some Christians, especially as this relates to the Protestant Reformation, and also to the practices of some denominations in refusing to take communion or even pray with Christians who are not members of their denomination.

 

 

Read Matthew 10:26-31

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 [Greek: assarion]? 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. [emphasis added … note how our Lord again reassures His disciples … including us!]

 

Question 9. Who is it that can destroy both the soul and the body in hell [Greek: Gehenna]?

Suggested Answer: God, in the person of Jesus at His Second Coming.

 

Look it up: Isaiah 8:12-13 (New International Version)

12 "Do not call conspiracy
everything that these people call conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.

13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread,

 

2 Thess. 1:6-10

6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. [emphasis added]

 

Hebrews 10:31 (New International Version)
 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

“This destruction comes from the power of God: he is able to destroy; it is a destruction from his glorious power (2 Th. 1:9); he will in it make his power known; not only his authority to sentence, but his ability to execute the sentence, Rom. 9:22.” Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary. http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew10.htm

 

Romans 9:22 (New International Version)
What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?

 

but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. This is a description of God, and of his power, who is able to do that which men are not: all that they can do, by divine permission, is to kill the body; but he is able to "destroy," that is, to torment and punish both body and soul "in hell," in everlasting burnings; for neither soul nor body will be annihilated; though this he is able to do. John Gill's Exposition of the Bible, 10 Volumes, 1746-1766; 1816.
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew10.htm

 

Luke 12:4-5: "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
 

Hebrews 10:31 (New International Version). “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

 

 

Read Matthew 10:32-33

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.

 

Question 10: When will this acknowledgment occur?

Suggested Answer: At the Final Judgment.

 

“This acknowledgment will take place at the judgment. On Jesus and judgment, see Luke 22:69; Acts 10:42-43; 17:31.” The NET Bible and The Lutheran Study Bible, p. 1601 n.

 

Luke 22:66-71

66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 "If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us."

Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."
70 They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?"
He replied, "You are right in saying I am."
71 Then they said, "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips."


Acts 10:42-43 (New International Version). He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."


Acts 17:31 (New International Version). For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

Luke 12:8-9 "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.” [emphasis added]


2 Timothy 2:12 (New International Version)
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;

 

See Also:

Sermon Notes of Dr. Harold Buls, Matthew 10:24-33 and (for next week) Matthew 10:34-42. (Adapted from Exegetical Notes, Series A Matthew-John Sundays After Pentecost Gospel Texts, by Harold H. Buls, Concordia Theological Seminary Press: Ft Wayne IN, 1981, pp. 14-17 and 18-21, respectively.)

 

Additional Learning Resources:

W. Robertson Nicoll, The Expositor's Greek Testament (New York: George H. Doran Co., ca. 1900). Available at Google Books.

The Greek Interlinear Bible.
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/mat10.pdf

The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, 1706, 1811.
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mhc/matthew10.htm

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew10.htm

John Gill's Exposition of the Bible, 10 Volumes, 1746-1766; 1816.
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew10.htm

Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871.
 http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/jfb/matthew10.htm

The NET Bible
http://bible.org/netbible/

Other Additional Resources are linked from this web page:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/prayer_and_study_resources.htm#Additional_Resources