Friday of Pentecost 18

October 9, 2009

Our reading picks up today where it left off yesterday, namely, with persecution. "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of His household?" The disciples stand in the crosshairs of the Pharisees and we stand in the crosshairs of all of those who hate the Christian Gospel message of one Savior for all people.

But Jesus goes on to say "Have no fear of them for nothing is covered that will not be revealed." The disciples are to have an eternal worldview where everything will be made known and made right on the Last Day. This must be what strengthen all of the martyrs of the Christian faith over the centuries, the knowledge that one day, God would vindicate their confession and faith in Him and hand those who persecuted and killed them to their father, the devil. This prompts me as a confessor to continually pray, "Come, Lord Jesus." I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Then Jesus utters perhaps one of His most difficult teachings: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Jesus is the dividing line in families. Some will follow Him. Some will oppose Him. Even within my own family some follow Jesus while others do not. We are still family but we lack the tie that binds us to one another in faith. We lack an eternal outlook. I can still talk to them of course, even love them, because they are my family, but we are not together in faith and therefore we cannot commune together at the Lord's altar. This has caused no shortage of heartache and bad feelings in our family and sadly it will continue until either they repent and come to faith in Jesus Christ or the Lord returns in glory.

Finally, Jesus authorizes His disciples "whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me." Jesus' disciples speak and act on His divine authority. Listening to their words and receiving their message is to receive Christ Himself for they speak His Word and proclaim His message. The same is true of pastors today in the Church. We are called to stand in Christ's place and speak in His name and with His authority. When the pastor in the Divine Service announces the absolution it is as if Jesus Himself were absolving your sins.

In these verses Jesus lays out the great trials and triumphs of follow Him. If one follows Jesus He can expect persecution, conflict, maybe even death, but at the same time, He will be speaking with the authority of the Son of God forgiving sins and delivering from Satan to Yahweh.